Ali al-Sistani

ʿAlī Ḥusaynī Sīstānī (}}; ; born 4 August 1930) is an Iranian Islamic scholar. A Grand Ayatollah and , Sistani is considered the leading religious leader of Twelver Shia Muslims.

Born in Mashhad to a sayyid family, Sistani studied in Qom under Hossein Borujerdi and later in Najaf under Abu al-Qasim al-Khu'i. An Usuli, Sistani rose to the rank of ''mujtahid'' in 1960 and succeeded Abd al-A'la al-Sabziwari as Grand Ayatollah. Sistani was included in top positions of ''The Muslim 500: The World's Most Influential Muslims'' from 2004 to 2024 and named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by ''Time'' magazine in 2004 and 2005. Provided by Wikipedia