Biography:Abdollah Javadi-Amoli

Short description: Iranian Grand Ayatollah

Abdollah Javadi Amoli
Javadi Amoli in 2018
Member of the Assembly of Experts for Constitution
In office 15 August 1979 – 15 November 1979
Constituency	Mazandaran Province
Majority	450,173 (60.1%)
Personal details
Born	(1933-05-05) 5 May 1933 Amol, Iran
Nationality	Iranian
Political party	Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom
Website	Official website
Theological work
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Twelver Shīʿā
Main interests	Islamic philosophy, Tafsir, Mysticism, Fiqh and Hadith

Abdollah Javadi Amoli (Persian: عبدالله جوادی آملی‎; born (1933-05-05)5 May 1933) is an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja. He is a conservative and principlist Iranian politician, philosopher and one of the prominent Islamic scholars of the Hawza. The official website for his scientific foundation, Isra, states that his ideas and views have been guidance to the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and that "his strategic and enlightening guidance" has been "extremely constructive" during the past three decades. He is known as one of the biggest critics of the banking system in Iran.

Early life

He was born in 1933 in Amol, north of Iran to a clerical family. After finishing elementary school he joined Amol seminary in 1946 to seek religious studies. His father, Mirza Abul Hassan Vaez Javadi Amoli, was one of the scholars of Amol city.

Scholarly career

For five years, he studied the preliminary seminary courses as well as part of the intermediate courses under the supervision of his father Mirza Abul Hassan Vaez Javadi Amoli among other scholars. The foundations of his moral and spiritual development were also laid in Imam Hasan al-Askari mosque.

In 1950 he emigrated to Tehran to attend classes of some of the great intellectual figures of the time such as Ayatollah Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Amoli, Allama Sheikh Abul Hasan Sha'rani and Muhammad Hussein Fazil Tuni where in addition to fiqh and principles, he endeavored in philosophy and mysticism.

In 1955, he emigrated to Qom to attend the last levels of the most advanced scholarly disciplines under such scholars as Ayatollah Hossein Borujerdi, Ayatollah Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad, Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Grand Ayatollah Taqi Bahjat Foumani and Allama Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i.

Among different Islamic disciplines, he has been specially dedicated to the exegesis of the Quran. His exegesis courses started in 1976 and has been ongoing to date.

In politics

Javadi Amoli was the leader of Ayatollah Khomeini's mission to Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of USSR in January 1988.

On 27 November 2009, he announced his resignation from an influential position as the Friday Prayer Leader in Qom, saying that one should not hold such a position if one has not proven helpful. He had previously protested unethical approaches to election campaigns. During his farewell address, Amoli clearly pointed out that his resignation was not due to differences with the government but due to health reasons. He continues to attend Friday congregational prayers in the city of Qom even after resigning as the Friday prayer leader.

Views on current issues

Art and music

In response to a question about the impact of mainstream music on soul, Javadi Amoli said "sometimes a supplication arouses a young Muslim and sometimes a ghazal or a qasida but the pleasure of a ghazal is never found in songs since songs cause only a false pleasure, but ode is a nectar that results in true permanent pleasure. Such are the ghazals by Hafez and Saadi." He further said that there are plays that "awake animalistic temper in man" but that he also knows ones that "revive man's angelic mood inducing detachment from lust and anger."

In answer to another question about permissibly of "spiritual and mystical music," Javadi Amoli argued that man's practical reason can find true softness when it becomes occupied with prayer, supplication and ritual crying, becoming as a result obedient to man's theoretical reason —  which is cultivated in turn by philosophy and theology — thus abstaining deeds disliked by God. Reciting and composing pleasant poems and prose are highly influential in softening the practical reason to this end whereas musical instruments causes only a "false" softness: "there's a difference when one cries for the oppression bore by Imam Husayn compared to when one shed tears only as a result of hearing the beats of mourning plays." This is the hazard posed by the so-called "mystical" music, Javadi argued.

Political views

Muslim unity

Abdollah Javadi Amoli

In a meeting with members of the national conference on legal alliance of the Muslim world, Amoli argued that Muslim unity is not achieved merely through preaching, but requires distinguishing the nature of disagreement to find out whether it is in beliefs or merely a difference in inclinations. He referred to history of Shia when different denominations avoided clashes despite different views and united with each other based on jurisprudence as a shared asset. He further argued that "Qur’an and Logic can be counted as the sole factor for alliance of all Muslims."  In another meeting with Maulana Hatem Zeky al Din, a senior cleric of Indian Ismailis, held in Asra International Institute, Javadi Amoli stated that the core of unity among Muslim community is the Quran as well as the Ahl ul-Bayt adding, "Both the holy Quran and Ahl ul-Bayt (a.s) brought the message of monotheism to mankind and invited them to worship Allah; If the Muslim community truly adheres to Ahl ul-Bayt and Quranic teachings their actions will lead to Islamic unity and there will be no discord among the Muslim Ummah."

Harmony of religions

In a meeting on 5 February 2016 with Monsignor Liberio Andreatta, the head of the Vatican Pilgrimage Organization on Wednesday, Grand Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi-Amoli stated that if the followers of the Abrahamic religions properly follow their prophets, there wouldn't be any conflict between them. He described Takfiri ideology, terrorist groups and proxy wars as creation of "the arrogant powers" hinting at Israel and the United States.

On another occasion he stated that owing to the fact that Divine-inspired prophets have all confirmed their successors, thus approving other faiths, followers of all monotheist faiths have always had peaceful coexistence in Iran which is "a model for the global community."  He further added that civil society will never be established at gun point. "Relying on waging wars and accumulating warfare, the mankind will never manage to build an exalted civilization, as all civilizations throughout history have been established under the umbrella of divine revelations, knowledge, and briefly speaking, the pen,' said the ayatollah.

