AhlulBayt News Agency: A senior Iranian cleric said promoting prayer requires more than producing educational content.
Ayatollah Ahmad Marvi, the custodian of the Imam Reza (AS) holy shrine in Mashhad argued that the behavior and conduct of those who pray must inspire others to follow.
He made the remarks while addressing the 33rd National Prayer Conference, held in the Quds Hall of the Imam Reza (AS) shrine on Thursday.
“Inviting people to prayer is not achieved merely through expressing teachings and producing content. Rather, the behavior, speech, and manner of interaction of worshippers must be such that it encourages others toward prayer,” Ayatollah Marvi said.
The conference is an annual event in Iran that brings together religious scholars, officials, and community leaders to discuss ways to promote prayer in society.
Ayatollah Marvi noted that martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei consistently emphasized prayer’s central role in individual and social life.
He said the martyred Leader’s messages to the conference over the years stressed that prayer must have the highest position in people’s individual and social lives, and attention to prayer is among the most important macro-level programs of the Islamic government.
The cleric added that the martyred Leader also called for maximum use of soft power capabilities and the capacity of art and literature in promoting prayer culture, because prayer is a blessed and purifying matter.
Ayatollah Marvi pointed out that the martyred Leader issued dedicated messages each year for only two occasions: the Hajj pilgrimage and the National Prayer Conference.
“This indicates the high importance placed on the prayer conference, even though it is held domestically, while Hajj is an international event.”
The cleric further challenged the assumption that people who do not pray simply lack knowledge about its importance. “If we imagine that those who do not pray merely do so because they do not know its importance, and that they will become worshippers by writing and distributing books, that is a naive view.”
He noted that while scholars, mystics, and writers have produced valuable works on prayer at various levels, a portion of society remains indifferent to the obligation. “We are not facing a shortage in terms of expressing teachings,” he said. “Educationalists, thinkers, and sociologists must investigate why this part of society is indifferent to prayer, because surely factors beyond a mere lack of knowledge are involved.”
Ayatollah Marvi said the conduct of worshippers themselves plays a major role in whether others are drawn to prayer.
“The behavior, speech, actions, and manner of interaction of a person who prays—in the family, in society, and in dealing with people—must be such that it encourages and persuades others to pray,” he said. “When a young person sees no difference between someone who prays and someone who does not, in terms of trustworthiness, ethics, speech, and behavior, this has an indirect negative effect.”
He cited a historical example: the spread of Islam in the Indian subcontinent, where hundreds of millions converted. He attributed this largely to Muslim traders who demonstrated honesty, trustworthiness, and cleanliness in their dealings with local people. “In reality, the actions of Muslims caused people to gravitate toward Islam,” he said, noting that no books were initially brought to the region.
Ayatollah Marvi also referenced the conduct of Prophet Muhammad (AS) and Shia Imams (AS), saying people were drawn to Islam by observing their actions.
“If we want to educate society and deepen the culture of prayer, we must, alongside explanation and study, be people of action,” he concluded.
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