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Who Is Ayatollah Arafi? 10 Key Things To Know About Iranian Supreme Leader

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Iran’s interim leadership council has appointed Ayatollah Alireza Arafi as the clerical member of the body now exercising the powers of the late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Arafi officially assumed the role on March 1, 2026, in accordance with Article 111 of the Iranian Constitution, which provides for a temporary leadership structure pending the selection of a new Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts.

Article 111 stipulates that in the event of the death or incapacitation of a Supreme Leader, a temporary leadership council assumes the responsibilities of the office until a permanent successor is chosen.

With Khamenei’s death, the interim council has now begun overseeing the functions traditionally exercised by Iran’s highest political and religious authority.

Arafi’s appointment places him at the centre of this sensitive transition, as the country navigates a period of political uncertainty.

As a senior Shi’a cleric, Arafi is widely regarded as a figure with influence across Iran’s major institutions, including the military establishment, the judiciary and the religious seminaries.

Until the Assembly of Experts concludes its deliberations and selects a permanent Supreme Leader, Arafi and other members of the interim council will collectively exercise the constitutional powers attached to the office.

Ten key facts about the acting Iranian leader:

1. Born in 1959 in Meybod, Yazd Province, Arafi rose through Iran’s clerical ranks over several decades.

2. Ayatollah Alireza Arafi practices Islam, follows the Twelver Shi’a denomination, adheres to Ja‘fari jurisprudence, and upholds the Usuli creed.

3. In Qom, he completed his primary school education. At the same time, he began his seminary courses and preliminary courses. Later, he also attended seminary courses and learned Arabic and English. Furthermore, he studied mathematics and philosophy. (Qom is widely regarded as Iran’s religious capital and a major centre of Shi’a scholarship).

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4. Arafi has attained the rank of mujtahid because of his expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and philosophy, and he has authored and co‑authored numerous works on these subjects — including the book Education Jurisprudence (Al‑Fiqh Al‑Tarbawi). Some of his academic articles, published in Iranian journals, cover topics such as Islamic jurisprudence, educational law, and social issues.

5. Between 2008 and 2018, he was President of Al-Mustafa International University, an institution that trains clerics and religious scholars from Iran and abroad.

6. He has served as the Friday Prayer Imam of Qom since 2015.

7. Since 2016, Arafi has headed Iran’s nationwide seminary system, overseeing religious education nationwide.

8. Arafi holds the religious title of Ayatollah, a rank accorded to high-level Shi’a clerics with advanced theological scholarship.

9. He has served as a member of the Guardian Council since 2019, a powerful constitutional body responsible for vetting legislation and supervising elections in Iran.

10. He has also been a member of the Assembly of Experts since 2022, a clerical institution constitutionally mandated to appoint and oversee the Supreme Leader.

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Women Who Love and Listen to Their Pastors More Than Their Husbands Should Be the Pastor’s Second Wife

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This statement may sound funny, provocative, or even offensive, but it raises an important question about priorities in marriage and religion.

A pastor is a spiritual leader, but he is not supposed to replace a woman’s husband. If a married woman consistently values her pastor’s opinions above her husband’s, obeys her pastor while dismissing her husband, or shows greater loyalty and admiration toward her pastor than toward her spouse, then something may be seriously wrong with the balance in that marriage.

Marriage requires communication, mutual respect, trust, and understanding. A pastor can provide spiritual guidance, but that guidance should not become a reason for a husband and wife to lose respect for each other.

At the same time, husbands should not expect their wives to obey them blindly. Both husband and wife should seek God’s wisdom, communicate openly, and make decisions with love and respect.

So perhaps the real question is not whether such a woman should become the pastor’s “second wife,” but why has the pastor become more important in her marriage than her own husband?

Put God first. Respect your spouse. And never allow a spiritual leader to become a substitute for your marriage partner.

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Why is it only in Africa that we hear so much about “generational curses”?

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This is a question worth asking—not to insult African traditions or dismiss anyone’s beliefs, but to encourage honest reflection.

Across Africa, it is common to hear people explain repeated family problems as a “generational curse.” When poverty, broken relationships, addiction, failure, sickness, family conflict or misfortune appears to repeat from one generation to another, some people immediately conclude that an ancestor, spiritual force or past wrongdoing is responsible.

But is every repeated family problem truly a curse?

If a child grows up in poverty, has limited access to quality education, receives little financial support and then struggles as an adult, is that necessarily a spiritual curse—or could it be the result of circumstances that have been passed from one generation to another?

If children grow up watching violence, substance abuse, unhealthy relationships or constant conflict, they may unknowingly repeat those patterns. That does not necessarily mean they are cursed. Sometimes behaviour is inherited through environment, not through supernatural forces.

And Africa is certainly not the only place where people believe in supernatural explanations for suffering or misfortune. Different societies around the world have their own concepts of inherited wrongdoing, family misfortune, ancestral consequences, fate and spiritual punishment.

So perhaps the more important question is not:

“Who cursed my family?”

But:

“What pattern has been passed down to me, and what can I do to stop passing it to the next generation?”

We should be careful not to use the idea of a curse to discourage people from taking action. A family facing poverty may need education, opportunity and financial planning. A family experiencing repeated conflict may need healthier communication. A person struggling with addiction may need professional support and a strong recovery environment. Communities facing injustice may need better institutions, accountability and opportunity.

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Faith and spirituality are deeply meaningful to many people, and everyone has the right to hold their beliefs. But faith should not prevent us from examining the practical causes of our problems.

We cannot change the past, but we can change what we pass forward.

Instead of teaching our children that they are victims of an unavoidable family curse, let us also teach them knowledge, discipline, emotional strength, financial responsibility, education, healthy relationships and the courage to break destructive patterns.

Maybe the greatest “curse” is not something mysterious placed upon a family.

Maybe sometimes it is simply a problem that nobody stopped long enough to understand and change.

And the greatest inheritance we can give the next generation is not fear of a curse—but the knowledge and courage to build a better future.

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You are very proud to speak big English, but yet you cannot speak your own language?

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There is nothing wrong with speaking English fluently. In fact, being able to communicate confidently in different languages is a valuable skill. But we should ask ourselves a deeper question: while learning to speak the language of another culture, are we slowly losing the language that connects us to our own roots?

Your mother tongue is more than just words. It carries the stories of your ancestors, the wisdom of your grandparents, the jokes that only your people understand, the traditional greetings, the names, the songs, the history and the identity of your community.

Imagine being able to speak perfect English, but struggling to have a simple conversation with your own grandmother because you do not understand the language she grew up speaking. Imagine your children knowing foreign languages but being unable to understand the language of their own heritage.

That should make us pause.

Speaking English does not make you more intelligent, and speaking your indigenous language does not make you less educated. One is a communication skill; the other can be a connection to your heritage. We should not have to choose between being educated and preserving our identity.

Learn English. Speak it confidently. Learn French, Dutch, Spanish or any other language that opens doors for you.

But don’t let the pursuit of foreign languages close the door to your own.

Teach your children your language. Speak it at home. Ask your parents and grandparents to teach you the words you never learned. If you have forgotten it, it is never too late to start again.

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Because when a language disappears from a family, something precious disappears with it.

Be proud of your education. Be proud of your ability to speak English. But also be proud of where you come from.

Your language is not something to be ashamed of. It is a part of your story. Preserve it before the next generation only knows it as something their ancestors once spoke.

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