Ahmad Ali Rejaei Bokharaei (1916–Summer 1978) was an Iranian author, scholar, poet, textual editor, and distinguished researcher of the Qur’an. He was recognized for his contributions to Persian language and literature, textual criticism, and Qur’anic studies. After teaching at the University of Tabriz, he joined Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, where he later served as Dean of the Faculty of Literature. He passed away in the summer of 1978 after a three-year battle with cancer and was buried near the Shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad.

Education
Born in Mashhad in 1916.
Completed primary education in Mashhad (1930).
Received a diploma in Agriculture from Karaj (1936).
Earned simultaneous bachelor’s degrees in Persian Language and Literature and Law from the University of Tehran (1949).
Received a Ph.D. in Persian Language and Literature from the University of Tehran in 1955.
Activities and Works
Rejaei Bokharaei began his professional career in the Ministry of Education in 1936, serving in numerous educational and administrative positions ranging from agricultural instructor to senior educational administrator. In 1958, he became an Associate Professor at the University of Tabriz, where he taught Persian literature before transferring to the Faculty of Literature at Mashhad in 1960. Three years later, he was appointed Dean of the faculty.

During several academic visits to Europe, he studied manuscript collections and obtained microfilms of valuable Persian manuscripts for the Universities of Mashhad and Tehran. Following his retirement in 1969, he directed the Cultural Affairs and Libraries of Astan Quds Razavi, making significant contributions to the development of its library system, including the establishment of the Vaziri Library in Yazd.

He was one of the principal scholars involved in the first phase of compiling the Qur’anic Lexicon: Persian Equivalents of the Qur’an Based on 142 Ancient Persian Manuscripts, a pioneering project in Qur’anic lexicography. Although he laid its foundations, he was unable to complete the work before his death.

He also taught doctoral courses in Persian literature and presented educational radio and television programs on Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh and the poetry of Hafez.

His major publications include:

Qur’anic Lexicon: Persian Equivalents of the Qur’an Based on 142 Ancient Manuscripts
A Guide to Persian Orthography
Dictionary of Hafez’s Poetry
Critical edition of Kholaseh-ye Sharh-e Ta’arrof
Critical edition of Dars-e Ebrat
Arabic Textbook Translations
A Thuluth Manuscript of the Qur’an with Persian Translation
Surah al-Ma’idah with a Reliable Persian Translation
Critical edition of Ronaq al-Majales and Dabestan al-Arefin
A Persian Text from the Fourth Century AH
A Note on the Bokharaei Dialect
A Bridge Between Syllabic and Quantitative Persian Poetry
In addition to these books, he authored more than thirty scholarly articles.

Achievements and Honors
Prominent professor of Persian language and literature at the University of Tabriz and Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
Dean of the Faculty of Literature at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
Principal contributor to the pioneering Qur’anic Lexicon project based on 142 ancient Persian manuscript translations of the Qur’an.
Played a major role in the development of the Astan Quds Razavi library system, including the establishment of the Vaziri Library in Yazd.
Honored posthumously in 2016 by the Khorasan Razavi Provincial Elite Foundation in recognition of his scholarly and cultural contributions.