The late ayatollah was born in the central Iranian city of Isfahan on February 20, 1919 and was among the distinguished students of grand ayatollahs Boroujerdi, Hojjat, Khansari and Golpaygani.
He is credited for writing more than 80 books on different areas of Fiqh – Islamic jurisprudence – and training numerous students during his decades-long teaching career at seminary schools in the central Iranian city of Qom.
He has won several Velayat Book of the Year and Mahdaviat Book of the Year prizes.
Ayatollah Saafi was also a member of the Assembly of Experts and the Guardian Council in the early years after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.
