Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Musa Shubayri Zanjani, one of the most senior Shia religious authorities and a leading scholar of the Qom Hawza, has passed away aged 98, prompting condolences from senior marajiʿ, scholars and Shia institutions around the world.
The eminent Marjaʿ passed away in Qom following a lifetime devoted to Islamic scholarship and teaching, bringing to a close a scholarly career that connected the contemporary Hawza with some of the defining figures of twentieth-century Shia learning.
Grand Ayatollah Shubayri Zanjani was particularly renowned for his expertise in ʿilm al-rijal, the study of the narrators and transmission of hadith, alongside his scholarship in jurisprudence, usul and hadith.
Born into a scholarly family in Qom in 1928, he studied under an extraordinary generation of scholars, including Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Husayn al-Burujirdi, Muhaqqiq Damad, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhsin al-Hakim and Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abd al-Hadi al-Shirazi.
He later became one of Qom’s foremost teachers in his own right, transmitting that scholarly inheritance to generations of students. Among those who studied advanced fiqh and usul under him was Ayatollah Sayyid Mojtaba Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution. Grand Ayatollah Shubayri taught Islamic sciences for more than six decades. citeturn0search0turn0search1
Grand Ayatollah Shubayri Zanjani also maintained longstanding relations with the leadership of the Islamic Revolution. He supported the movement led by Imam Khomeini and maintained a close relationship with Imam Khamenei over subsequent decades, while retaining his own scholarly standing within the Hawza.
Senior Shia leaders pay tribute
In a condolence message issued on Tuesday, Ayatollah Sayyid Mojtaba Khamenei paid a personal tribute to his former teacher, remembering both the extraordinary precision of his scholarship and the humility with which he treated students.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said Grand Ayatollah Shubayri Zanjani had devoted almost his entire life to learning, teaching and scholarly research, and had been recognised by his teachers and contemporaries as a meticulous scholar and profound thinker.
Drawing on his own experience as a student, Ayatollah Khamenei recalled the exceptional depth of the late Marjaʿ’s lessons. Even when only a small number of students were present, he said, the classes were characterised by extensive research and painstaking attention to detail. Grand Ayatollah Shubayri’s mastery of the disciplines required for deriving Islamic law was accompanied by an ability to examine the finest points of a question.
Ayatollah Khamenei also recalled how learning from his teacher did not end when formal lessons finished. Students continued to benefit from his knowledge while accompanying him as he walked home, with his gatherings becoming opportunities both to teach and to learn.
Beyond his scholarship, he praised Grand Ayatollah Shubayri Zanjani’s “humble and fatherly manner” towards students and scholars, describing his conduct itself as instructive.
He said the death of the distinguished Marjaʿ had left a void among the foremost Shia scholars of the present age which “may take a considerable length of time” to fill.
From Najaf, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani described the passing as a “painful loss and a tremendous setback”, remembering Grand Ayatollah Shubayri as one of the eminent scholars and pillars of the Qom Hawza.
Grand Ayatollah Sistani emphasised that the late Marjaʿ had devoted his life to research, teaching and the pursuit of knowledge, saying his scholarly works and religious services would remain a precious legacy while his conduct would continue to provide an example for those engaged in religious scholarship.
Grand Ayatollah Jaʿfar Subhani similarly described him as one of the pillars of the Islamic seminaries, highlighting the breadth of his knowledge across the Islamic sciences and particularly his established expertise in jurisprudence and ʿilm al-rijal.
The reaction within the seminaries has reflected his standing. Lessons were suspended in Qom, while senior teachers in Najaf also cancelled classes in mourning.
Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, director of Iran’s Islamic seminaries, invoked the narration of Imam al-Sadiq (a) that when a believing jurist dies, “a breach is made in Islam that nothing can fill.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian highlighted another dimension of the late Marjaʿ’s life, praising his scholarship, ethics and tolerance, as well as his commitment to preserving the purity of religion. He described his passing as an “irreparable loss” to Iran’s religious and scholarly community.
Scholarship and a life of humility
Grand Ayatollah Shubayri Zanjani’s standing rested not only on his jurisprudential scholarship but particularly on his expertise in ʿilm al-rijal.
His detailed knowledge of narrators, scholarly lineages and classical texts made him an important reference for researchers examining how the hadith heritage of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) was transmitted across generations.
His command of the field was accompanied by decades of teaching, making his influence felt not simply through his writings but through generations of scholars who studied under him.
The description given by Ayatollah Khamenei of students continuing scholarly discussions while walking home with their teacher also offers a glimpse into the traditional culture of the Hawza that Grand Ayatollah Shubayri embodied: scholarship extending beyond formal lessons into a continuous relationship between teacher and student.
Mourning reaches Shia communities worldwide
The response to his passing has extended well beyond the traditional centres of Shia learning in Qom and Najaf.
In the United States, the Imam Mahdi Association of Marjaeya (IMAM) highlighted Grand Ayatollah Shubayri Zanjani’s “asceticism, humility, and piety”, as well as his open-mindedness and concern for the poor and vulnerable.
The organisation recalled his repeated advice to students to remain humble, show compassion towards those in need and live simply rather than becoming attached to worldly comforts. It described him as a scholar who combined knowledge with piety and religious responsibility with service to believers. citeturn0reddit12
In Britain, Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission (AIM) in London described his passing as “a profound loss for the Hawza, the institution of the Marjaʿiyyah and the wider Muslim Ummah.”
AIM highlighted his contributions to Islamic jurisprudence, hadith and particularly ʿilm al-rijal, while offering condolences to Imam al-Mahdi (aj), the scholars and seminaries, his family, students and followers.
The tributes from North America and Britain, alongside the mourning in Najaf and Qom, reflect the reach of a Marjaʿ whose life remained firmly rooted in the traditional Hawza but whose scholarship commanded respect across the international Shia community.
The passing of a generation
Grand Ayatollah Shubayri Zanjani belonged to a generation that studied directly under scholars who shaped the modern Hawzas of Qom and Najaf. Through decades of teaching and research, he became part of that chain himself.
His passing therefore represents more than the death of a senior Marjaʿ. It marks the departure of one of the remaining representatives of a generation that directly transmitted the scholarly traditions of some of the most influential Shia jurists of the twentieth century into the contemporary Hawza.
Perhaps the clearest measure of that legacy can be found in the relationship between teacher and student. Having himself studied under the great jurists of an earlier generation, Grand Ayatollah Shubayri went on to teach scholars who now occupy senior positions in the Shia world — including the present Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
His contribution to jurisprudence, hadith and particularly ʿilm al-rijal, together with the generations of students he taught, secured him a distinctive place in contemporary Shia scholarship.
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiʿun.
