Hawzah News Agency- In an interview in Mashhad, Hojatoleslam Rabbani Birjandi described the Late Ayatollah Milani as a jurist whose presence reshaped the function of religious authority within society. He said that Ayatollah Milani’s approach went far beyond teaching and issuing religious rulings, positioning the Shia sources of emulation as a guiding force for the Islamic nation during critical historical moments.
Rabbani Birjandi noted that Ayatollah Milani originated from Azerbaijan and received his advanced religious education in the seminary of Najaf Ashraf. There, he studied under leading jurists such as Grand Ayatollahs Isfahani, Na’ini, and Iraqi, attaining the highest levels of jurisprudence and principles of Islamic law.
According to the seminary professor, Ayatollah Milani was widely recognized as a distinguished teacher in Najaf, yet he remained detached from personal fame and social status. “His decisions were guided by a sense of divine duty rather than personal ambition,” Rabbani Birjandi said.
He added that recognizing the academic needs of Shiite seminaries, Ayatollah Milani later moved to Karbala, where he spent nearly fifteen years teaching jurisprudence and principles and training a generation of outstanding students. This period, he said, laid the foundations of Ayatollah Milani’s scientific school, which later reached its peak in Mashhad.
Following the death or migration of senior scholars in Mashhad, local clerics invited Ayatollah Milani to reside in the city. Rabbani Birjandi said his arrival near the holy shrine of Imam Reza (peace be upon him) opened a new chapter in the history of the Mashhad seminary, elevating it into one of the most active and influential centers of Shiite scholarship in the Islamic world.
Scientific Leadership and Social Responsibility
Highlighting Ayatollah Milani’s innovative management of seminary affairs, Rabbani Birjandi said he introduced a comprehensive educational model that combined traditional seminary courses with disciplines such as Hadith studies, biographical evaluation, writing skills, and attention to emerging intellectual needs. Institutions such as the Husseini High School reflected this holistic vision of training future mujtahids, to the extent that many scholars remarked that “Najaf was manifested in Mashhad.”
He emphasized that one of Ayatollah Milani’s most defining characteristics was the social dimension of his authority. The cleric said that religious funds under his supervision were directed toward real societal needs, including public welfare projects, support for agriculture and production, and ensuring the financial stability of seminary students through regular stipends. These efforts, he added, were carried out without personal publicity, presenting a popular and responsible image of Shiite authority.
Hojatoleslam Rabbani Birjandi also pointed to Ayatollah Milani’s extensive but partially unpublished scholarly legacy, noting that many of his lecture notes remain in manuscript form and that existing publications reflect only part of his intellectual depth.
He further described Ayatollah Milani as a transnational religious authority who maintained active scholarly ties with figures from al-Azhar, as well as scholars in Syria, Yemen, India, Pakistan, and other Islamic countries. This engagement, he said, turned Mashhad into a hub for scientific dialogue across the Muslim world.
Political Stance and Enduring Influence
Referring to Ayatollah Milani’s political role, Rabbani Birjandi described his support for Imam Khomeini (RA) as a defining moment in his life. He said that in 1964, Ayatollah Milani’s clear endorsement of Imam Khomeini’s ijtihad and religious authority in Tehran played a decisive role in countering threats by the ruling regime, a position he maintained despite sustained pressure.
Marking the 50th anniversary of Ayatollah Milani’s passing, Rabbani Birjandi said a commemorative congress was held at the suggestion of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and under the guidance of Astan Quds Razavi. He described the event as a strategic opportunity to reintroduce Ayatollah Milani’s thought, scholarly school, and enduring legacy, particularly to younger generations of seminary students.
He concluded that revisiting Ayatollah Milani’s life and methodology remains essential for understanding the evolving role of Shiite authority in responding to the intellectual, social, and political needs of the contemporary Islamic world.
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