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 80–81)	Jalandhar, British India
	Muhammad al-Fayadh	1930 (age 92–93)	Ghazni, Afghanistan
	Muhammad Saeed al-Hakim	(1934-2021)	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.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
Finn, Ed (4 February 2004). "Why we'd better listen to Iraq's influential cleric". Slate. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. 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.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[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. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.

[4] Finn, Ed (4 February 2004). "Why we'd better listen to Iraq's influential cleric". Slate. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2014.