 abu al-qasim al-khoei        (november 19, 1899 â august 8, 1992) was one of the most influential twelver shia islamic scholars (marja'), and the predecessor to ali al-sistani. he was the spiritual leader of much of the shia world until his death in 1992. he was succeeded by ali al-sistani, his former student, whereby many of his followers became followers of al sistani and foundations previously headed by khoei were handed to al sistani. ==biography== born in the iranian city of khoy in 1899, khoei grew up in iran. around the age of 13, he moved to iraq and took up residence in the holy city of najaf where he began studying shia theology with the scholars of that city. he eventually attained the rank of ayatollah and was subsequently made a marja. khoei would continue to live in najaf, becoming a teacher for the remainder of his life, and overseeing the studies of scholars who would be qualified to issue fatwas based on shia theology. due to his prominent position as a teacher and scholar in najaf, he became an important leader of worldwide shias. he was made the most prominent grand ayatollah in 1971 after the death of muhsin al-hakim. in this position, he became a patron of numerous institutions across the globe that sought to provide welfare, and also provided scholarships to theological students from across the muslim world. he is considered as the architect of a distinct school of thought in the principles of jurisprudence and islamic law, and one of the leading exponents of 'kalam'-scholastic theology- and 'rijal'- study of the biographies of transmitters of ahadith, the prophetic traditions, 'fiqh'- jurisprudence- and 'tafseer'- exegesis of the qur'an. his interests included astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy. al-khoei's status as the pre-eminent scholar of his age did not go unchallenged. in the 1970s, grand ayatollah mohammed al-shirazi, a radical theologian based in karbala had a long running feud with al khoei and his fellow clerics in najaf over the legitimacy of theocratic rule. the dispute resulted in al-khoei seeking to dismiss al shirazi's status as a religious scholar.[http://www.aei.org/outlook/foreign-and-defense-policy/regional/middle-east-and-north-africa/has-kuwait-reached
1899_births 1992_deaths Al-Moussawi_family Iranian_Azerbaijani_grand_ayatollahs_and_clerics Iranian_grand_ayatollahs Iranian_religious_leaders Iraqi_ayatollahs Muslim_scholars People_from_Khoy Shia_Muslim_scholars