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The Najaf Seminary (Arabic: حوزة النجف‎), also known as the al-Hawza al-Ilmiyya, is the most important Shia seminaries (hawza) in the city of Najaf, Iraq. The school also operates a campus in Karbala. 
It is located near the Imam Ali Mosque. It was established in the 11th century by Grand Ayatollah Shaykh al-Tusi. 
==History==
Shaykh Tusi went to Baghdad to continue education. After 12 years, he was forced to leave Baghdad and go to Najaf for sectarian differences. <ref>Jaffer - XKP, Mulla Asghar Ali M. FIQH and FUQAHA (PDF). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 4, 2015). ISBN 978-1519106759. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-26. </ref> He established the seminary in Najaf in 430 AH (the 11th century AD), <ref>"Part 2: The Fuqaha". World Federation of Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities. </ref> which continued as a center of study until the establishment of modern Iraq in 1921. He died in 460 AH (1067 CE). <ref>"Hawza - Advanced Islamic Studies". Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project. Archived from the original on 8 March 2011. </ref> <ref>Sreeram Chaulia. "Shiites and Democracy". Mideast Monitor. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. </ref> The seminar was one of the biggest and most important hawza of the world for educating and training Shia clerics. <ref>"A rare look inside the 'heart of society' for Iraq's Shi'ites". </ref> 
==Subjects==
The subjects taught at the seminary include: <ref>"Hawza - Advanced Islamic Studies". Archived from the original on 2011-03-08. </ref>

•	Mantiq (Logic)

•	Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence)

•	Fiqh (Jurisprudence)

•	Tafsir al-Qur'an (Qur'an Exegesis)

•	Ulum al-Qur'an (Qur'an Sciences)

•	Ilm al-Hadith (The Study of Traditions)

•	Ilm ar-Rijal (Science of Narrators)

•	Tarikh (History)

•	Aqaid / Kalam (Theology)

•	Lugha (Language Studies)

•	Falsafa (Islamic Philosophy)

•	Irfan (Islamic Mysticism)

==Trained scholars==

Some of the known Shia Grand Ayatollahs were trained in the Najaf seminary. <ref>Khoshkhu, Rasoul Imani. "A Glimpse at the Major Shi'a Seminaries part 1". Ahlul Bayt World Assembly. </ref> 
•	Ahmad ibn Muhammad Ardabili - he was one of the most famous Shia scholars. He was known as Mohaghegh (researcher) and Moghaddas (saint). <ref>Ghobadzadeh, Naser (2015). Religious Secularity: A Theological Challenge to the Islamic State (Religion and Global Politics). Oxford University Press; 1 edition (December 1, 2014). ISBN 978-0199391172. </ref>

•	Moḥammad Mahdī Baḥr al-ʿUlūm - he was known as Baḥr al-Ulum for his considerable knowledge. Bahr al-Ulum was a popular Shia Muslim scholar. He is specifically known as one of the few individuals who attained the climax of spiritual perfection. <ref>Litvak, Meir (2 May 2002). Shi'i Scholars of Nineteenth-Century Iraq: The 'Ulama' of Najaf and Karbala'. Cambridge University Press (May 2, 2002). ISBN 978-0521892964. </ref>
•	Mohammad Bagher Shafti - he was the leader of Isfahan seminary. <ref>Khoshkhu, Rasoul Imani. "A Glimpse at the Major Shi'a Seminaries part 1". Ahlul Bayt World Assembly. </ref>

•	Akhund Khorasani - he was a student of Morteza Ansari. Khorasani was the greatest Marjaʿ after Mirza Shirazi and before Mohammad Fadhil Sharabiani, he was known as an indubitable master of usul al-fiqh. <ref>Hairi, A.; Murata, S. (1984). "AḴŪND ḴORĀSĀNĪ". Encyclopædia Irannica. </ref>  He authored a book focused on commercial law. <ref>Mottahedeh, Roy (18 October 2014). The Mantle of the Prophet. Oneworld (August 15, 2000). ISBN 978-1851682348. </ref>

•	Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei - Ali al-Sistani was his student. <ref>Who's who in Iraq: Ayatollah Sistani, 26 August, 2004 </ref> He was made the most prominent Grand Ayatollah in 1971 after the death of Muhsin al-Hakim.[13] He was well-known author in Hadith studies and Rijal and Kalam knowledge. <ref>Who's who in Iraq: Ayatollah Sistani, 26 August, 2004 </ref> <ref>Allawi, Ali A. (2007). The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace. Yale University Press; Reprint edition (March 18, 2008). p. 207. ISBN 978-0300136142. al-Khoei is lead rijal. </ref>
•	Ibn Idris Hilli - he founded the Hillah seminary. <ref>Khoshkhu, Rasoul Imani. "A Glimpse at the Major Shi'a Seminaries part 1". Ahlul Bayt World Assembly. </ref>

•	Mirza Shirazi - he was the leader of Samarra seminary and Tobacco Protest. <ref>Mottahedeh, Roy (18 October 2014). The Mantle of the Prophet. Oneworld (August 15, 2000). ISBN 978-1851682348. </ref>

