Ayatullah Aga Syed Yousuf Al-Moosavi Al- safvi (r.a) (1904 - 29 August 1982) was a Kashmiri religious scholar and leader of Shia Muslims. He founded the influential Anjuman-e-Sharie organisation.
Ayatullah Aga Syed Yousuf (r.a) was born in Budgam
in 1322 hijri, and completed his education in Islamic law from Najaf in Iraq. He
is the descendent of Mir Shamsudin Araki, who came to Kashmir in 13th century
from Araki town of Iran. After the death of his elder brother, Aga Syed Ahmed
Almosavi, he took over the traditional responsibilities performed by Aga family.
He established an educational institution for Islamic learning called Madras-e
Babul Ilem ("gateway of knowledge") in Budgam. Madars-e Babul Ilem is the alma
mater of many in the Kashmir literary field.
It has been a routine among Shias of Kashmir that legal disputes go to their
religious head (Mawlawi or Agas) instead the government courts. Such Sharie
Adalats ("religious courts") determine justice according to Islamic doctrine.
During the period of Ayatullah Aga Yousef, sharie adalats became very popular.
There were a number of occasions when the district court sent cases to Yousef's
court.
Aga Syed Yousuf established Anjumane Sharie Shian
in Jammu and Kashmir with both religious and political goals. As the government
receives the taxes from the general public, Anjuman Sharie Shian collects khums
and fitr as alms from the Shia population to spend on social, educational, and
economic improvement for the poorer segment of the community. When Sheikh
Abdullah's government passed the Land Reform Act, Aga Syed Yousef said the bill
was against the doctrine of Shiaism, which resulted in the government exempting
Shias from the bill.
Aga Syed Yousuf undertook the construction of
Imambara Budgam. He also widened the Imambara Hassanabad, a smaller replica of
the one in Budgam. Aga Syed Yousuf also introduced the Shia nisab ("syllabus")
at the University of Kashmir.
Aga Syed Yousuf was a very close associate of Imam Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini(r.a), the father of Islamic Revolution of Iran. Aga Syed Yousuf donated
$2 million to Iran as financial assistance during the revolutionary struggle.
When Ayatollah Khomeini was expelled from Iran by the Shah, Aga Syed Yousuf
wrote him a letter and invited him to Kashmir. Ayatollah Khomeini replied, "I
would love to visit my ancestral home, Kashmir, but due to certain political
reasons I am afraid I can't.
All the letters of Ayatollah Khomeini are preserved in the personal library of
Ayatollah Yousuf and his personal library is situated at Yousuf Abad, Budgam.
Ayatollah Aga Syed Yousuf (r.a) died on 29 August
1982. After his death, the district hospital of Budgam was named after him. Aga
Syed Yousuf was buried in Ayatullah Mehdi shrine Budgam. The shrine was
constructed by Aga Syed Yousuf himself during his lifetime to honour Ayatullah
Aga Syed Mehdi who also was Yousuf's grandfather.
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