Ayatollah Ramazani: AhlulBayt World Assembly has significant capacity in world

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly and the accompanying delegation met Ayatollah Sayed Morteza Qazvini, one of the great scholars of Karbala.

In this meeting, Ayatollah Sayed Morteza Qazvini stated, “Spreading the teachings of Islam in Arabic and English in the world is very effective. There is very little information about Shia in today’s world. Therefore, the duty of the Shiite clerics is to introduce Shia to the world.”

“More than 25 years ago, my family and I went to Umrah. One Friday night, we were reciting the Du'a Kumayl in the Holy Mosque. One of the people of Mecca, when he heard the Du'a, stood and listened to it and said in the dialect of the people of Mecca, “This Du'a is of the words of the AhlulBayt (a.s.).” He had not heard such prayers from Hanbali and Shafi'i and it was new to him,” he continued, stating that the Du'as of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) are spiritual and the prayers of others are soulless.

“A Shiite cleric who has been in Detroit, Michigan for many years said, “I was in my office. A young American woman came in full hijab and said she wanted to convert to Islam. She said she had recited the Du'a Sabah of Imam Ali. She was impressed by reciting the Du'a Sabah and was crying.” The phrases and words of Du'a Kumayl and the Du'a Sabah of Imam Ali (a.s.) are not found in any other book,” added Ayatollah Qazvini.

“Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God) that He has given us this blessing. But we also have a responsibility, which is propagating Shia teachings. We must appreciate the heritage and words of the AhlulBayt (a.s.). A Shiite cleric said, “I gave an English copy of the Sahifa Sajjadiyya to a cardinal. After reading the Sahifa, the cardinal gave up Sunday programs at church and read the book”,” he added, noting that there are teachings in Shia that are not in other religions.

“The duty of the scholars is to introduce the school of AhlulBayt (a.s.) to the world in any language. Even now, the AhlulBayt (a.s.) are neglected and the world does not know them. In a hadith of one of the Infallible Imams (a.s.), we read, “If people know the merits of our words, they will surely follow us.” Therefore, we should appreciate the guidance to the school of AhlulBayt (a.s.) and try to promote this school,” stated Ayatollah Qazvini in the end.

At the beginning of the meeting, in describing the activities of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly Ayatollah Reza Ramazani stated, “The AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly has a significant capacity in the world. The Assembly has a university in Iran, where students from different countries study. Thaqalayn satellite television in Arabic is also one of the activities of the assembly. We are looking to launch Thaqalayn TV in other languages, and make changes to the content in order to strengthen it.”

“We have about 4,000 missionaries associated with the Assembly on different continents of the world. Also, “Wiki Shia”, the virtual Shiite encyclopedia, introduces the teachings of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) to the world. There are 25,000 articles in 12 languages in Wiki Shia. On the other hand, the Assembly has published 2,500 books in 58 languages,” he added.

“Last year, we held the International Conference of “Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.); the supporter of the Prophet (p.b.u.h)”. In this conference, 600 articles from different denominations of Islam were submitted to the conference secretariat. In the articles, the authors had defended the character and position of Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.). The articles were submitted to the conference, were from the Al-Azhar University in Egypt, Ez-Zitouna University in Tunisia, and Washington University. The conference works are prepared in 30 volumes of books, of which 18 volumes have been published so far,” said the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, referring to the holding of several conferences by the Assembly.

“We are looking to put the role of Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.) and his faith in textbooks,” he stated, emphasizing the essential role of Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.) during the Be’that of the Prophet (p.b.u.h).

“Today, the presence of Islamic centers and Muslim missionaries in various European countries and the Americas, are very effective. Human society is thirsty for the teachings of the AhlulBayt (a.s.). At the University of Sorbonne, France, we had many dialogs with Christian thinkers. In one of those dialogs, Mr. Henry Lhogo, a Catholic priest and scholar, said, “Today, Shia, with its dynamic ijtihad, can answer questions that we have not been able to answer.” This is their confession. Today, we must invest in promoting the culture and discourse of the AhlulBayt (a.s.), rationality, and spirituality in the world,” said Ayatollah Ramazani in another part of his speech.

“Annemarie Schimmel, a German Islamologist, translated Sahifa Sajjadieh. His friends protested to her, “Why are you translating Shiite works?” She gave the translation of Sahifa Sajjadieh to a friend without mentioning who had written the book. After reading the translation of the Sahifa, that friend put aside the supplications of Christianity and lived with the supplications of the Sajjadiyya Sahifa,” he stated.

“The Assembly carries out activities to the best of its ability. But there is still a lot of work to be done, and the enemies are very active and work harder than us. In Germany, there is a research institute that seeks to prove that the Quran is a book that is useless in today’s world, belongs to yesterday, and was for Arabs. In a meeting with them, I said: Although the Prophet (p.b.u.h) was Arab, we read in Quran: “وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا كَافَّةً لِلنَّاسِ” (We did not send you except as a bearer of good news and warner to all mankind) (Quran: 34:28), and “وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ” (We did not send you but as a mercy to all the nations) (Quran: 21:107). I emphasized that the addressee of the Quran is human intellect and nature, and this intellect and nature have nothing to do with time,” continued the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

“Mr. Qazi Askar (former Supreme Leader’s Representative in Hajj Affairs) said, “We were holding Du'a Kumayl in Medina. A Saudi minister attended our ceremony and heard the words of Du'a Kumayl and said that this prayer has high meanings and was impressed.” In Germany, after a mourning ceremony, a couple asked me, “Whom are you mourning for?” I said that Imam Hussein (a.s.) was martyred 1400 years ago, in the way of human freedom and spirituality. They said that if this is the case, Hussein (a.s.) is also their Imam,” he stated, regarding the position of the supplications and the Infallible Imams (a.s.) from the point of view of non-Shiites.

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