Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyid Abul-Qasim Al-Khoei
Ayatullah al-Uzma (Grand or Supreme Ayatullah, the highest theological degree in Shi'a Islam) Abul-Qasim al-Khoei died at his Kufa home of heart failure. He was born on Rajab 15, 1317 A.H. (November 19, 1899) at Khoei in Iranian Azerbaijan, heartland of many great Shi'a thinkers and sufis, ascetics. Even in his early childhood, al-Khoei was versed in religious Persian and Arabic poetry and languages, and in Turkish as well.
It was in 1330 A.H./1912 A.D. that al-Khoei, who was then only thirteen years old, migrated to al-Najaf al-Ashraf, Iraq, in pursuit of knowledge. Even then, he was characterized by brilliance and a readiness to absorb knowledge and scholarship. In all stages of his study and research, progress and success were his companions.
The Muslim world has lost one of its brightest stars when, at 3:13 pm on Saturday, Safar 8, 1413 (August 8, 1992),