Although big Shi'a academies existed in Qom dating back as early as the 10th century CE,^[2] the hawza (seminarium) of the city became prominent at the time of the Safavids when Shi'a Islam became the official religion of Iran in the 16th century. The famous teachers of that era included Mulla Sadra and Shaykh Bahai. The modern Qom hawza was revitalized by Abdul Karim Haeri Yazdi and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi and is barely a century old. There are nearly three hundred thousand clerics in Iran’s seminaries.^[3] Alireza Arafi is the director of the Qom seminaries.^[4]

The contributions of Mohammad Taqi Bafqi are significant in the establishment of the modern Qom seminary. After relocating to Qom in 1337, Bafqi motivated local scholars, including Abu al-Qasim al-Kabir Qomi, (Sheikh) Mahdi the Philosopher, and Mirza Mohammad Arbab, to create a structured academic institution. However, these scholars believed that the formation of a seminary was contingent upon the arrival of a prominent scholar from outside Qom, given the prevailing circumstances and the mindset of the local populace. Ultimately, through Bafqi's persistence and the efforts of Mirza Mohammad Arbab and Sheikh Mohammad Reza Shariatmadar Sawji, a well-known scholar of that era residing in Qom, Abdul Karim Ha'eri was invited from Arak to establish a formal seminary in the city.^[5]

History

References