Grand Funeral Held for Ayatollah Muhammad Ishaq al-Fayyad in Kadhimiya, Karbala, and Najaf

Grand Funeral Held for Ayatollah Muhammad Ishaq al-Fayyad in Kadhimiya, Karbala, and Najaf
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Large crowds of scholars, seminary students, officials, political figures, and members of the public took part in the funeral ceremonies of Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Muhammad Ishaq al-Fayyad, one of Najaf’s most senior Shia religious authorities.

The funeral procession for Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Muhammad Ishaq al-Fayyad was held in a solemn atmosphere across several of Iraq’s holy cities, reflecting the religious and scholarly status he held in the Shia world.

The first stage of the procession began in the holy city of Kadhimiya, where scholars, students of the religious seminary, public officials, political figures, and large numbers of mourners gathered to pay their final respects. Participants expressed deep sorrow over the passing of a leading figure of the Najaf seminary.

The body of the late marja was then taken to the holy city of Karbala, where it was received by scholars, dignitaries, officials, and crowds of believers. Funeral rites were held at the shrine of Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas (peace be upon him), before the procession moved to the shrine of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), where visitation ceremonies and the funeral prayer were performed.

The funeral ceremonies concluded in Najaf al-Ashraf, the city where Sheikh al-Fayyad spent decades teaching, researching, and serving Islamic sciences. He was laid to rest there amid a large gathering of religious scholars, seminary students, and members of the public.

Grand Ayatullah al-Fayyad passed away Thursday in a hospital in Baghdad after a recent illness, at the age of 96. Following his death, Iraq announced three days of public mourning, while several Eid al-Ghadir celebrations and official religious programs were cancelled in respect for his scholarly and spiritual position.

Born in 1930 in Afghanistan, Sheikh al-Fayyad moved at a young age to Najaf to pursue religious studies. He became one of the most prominent students of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei and later emerged as one of the senior teachers and jurists of the Najaf seminary.