ayatollahs
Shiite religious authorities
Ayatollahs are high-ranking Shia Muslim clerics, particularly in Iran, who have achieved advanced religious scholarship and authority to interpret Islamic law.
The title literally means "sign of God" in Arabic.
Since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, ayatollahs have wielded significant political as well as spiritual power, with the Supreme Leader holding ultimate authority.
The ayatollahs issued a ruling on the matter.
In Western usage, the term sometimes carries connotations of rigid religious conservatism.
Highest-ranking authoritarian figure
- rulingFormal legal determination
- decreeAuthoritative legal command
- fatwaIslamic legal pronouncement
- jurisdictionLegal authority's scope
governance · religious authority · political power · mandate · leadership · veto · oversight · command
- KhameneiIran's highest authority
- TehranIran's capital city
- PersianOf or from Iran
- ShahPersian word for king
fatwa · turban · robe · clerical · theocratic · supreme leader · revolutionary · sanctions
Clergy training college
- jurisprudencePhilosophy governing legal systems
- theologyStudy of the divine
- exegesisCritical textual interpretation
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
Islamic law · fatwa · teachings · students · disciples · treatise · rulings · interpretation
Arabic name, "sublime"
- AshuraIslamic day of fasting
- occultationCelestial body blocking another
- seminaryClergy training college
- jurisprudencePhilosophy governing legal systems
hadith · Quran · sharia · mosque · shrine · pilgrimage · martyrdom
supreme leader
Highest-ranking authoritarian figure
jurisdiction · governance · religious authority · political power · mandate · leadership · veto · oversight · command · influence
Khomeini
Shah · fatwa · turban · robe · clerical · theocratic · supreme leader · revolutionary · sanctions
seminary
Clergy training college
- jurisprudencePhilosophy governing legal systems
- theologyStudy of the divine
- exegesisCritical textual interpretation
doctrine · Islamic law · fatwa · teachings · students · disciples · treatise · rulings · interpretation · philosophy
Ali
Arabic name, "sublime"
- AshuraIslamic day of fasting
- occultationCelestial body blocking another
- seminaryClergy training college
jurisprudence · hadith · Quran · sharia · mosque · shrine · pilgrimage · martyrdom
title
Formal honorific or name
revered · religious leader · cleric · imam · sheikh · hierarchy · lineage · descendant · Ali
- historical figureshistorical figures, leaders, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Joan of Arc
- believersbeliever, believers, adherent, devotee, theist
- IranIran, Tehran, Isfahan, Persia, Shiraz
- US-Irannuclear deal, hostage crisis, Iran-Contra, diplomatic ties, Tehran
- Shia IslamAli, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Hussein, Hussain, imam
- clergypriest, bishop, pope, nun, monk
ayatollahslaypeople
Those outside a profession
laity · secularists · shah · technocrats · freethinkers