Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi took part in the mourning ceremonies which were held for the martyrdom of the Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (ʿa) today before noon in the Amīr-al-Mu’minīn seminary school. In his speech delivered in the ceremony, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi expressed his condolences on the occasion of the martyrdom of the Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (ʿa) and stated: ‘today the US president blatantly speaks of the two evil political strategies which he has drawn up with regard to the Middle East. He has stated that, as his first strategy, he intends to support the formation of an Arab NATO which operates independent of the US but with its support. He has also stated that he intends to fill up the Middle East with the US made weapons to take away the money of the Arab nations in the Middle East’.
His eminence then added: ‘The Arab countries and nations must learn a lesson from what happened to countries such as Syria, Yemen, and Iraq. They must, hence, be vigilant and act wisely so as not to fall prey to the plots conspired by the US and Israel against them’.
He continued: ‘I do not know what the heads of the Arab states are thinking! Do they not see what evil plots the US has hatched against them? When will they wake up?! Do they not see the fate of Syria, which was devastated before their eyes, and which may not be restored to its former state of prosperity even in thirty years?’
His eminence further stated: ‘just take a look at the northern parts of Iraq, where the people are all Sunnis; do you not see that the people there were massacred by the puppets of the US and the northern cities were destroyed? They did not even have mercy on their own fellow Sunnis, and now they are about to establish an Arab NATO!’
Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi added: ‘get this message out to the Arab world so that their rulers and heads of states might be awakened. The enemy of Islam is planning to destroy all of the Muslim countries’.
In another part of his speech, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi referred to the two factors which caused the revolution of the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) and his newly-established government to fall in the hands of those who were not worthy of it and who sought to undermine it.
He stated in this regard: ‘The first factor was the belief that all of the Prophet’s companions were trustworthy and just; and the second factor was the companion’s reliance on their Ijtihād in the actions. As regards the first factor, some people believed that, no matter whether a person had been with the Prophet (ṣ) for ten years, one year, or even one hour, he is considered to be a trusted companion.
They further believed that whatever the companions of the Prophet (ṣ) did was correct and whatever they said was the truth. However, this was, obviously, not a correct belief. For instance, Ahmad ibn Hanbal has stated that anyone who has accompanied the Prophet (ṣ) even for an hour is considered to be a just companion of the Prophet (ṣ) and that such a person cannot deviate from the right path; thus, he claims, whatever such a person says must be accepted without question. Now is such a belief acceptable?’
He then continued: ‘the holy Quran had addressed the Prophet (ṣ), warning him about the hypocrites who were among his companions, whom he apparently did not know. Given this warning by the holy Quran, can we still consider all of those who accompanied the Prophet (ṣ), even the hypocrites, as just and trustworthy individuals who spoke nothing but the truth?’
Ayatollah Makarem Shiraiz further noted: ‘The second factor had to do with the Ijtihād of the companions of the Prophet (ṣ) which led them to perpetrate grave mistakes after the demise of the Prophet (ṣ). It was based on such personal judgments that they committed every kind of unspeakable crime, from breaking the allegiance which they had sworn in the presence of the Prophet (ṣ) to setting fire to the door of the house of the Prophet’s (ṣ) daughter.
It was also based on such false reasoning and personal Ijtihād that the first flames of the battle of Jamal were sparked, eventually leading to the death of seventeen thousand Muslims. It was also based on the same false judgments that some people broke their allegiance with Imam Ali (ʿa) and caused around one hundred thousand Muslims to be killed in the battle of Seffin.’
His eminence then added: ‘of course we do respect and venerate the true companions of the Prophet (ṣ), but not those who had but a name from being the companion of the Prophet (ṣ). I never exonerate those who were present in the time when the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) ruled the Islamic government, and who kept silent in the face of the deviations of the Muslims after the demise of the Prophet (ṣ).’
He also added: ‘what happened to Islam and the Muslim community that, after less than three decades, the Islamic government began to retrogress to the Ignorance Age conditions? What did the Umayyads do to Islam and the family of the Prophet (ṣ)? These issues need to be properly investigated and studied’.
His eminence further stated: ‘we must learn a lesson from what happened in the early years of Islam; we must vigilantly protect our revolution otherwise those who seek to undermine it will take over key government posts and we realize it when the revolution is lost’.
Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi asserted: ‘carrying out the Islamic revolution was a great and valuable feat; however, protecting it is a more difficult task’.
In another part of his speech, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi referred to the edifying sermon delivered by the Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (ʿa) after the demise of the Prophet (ṣ) and stated: ‘this is one of the most well-known sermons which has been related by both Shi’a and Sunni scholars through various chains of narrators. This brilliant sermon consists of seven sections, each of which addresses a separate topic and has its own specific goal. Thus, these different sections must be studied separately’.
His eminence then stated: ‘the first section of the sermon is a succinct yet profound analysis of issues related to the Oneness and the Attributes of Allah (swt), as well as His beautiful Names and the purpose of the creation of the world; the second section addresses the sublime rank and station of the Prophet (ṣ), as well as his responsibilities, characteristics, and goals; the third section is about the importance of the holy Quran and the philosophy of the teachings of Islam, as well as the philosophy and secrets behind the revealed rules and religious laws along with some exhortations with regard to these issues; in the fourth part of her speech, this great Lady of Islam (ʿa) first introduces herself and then refers to the his father’s services to the Muslim community. It is at this point where this great Lady of Islam reminds the people of their terrible conditions in the pre-Islamic era and compares those conditions with the conditions of justice and equity established by Islam. She then asks them to learn a lesson from this change of conditions’.
His eminence further added: ‘in the fifth section of her sermon, she referred to what happened after the demise of the Prophet (ṣ) and the efforts of the hypocrites to destroy and eliminate Islam; the sixth part of this sermon is dedicated to the issue of the usurpation of Fadak, the false pretexts under which Fadak was taken away from her, and her refutation of those pretexts; finally, in the seventh and the last part of her speech, she warns the helpers and the true companions of the Prophet (ṣ) of the divine retribution and asks them to come to her aid against the enemies who intended to undermine Islam’.
