Abdolkarim Haeri Yazdi

Grand Ayatollah Hajj Sheikh Abdolkarim Haeri Yazdi (; ; 1859 – 30 January 1937) was an Iranian Twelver Shia Muslim scholar and marja. He was the founder of an important Islamic seminary (hawza) in Qom, Iran.

Among his students was Ruhollah Khomeini. Haeri's granddaughter, Masoumeh Haeri Yazdi, married Mostafa Khomeini, the eldest son of Ruhollah Khomeini.

Early life

Haeri was born in the city of Meybod in Mehrjard village in southeastern Iran. He studied at Yazd, then at Samarra under Grand Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi, and completed his training at Najaf with Mohammad-Kazem Khorasani and Mohammed Kazem Yazdi.

Under Haeri, Qom moved from a respectable provincial Madrasah to a major center of learning close to the level of Najaf. Although "some of his contemporaries outshone" him as jurisconsults, Haeri became the marja for "many religious Iranians."

Ayatullah Haeri initially believed that the Hawza in Qom should be established by the elders and residents of the city. However, due to the persistent encouragement of learned scholars, he accepted the responsibility on one condition: he will perform an Istikhara to determine whether it is feasible for me to remain in Qom and invite the students and teachers who are awaiting my return. Early the next morning, before leading the Salat al-Fajr, Ayatullah Haeri reached for a Qur'an and stood in the Fatima Masumeh Shrine, engaging in dua before performing the Istikhara. It is noted that Ayatullah Haeri typically did not perform Istikhara using the Qur'an, as he believed he could not fully comprehend whether the verses were favorable or unfavorable. However, when he performed the Istikhara regarding his decision to stay in Qom, he entrusted everything to Allah. The verse that was revealed to him was: "this shirt of mine and cast it upon my father's face; he will regain his sight, and bring me all your folks left him with no doubt about his future direction." Consequently, he immediately began the task of establishing a Hawza and wrote to all his former students in Arak, inviting them to come to Qom.

Students

Ayatollah Borqei Ruhollah Khomeini Abolhasan Rafii Qazvini Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani Mohammad Ali Araki Sayeed Shahabuddin Marashi Najafi Jafar Eshraghi Sayeed Ahmad Zanjan Ayatollah Haj Mirza Khalil Kamareyi Mohammad Mohaghegh Damad Shamseddin Mataji Kojouri Mirza Hashem Amoli