Big Four (Najaf)

The Big Four refers to the four contemporary leading Grand Ayatollahs of Twelver Shia Islam based in the holy city of Najaf in Iraq.[1][2][3]

Background

All orthodox Twelver Shia Muslims follow the Islamic rulings of a Grand Ayatollah. Under Saddam Hussein, the clerics were oppressed. At present, the most prominent among them is Ali al-Sistani; who also serves as the head of the Najaf Seminary.[4]

List

Grand Ayatollah		Date of birth	Place of birth
(The names are arranged in alphabetical order)
	Ali al-Sistani	(1930-08-04) 4 August 1930	Mashhad, Iran
	Bashir al-Najafi	1942 (age 78–79)	Jalandhar, British India
	Muhammad al-Fayadh	1930 (age 90–91)	Ghazni, Afghanistan
	Muhammad Saeed al-Hakim	(1934-02-01) 1 February 1934	Najaf, Iraq

References

Escobar, Pepe (3 February 2007). "A massacre and a new civil war". Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
Mouzahem, Haytham (7 March 2014). "Iraqi Shiite clerics maintain humility, influence". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
"Sources close to the reference: the next prime minister will be a surprise to all". iraqidinarchat.net. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
Finn, Ed (4 February 2004). "Why we'd better listen to Iraq's influential cleric". Slate. Retrieved 30 June 2014.

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[1] Escobar, Pepe (3 February 2007). "A massacre and a new civil war". Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2014.

[2] Mouzahem, Haytham (7 March 2014). "Iraqi Shiite clerics maintain humility, influence". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2014.

[3] "Sources close to the reference: the next prime minister will be a surprise to all". iraqidinarchat.net. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.

[4] Finn, Ed (4 February 2004). "Why we'd better listen to Iraq's influential cleric". Slate. Retrieved 30 June 2014.