•	Hajj Muhammad Ibrahim Kalbasi - he was the leader of Isfahan seminary. <ref>Khoshkhu, Rasoul Imani. "A Glimpse at the Major Shi'a Seminaries part 1". Ahlul Bayt World Assembly. </ref>

•	Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi - he was the founder of the Qom Seminary in Iran. <ref>"Haeri Yazdi، Ayatollah Abdulkarim". </ref> Ruhollah Khomeini was his student. He was Marjaʿ. <ref>Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet, (1985, 2000), p.229 </ref>

•	Kashif al-Ghita - he was the leader and great Marjaʿ of Shia. <ref>Khoshkhu, Rasoul Imani. "A Glimpse at the Major Shi'a Seminaries part 1". Ahlul Bayt World Assembly. </ref>

•	Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi - he authored Javaher al-kalam Fi sharh-e Sharay-e al-Islam <ref>Sachedina, Abdulaziz Abdulhussein (8 October 1998). The Just Ruler in Shi'ite Islam: The Comprehensive Authority of the Jurist in Imamite Jurisprudence. Oxford University Press; Revised edition (October 8, 1998). ISBN 978-0195119152. </ref>and was a leader of the Najaf seminary. <ref>Arjomand, Saïd Amir (January 1988). Authority and Political Culture in Shi'ism (SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies). SUNY Press; Annotated edition (July 8, 1988). ISBN 978-0887066399. </ref>

•	Morteza Ansari - he was the leader of Najaf seminary after the death of Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi. <ref>Khoshkhu, Rasoul Imani. "A Glimpse at the Major Shi'a Seminaries part 1". Ahlul Bayt World Assembly. </ref> He has been called "first effective" Marjaʿ of the Shia <ref>Mottahedeh, Roy (18 October 2014). The Mantle of the Prophet. Oneworld (August 15, 2000). p. 210. ISBN 978-1851682348. </ref>  or "the first scholar universally recognized as supreme authority in matters of Shii law". <ref>Esposito, John L. (21 October 2004). The Oxford Dictionary of Islam (Oxford Quick Reference). Oxford University Press; 1 edition (October 21, 2004). p. 21. ISBN 978-0195125597. </ref> <ref>Khoshkhu, Rasoul Imani. "A Glimpse at the Major Shi'a Seminaries part 1". Ahlul Bayt World Assembly. </ref>

•	Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi - his popular students included Imam Khomeini, Hossein Vahid Khorasani, Sayed Ali Khamenei, Sayyid Ali al-Sistani, Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani, and Dr. Seyed Ali Mirlohi Falavarjani.  <ref>The course of Imam Khomeini's struggles narrated by SAVAK [Seir e mobarezat e imam khomeini be revayat e savak] (in Persian). 1. p. 45. and http://english.khamenei.ir/news/2130/bio </ref> Borujerdi was the sole marja "in the Shia world" from 1945-6 until his death in 1961. <ref>Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet, (1985, 2000), p.231 </ref> Borujerdi was the first Marja who attempted Islamic unity. He sent Sayyid Muhaqqiqi to Hamburg, Germany, Aqa-e-Shari'at to Karachi, Pakistan, Al-Faqihi to Medina and Musa al-Sadr to Lebanon. <ref>"Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi". </ref> <ref>Chehabi, Abisaab, Houchang , Rula Jurdi (2006). Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years. I.B.Tauris (April 2, 2006). ISBN 978-1860645617. </ref>
•	Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i - he authored Tafsir al-Mizan <ref>Biography of Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei by Amid Algar, University of California, Berkeley, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. </ref> and he was one of the most prominent Intellectuals of philosophy and contemporary Shia Islam. <ref>Legenhausen, Dr. Muhammad. "'Allamah Tabataba'i And Contemporary Philosophical Theology". ALHODA PUBLISHERS. </ref> <ref>Husayni Tihrani, Sayyid Muhammad Husayn (2011). Shining Sun. Islamic College for Advanced Studie; UK ed. edition (May 1, 2011). ISBN 978-1904063407. </ref> He was an expert in philosophy in Islam. His philosophy is focused upon the sociological treatment of human problems. <ref>Legenhausen, Dr. Muhammad. "'Allamah Tabataba'i And Contemporary Philosophical Theology". ALHODA PUBLISHERS. </ref> His book, Shi'ite Islam, was translated into English by Hossein Nasr and William Chittick as a project of Colgate University. He was interviewed by Henry Corbin. <ref>Randall, Yafia Katherine (31 March 2016). Sufism and Jewish-Muslim Relations: The Derekh Avraham Order in Israel. Routledge; 1 edition (April 7, 2016). ISBN 978-1138914032. </ref>

•	Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din al-Musawi - he was one of the greatest Marja in Lebanon. He attempted to bring Shia and Sunni closer. <ref>Rizvi, Arsalan. "Sayyid Sharafuddin al-Musawi". </ref>

==Notes==