wikishia:Featured articles/2024/22
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Karīm Ḥāʾirī Yazdī (d. 1355/1937) was a Shi'a marja' and founded the Islamic seminary of Qom, which he supervised from 1340/1922 until the end of his life.
He studied for many years in the Samarra, Karbala, and Najaf seminaries. He returned to Iran in 1914-5, during which he was in charge of the Seminary of Arak. Furthermore, he moved to Qom in 1921-2 at the invitation of academics, founded the Qom seminary, and oversaw it until he passed away.
He constantly searched for an organized program to have a more eminent advanced Shi'a Seminary as the academy's dean. He pursued several major goals, including the development of Hawza's educational methods, the specialization of jurisprudence, the expansion of students' knowledge by incorporating other subjects, the study of foreign languages, and, in short, the training of mujtahids and intellectuals.
He shied away from accepting the role of marja'iyya. He also declined the invitation to go to al-'Atabat al-Muqaddasa and become marja' after Sayyid Muhammad Kazim Yazdi passed away in 1337/1918-9, saying that his duty was to remain in Iran. He was selected as a marja' by many Iranians and non-Iranians as his fame grew.
He refused to get involved in political debates and remained neutral in disagreements over the Persian Constitutional Revolution. Yet he felt compelled to take a more active part in politics because of his social status. Tensions between him and Reza Shah grew till his death as a result of his opposition to Kashf-e Hijab....
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