Martyred president Raeisi’s scientific legacy outstanding: Fiqh researcher 

Many people know martyr Ayatollah Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi through his role in senior national management, his decisiveness in judiciary, and his tirelessness as president; however, the deeper layer of his character lies in his comprehensive mastery of jurisprudence (fiqh) and legal theory (usul).
Hoj. Shari'ati Tabar, a researcher of jurisprudence and legal theory at Islamic Research Foundation of Astan Qods Razavi and former managing director of the foundation in an interview with us examined details of compiling and publishing martyr Raeisi’s scientific works. This interview follows:

Many people know martyr Raeisi as a man of executive works; how do you assess the specialized dimensions of his character in the field of jurisprudence and legal theory?
Yes, that is exactly right. His executive persona was so prominent that perhaps his scholarly aspects remained overlooked. But, he possessed a special capability in seminary sciences. For example, during the period when he held responsibilities in the judiciary, he never distanced himself from the academic sphere. In Tehran, he taught sophisticated legal and judicial topics to high-ranking judges of the Supreme Court.
Outcome of those specialized sessions is now available in the form of three valuable volumes titled “Jurisprudential Rules”, covering three areas: “Rules of Judicial Jurisprudence”, “Rules of Worship Jurisprudence”, and “Rules of Economic Jurisprudence”. 

Teaching book of “Kifayat al-Usul” is a yardstick for a teacher's scholarly level among seminary students and scholars. What was the story of martyr Raeisi’s teaching at Marvi School in Tehran?
In the early years of the 2010s, he taught a complete and thorough course on the book "Kifayat al-Usul" by late Akhund Khorasani at the historic Marvi School in Tehran. Kifayat is a very dense and subtle book that not everyone can teach. He taught the entire book from beginning to end with great precision for the students. This mastery of legal theory was, in fact, the same legal foundation he utilized in senior management positions.

After his appointment as custodian of Astan Qods Razavi, did these scholarly activities continue in Mashhad?
Yes, he also began teaching advanced Kharij jurisprudence (post-doctorate courses) in Mashhad. These sessions were very well received by scholars and elites of the Mashhad seminary. The focus of his discussions in Mashhad was “Jurisprudence of Endowments”, based on Imam Khomeini's book “Tahrir al-Wasilah”. He was engaged in emerging issues and concrete challenges of endowments, which made his advanced external course highly practical and problem-solving oriented.

What led you to decide to publish these oral lessons and lecture notes through Islamic Research Foundation? 
The work began when I was managing director of the foundation. The late martyr Raeisi himself mentioned in a meeting that such works exist and parts of the lessons had been transcribed by his students. He wanted to know whether these discussions could be transformed into a coherent research work. The main motivation was to preserve this knowledge and make it available to the academic and judicial community. 

What was the process of transforming those oral discussions into polished scholarly books at the foundation? It seems the late martyr himself also oversaw the editing process?
Yes, it was a very precise and demanding task. First, the oral discussions had to be rendered into written, scholarly prose. We started this work at the foundation's jurisprudence group with collaboration of several experts. Literary edits were made and more importantly “extraction of sources” was carried out. All the jurisprudential sources, references, narrations, and traditions he cited during his lessons were meticulously extracted and referenced. Interestingly, he himself oversaw this research. 

If we look critically and scientifically at levels of these lessons, how do these works compare to the lessons of the grand sources of emulation (Maraji’e)?
Martyr Raeisi was very realistic and humble in this regard. We told him, and he himself acknowledged, that these discussions should not be compared to the highly advanced level of lessons of grand sources of emulation like Ayatollah Vahid Khorasani. The level of these discussions is perhaps somewhat less dense and was tailored to the needs of a more practical audience. But he emphasized that the presented material is sound and correct in terms of scholarly rigor. In essence, these works take jurisprudence out of an abstract state and bring it to the level of judicial and executive needs.

For which audiences are these books most useful? Can seminary students or university students also benefit from them?
These are specialized works. Their primary audience is seminary students and researchers of jurisprudence and legal theory. However, an important point is that in university law and jurisprudence programs at bachelor's level and above, there is a course called “Jurisprudential Rules”. There were discussions about introducing these works as textbooks in universities. Furthermore, for judges, judicial system staff, and experts at Endowments Organization, these books are excellent research resources that open new paths for investigation.

What distinguishes works of martyr Raeisi among numerous Arabic and Persian books on jurisprudential rules?
Classical sources, such as rules of Ayatollah Bojnourdi, Makarem Shirazi, Subhani, or Fazel Lankarani, are primarily in Arabic. While utilizing authentic sources, martyr Raeisi presented discussions in Persian with language more comprehensible to today's audience. Although we also have Persian sources, this collection holds a special place as a polished text.

Is there any other work written by him that was being compiled but remained unfinished due to his martyrdom?
Yes, unfortunately. There was also a book on “Ethics”. Its content had been transcribed but needed some final revision and editing. With his martyrdom, that work remained unfinished. 
Finally, what image of martyr Raeisi's ethical and professional characteristics remains in your mind as someone who has spent hours with his works and thoughts?

Martyr Raeisi, was a sincere, hardworking, and extremely humble person. With all his responsibilities, he had a concern for teaching and studying which shows a deep scholarly spirit. He knew well the etiquette of companionship. I will never forget that he once said: “When I study the book on endowments, I pray for you, because you refined it”. He was appreciative and he ultimately received the spiritual reward for this sincerity with the best of fates, i.e. martyrdom.
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