Ja'far Sobhani

Grand Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani (born 9 April 1929 in Tabriz) is an Iranian Twelver Shia marja, influential theologian and writer. Sobhani was a former member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom and founder of Imam Sadiq Institute in Qom.

Education
Ja'far Sobhani learned Arabic literature, Principles of Islamic jurisprudence in the Islamic Seminary. In 1946, he went to Islamic Seminary in Qom. In the Islamic Seminary, he took part in famous teachers' classes of Fiqh, Usool, Tafsir, and philosophy. Sobhani's important teachers were Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi, Khomeini, and Mirza Sayyed Mohammad Tabatabai near 15 years.

Activities

 * Qom Islamic Seminary's lecturer and scholar in Fiqh, Principles of Fiqh, history, and theological studies
 * Founder and director of Maktabe Islam magazine
 * Founder and director of Kalaame Islami magazine
 * Established an institute for theological research known as Imam Sadiq Institute
 * Participated in writing the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran
 * Writer of a thematic interpretation of the Quran
 * Fighting with Wahhabism
 * Established the field of Ilm al-Kalam in the seminary of Qom
 * Published more than 300 researches

Books
He has several Arabic and Persian books that are categorized in seven fields as Fiqh, Principles of Islamic jurisprudence, Tafsir, Ilm al-Kalam, Philosophy, History of Islam, and Biographical evaluation. In 2001, Doctrines of Shi'i Islam: A Compendium of Imami Beliefs and Practices book (ISBN 1860647804) was translated into English and published by I. B. Tauris. Some of his books include: