Mutual Respect & Peaceful Co-Existence Among Muslim

(2) On Abusing & Insulting Leaders of Sunni Madhhab

By the Grand Ayatullah Sayyid ‘Ali Khamena’i

When a person speaking in the name of Shi‘as on his private internet television channel (based in London, UK) used abusive and insulting remarks about one of the wives of Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.), a group of Shi‘a scholars from Ahsã’, Saudi Arabia, sent a question to the Grand Ayatullah Khamena’i and asked for his verdict.

In his reply, Ayatullah Khamena’i said:
“Insulting the personalities of Sunni brethren, including the wives of all the Prophets, in particular those of the Leader of the Prophets and accusing the wife of the Prophet of Islam, is forbidden (haram).”

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By the Grand Ayatullah N. Makarim Shirazi

“…Recently a pseudo scholar, an ignorant person…has shockingly abused the wives of the Noble Prophet, and has insulted some holy entities of other sects and has accused wives of the Prophet of inappropriate things.

“Either this person is in pay [of the enemies] or is foolish and a lunatic; and more ignorant than him are those Wahhabi scholars who use such statements as a basis [for their hatred against us]. This is in spite of the fact that hundreds of Shi‘a scholars have condemned this act but they [the Wahhabis] have accepted the words of this servant [of the enemies]. This shows the illogical attitude of the Wahhabis….

“Our condemnation was publicized in the global Velayat Channel, and we have condemned every kind of insult of the wives of the Prophet. These [Wahhabis] have forgotten that the late Imam [Khumayni] declared Salman Rushdie as an apostate because of the Satanic Verses in which inappropriate things had been attributed to the Prophet’s wives.

“We should be careful to make our statements on the basis of proofs and logic, but at the same time, we should not do something that will cause conflict.”

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By the Grand Ayatullah H. Wahid Khurasani

Once in his lecture, Ayatullah Husayn Wahid Khurasani, the head of Hawza-e ‘Ilmiyyah of Qum, read a narration from tafsir of Imam Fakhru ’d-Dīn Rãzi in which the name of ‘Umar, the second caliph, had come.

The narration had the words, “raziyallahu ‘anhu,” and Ayatullah Wahid Khurasani recited it the way it had occurred in the book.

Some from the audience uttered words of insult regarding the caliph. Ayatullah Wahid responded by saying:

“Have I not said that in my lecture do not use such words?!

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By the Grand Ayatullah Sayyid ‘Ali Sistani

Question:
As-Salaamun ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

A video clip is circulating on social media of a mourning procession on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam al-Jawad (a.s.), and a group of people in the area of al-A‘dhamiyya are seen shouting abuses on ‘Umar and ‘Aisha and others.

Is such an act condemned by the highest religious leadership (marji‘iyyat)? Especially since it relates to abusing the religious symbols of our Sunni brethren and this, in turn, will further enflame the fire of blind civil strife among the Iraqi people.

Was-salaam.

Answer:

In the name of Allah, the Kind, the Merciful

This behavior is condemned and strongly objectionable, and is against what the Imams of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) has ordered their followers (Shi‘as). Allah is the Guide.

Office of As-Sayyid As-Sistani
An-Najaf al-Ashraf
2 Dhul Hijjah 1434 (8 October 2013)