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Khātam al-Nabiyyīn Seminary and University (Persian: حوزه علمیه و دانشگاه خاتم‌النبیین) is the largest Shi'a scientific-religious center in Afghanistan, located in Kabul. It was established in 2007 by Muhammad Asif Muhsini, a marja' of the country. This complex hosts Shi'a and Sunni students in a shared environment with the aim of improving religious education, training local mujtahids, and creating an atmosphere of religious coexistence. Academic independence, a modern educational structure, and extensive facilities such as a digital library, mosque, and specialized faculties have highlighted the position of this center in the educational system of Afghanistan. In 2024, despite public popularity, the Taliban government threatened to close this institution, but its managers believe that official documents confirm its legal and religious ownership.

The logo of Khatam al-Nabiyyin Seminary

Scientific-Religious Status Fostering Unity

Khatam al-Nabiyyin Seminary in Kabul is known as one of the Shi'a institutions of Afghanistan[1] which was founded in 2007 under the management of Muhammad Asif Muhsini (d. 2019), one of the resident marja's in this country.[2]

This complex is considered one of the largest scientific-religious centers in Afghanistan in terms of size and design,[3] and the main purpose of its establishment has been stated as promoting Islamic culture and addressing educational deficiencies in the country.[4] The budget of this institution is provided through religious funds and public donations, and it has scientific independence in designing its educational system, without dependence on specific centers such as Qom Seminary or Al-Azhar.[5] Over the years of its activity, by attracting a significant number of students, this center has become one of the domestic options for studying religious sciences and has been in the process of developing religious education in Afghanistan.[6]

Khatam al-Nabiyyin Seminary has provided a shared educational space for Shi'a and Sunni students to study side by side, and by offering specialized courses for each sect by professors of the same sect, it has strengthened the ground for interaction, coexistence, and religious dialogue.[7] It is claimed that the first message of Islamic brotherhood in Afghanistan was issued from this seminary with Sunni scholars also having had an active presence in it; a subject that highlights the role of this complex in strengthening religious convergence and national unity.[8]

A view of Khatam al-Nabiyyin Seminary in Kabul

On religious occasions, especially in Ramadan, Nights of Qadr, and I'tikaf,[9] the mosque of this complex hosts followers of both sects for worship and cultural ceremonies.[10]

Khatam al-Nabiyyin University

Khatam al-Nabiyyin University is one of the scientific institutions affiliated with the Khatam al-Nabiyyin Seminary complex. This private educational-research university was established in 2007 and began its activities in the spring of 2008 with an official license from the Ministry of Higher Education of Afghanistan.[11] The Khatam al-Nabiyyin Institute of Higher Education has received a license for five faculties, and students are studying in fields such as jurisprudence and law. The medical faculty branch of this center, which was established in Ghazni in 2012, was destroyed by the Taliban.[12]

Educational System

The educational approach of Muhammad Asif Muhsini was based on training mujtahids inside Afghanistan, and he emphasized that this complex was not founded only for preliminary education, but must also provide the possibility for students to reach high academic degrees in it.[13] It is said that the fields of study in this complex are formulated based on the modern educational system, and the management of Khatam al-Nabiyyin, by utilizing this structure, has tried to create a distinction from traditional schools and improve the scientific level of students in a new framework.[14]

Among the fields offered in this center are Fiqh, Kalam, Islamic Philosophy, Islamic Economics, Quranic Sciences, Ethics, Tafsir, Ilm al-Rijal, as well as empirical sciences such as physics and mathematics. In addition, Western philosophies and other religions are also critiqued and reviewed in this center.[15]

Entrance of Hazrat Khadija al-Kubra (s) Girls' School

The women's education section of this complex, titled "Umm al-Mu'minin Hazrat Khadija al-Kubra (s) School", located within the complex, is dedicated to the education of female students at high levels.[16] This measure is considered a new step in the path of women's religious education in Afghanistan and has helped to improve the scientific status of women.[17]

Facilities and Infrastructure

Khatam al-Nabiyyin Seminary, with a built-up area of 38,000 square meters, has been described as one of the most unique educational centers in Afghanistan in terms of architecture.[18] The educational space of this complex includes 600 classrooms, dormitory rooms with a capacity to accommodate 1,500 students, a mosque with a capacity of 2,400 worshipers, a conference hall for 2,000 people, and a library aiming to collect 360,000 volumes of books have been designed in this complex.[19] The library of this center is equipped with digital and internet facilities so that users can access global scientific resources.[20] Despite some restrictions by the government, the library of this complex has continued its activities and maintained its full capacity.[21]

