SECRETS OF THE HAJJ - Written by Ayatullah Ash-Shaykh Husain Mazaheri

Secrets of the Hajj 

By al-hajj ash-Shaykh Husain Mazaheri translated by Saleem Bhimji

The author of this work, Secret of the Hajj, is the grand Ayatullah al­ Hajj ash‑Shaikh Husain Mazaheri. Born into a religious family in 1934 in the city of Isfahan, Iran, Ayatullah Mazaheri was a mere 15 years old when he began his Islamic studies in the Hawza ‘Ilmiyyah of Isfahan. He completed his ‘Arabic studies under the guidance of the late Hajj Agha Ahmad Muqaddas. His higher studies were conducted under the guidance of Ayatullah Khadimi, and Ayatullah Fayyad.

Four years later, he moved to Qum to continue his studies under the supervision of the late scholar to‑Qum Hajj Shaikh ‘Abd al‑Jawad Jabal al‑‘Amuli, the late Marja’ Ayatullah al‑‘Uzma al‑Sayyid Shahab al‑Din Mar'ashi Najafi, and the late Ayatullah Shaikh Murtada Haeri.

For more than eight years, he studied Dars‑e‑Kharij under Ayatulldh al­‘Uzma al‑Hajj al‑Sayyid Husain Burujerdi, and then ten years under Ayatullah al‑‘Uzma al‑Haj al‑Sayyid Ruhullah Musawi Khumayni, and twelve years under Ayatullah al‑‘Uzma al‑Hajj al‑Sayyid Muhammad Muhaqqiq Damad. He also studied the book Al‑Asfar written by Mullah Sadra and ash‑Shifa of Abu 'Ali Sind under the late ‘Allamah al‑Sayyid Muhammad Husain Taba'taba'i ‑ author of Al‑Mizan Fi Tafsir al‑Qur'an.

Since 1980, he has been teaching the higher classes of Fiqh and ‘Usul, and he recently moved back to Isfahan to take over the responsibility of maintaining the Hawza ‘Ihniyyah there.

This great teacher of Islamic Ethics has lectured extensively in Iran on ethics and spirituality. In addition to speaking and offering advice to the Muslims, many of his speeches have been compiled into books such as, Jihad Ba Nafs (Struggle with the Soul ‑ four volumes), Upbringing of Children, Commentary on Dua al‑Kumayl, Control of One's Sexual Urges, Ma’ad (Resurrection) in the Qur'an, and countless others.