“Atlas of Shia” is a book written by “Rasul Jafarian” in Persian, published in Tehran in 2008. This work, consisting of 743 pages and 12 chapters, aims to present a geographical and historical picture of Shia school of thought in the history of Islam from its inception to the first decade of the third millennium AD. “Atlas of Shia” has won the Book of the Year Award of the Islamic Republic of Iran and has been translated into Arabic as well. Shafaqna International News Cooperation has translated some sections of this book and provided them in English.
The Shia religious authority (marja‘iyya) in the 3rd century AH was based in Baghdad and Qom. This authority, which remained in Baghdad until the late 4th to early 5th century AH, later moved to Najaf, where it became firmly established in the latter half of the 5th and 6th centuries AH. It was subsequently transferred to Hilla and remained there during the 7th–9th centuries AH. Throughout this period, both Najaf and Baghdad hosted important Shi‘a scholarly centers.
In the 10th century AH, the center of Shi‘ism shifted to Iran, first to Tabriz, Qazvin, and Mashhad, and later to Isfahan, which became a major center of Shi‘a scholarship during the 11th and 12th centuries AH. Nevertheless, Najaf continued to be a hub of religious sciences, particularly fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence).
With the decline of the Safavid state, the scholarly center of Shi‘ism returned to Najaf and Karbala, even though other cities in Iran maintained some religious institutions. By the 13th century AH and part of the 14th century, Najaf had regained its centrality. After the establishment of the Qom seminary in 1921 (1300 SH), both Qom and Najaf became the principal centers of Shi‘a scholarship in the Islamic world.
Over the last two centuries, Najaf—excluding the period of Ba‘athist rule—has been the most important and flourishing center of Shi‘ism, although Qom, especially after the era of Ayatollah Boroujerdi and following the Islamic Revolution, gained prominence.
Najaf has held a special attraction for Iranian Shi‘a for several reasons:
It houses the shrine of Imam Ali (peace be upon him).
It is a center of Shi‘a scholarship and the residence of prominent mujtahids.
The Wadi al-Salam cemetery attracts many to live and die there.
In general, the Shi‘a marja‘iyya possesses an international dimension in the truest sense, because Shi‘ism is present among Arabs, Persians, Kurds, Turks, Pakistanis, and Indians. Leadership thus naturally extends beyond local or national boundaries to cover all Shi‘a communities.
Historically, the highest Shi‘a authorities have alternated between Arab and non-Arab (Persian, Turkish, and even Indian) identities, depending on where political and cultural freedom for Shi‘a existed and where the religious training of students took place. In certain periods, the marja‘iyya was predominantly Arab, while in others—especially during the 13th and 14th centuries AH—it was largely non-Arab. However, with the consolidation of the Najaf seminary during these centuries, many Arab Iraqi students from tribes studied in Najaf and Karbala and gradually reached the level of marja‘.
Due to the historical tradition of Shi‘ism in Iran between the 10th and 12th centuries AH, Iranian students in Iraq maintained high scholarly status. Over time, some of them became culturally Arab through generational integration.
The Ba‘athist regime propagated the idea that the Najaf seminary had a non-Arab character and even accused some Atabat scholars of being Iranian. However, many scholars of Najaf were connected to Arab families and well-known tribes. Examples include:
Al-Qurashi family (prominent in the 13th–14th centuries AH) from the Ja‘afra tribe of Rabi‘a
Other families: Al-Skafi, Al-Shukri, Al-Ka‘b, Al-‘Asim (Zubaid, ‘Awf, Masruh, Harb tribes), Al-Muhyiddin, Al-Turahi, Al-‘Isa (from Samawah), Al-‘Anizi, Al-Dajili, Al-Shubr, Al-‘Abd al-Jabbar, Al-Baldawi, Al-‘Adli, Al-Khursan, Al-Khamaisi, Al-Jubouri, Al-Khaddam, and others
During this period, Bahraini scholars were also active in Iraq, sometimes traveling to Iran. Prominent titles included: Khatib Tublai, Mahouzi, Asfuri, Shuwaiki, Baladi, Gharifi, and many more from Bahrain.
Lebanese scholars were also present in Najaf, mainly under the surname ‘Amili, and there were also scholars from the Gulf coast regions (present-day eastern Saudi Arabia, e.g., Qatif and Al-Ahsa).
Part of the Book Atlas of Shia by Rasul Jafarian
Source: Shafaqna English