Ayatollah

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Usul al-fiqh Ayatollah (Template:IPAc-en, Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx; Template:Langx {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is an honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century.<ref name="Algar">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Glassé">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most distinguished marja' at-taqlid mujtahid, it suffered from "inflation" following the 1979 Iranian Revolution when it came to be used for "any established mujtahid".<ref name="Momen, Introduction, 1985, p.205-6">Momen, An Introduction to Shi'i Islam, 1985, p.205-6</ref> By 2015 it was further expanded to include any student who had passed their Mujtahid final exam,<ref name="Golkar2017219">Template:Harvnb</ref> leading to "thousands" of Ayatollahs.<ref name="Momen178"/>

The title is not used by the Sunni community of Iran.<ref name="Algar"/>

In the Western world – especially after the Iranian Revolution – it was associated with Ruhollah Khomeini, who was so well known as to often be referred to as "The Ayatollah".

File:Grand Ayatollahs Qom فتوکلاژ، آیت الله های ایران-قم 02.jpg

Grand Ayatollahs of Qom, Iran; Religious leaders who have the authority to interpret sharia sources in Shia Islam<ref>Sociology of religions: perspectives of Ali Shariati (2008) Mir Mohammed Ibrahim</ref> used assertive titles such as Hujjat al-Islam, Ayatollah, Ayatollah Al-Uzma and gained tutelage over people and the administration.<ref name="Newman in Meri 2006 734">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="al-Shaykh al-Saduq 1982 151-152">Template:Harvnb</ref>

EtymologyEdit

The title is originally derived from the Arabic word Template:Transliteration pre-modified with the definite article Template:Transliteration and post-modified with the word Allah, making Template:Transliteration (Template:Langx).<ref name="Leaman">Template:Harvnb</ref> The combination has been translated to English as 'Sign of God',<ref name="Algar"/> 'Divine Sign'<ref name="Glassé"/> or 'Reflection of God'.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> It is a frequently-used term in the Quran, but its usage in this context is presumably a particular reference to the verse Template:Qref "We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and in their own selves",<ref name="Algar"/> while it has been also used to refer to The Twelve Imams by Shias.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Variants used are Template:Transliteration (Template:Langx),<ref name="Calmard"/> Template:Transliteration (Template:Langx, dual form)<ref name="Calmard"/> or Template:Transliteration (Template:Langx, plural form)<ref name="Nasr, Nasr and Dabashi"/> and Template:Transliteration (Template:Langx).<ref name="Calmard"/>

QualificationsEdit

Template:See also Though no formal hierarchical structure exists among Shia clerics, a "hierarchy of difference" can be elaborated to describe the situation.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Traditionally, the title Ayatollah was awarded by popular usage only to the very few highest ranking,<ref name="Momen178"/> prominent Mujtahid.<ref name="Algar"/> Qualifications included

being a definite Mujtahid,
being regarded among peers as superior in aʿlamīyat (Template:Literal translation) and
being superior in 'riyāsat (Template:Literal translation), which is determined by popular acclamation, as well as collecting a huge amount of Khums (religious taxes).<ref name="Calmard"/>

Consequently, by the 1960s a cleric addressed as an Ayatollah was expected to be a Marja'.<ref name="Calmard"/> Template:Twelvers

Devaluation trendEdit

The title of Ayatollah (and other Iranian Shi'i titles) has been "cheapened" since then.<ref name="Algar"/><ref name="Momen205/206"/><ref name="Momen178"/>

Roy Mottahedeh describes how the title of ayatollah was determined in the mid to late 20th century.<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

Only the titles 'jurisconsult' (faqih) and 'model for imitation' (marja' al-taqlid) had fixed meaning. Otherwise titles ... really expressed the informal consensus of mullahs as to the degree of deference they wished to show one another. A teacher in madreseh might be greatly offended if a letter from a layman failed to call him 'ayatollah', but he would vigorously reject the title if addressed as an ayatollah in public - vigorously, that is, until he sensed that other mullahs of his level would tolerate hearing him so addressed, at which point he would quietly let his students impose the title on him.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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According to Michael M. J. Fischer, the Iranian Revolution led to "rapid inflation of religious titles", so that almost every senior cleric began to be called an Ayatollah.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> raising the number of individuals who call themselves an Ayatollah dramatically.<ref name="Momen205/206">Template:Harvnb</ref>

An unwritten rule of addressing for Shia clerics has been developed after the 1980s as a result of Iranian Revolution,<ref name="Calmard"/> despite the fact no official institutional way of conferring titles is available.<ref name="Momen178">Template:Harvnb</ref> At first the title that had been reserved for a Marja', was gradually applied to an established Mujtahid.<ref name="Momen, Introduction, 1985, p.205-6"/> With the post-revolutionary bureaucratization of Shia seminaries under the Islamic Republic, four levels of studies were introduced and those clerics who end the fourth level, also known as Dars-e-Kharej (Template:Literal translation) and pass the final exam, were called Ayatollahs.<ref name="Golkar2017219"/> Moojan Momen wrote in 2015 that every cleric who finished his training calls himself an Ayatollah and this trend has led to emergence of "thousands of Ayatollahs".<ref name="Momen178"/>

