Naser Makarem Shirazi

In 1950, he made his way to the seminary of Najaf, Iraq. Here, he was able to take part in classes of teachers such as Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim, Ayatollah Abul-Qassim Khoei and Ayatollah Abdul Hadi ash-Shirazi.

At 24, two senior scholars in Najaf granted him complete ijtihad. Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim also wrote a short, comprehensive letter of commendation for him.

In 1951, he returned to Qom, since he did not have the means to survive and continue his studies in Najaf.

After returning to Iran, Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi began teaching the intermediate and higher level of studies in usul al-fiqh and fiqh. Also, he was a member of the editorial board of the first Islamic magazine published in Iran named "Maktab'e Eslam", next to Ayatollah Shariatmadari.

He has won the Iranian Royal Academy of Philosophy award for his essay "Filsuf-Namaha".

In the aftermath of an attempt by President Ahmadinejad to allow women to attend soccer matches in stadiums (something they are not able to do now), Makarem issued a fatwa objecting to this.[7]

Makarem's fatwa concerning stoning to death for adultery reads: "In certain circumstances, death by stoning can be replaced by other methods of punishment".[8]

Makarem issued a fatwa declaring smoking as forbidden (Haram).[9]

In 2010, he responded to a request inquiring why a dog is considered unclean under shariah despite a lack of any prohibition on keeping dogs as pets in the Quran. In his fatwa, he emphasized that under shariah, dogs are indeed considered unclean based upon riwayahs, reliable narrations (hadith) handed down from the Prophet Muhammad and his household. Makarem described the current Iranian inclination toward dogs as "blindly imitating the West";[10] something that he believes will result in "evil outcomes."

Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance reacted to this fatwa by banning all advertisements for keeping, buying, and selling pets.[11]

In September 2010, he was quoted by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) as saying, "The Holocaust is nothing but superstition, but Zionists say that people of the world should be forced to accept this. The truth about the Holocaust is not clear. When the researchers want to examine whether it is true or the Jews have created it to pose as victims, they jail the researchers".[12][13][14][15]

About the marriage of girls under 13 years of age, which is allowed in Iran under certain circumstances, he has stated that, although such marriages were permitted in the past, in modern times, it has been demonstrated that they are not in the best interest (maslahat) of the parties involved and should be considered invalid.[16]

On his official website, in a post about Men's Day, Makarem claims that the "key issue which is neglected by feminist movements" is that they "promote gender equality and they neglect the fact that the rights and responsibilities of human beings must suit their physical and psychological potentials and capabilities. When these capabilities are neglected, any law created to regulate human affairs will be sheer injustice." [17]

"Since the family is the building block of human society, such problems within the family can then extend to the society, creating social problems such as a decreased marriage rate, the spread of homosexuality, and sexual promiscuity." [18]