According to the news headquarters of the International Congress on the Role of the Shi’a School in the Emergence and Development of Islamic Sciences, Ayatollah Ja’far Sobhani gave a speech in the Great Prophet auditorium of the Imam Kazim (‘a) Islamic seminary school where the congress was being held.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the congress, Ayatollah Sobhāni stated that the living nations must always make their achievements known to the world. He then continued: “a living nation would not sit idly for others to introduce them to the world; if we sit back and do not make our achievements known to the world we will have wronged ourselves”.
Emphasizing the fact that there is no doubt that the contribution of the Shi’as to the Muslim world has remained obscure, he said: “Both the Shi’a and Sunni schools have made considerable contributions to the Muslim world, but the contributions of the Shi’a school have not been brought to light the way they should have”.
This religious authority then asserted that obscurity of the services of the Shi’a school to the entire Muslim community is not peculiar to the present era, and said: “many Shi’a thinkers all throughout history have admitted not having been able to promote the Shi’a school and its contributions to the entire Muslim community well”.
Referring to a branch of Islamic jurisprudence called “comparative studies”, Ayatollah Sobhānī noted: “the first person ever to compile the jurisprudential discrepancies which exist among Muslim jurists in the form of “comparative jurisprudence” was the late Shaykh Mufīd”.
Asserting that scientific debates can help elucidate matters and bring reality in to light, he further added: “the late Ayatollah Borūjerdī was the first scholar ever to find and publish the book “Comparative Studies” with much difficulty; moreover, if we seek to promote proximity of jurisprudential schools, the best resource to help us toward this goal is the book “Tadhkirah Al Fiqh” by the late Allameh Ḥellī”.
He also stated: “we must introduce our faith correctly to the world and to each other so that we can work hand in hand toward the promotion of Islam”.
This religious authority then referred to the difference between the Shi’a and Sunni schools concerning the verses of the revealed precepts and asserted: “several books and encyclopedias on jurisprudence and comparative jurisprudence are being written by various scholars and religious authorities which can be quite valuable in understanding and addressing these differences”.