This inflation led to invention of a new title, Ayatollah al-Uzma (Template:Literal translation).<ref name="Momen178"/> Originally, about half a dozen people were addressed as al-Uzma, but as of 2015, the number of people who claimed that title was reportedly over 50.<ref name="Momen178"/>

Political connotationsEdit

File:Ruhollah Khomeini portrait 1.jpg

Ruhollah Khomeini, known in the West as "The Ayatollah"

Another post-revolutionary change in what makes an ayatollah has been the falling away (at least in many important situations), of purely religious credentials and informal acclamation, and its replacement by political criteria.<ref name="Mohd Don & May"/>

Ali Khamenei—who was addressed with mid-level title of Hujjat al-Islam when he was in office as President of Iran—was bestowed the title Ayatollah immediately after he was elected Supreme Leader of Iran in 1989, without meeting regular unwritten criteria (such as authoring a Risalah).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Since the 2010s, sources under government control tend to give him more distinguished titles like Grand Ayatollah and Imam.<ref name="Mohd Don & May">Template:Citation</ref>

Certain clerics, such as Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari<ref name="Glassé"/> and Hussein-Ali Montazeri,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> who had fallen out of favor with the rulers were downgraded by not being addressed as an Ayatollah.

UsageEdit

Origins, early 20th centuryEdit

The earliest known address of this title is for Ibn Mutahhar Al-Hilli (died 1374), however it was not in use as a title for those qualifying until the 20th century.<ref name="Algar"/> Glassé states that following domination of Twelver branch by followers of Template:Transliteration school and demise of Template:Transliteration school, the title was popularized by Template:Transliterations as an attempt to promote their status.<ref name="Glassé"/> Mirza Ali Aqa Tabrizi was the first one to use the term Template:Transliteration for the sources of emulation in Najaf, especially Akhund Khurasani (1839–1911), to distinguish them from the clerics of lower rank in Tehran, during the 1905-1911 Persian Constitutional Revolution.Template:Sfn (Mirza Sayyed Mohammad Tabatabai and Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani were also given that honorific by constitutionalists according to Loghatnameh Dehkhoda.)<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Hamid Algar maintains that this title entered general usage possibly because it was an "indirect result of the reform and strengthening of the religious institution in Qom".<ref name="Algar"/> Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi (1859–1937) who founded Qom Seminary, may be the first to bear the title according to Algar.<ref name="Algar"/>

While the title Ayatollah was sporadically used during the 1930s,<ref name="Algar"/> it became widespread in the 1940s.<ref name="Glassé"/>

Stages of contemporary titles for Shia clerics in IranEdit

Usually a Marja' and issues fatwa

Can be a lesser Mujtahid

Can be a greater Mujtahid

Usually a greater Mujtahid

Allowed to receive charity

Allowed to wear clerical clothing

Talabah
(Template:Literal translation)

Seghatoleslam
(Template:Literal translation)

Hujjat al-Islam
(Template:Literal translation)

Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin
(Template:Literal translation)

Ayatollah
(Template:Literal translation)

Ayatollah al-Uzma
(Template:Literal translation)

Sources:<ref name="Calmard">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Nasr, Nasr and Dabashi">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Golkar">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Grand AyatollahEdit

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Only a few of the most important ayatollahs are accorded the rank of Grand Ayatollah (Ayatollah Uzma, "Great Sign of God"). When an ayatollah gains a significant following and they are recognized for religiously correct views, they are considered a Marja'-e-Taqlid, which in common parlance is "grand ayatollah".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Usually as a prelude to such status, a mujtahidTemplate:NoteTag is asked to publish a juristic treatise in which he answers questions about the application of Islam to present-time daily affairs.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Risalah is the word for treatise, and such a juristic work is called a risalah-yi'amaliyyah or "practical law treatise",<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> . A Grand Ayatollah is often seen as a spiritual guide and mentor to millions of Shia Muslims. Their influence extends beyond the mosque and into the social and political arenas. Unlike many religious leaders of other religions, a grand ayatollah is often involved in state affairs, especially in countries with large Shia populations such as Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon.Template:Citation needed<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Use of the term as a pejorativeEdit

In the West, particularly the United States, the term "Ayatollah" may be used as a pejorative to describe religious fundamentalism. Sam Miller of London Review of Books states that following the Iranian Revolution, "ayatollah" became common use; Miller described the pejorative version of the term as "[evoking] evokes an old, turbaned, bearded man, sitting in judgment, looking like a crow and ordering the execution of the impure."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

However, the term is generally used to describe any kind of fundamentalism, not just Islamism. For example, in the United States, former jurist and lawyer Roy Moore has been called the "Ayatollah of Alabama" by his critics due to espousing Christian nationalism, opposition to secularism, and far-right politics.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>