Sheikh Sardar Hajjihasanli

Sheikh Sardar Hajjihasanli (Şeyx Sərdar Hacıhəsənli) or Sardar Akif oglu Babayev (Sərdar Akif oğlu Babayev) is an Azerbaijani cleric, religious figure, member of the Azerbaijani Cleric Association, founder and editor-in-chief of Maide.az news website, expert and researcher of Islamic Studies.

Sardar Babayev Akif was born on March 12, 1974, in Masally District in Azerbaijan SSR of the Soviet Union.

Brought up in one of Masally's noble families, Sardar went to school at the age of seven and during the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics got secondary education at the Masally District school.

He is the 5th child among 6 children of the late Mashhadi Akif.

He was interested in religion and religious studies from childhood.

Along with school classes, he participated in Quran teaching and religion classes during the period of the Soviet Union.

In his youth he began to learn the religious issues from the local theologians.

He started to propagandize religious teachings in Masally and its vicinity when he was 15–16 years old.

Taking into account the people's request, Sardar in the months of Ramadan, Muharram and Safar read three or even four sermons per day and conducted religious rites.

At the age of 15 he was able to hold religious meetings and was a great preacher in his town.

He was such a great preacher that received lots of invitations from people in the cities and villages.

To support religious ceremonies, the young cleric traveled to various places and sometimes far lands during the month of Ramadan and the mourning of Muharram (the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala, when Imam Hussein, the grandson of Muhammad, was killed by the forces of the second Umayyad caliph) for preaching and teaching religious issues to people.

As there were few clerics and a lot of invitations to the religious ceremonies, Sheikh conducted the service sometimes 4 times a day.

Despite being well known and popular among people he was always seeking to get knowledge.

To gain more knowledge in Islamic teachings he went to one of the great scholars of that time, Hujjatul-islam Molla Beilar.

Sardar could attract his favorite teacher's attention and after a while he turned into one of the trusted students of Molla Beilar.

Sheikh Sardar's extraordinary talent and intelligence made the teacher, despite his great interest in him, to send him to Qom – the Center for Islamic Teachings.

He learned primary Islamic teachings from Molla Beilar and it was the time to learn more from great teachers.

He was encouraged by Molla Beilar to move to Qom, and in 1992 he left for Qom.

He went to the Qom Seminary.

He passed his primary level in the Seminary of Qom in a short period of time.

Then, he got the chance to meet with great scholars of Qom including Ayatullah Javadi Amoli, Ayatullah Mazaheri and Ayatullah Meshkini and joining their classes.

He also joined classes of ethics by Ayatullah Ahmadi Miyanaji besides seminary classes.

He also was one of the students of Ayatullah Bahjat.

After 10 years, Hujjatul-islam Haj Sheikh Sardar left Qom and became the professor of the Islamic University of Iran in Kyrgyzstan, in Bishkek in 2000.

He later went to the Kazakh Foreign Languages University in Almaty as lecturer.

His compatriots from Azerbaijan, who were displaced from their own lands and were exiled to Almaty in early 20th century after the establishment of the communist regime came to meet with him.

Thus, Sheikh began to propagandize Islam in Central Asia along with teaching at the university.

He was involved not only in religious issues of Shias, but he had lectures in Sunni's mosques, teaching recitation of Quran and interpretation of Quran.

Sheikh Sardar's carrier in Middle Asia last for 8 years.

He was so popular among people in the region.

In the former Soviet Union, and even in Iran and Turkey he was known as a real cleric, who is honest.

He had many followers in different areas.

Despite the great number of invitations from his followers from the former Soviet Union and Shia communities, especially from the big cities of Russia, he decided to return to his country, the Azerbaijan Republic.

After returning to Azerbaijan, upon the invitation by the representative of Association of Muslims of Caucasus in the south of the country, Sheikh Sardar began his religious career as a Friday prayer leader in Masally mosque.

He launched his news website, Maide.az in 2014 to promote the teachings of Ahlulbayt and the Quran with the help of a group of scholars, professors and students of the Seminary.

In his career, he has always focused on education and paid great attention to the interest of the nation and people.

Using the power of his words, he has always struggled against social degradation, people's problems and abnormalities of human societies to develop human-Islamic values in society.

Using the weapon of logic in defense of Islam's privacy and the interests of Muslims, Sheikh Sardar has devoted himself to Islam and Muslims.

He has always condemned any religious slurs, plots against Islam and Muslims, or oppression.