RNA – On the 90th anniversary of the Saudi destruction of tombs of four of the twelve Imams buried Madinah’s Jannat al-Baqi cemetery, Grand Ayatollah Ja’far Sobhani issued a statement stressing that the Muslims of the world, especially Shi’as, must express their hatred toward the perpetrators of this crime to the world.
The statement by the revered source of emulation is as follows:
In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
The anniversary of the destruction of the heavenly shrines of the Ahlul-Bayt, the Family of the Prophet [Muhammad], and the desecration of the mausoleums of the Infallible Imams [buried] in Jannat al-Baqi, is a second Ashura and Muslims around the world, especially Shi’as, must express their hatred toward the perpetrators of this crime and convey it to the people of the world.
On this day, the army of ignorance and deviation, armed with shovels and picks aggressively stormed the holy shrines of the four Imams and other relatives of the Family of the Messenger [buried] in al-Baqi and razed them to the ground.
Another time when indecent acts and hatred were committed was when al-Mutawakkil, the Abbasid caliph, destroyed the dome and the tomb of Imam Husayn. While striking the ground, he repeated: “They desire to put out the light of God with their mouths, but God will perfect His light though the faithless should be averse” [The Holy Quran 61:8]
The Noble Quran calls the Muslims of the world toward the promotion and glorification of the houses which are the centres of the praise of God and says: “In houses God has allowed to be raised and wherein His Name is celebrated…” [The Holy Quran 24:36]
In his book Dur al-Manthur, Jalaluddin al-Suyuti writes that the Holy Prophet recited this verse in the mosque. The man asked the meaning of the world “buyut,” the Prophet said: “this means the houses of the prophets.”
At this time, while referring to the house of Lady Fatimah al-Zahra, Abu Bakr asked: “Is this house also one of these houses?” The Prophet answered: “Yes, this is one of the greatest of them.”
The Askariyayn Shrine [in Samarra] was destroyed for the same reasons.
In their homes, the Imams and their dear mother [Lady Fatimah al-Zahra] spent their time worshipping God Almighty. Unfortunately, instead of upgrading and repairing the shrine, it was destroyed.
The customs of the wise men of the world, even the customs of the followers of former religions, revere the graves of their elders and scholars and build shrines over their graves as a tribute to them. Even now, the Prophet Abraham’s grave in Occupied Palestine and the other tombs of prophets and their successors in Jordan Syria, Egypt and Iraq are evidence of this fact.
Unfortunately, the Arabs of Najd are far from Islamic culture and rather than act on the verse: “Say, ‘I do not ask you any reward for it except the love of [my] relatives’” 42:23], they have been antagonistic and they destroyed the shrines, along with dozens of monuments related to the Family of the Prophet and other religious personalities.
Now, not a day goes by where Islamic historical monuments are not destroyed near the Two Holy Shines under the pretext of expanding the shrines and nothing remains but that the cities of Makkah and Madinah are two western cities in all their meaning.
The Muslims of the world call on the rulers of Najd and Hejaz to give liberty and freedom to the Two Holy Mosques to allow the return of peace and order, permission for the lovers of the Ahlul-Bayt to rebuild their shrines, for all Islamic nations to be free to carry out their duties at the time of Hajj and Umrah so the Holy Shrine is a place of divine security sanctuary for all.
Ja’far Sobhani
The Islamic Seminary of Qom
111/112