There is no du'a that resonates with the spirit of Ramadan like the first short du'a we begin everyday amaals with.
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24 December 2025 / 4. Rajab 1447
A Narration of Najaf: A Travelogue by Sheikh Kumail Rajani - Part 2 of 4
Sayyed Muhamad Raza Sistani (right) & Sayed Muhammad Baqir (left)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful
"Some of them are descendants of the others, and Allah is all-Hearing, all-Knowing." (3:34)
Two sons of Ayatullah Sistani, Sayyed Muahmmad Raza and Sayyed Muhammad Baqir, deliver advanced level Hawza studies famously known as Bahath al Kahrij (in Iraq) or Dars e Kharij (in Iran) on a daily basis.
During my two day stay in Najaf, I had the opportunity to sit in the fiqh classes of Sayyed Muhammad Raza, which start at 7.15 a.m. and last for 30 minutes. He was teaching the chapter of Tawaf of Hajj with a detailed arguments on its rulings. Everyone was not allowed in that dars due to security reasons. It was interesting that Sayyed Muhammad Raza spoke Arabic with a notable Iranian accent, unlike his younger brother, Sayyed Muhammad Baqir, who has an Iraqi accent.
Sayyed Muhammad Raza apart from his admin work and managing the affairs of his father’s office is widely celebrated as a scholar in Najaf.
His younger brother chooses not to get involved in the office work of Ayatullah Sistani. Sayyid Muhammad Baqir, who has a very good reputation in analytical discussions, instead holds a class on the principles of Jurisprudence, which starts at 8:00 a.m. I attended his lectures as well and it was pleasing to note that he made reference to the French legislation comparing it to Islamic laws in his lectures.
Najaf has a different style of conducting lessons. The teacher rarely lifts his head towards the students and opts to continuously read from his notes. No one was aksing any question during the lesson, but instead fifteen minutes were available after the dars to raise queries in.
In a separate meeting with Sayyed Muhammad Raza Sistani, I updated him on different issues within the Islamic Education Department and was impressed that he was aware of different community affairs. He advised that resident ulama be involved in resolving community issues and emphasized the significant role of these scholars.
He added that he was aware of the limitations of a few departments of the Hawza system, but added that this was inevitable when running such a large and complex system and should not demotivate the followers of Marjaiyyat.
My time spent with these brothers made me realise that it is important for our community to take a greater interest in trying to benefit from the wisdom and knowledge of our scholars rather than referring to them only in matters such as Khums and Ijaza!
For Part 1, click here.
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The privilege of being able to do the ziyarat of Bibi Masooma (AS) and Imam Raza (AS) is an honour in itself, but adding to that the role of a mentor, and being able to impact the lives of our youth for the better, added another dimension to my experience of this trip.
Updated on 23/12/2013
This year, over two million people around the world will InshAllah flock to Iraq to commemorate Arbaeen. We share below reflections from one of the zawaars who will be going to Iraq this year and inshAllah undertake the walk from the Holy City of Najaf to the land of Karbala:
“In a day’s time, I’ll be leaving with a group of my family and friends, leaving behind everything familiar, to make this amazing trip to the land of my Imams (AS).
I cast my mind back remembering another time, another family who left their hometown, and everything they loved, to venture out into an unknown future. Except their fate was different. For Husayn and his family (AS), only the women and children were to return back. And this drives me on..
