Religion:Hojatoleslam

Hojatoleslam (from Arabic: حجة الإسلام, also Hujjat al-islam) is an honorific title meaning "authority on Islam" or "proof of Islam".

Sunni Islam

In Sunni tradition, the title was used exclusively for the scholar al-Ghazali, due to his influential integration of Sufism and sharia. However, there is some evidence of application of the term to later Sunni scholars, in imitaion of the Shia usage.

Shia Islam

In Twelver Shia the title is awarded to scholars. It was originally applied as an honorific to leading scholars, but now the use indicates a status in the hierarchy of the learned below Ayatollah. It is divided into two sub ranks, Hujjatu l-Islām wa l-Muslimīn ("Authority on Islam and Muslims") and Hujjatu l-Islām ("Authority on Islam"), given to middle-ranking clerics.

Education

Hawza students start their studies learning fiqh, kalam, hadith, tafsir, philosophy and Arabic literature. After mastering these levels they are given the Hojatoleslam title, and can start becoming mujtahid by studying advanced textbooks known as satḥ, and research courses known as kharij.

Notable Hujjat-ul-Islams

• Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
• Abdollah Noori
• Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari
• Al-Ghazali
• Ali Akbar Mohtashami-Pur
• Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri
• Ali Fallahian
• Ali Younesi
• Azizul Haque
• Delwar Hossain Sayeedi
• Esmail Shooshtari
• Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejehei
• Hassan Nasrallah
• Hassan Rouhani
• Kazi Nazrul Islam
• Majid Ansari
• Mehdi Karroubi
• Mohammad Bagher Shafti (Probably the first person, who was titled as Hojatoleslam)
• Mohammad Javad Bahonar
• Mohammad Khatami
• Mohammad-Ali Shahidi
• Mohsen Kadivar
• Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi
• Mohammad Reyshahri
• Muqtada al-Sadr
• Nusrat Amin Khanum
• Seyyed Mohammad Agli Abtahi
• Khosro Ronagh
• Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza
• Tariq Jameel

See also

• Sheikh ul-Islam
• Shaykh of Sufism
• Allamah