AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The opening ceremony of the Conference to Commemorate Grand Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Taghi Shirazi was held on Saturday, December 10, 2022.
The ceremony was held in the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.) in Karbala with the large presence of ulama, clerics, national and military figures, chiefs and sheikhs of tribes, researchers and professors from the universities of Iraq, Iran and a number of other countries of the world.
As the first speaker of the opening ceremony of the “Conference Commemorating Mirza Mohammad Taghi Shirazi”, Sheikh Abd al-Mahdi Karbalai the Sharia Custodian of the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.), while welcoming the guests, expressed his gratitude to the organizers of the conference.
Then, Sheikh Abd al-Mahdi Karbalai said, “In a hadith, Imam Javad (a.s.) refers to the importance of knowledge and the incomparable rank of a scholar compared to other people and says, “Indeed, the one who takes care of the orphans of the family of Muhammad (p.b.u.h), that is, the Shiites who are far from their Imam and are immerse in bafflement of ignorance, who are captive in the hands of their inner demons and our Nasibi enemies, and rescue them, and save them from confusion, and defeat the demons by repelling their temptations, and defeat the enemies by using God’s proofs and Imams’ reasonings, Indeed, the one who takes care of the orphans of the family of Muhammad (pbuh), his position and dignity before God is far superior to that of a worshiper; the superiority much higher than the superiority of the sky over the earth, and the throne and the curtains of the sky. The superiority of these people over the worshipers [or the rest of God’s servants] is like the virtue that the full moon over the faintest star in the sky.”
Ayatollah Karbalai referred to Mirza Mohammad Taghi Shirazi as an example of ulama mentioned by Imam Javad (a.s.) in the hadith, a dignitary for whom this conference was held for his commemoration.
“Preventing the distortion of history and the tarnishing of brilliant historical figures is the second reason for holding these kinds of conferences,” he said, “Unfortunately, some have distorted many historical facts and precious figures. Therefore, we must convey and recognize those events and dignitaries in the correct way to the new generations.”
“Using the lessons of history for today’s society is another reason for holding this series of conferences. Precise and detailed knowledge of past events, especially sensitive and influential events, helps us to learn from in today’s events,” explained the Sharia Custodian of the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.).
“We are going through many perilous events right now, which we have suffered due to the lack of use of previous experiences,” Ayatollah Karbalai stated.
Referring to the diligence of Mirza Mohammad Taghi Shirazi to unchain Iraq from colonial rule, this Islamic thinker stated, “It is necessary to introduce the works of the Marjaiat in this era for the independence of the countries, the protection of the rights of Muslims and the development of social justice to the society.”
Comparing the era of Mirza Shirazi with the present time, he stated, “When we compare our predecessor Marjaiat represented by Sheikh Mohammad Taghi Shirazi, with successor Marjaiat, such as the Grand Ayatollah Sayed Ali Hosseini Sistani, we see similarities between all of them in diligence to achieve the fundamental goals in the life of the nation.”
According to Friday Imam of the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.), some of these fundamental goals are as follows: “Preservation of Islamic identity and national feeling, protection of people’s rights, taking care for peace and avoiding conflicts, realization of social justice for Iraqi people, trying to create grounds for good citizenship, building a political system based on the will of the people, maintaining national unity, drawing the correct way to achieve the right, emancipation of the citizens from seditions and internal conflicts that lead to weaken the institution of government and society, and destroy its components.”
* The Series of International Conferences for the Revival of the Heritage of the Ulama of Karbala
It should be mentioned that the Commemoration Conference for Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Taghi Shirazi is the third of the Series of International Conferences for the Revival of the Heritage of the Ulama of Karbala which dedicated to commemorating and revival the works of the ulama of Karbala.
The organizer of these series of conferences is the Karbala Center for Studies and Research, the Scientific Section of the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.). Previously, Karbala Center held the first and second conferences to commemorate Allameh Vahid Behbahani, and great faqih and hadith narrator Ibn Fahd Hilli.
The title of the 3rd conference of these Series of International Conferences, was “Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Taghi Shirazi - Thoughts and Leadership”, which was held by Research Center of the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.) in cooperation with the Shiraz University as partner organizer.
The opening ceremony of this conference was held in the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.) on Saturday, December 10, 2022, and then, after Maghrib and Isha prayers, researchers from different countries presented their articles in the evening scientific session which was held in Sayed al-Osia Complex.
On Sunday morning, December 11, 2022, the scientific session continued their activities, and the closing ceremony was held on Sunday evening.
It is also worth mentioning that the ABNA News Agency by dispatching reporters covered the detailed news and pictures of this conference exclusively.
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