Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi's Response to the Worrying Letter Sent by a Group of Indian Clerics

Greetings to you

Over the last week, a petition was sent by an attorney to the Supreme Court of India seeking the removal of 26 verses from the Quran that pertain to Jihād. Regrettably, given the measures taken by Indian government against Islam over the past years as well as its attempts to spread Islamophobia, it is likely that the Supreme Court of India will pass a verdict removing these 26 verses; this is while this issue has not yet been covered by media.

Indian clerics and Shia community call for the condemnation of this issue by senior religious authorities.

Response:

In His Name, the Almighty

All Muslims, regardless of whether they are Shia or Sunni, believe that whatever has been compiled and is available to us in the form of the current Quran is an integral part of the Quran, containing the very verses that were revealed to the Holy Prophet (s); therefore, it has not been subjected to any kind of distortion, and nor has it undergone any additions or subtractions.

We have recently heard that some biased and ignorant people have considered removing some Quranic verses, while this act is against the doctrine of the world Muslims. We explicitly declare that this act is unjustified and the person who has put it forward must repent forthwith. In fact, the current Quran available to the Muslims contains all the verses revealed to the heart of the Holy Prophet (s).

Last but not least, it should be noted that Quranic verses, including the ones pertaining to Jihād, are not only unremovable but they also possess rich significations as well as transcendental knowledge for the redemption of the entire human community. Those who are interested to become acquainted with Quranic knowledge could refer to my book titled Ayeen –e Rahmat (Religion of Mercy).