Traditionally,
taqlid ("imitation") of an expert in Islamic jurisprudence (a
mujtahid) is not only lawful but obligatory on many religious questions for all Muslims not so trained themselves; (on "matters of belief" or ''usulu 'din'', it is obligatory for Shi'a to train themselves). From the perspective of
Shi'i jurisprudence, during the occultation of
the Mahdi, (for the past 1000+ years) the highest ranking
Shia hawzah clerics are bestowed with responsibility for understanding and explaining Islamic religious jurisprudence. As of the 19th century, the Shia
ulama taught believers to turn to "a source of
taqlid" (''
marja' at-taqlid'') "for advice and guidance and as a model to be imitated."
Providing religious guidance Abbas Djavadi gives examples of how a
muqallid would imitate their
marja':
Authority Where a difference in opinion exists between the maraji', each of them provides their own opinion and the
muqallid (their followers) will follow their own marja's opinion on that subject. Exempted from the requirement to follow a marja' are
mujtahid, i.e. someone who has completed advanced training (
dars kharij) in the hawza and has acquired the license to engage in
ijtihad (
ʾijāz al-ʾijtihād) from one or several ayatollahs. However ijtihad is not always comprehensive and so a mujtahid may be an expert in one particular area of Islamic jurisprudence (
fiqh) and exercise ijtihad therein but follow a marja' in other areas of fiqh.
Who and where Several senior grand ayatollahs preside over hawzas (religious seminaries). The hawzas of
Qom and
Najaf are the preeminent seminary centers for the training of Shia
clergymen. However, there are other smaller hawzas in many other cities around the world, the biggest ones being
Karbala (Iraq),
Isfahan (Iran) and
Mashhad (Iran). There are 56
maraji living worldwide as of 2023, mostly residing in
Najaf and
Qom. The most prominent among them are
Hossein Vahid Khorasani,
Mousa Shubairi Zanjani,
Sayyid Sadeq Rohani,
Naser Makarem Shirazi,
Sadiq Hussaini Shirazi,
Hossein Noori Hamedani and
Abdollah Javadi-Amoli in Qom;
Ali Sistani,
Muhammad al-Fayadh,
Muhammad Saeed al-Hakim and
Bashir al-Najafi in Najaf. ;Dispute over
Marja al-taqlid al-mutlaq In the early 1990s, the leading marja',
Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, died and
Ali Sistani, "emerged" as the
marja al-mutlaq or highest Marja' in the world of Shia Islam. According to Mohamad Bazzi, Sistani's word "on religious matters carries the most weight" among Shia. • maturity (
bulugh), • reasonableness (
aql), • being of the male sex (
dhukurrat), • faith (
iman), • justice (
edalat), and • legitimacy of birth. Another condition is being able to raise enough money "to finance the education of religious students" from donations from the believers, is one of the qualifications of a marja'.
How a follower chooses a marja' A marja'-e taqlid must first have devoted himself to the study of Islamic law until he is qualified as a mojtahed or faqih (jurist), which means that he can derive his own legal rulings and issue edicts on religious law. Baqer Moin explains that ==History==