Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi:‎ Muharram mourning ceremonies should be held in accordance with health protocols

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): In a meeting with Sheikh Mohammad Qommi, the head of the Islamic Development Organization, Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi referred to the report ‎submitted by him and said, “There is no doubt that we have principles that we can never ‎abandon. Among these principles is the issue of mourning during the months of Muharram ‎and Safar.” ‎

The revered source of emulation emphasized the need for appropriate measures in this ‎regard and said, “If we abandon these matters, it will lead to trouble, if we want to act, it ‎must be in such a manner where health protocols are observed and that spiritual and ‎religious aspects aren’t neglected, just as the case with Friday prayers.” ‎

He stated, “If we don’t have a standard and criterion in this regard, there will be problems. ‎Therefore, those in charge should definitely pay enough and necessary attention in this ‎regard in order to consider the religious and denominational concerns of the people and to ‎maintain their health and safety protocols.”‎

Emphasizing that the Ashura ceremony can’t be stopped at any cost, Ayatollah Makarem ‎Shirazi added, “What did they do with Ashura during the era of the Shah, Reza Khan ‎‎[Pahlavi]? But everyone saw that they didn’t do anything.”‎

His Eminence noted the problems in the country, including economic issues and said, “As we ‎express cultural problems, we also address the economic and livelihood problems of the ‎people. In this regard, we issued a statement so that people know that the religious ‎authorities also criticize the high prices and give the necessary warnings.”‎

He praised the entry of the clergy into social issues, including their assistance to health ‎defenders and emphasized, “In the sensitive and serious situation in which many patients ‎with Coronavirus find themselves, the entry of the clergy and seminarians into this field and ‎their assistance to patients and their performance of funeral ablutions and burials of the ‎deceased had a great impact on society and this is one of the most effective types of ‎propagation.”‎

Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi stressed the need to better and further utilize these capacities and ‎said, “These kinds of activities and the help of the clergy is propagation on the one hand and ‎on the other hand it shows that the clergy and the seminaries are with the people and their ‎sympathizers.”‎

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