Grand Ayatollah Mirza Sayyid Ali Tabatabai (Allamah Qazi)

Ayatollah  Mirza Sayyid Ali Tabatabai, also known as Allamah Qazi, was born on April 29, 1866 in Tabriz, Iran. Having finished his primary studies, he was tutored by his father, the late Hajj Sayyid Hussain Qazi. Then he attended the lectures of the late Mirza Musa Tabrizi, author of the book titled Hashiyat al-Rasaail. He also attended the classes of Mirza Mohamamd Ali Qaraje Daghi and completed the classes in Arab and Persian literature of the famous poet Mirza Muhammad Taqi Tabrizi who is known as "Hujjatul Islam" and the one given the title "Nayyir". He quoted many poetic verses by him in both Arabic and Persian languages.

"Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Qazi was one of the wonders of our time." He says, "One of the powerful statements of the late al-Hajj Sayyid Ali Qazi is that: 'It is worthy for one to spend half his life looking for a perfect teacher.'"

Then he migrated to the city of Najaf and was honored to reside in it in 1891 when he was then 26 years old. In Najaf, he was taught by these Ayatollahs: Fadhil Sharabiani, Sheikh Muhammad Hassan Mamaqani, Sheikh Shari'at, Akhund Khorasani and Hajj Mirza Hassan Khalili.
Sayyid Qazi was one of the most respected of the students of Hajj Mirza Khalili. He also learned refinement of morals in his presence. Sayyid Qazi was a gnostic, jurisprudent (faqih), and a man of a great stature. He also had divine inspirations and charisma.

Allamah Sheikh Agha Bozorg Tehrani wrote the following lines in his book Tabaqat al-A'lam al-Shi'a in his biography: "Sayyid Ali Tabatabai Tabrizi Qazi, son of Mirza Hussain, son of Mirza Ahmad, son of Mirza Raheem, is a scholar, a mujtahid, a man of piety and asceticism."

I befriended him and kept his company for scores of years, and I found stability in his style, youth in his nature and attributes, generosity in his own self and in his nature. He wrote an exegesis of the Qur'an which starts from the beginning of the Qur'an and ends with the ninety-first verse of Surat al-An'am: 'Say: Allah, then leave them to play around in their impious gossip.'". As for his father, he, too, wrote an exegesis of the Holy Qur'an, and their household was since antiquity a house of knowledge, virtue and piety.

Allamah Hasan Zadeh Amuli says the following about him: "Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Qazi was one of the wonders of our time." He says, "One of the powerful statements of the late al-Hajj Sayyid Ali Qazi is that: 'It is worthy for one to spend half his life looking for a perfect teacher.'"
Allamah Hasan Zadeh quotes Allamah Tabatabai saying the following while detailing the biography of Sayyid Ali Qazi: "The Sayyid was an amazing man. He tutored many students and was tutored by many scholars. He had very strong divine inspirations, gnostic perfections, moral conduct and spiritual wayfaring."