Hawzah

Hawzah, sometimes rendered as hawza or al-Hawza ilmiyya, is a term used in Twelver Shia Islam to denote a religious seminary or center of learning where clerics study and train for religious authority. The word itself conveys a gathering or seat of knowledge. Hawzahs are focused on the interpretation of Islamic law, theology, and related disciplines, and historically have been the main path for producing qualified Shia scholars.

A hawzah provides a long, teacher-led curriculum in areas such as fiqh (jurisprudence), usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence), kalam (theology), logic, philosophy, Arabic grammar, and sometimes mysticism or ethics. Students, known as tullab, study under senior scholars and progress through levels, often spending many years in study with the aim of attaining the status to perform ijtihad (independent legal reasoning). The highest ranks may lead to becoming a marja’ taqlid, a recognized source of emulation for Shia communities.

The most prominent hawzah centers are in Najaf, Iraq, and Qom, Iran, though additional centers exist in other cities worldwide. Najaf’s hawzah is one of the oldest and most influential, while Qom’s hawzah gained modern prominence in the 20th century. Hawzah education is typically distinct from Sunni madrasa systems in its emphasis on jurisprudential reasoning and the potential for scholarly authority that extends beyond local communities.