Aqa Najafi Quchani

Seyyed Mohammad Hassan Hosseini Quchani, known as Aqa Najafi Quchani was one of the Islamic scholars and jurists of the fourteenth century AH. He was one of the disciples of Muhammad Kadhim Khorasani and reached the degree of ijtihad at the age of 30. Aqa Najafi Quchani wrote the famous books Siahat-e Gharb and Siahat-e Shargh.

Birth and lineage
Aqa Najafi Quchani was born in 1878 in Khosraviyeh, North Khorasan, Iran. He was the son of Seyyed Mohammad, a farmer with basic education and Zolal the mother with Kurdish lineage. Aqa Najafi Quchani's grandfather was also named Seyyed Javad.

Education
The father of Aqa Najafi Quchani was very interested in educating his children. He sent Aqa Najafi Quchani to teach in local school of Khosraviyeh village at an early age, so Aqa Najafi Quchani had learned the whole book of Quran before the age of seven. In a short period of time, he completed the usual Persian and Arabic lessons and the preparations of that time in the village house school. he also learned courses such as literature, geometry and arithmetic there. At the age of 13, his father sent him to Quchan for further education.

After studying in Quchan for three years, he went to Mashhad where he studied Islamic seminary sciences and literature. In 1895 at the age of 19 he went to Isfahan and there he studied philosophy under Akhund Mullah Mohammad Kashani and Islamic jurisprudence under Abdolkarim Gazi and wisdom under Jahangir Khan Ghashghaei.

In 1900, at the age of 23, he went to Najaf and there he began to studying specialized levels of Islamic seminary sciences, first under Muhammad Kadhim Khorasani. Fethullah Qa'ravi Isfahani and Mohammad Bagher Estahbanati were also among his teachers. Finally he completed specialized levels of Islamic seminary sciences and reached the level of ijtihad (the ability of deduce the laws in Islamic jurisprudence) at the age of 30.

Spouse and children
Aqa Najafi Quchani married twice. First on the 23th October 1907, he married a girl belonging to an Iranian family living in Karbala named Sakineh Beigum, and from her he had four daughters and a son in Iraq. Aqa Najafi Quchani's two daughters and a son died in Iraq and were buried in Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery, bringing with him two other twin girls to Iran. In 1939, two years after the death of his first wife, he remarried and had two sons, Ali and Mahdi, from his second wife, Fatemeh Beigum.

Return to Quchan
In 1920, after 20 years, Aqa Najafi Quchani returned to Iran from Najaf, because of his father's death. He first went to Mashhad for pilgrimage of Imam Reza Shrine. After a short stop in Mashhad, he entered the city of Quchan at the request of the people of Quchan and remained there for the rest of his life. He spent more than 25 years of his life as a jurist and religious premier in Quchan and worked as the director and teacher in the Islamic seminary of Quchan.

Reception
Many Islamic scholars such as Morteza Motahhari (Iranian philosopher) and Ali Khamenei (Marja' and supreme leader of Iran) praised Aqa Najafi Quchani's works (especially "Siahat-e Gharb" and "Siahat-e Shargh" books) and encouraged others to read his works.

Death
Aqa Najafi Quchani died on 20 April 1944 in Quchan, Iran and was buried in the house where he was studying. Years later, with the help of the people and city officials, a tomb was built on his grave.