From the point of view of Abdullah Javadi Amoli, reason is not against religion; It is the beacon of religion, and on the other hand, it can be used to understand the doctrinal, moral, jurisprudential and legal teachings of religion.

Nuclear weapon

Regarding the Nuclear weapons in February 2014, he said in a video message that the official message of religion and humanity is that weapons of mass destruction should not be produced.

Terrorism and double standard

In a meeting with Secretary General, Mr. Mohammad Javad Hasheminejad from Habilian Association, an Iranian NGO specializing in terrorism research, Javadi Amoli criticized the West's classification of the Lebanese Shia resistant organization Hezbollah as terrorist while "depicting some Takfiri groups as freedom fighters," arguing that the West's definition of terrorism is based on its own interests and passion, whereas "we believe divine sources must be relied upon and used to bring justice. So we will never have double standards. We never consider terrorists as freedom fighters neither will we take defenders of national sovereignty as terrorists. While they [West] support one side of the conflict today and name them as terrorists tomorrow, if their interests necessitate it.”

Economy

In a meeting with a member of Iranian parliament, Javad Amoli criticized the structure of Iran's economy, saying that an economy based on exporting raw materials such as crude oil is not right. "We must process the oil through various means and then export it,” the ayatollah added.

Society

In a meeting on May 12, 2016, Javadi Amoli lamented the low rate of per capita book reading in Iran despite being "a country of wisdom and rationality" with its people being "socially aware."

Banking and usury

Javadi Amoli has repeatedly protested the usury of some banking activities under the guise of Islamic banking. His speech with hatred and tears in the classroom about usury had wide repercussions. Among other criticisms, in December 2016 he said, Bank of Iran sucks [the] blood [of] people.

List of works

All works in Persian except noted otherwise.

Regular exegesis of Quran

• Tasnim Exegesis (40 vols published as of Oct. 2016)

Thematic exegesis of Quran

• Quran in Quran
• Monotheism in Quran
• Revelation and Prophethood in Quran
• Afterlife in Quran (2 vols)
• The Life of Messengers in the Quran (2 vols)
• The Life of the Holy Messenger in the Quran (2 vols)
• The Foundations of Ethics in Quran
• The Stages of Ethics in Quran
• Fitra in Quran
• Epistemology in Quran
• The Form and Nature of Man in Quran
• The True Life of Man in Quran
• The Discipline of the Self-Annihilation of the Proximate (Exposition of Ziarat al-Jami'a al-Kabira, 7 vols.)

Ahl al-Bayt and Quran

• The Extract of Creation
• Epic and Mysticism: Mysticism of Wilaya
• Treasurer of Love
• Eulogies for Ahl al-Bayt
• The Wilaya Holiday
• The Alid Wisdom
• The Alid Wilaya
• The Manifestation of Wilaya in The Verse of Purification
• Quran in the Speech of Imam Ali
• The Unity of Societies in Nahj al-Balagha
• Ali, the Theophany of the Divine Best Names
• Knowledge of World and Worldliness in Nahj al-Balagha
• The Fruition of Intellect in the Light of Hussain's Uprising
• The Emerge of Wiliaya on the Scene of Ghadir
• The Mystic Life of Imam Ali
• Theoratical and Practical Wisdom in Nahj al-Balagha
• The Scent of Wilaya
• Wilaya in Quran
• The Breeze of Thinking (Q&As on various themes, 2 vols.)
• The Existing Promised Imam Mahdi

Philosophy

• The Sealed Drink (translit Rahiq Makhtum; Exposition of the Transcendent Theosophy of Mulla Sadra, 17 vols. published as of Jan. 2017)
• Philosophy of Sadra
• The Philosophy of Human Rights
• Explanation of the Arguments for God
• Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha and Theosophy (Arabic)
• The Philosophy of Pilgrimage
• Right and Duty in Islam
• The Status of Reason in the Scheme of Religious Gnosis
• The Sun of Revelation from Tabriz (The Practical Life of Allama Tabataba'i)

New theology

• Man's Expectations of Religion
• The Relation of Faith and World (Critique of Secularism)
• Knowledge of Religion
• Sharia in the Light of Wisdom

Old theology

• The Rule of the Jurist: the Rule of Jurisprudence and Justice

Jurisprudence

• Explanation of Practical Matters with Inquiries
• The Book of Khums
• Legal Inquiries
• The Book of Hajj (4 vols.)
• Revelation and Prophethood (Arabic)

Society and politics

• The Messenger of Guidance (Amoli's letters and statements, 4 vols)
• Springhead of Thought (6 vols.)
• The Firm Foundation of Imam Khomeini
• Islam and the Environment
• International Relations in Islam
• The Source of Thought (Arabic)

Wisdom

• The Pilgrimage Wine
• A Sip from the Pilgrimage Wine
• Secrets of Prayer
• The Wise Quran from the Perspective of Imam Ridha
• The Wisdom of Worship
• Woman in the Mirror of Beauty and Grandeur
• Purity of Quran from Distortion

Mysticism

• Divine Unity
• Unity in Worship
• Woman in Islam

Hadith

• The Keys of Life (On conduct and lifestyle)

See also

• Fatemeh Javadi
• Ruhollah Khomeini's letter to Mikhail Gorbachev
• Lists of Maraji
• List of members in the First Term of the Council of Experts

External links

• Isra research institute (Persian)
• Biography
• Abdollah Javadi-Amoli on Twitter