Ayatollah Syed Hasan Imam Rizvi: Religious Leadership and the Institutional Structure of Hawzah-e-Ilmiya Sahibe Zamaan in Qom, Iran

The religious seminaries of Qom have occupied an important position in the intellectual, educational and institutional development of Twelver Shia Islam. This study examines the institutional history of Hawzah-e-Sahibe Zamaan and the religious leadership of Ayatollah Syed Hasan Imam Rizvi, who served as its Dean from 1997 until 2002. Particular attention is given to the administration of the seminary, its educational and residential arrangements, its relationship with the religious environment of Qom, and the succession of its leadership by Hujjatol Islam Hayder Hossein Shahroudi. The study also considers the subsequent disappearance of the institution as an independent seminary in connection with the expansion and redevelopment of the Holy Shrine of Hazrat Fatima Masuma (sa).