The international congress marking the 50th anniversary of the passing of Ayat. Seyyed Mohammad Hadi Hosseini Milani concluded in Mashhad with significant scholarly and cultural outcomes.
Organized by Astan Quds Razavi (AQR) and the Khorasan seminary, the event brought together leading scholars from Iran, Iraq, and beyond to revisit the intellectual, ethical, and civilizational contributions of the late Shia authority.
Dr. Abdolhamid Talebi, head of AQR’s Scientific and Cultural Organization, described the congress as “a landmark achievement”.
“The opening session featured a video message from the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and a written message from Grand Ayat. Ja’far Subhani”, he noted.
Senior scholars including Ayat. Alireza Arafi, Ayat. Mohammad Mehdi Shabzendedar, Ayat. Seyyed Ebrahim Alamolhoda, and Ayat. Marvi addressed Milani’s scholarly stature, many of them being his direct students or trained in his tradition.
The congress hosted six specialized sessions on jurisprudence and principles, Quranic exegesis, philosophy and theology, Islamic unity, and educational reform.
Talebi emphasized Milani’s pioneering role in modernizing seminary education in Mashhad, establishing schools with new curricula that transformed the scholarly environment.
“Twelve new scholarly works were unveiled, including recovered lecture notes of Ayat. Seyyed Ebrahim Alamolhoda, which shed fresh light on principles of jurisprudence”, the official added.
Elsewhere in the event, Dr. Ahad Faramarz Qaramaleki, president of the congress, highlighted the unprecedented participation of 800 scholars and seminary teachers at the opening ceremony.
“The turnout reflected Milani’s enduring influence and the thirst of younger generations for authentic role models. Discussions revealed lesser known aspects of Milani’s mystical and ethical conduct, his role in promoting unity among Islamic schools, and his pioneering efforts in establishing schools for women”, Qaramaleki stressed.
Also, a specialized session on Milani’s jurisprudential, principles, and hadith perspectives further underscored his methodological precision.
Speaking in the session, Ayat. Rabani Birjandi explained Milani’s insistence on deriving legal terminology from authentic historical sources and his caution against issuing rulings based solely on popular scholarly opinions.
According to Ayat. Yasin al Hosseini of Najaf, “There is a need for academic unity between seminaries in Iran and Iraq, which can benefit from joint sessions and exchanges to strengthen Islamic scholarship”.
The congress concluded with renewed commitment to preserving Milani’s intellectual heritage, reinforcing the discourse of religious authority, and promoting scholarly cooperation across the Islamic world.