Al-Sayyid al-Yazdi Seminary (Najaf)
 | |
| General Information | |
|---|---|
| Founder | Al-Sayyid Muhammad Kazim al-Yazdi |
| Established | The First School: 1327/1909-10 The Second School: 1384/1964-5 |
| Type | Seminary |
| Location | Najaf, Iraq |
| Other names | Al-Yazdi School |
| Specifications | |
| Area | The First School: 750 square meters The Second School: 600 square meters |
| Facilities | Library |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Safavid |
Al-Sayyid al-Yazdī Seminary (Arabic: مدرسة السيد محمد كاظم اليزدي) consists of two schools in Najaf, which was constructed by al-Sayyid Muhammad Kazim al-Yazdi, known as the "Author of Urwa" and a Shiite marja'. The bigger and better-known school is located in al-Huwaysh neighborhood, and the other is located in al-Imara neighborhood and is known as the second al-Sayyid al-Yazdi school. Either school has its own features and architectures. Today, both schools are inhabited by students from Iran and Iraq.
The First School
The building of the first school was constructed in 1325/1907-8 at the command of al-Sayyid Muhammad Kazim al-Tabataba'i al-Yazdi. The construction was done by Astan Quli Bayk, the minister of Abd al-Ahad al-Bukhari and was finished in 1327/1909-10. After the opening of the school, al-Sayyid Muhammad Kazim al-Yazdi donated a large amount of money to the school, with which a number of shops, houses, and a hotel around the school were purchased and endowed to the school, and the incomes from their rents were spent for expenses of the school.
Architecture
The school is 750 square meters and is located in an alley on east of which Rasul street is located and on west of which the Huwaysh Bazaar is located. Al-Sayyid School was constructed in the style of Safavid-era schools, that is, with a relatively large yard in the middle and chambers on the four sides of the yard in two floors. Al-Yazdi School has eighty chambers and three teaching rooms, and in front of each chamber there is a small iwan (or eyvan) with Mu'arraq Kashis (Persian-style mosaics) with seven colors. The building of the school has a modern style. Its floor is covered with decorative stones and its walls are covered with Kashani stones.
The Second School
The second al-Sayyid al-Yazdi School is located in al-Imara neighborhood. On its west, it is adjacent to the small Khalili School and on its west, it is adjacent to the great Khalili School. The building was at first a khanqah for dervishes. Then al-Sayyid al-Yazdi opened it as a residence for pilgrims. When many residences and hotels were built in Najaf, al-Sayyid al-Yazdi changed it into a school and endowed it to students of religious disciplines. The reconstruction of the building as a school was done by al-Sayyid Asad Allah al-Yazdi, the son of the Author of Urwa, in 1384/1964-5.
Architecture
The school has two floors and is six hundred square meters. It has fifty one chambers. It contains a big "sardab" (a basement in which cold water is kept), a teaching hall, four showers, small iwans in front of each chamber, and a hemispherical ceiling decorated with Qur'anic verses.
Endowment
Four shops, two houses, and a small motel are endowed to the school, and their rents are spent for expenses of the school.
References
- The material for this article is mainly taken from مدرسه علمیه سید یزدی (نجف) in Farsi WikiShia.