Najaf or Qom.... Or others

[VarunaShia]

I plan on studying at a hawza but I'm not sure which to choose, Najaf or Qom. Qom seems safer than Najaf, and preferable to those who support Wilayatul Faqih, but I have read that a lot of former Qom/Iranian scholars relocated to Najaf/Iraq because of the politics that go around in the Iranian seminaries. Personally I'm leaning on Najaf because I read that there are a lot more choices of subjects to choose and learn and students don't have to worry about politics but at the same time I also want to study Farsi and hone it and I don't know if the seminaries in Najaf/Iraq offer Farsi courses. I would like to hear your thoughts on this. 

[MohammadAli1993]

Najaf all the way 

[Ashvazdanghe]

23 hours ago, VarunaShia said:

Personally I'm leaning on Najaf because I read that there are a lot more choices of subjects to choose and learn and students don't have to worry about politics

Salam you will have same choices at Qom as same of Najaf , also there is no difference  in matter of involvement  in politics between Qom & Najaf & the news about relocating scholars in Najaf is a part of anti Qom propaganda  because It clearly told in narrations  about minor signs reappeance  of Imam Mahdi (aj) the Qom will become  center of knowledge  while the knowledge  will disappear  in Najaf also Qom has better infrastructure  than Najaf .

[Mohamad Abdel-Hamid]

In my case, if I wanted to study in the hawza, I would choose Najaf since I speak Arabic, and I honestly don't want to bother learning Farsi (I'm really bad and impatient at learning languages). However, if I knew Farsi, I would choose Qom.

[AStruggler]

Check out the last 3 questions from here: http://ijtihadnet.com/ayatollah-sistanis-doctrine-differs-ayatollah-khoeis-one/

This is an interview someone conducted with Sayyid Monir al Khabbaz, a very senior shia cleric right now. 

[Abu_Zahra]

A strong command of classical Arabic is essential so I would recommend any hawza that teaches in Arabic, regardless of whether it's in Najaf or Qum. 

[BleedKnee]

I would imagine that they have Farsi courses considering how many important Shia scholars are from Iran. You could always send an email though to the institution and just ask. 

[Ali bin Hussein]

On 3/12/2021 at 8:42 AM, VarunaShia said:

I plan on studying at a hawza..... 

I've been to both and spoken to students of both hawzas. Najaf seems a more traditional approach and will be better for you Arabic. 

In Qom will you will also have the additional task if learning Farsi and Arabic.

To learn one language first maybe better for you.

[guest 2025]

28 minutes ago, Ali bin Hussein said:

I've been to both and spoken to students of both hawzas. Najaf seems a more traditional approach and will be better for you Arabic. 

In Qom will you will also have the additional task if learning Farsi and Arabic.

To learn one language first maybe better for you.

Salam. Is najaf more difficult because of their very free style of education? I don't mind a lack of structure, but I would like the teacher to scrutinize me and review my work with tests and assignments and stuff like that. Do they do this in najaf? I would love to know.

[Ali bin Hussein]

3 minutes ago, guest 2025 said:

Salam. Is najaf more difficult because of their very free style of education? I don't mind a lack of structure, but I would like the teacher to scrutinize me and review my work with tests and assignments and stuff like that. Do they do this in najaf? I would love to know.

I know you are more free with your module structure.

I'll ask around and try get an answer.

There maybe members on here who have studied. Maybe you can be pointed in the right direction by other users 

[Ashvazdanghe]

2nd Year of Howza in Iran Starting...Experience So Far

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzrCnY86bNQ&t=16s

[VarunaShia]

I'm going to do a ziarah to Qom maybe like the end of this year, I read that one can straight apply for a hawza by visiting Al Mustafa there, right? And also, I read that they provide "accomodations"? Like a place for you to stay and wait while they take care of your application? And it takes up to a month to complete it? I can only stay in Iran visa free for only 15 days so it looks like I need a visa in this case.