This passage has been translated from the book A Drop from the Sea and are the words of Ayatullah Shobeyri Zanjani. This passage is in regards to Ayatullah Lutfallah Mazandarani[1] (also famous by the name Lutfallah Larijani) and was one of the students of Sheikh Muhammad Hasan (author of Jawahir) and Sheikh Murtada Ansari. Some of his renowned works are as follow: Idah’ al-Madhaameen (ایضاح المضامین) , Dhariah tul-I’timaad (ذریعة الاعتماد), and a commentary on Qawaaid al-Ahkam (قواعد الاحكام) of Allamah Hilli.
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Leadership of the World
I heard from Haaj Mirza Hashim Amuli[2] who said: Someone saw the palace of Sheikh Ansari and Akhund Mulla Lutfallah Mazandarani in their dream. Akhund, was in the ranks of the Sheikh’s students, a contemporary of Mirza Shirazi and was one of the high ranking scholars. However, he saw that the Sheikh’s palace was smaller than the palace of Akhund Mulla Lutfallah and it did not have the same greatness as his. He was surprised as to why the palace of Sheikh, despite his great status, piety and asceticism, was smaller? The very moment that he thought of the question, he was inspired with the answer: because the position of leadership in the world was in the share of Sheikh Ansari, over here it resulted in a deduction[3], whereas Akhund Mulla Lutfallah did not have any share to such a position and thus he was given more in the hereafter.
(Thursday, 26 Dhil Hijjah 1429 / 25th December, 2008)
[3] This refers to the blessing of leadership and authority that Sheikh Murtada Ansari held over the Hawzah. The statement means that he may have seen the result of certain good deeds while he was alive (i.e attained a respectable position of authority). Allah (swt) may reward us for certain deeds only in this world, or only in the hereafter or both here and in the hereafter. In any case, this is not a belittlement of Sheikh Ansari, but rather it is pointing out the elevated position of Akhund Lutfallah.
Sayyid Ali studied in the seminary of Qom from 2012 to 2021, while also concurrently obtaining a M.A in Islamic Studies from the Islamic College of London in 2018. In the seminary he engaged in the study of legal theory, jurisprudence and philosophy, eventually attending the advanced kharij of Usul and Fiqh in 2018. He is currently completing his Masters of Education at the University of Toronto and is the head of a private faith-based school in Toronto, as well as an instructor at the Mizan Institute and Mufid Seminary.
