Ayatollah Hasan Raza Ghadeeri

Early Life

Born on 14 August 1952 in Lahore, in what was then West Pakistan, the son of Mufti Muzammil Hussain. He received his early religious education in Lahore, Multan and Ali-Pur before travelling to Iran for advanced Islamic studies.

Ayatollah Syed Hasan Raza Ghadeeri (14 August 1952 – 21 August 2024) was a Pakistani-born Shia scholar, jurist and orator regarded as one of the very few Shia ayatollahs (mujtahids) of Pakistani origin. Born in Lahore during the era of West Pakistan, he was the son of Mufti Muzammil Hussain and was raised in a religious household that guided him toward a lifetime of Islamic scholarship. He began his religious education in Lahore, Multan and Ali-Pur before travelling to the seminaries (hawza) of Iran, where he pursued advanced studies under a number of leading Grand Ayatollahs, including Fazil Lankarani, Mar'ashi Najafi, al-Gulpaigani and Javadi Amoli. Through these studies he attained the rank of ijtihad, developing a distinctive style of teaching and lecturing that drew audiences across the Shia world. Ghadeeri became widely known as a khateeb (orator), reciting majalis in honour of Imam Husayn and the Ahl al-Bayt in venues ranging from Karbala and Najaf in Iraq to Lucknow and Faizabad in India, as well as across Pakistan, the United Kingdom, continental Europe and North America. His scholarly reputation was matched by his reputation as a communicator, and his lectures were broadcast on numerous platforms. In later life he settled in London, where he became a prominent figure in British Shia religious life. He founded or served as a senior member of several UK-based institutions, including the Azadari Council, the Islamic (Shia) Sharia Council, the World Council for Peace and Justice, and the Al-Ghadeer Educational Trust. In 2009 he founded AhleBait TV, a Shia satellite channel that broadcast religious programming in the United Kingdom and beyond. He was also active in interfaith and peace-building work. In 2007 he was honoured with the title Ambassador of Peace by the World Federation of Peace in the United States, and he is described as the first Shia ayatollah to receive that recognition, reflecting his engagement with international peace organisations. A prolific author, Ghadeeri is credited with more than 190 books and treatises together with numerous articles, written across Urdu, Arabic, Persian and English. Fluent in several languages — Arabic, Persian, Saraiki, Punjabi, English and Urdu — he was able to address diverse audiences in their own tongues. Ayatollah Hasan Raza Ghadeeri died on 21 August 2024 at the age of 72. He left behind a substantial legacy of scholarship, institutions and recorded majalis, and his son, Allama Hashim Raza Ghadeeri, continued the family's tradition of religious oratory and teaching.