In addition to educational facilities, the Khatam al-Nabiyyin center has a well-equipped service building, CCTV cameras for security, and football and volleyball sports grounds for side activities and the welfare of students.[22]

Threat of Closure

In 2024, the Taliban sought to close and destroy institutions affiliated with the Khatam al-Nabiyyin seminary. The Ministry of Justice of this group announced on Tamadon TV that the Khatam al-Nabiyyin University, and the Seminary in Kabul would be closed due to affiliation with the Islamic Movement Party. This decision was made in continuation of the Taliban's policy of banning the activities of all political parties after returning to power.[23]

Following the Taliban's threats and the claim of land ownership, the management of the Khatam al-Nabiyyin complex announced that this land was allocated based on the order of Hamid Karzai, the then President of Afghanistan, for the construction of a public utility center including a school and a mosque, and after going through legal procedures, its religious deed was also issued.[24]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya-yi Khātam al-Nabiyyīn (ṣ) Kābul markaz-i waḥdat-i Shīʿa wa Sunnī-yi Afghānistān".
  2. ↑ Mūsawī-nizhād, Sī wa panj ʿālim, p. 227; "Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya-yi Khātam al-Nabiyyīn (ṣ)".
  3. ↑ "Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya-yi Khātam al-Nabiyyīn (ṣ)".
  4. ↑ "Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya wa dānishgāh-i Khātam al-Nabiyyīn".
  5. ↑ "Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya wa dānishgāh-i Khātam al-Nabiyyīn".
  6. ↑ "Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya wa dānishgāh-i Khātam al-Nabiyyīn".
  7. ↑ Āyatī, Tamaddun wa farhang-i Shīʿayān-i Afghānistān, pp. 265-266.
  8. ↑ "Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya-yi Khātam al-Nabiyyīn (ṣ) Kābul markaz-i waḥdat-i Shīʿa wa Sunnī-yi Afghānistān".
  9. ↑ "Barguzārī-yi marāsim-i iʿtikāf dar masjid-i ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya-yi Khātam al-Nabiyyīn-i Kābul".
  10. ↑ "Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya-yi Khātam al-Nabiyyīn (ṣ) Kābul markaz-i waḥdat-i Shīʿa wa Sunnī-yi Afghānistān".
  11. ↑ "Dānishgāh-i Khātam al-Nabiyyīn (ṣ)".
  12. ↑ "Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya wa dānishgāh-i Khātam al-Nabiyyīn".
  13. ↑ "Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya-yi Khātam al-Nabiyyīn (ṣ) Kābul markaz-i waḥdat-i Shīʿa wa Sunnī-yi Afghānistān".
  14. ↑ Āyatī, Tamaddun wa farhang-i Shīʿayān-i Afghānistān, pp. 265-266.
  15. ↑ "Madrasa-yi Khātam al-Nabiyyīn; ikhtilāṭ-i Shīʿa wa Sunnī".
  16. ↑ "Muʿarrafī-yi ijmālī-yi Madrasa-yi Umm al-Muʾminīn Khadījat al-Kubrā (s)".
  17. ↑ Āyatī, Tamaddun wa farhang-i Shīʿayān-i Afghānistān, pp. 265-266.
  18. ↑ Āyatī, Tamaddun wa farhang-i Shīʿayān-i Afghānistān, pp. 265-266; "Madrasa-yi Khātam al-Nabiyyīn; ikhtilāṭ-i Shīʿa wa Sunnī".
  19. ↑ "Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya wa dānishgāh-i Khātam al-Nabiyyīn".
  20. ↑ Āyatī, Tamaddun wa farhang-i Shīʿayān-i Afghānistān, pp. 265-266.
  21. ↑ "Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya-yi Khātam al-Nabiyyīn (ṣ) Kābul markaz-i waḥdat-i Shīʿa wa Sunnī-yi Afghānistān".
  22. ↑ "Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya-yi Khātam al-Nabiyyīn (ṣ)".
  23. ↑ "Ḥukūmat-i Ṭālibān Tilivīziyūn-i Tamaddon wa Ḥawza-yi ʿilmiyya-yi Khātam al-Nabiyyīn rā... mī-bandad".
  24. ↑ "Dirangī ḥuqūqī bar qaḍiyya-yi Tilivīziyūn-i Tamaddon wa Ḥawza-yi Khātam al-Nabiyyīn".

References

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