Abdollah Javadi Amoli

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.

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 Ab ul-Hassan 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 Sheikh Mohammad 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 Hashim Amoli, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Allama Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i.

From his days in Tehran when he started teaching different fields of Islamic rational and transmitted sciences while attending his own studies, it's been 60 years of his life as a teacher. As a result he has trained thousands of seminary students.

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

Intellectual character

The official website of Isra foundation, identifies the following qualities in Javadi Amoli's intellectual character:

1. Freethinking
2. Multidisciplinary command
3. Intellectual openness
4. Intellectual humility
5. Method-based study
6. Intellectual responsiveness
7. Gratitude towards masters
8. Intellectual etiquette

In politics

The official website of Isra foundation states that Javadi Amoli's ideas and views have been reinforcing 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.

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.

Political statements

Following the Saudi court's issuance of death sentence for a dissident Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on October 2014, Javadi Amoli warned against carrying out the ruling threatening that if carried out, "the Muslim Ummah would topple the Saudi monarchy."

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.

Muslim unity

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.

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 May12, 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."

Students

List of works

All works in Persian except noted otherwise.