Mohammad Hadi Milani

Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammad Hadi Milani (; ; July 1, 1895 – August 7, 1975) was an Iranian-Iraqi marja'.

Al-Milani was also active in political and social affairs. When he moved to Mashhad, the Islamic seminary of Mashhad flourished. He contributed to the establishment of many Islamic seminary schools across Iran.

After the death of Hossein Borujerdi in 1961, al-Milani was considered to be among Iran's leading grand Ayatollahs, along with Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari and Ruhollah Khomeini. He also taught Ali Khamenei, Iran's former supreme leader.

Lineage Al-Milani was born to a prominent religious family, that emigrated from Medina, and settled in Milan, West Azerbaijan, in the 14th century. He was descended from the fourth Shia Imam, Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, whose grandfather Ali was Muhammad's cousin.

Early life and education

Early life Al-Milani was born to Sayyid Jafar al-Milani (d. 1907) and Bibi Khanum Mamaqani, in Najaf, Ottoman Iraq. Both of his parents were ulama.

He was granted ijaza of ruwaya (narrating) from Sayyid Hasan al-Sadr, Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din, Abbas al-Qomi and Agha Buzurq al-Tehrani.

Al-Milani supported Khomeini during the capitulation treaty in 1964, supporting the sentiment that the treaty was “a document pointing to the slavery of the Iranian nation”.

In 1967, he published a statement regarding the six-day war between the Arab nations and Israel. In this statement, he sympathised with the Muslim Arabs, and because of this, he was threatened by General Nassiri. In the same year, his passport was confiscated and he was ordered to leave Iran because he did not congratulate the Shah for his coronation, but the decision was not executed because of al-Milani's spiritual influence among people and his place among Shiite clergies and authorities.

Personal life Al-Milani was married to two women. His first marriage was to his cousin, the daughter of Sheikh Abdallah Al-Mamaqani, and from her he had two sons (Nur al-Din and Abbas) and one daughter. His wife was highly attached to Najaf, and when al-Milani moved to Mashhad, she remained.

Al-Milani's second marriage was to the daughter of Sayyid Hasan Al-Musawi Al-Jazayeri. From her he had one son.

Works and students Al-Milani has a number of publications including:

Qadatona Kayfa Na'rifahum (Our Leaders, How We Know Them) Tafsir Surat al-Jum'a wa al-Taghabun (Exegesis of al-Juma and al-Taghabun Quranic Chapters) Mi'at Wa Ashr As'ila (A Hundred and Ten Questions) Hashiya Ala al-Urwat al-Withqa (A Brief Notation of the Indissoluble Link) Mukhtasar al-Ahkam (Religious Laws in Brief)

His most notable students were:

Sheikh al-Wahid al-Khurasani Sheikh Muhammad-Ridha al-Mothafar Sayyid Yusuf al-Hakim Sayyid Ibrahim Alam al-Huda Sayyid Ali Khamenei