RNA – Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani passed away on January 8 at the age of 82 after having an acute heart attack.
Born on August 25, 1934, the influential Iranian politician and writer was the fourth president of the Islamic Republic, serving from 1989 to 1997.
The text of the message of condolence from the Islamic Seminaries on the demise of Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani is as follows:
In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
We extend our sincere condolences on the demise of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, the chairman of the Expediency Council and a great revolutionary figure, to Imam al-Mahdi, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, the revered sources of emulation, the Islamic seminaries, the Iranian nation as well as the family members of the deceased.
Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani was a prominent Islamic figure and a revolutionary cleric who played crucial roles in different stages of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. During late Imam Khomeini’s anti-shah struggles, he was cooperating with the founder of the revolution all along; his sacrifices and services in the sacred path of Islam and Islamic Revolution will never be forgotten.
The late Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani also served the Islamic Revolution after its victory in different positions. He played significant roles in establishing Islamic principles, consolidating the foundations of the Islamic Revolution, Wilayat al-Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurisprudent), as well as helping the Supreme Leader. He left us with valuable legacies in serving the highest positions of Iran’s administration.
We pay tribute to his pure soul and ask God for compassion, mercy and forgiveness towards him.
May God’s blessings be upon you,
Mohammad Yazdi, head of the Supreme Council of Islamic Seminaries’ Society of Teachers
Reza Ostadi, head of the Islamic Seminaries’ Supreme Council
Ali-Reza Arafi, head of the Iranian Islamic Seminaries
112/940