حوزة قم
Esfahani lived in his birthplace, Sadeh (later called Khomeyni Shahr after the Islamic Revolution), until the age of 12. He then attended the Esfahan Hawza (Seminary) for around 10 years, learning from such scholars as Ayatollah Besharati and Hassan Modarres. In 1923, at age 20, he moved to the Qom Seminary to continue his education. At first, he went to the Razawieh Seminary () for one year, then the Feyzieh Seminary () for about one more year before starting to study with Abdul Karim Haeri Yazdi. After Haeri Yazdi's death in 1937, he studied under Mohammad Taghi Khansari, Seyed Mohammad Hojjat Kuh-Kamari, and Seyed Sadreddin Sadr. At age forty, he was certified for ijtihad () by Mohammad Taghi Khansari.