About Ayatollah al-Yaqoobi

Quotations from the Biography of The Religious Referential Authority,

the Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Hajj Muhammad al-Yaqoobi

Lineage and Family

Sheikh Muhammad is the son of Sheikh Musa the son of Sheikh Muhammad `Ali the son of Sheikh Yaqoobi the son of Hajj Ja`far. An orator and poet, his father (AH 1345-1402/ AD 1926-1982) published the al-«m¡n Magazine in the holy city of al-Najaf in the period between AD 1963 and 1968. This magazine was described as having been the tongue of this city that expressed its pangs and expectations during that period, which swarmed with great thinkers and scholars, as well as numerous intellectual and social trends that surged forward in Iraq in general and al-Najaf in particular.

His grandfather, Sheikh Muhammad `Ali (AH 1313-1385/ AD 1896-1965) was given the title of Sheikh al-khu§ab¡' (Chief of Orators), because he had founded a new school of oration (khi§¡bah, a religious speech delivered on religious occasions) in which a good number of great preachers trained on oration. Describing him, Sheikh Ahmad al-W¡'ili, the late famous preacher, says in his book of ‘Taj¡ribi ma`a al-Minbar (My Experiences with the Pulpit),  Sheikh Muhammad `Ali was a well-versed researcher in history, literature, and biography. He wrote many highly considered books and researches.  

His father’s grandfather, Sheikh Yaqoobi (AH 1270-1329/ AD 1853-1910) was a great poet and a skilled preacher. He studied in the Gnostic school of Sheikh Husayn Quli al-Hamad¡ni and Sheikh Ja`far al-Shushtari. His poetical works are published in an independent book.

H¡jj Ja`far (AH 1200-1289), the head of the family from whom the current al-Yaqoobi Family ramified, was one of the celebrated personalities of al-Najaf city. He owned many estates. Sheikh M£s¡ the son of Sheikh Ja`far K¡shif al-Ghi§¡' (d. AH 1243) entrusted to him the mission of building a wall around the city of al-Najaf for protecting it from the attacks of the Wahh¡bis.

The earliest roots of this family had settled down in al-Najaf for many centuries that the aforementioned Sheikh Ya`q£b who was born in al-Najaf in AD 1853 composed a few poetic verses, mentioning this city as the homeland of his forefathers.The al-Yaqoobi family is of an Arab descent, branching out from the al-Aws Tribe of the An¥¡r (people of Yathrib who received and supported the Holy Prophet and his earlier followers after the people of Mecca had tortured and boycotted them because of their promulgation of the new religion of Islam). 

Their grandfather, Mua¡wiyah ibn Ish¡q ibn Zayd ibn H¡rithah ibn `Amir, was the commander-in-chief of the forces of Zayd the son of Imam Zayn al-`Abidin, who led a revolution against the Umayyad dynasty and was martyred along with the commander-in-chief of his forces. Zayd ibn H¡rithah (or Yazid ibn J¡riyah, according to another narration) was one of the companions of the Holy Prophet (s.).

Further details about the al-Yaqoobi family can be referred to in the book entitled al-Sheikh Marjaa al-Yaqoobi.