Dr Haidar Hobballah completed his introductory and intermediate levels of hawza studies in 1995 at the age of 22 and went on to undertake advanced studies with Sayyid Mahmud al-Hashimi al-Shahroudi. In 2004, Dr Hobballah graduated with a master’s degree in Quranic and Hadith Studies from the college of Usul al-Din. Thereafter, he received another masters in Islamic Law from al-Mustafa International University in 2016. He received his PhD in Comparative Religions and Christian Theology from the University of Religions and Denominations in 2020. Amongst his notable teachers are Sayyid Mahmud al-Hashimi al-Shahroudi, Shaykh Hussain al-Najati, Shaykh Baqir al-Irawani, Shaykh Wahid al-Khurasani, and Shaykh Abdullah Jawadi Amuli.
As well as his hawza studies, Dr Hobballah worked as the editor in chief of various academic journals such as al-Minhāj al-Bayrūtiyya, Nuṣūṣ Muʿāṣira, and al-Ijtihād wa-l-Tajdīd. He was previously a member of the editorial board of the journal of Fiqh Ahl al-Bayt al-Takhaṣṣuṣiyya. He has authored two dozen books and numerous articles in the fields of jurisprudence, legal theory, theology, philosophy, and Quranic and hadith studies. Dr Hobballah taught intermediate level classes in the hawza for more than 15 years and began teaching advanced classes (baḥth khārij) in 2005 at the Hawza of Qom in jurisprudence, legal theory, hadith, and the study of narrators. In addition to his teaching and publications, he has also supervised many masters and doctoral theses in the seminary of Qom, al-Mustafa University, the University of Religions and Denominations, and the College of Usul al-Din.
At Al-Mahdi Institute, he is the Research Lead for Hadith and History and a Lecturer in Hadith Studies.