Al-Hakeem, born in 1934, is one of four Grand Ayatollahs who teach at the Hawza, the religious seminary of Najaf, alongside Iraq’s top Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Hakim died at the age of 87 at al-Hayat hospital in Najaf, according to INA.

AFP cited a source close to Hakim’s office as saying that he died after undergoing a surgery three days ago.

Iraqi President Barham Salih said in a tweet that Hakim was “one of the most prominent [figures] of the Islamic nation who combined knowledge with work in consolidating the values of justice, faith, love and peace.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad described him as a symbol of “peace, love, and harmony across the region”.

“We ask God to bless him with His abundance of mercy. Please accept our sincere condolences and sympathy on this great loss.”

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