THE NAJAF HAWZA AND POST-SISTANI SCENARIOS 51 definitive information. What is certain, though, is that Najaf will never accept a marji‘ from outside. That is, it will not allow any scholar to come into the Najaf Hawza as a guest and then take over as its leader. There is also something of a consensus ruling out Muhammad Ridha al-Sistani, a son of the current marji‘, as a supreme marji‘ in spite of his scholarly qualifications as one of the Najaf Hawza’s most brilliant scholars and one of its most prominent teachers of outside research, in addition to his extensive experience running his father’s office. That is because if he were to succeed his father, it would create the impression of hereditary succession, something disdained by many in Iraqi Shi‘ite circles inside and outside the Hawza. Possible candidates In light of all these caveats, the following names, which already came up during the discussion of the most prominent contemporary teachers of outside research, can be mentioned as possible candidates to succeed al-Sistani: a) Shaykh Muhammad Hadi Al Radi: A jurist and a teacher of advanced studies in jurisprudence and principles of jurisprudence, he was born in Najaf in 1949. He is from a well-known Iraqi Arab family that has produced many figures in religious and other sciences. His grandfather, from whom the family took its name, was Shaykh Radi ibn Muhammad ibn Muhsin ibn Khidr al-Janaji al-Najafi(d. 1290 AH/ 1973 AD), one of the greatest jurists of his age at the Najaf Hawza. Most of the subsequent generation of jurists and maraji‘ at Najaf studied under him. He not only shared in religious leadership with Shaykh Murtada al-Ansari but may even have been a more consequential leader than al-Ansari in Iraq. Al Radi is known for his seriousness, solemnity, and adherence to old etiquette and formalities at the Hawza. Therefore, he does not appear in public and does not hold any public activities or meetings. In his general intellectual constitution, he clings most firmly to traditional religious education in Najaf. This is reflected in his research and lectures, the methodology and content of which are entirely dedicated to jurisprudence and the principles of jurisprudence. He has no research concerns outside those two fields. In spite of his many lessons and lectures over the course of four decades, his publishing history is slight. We have been unable to clearly ascertain his opinion on public guardianship by the Islamic jurist, an issue whose implications Najaf approaches cautiously. His research on this question has been withdrawn from his published lessons,