RNA – Speaking during his jurisprudence class at Qom’s Grand Mosque, Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Nouri-Hamadani referred to the advice given by the Commander of the Faithful [Imam Ali] which is included in the collection of his sermons and statements called “Nahj al-Balaghah” [Peak of Eloquence] and said, “The religious teachings and the statements in Nahj al-Balaghah have emphasized that oppression, poverty and ignorance must not exist in Islamic society.”
The revered source of emulation added, “Islam says that Muslims should have such a society and if this is not the case, then they have failed to act and any amount of oppression, ignorance and poverty in society, will lead to the degeneration and degradation of society.”
Ayatollah Nouri-Hamadani stating that instead of cruelty, justice must exist throughout the Islamic society and added, “Instead of ignorance, knowledge must be widespread in society and there must be financial ability instead of poverty and if this was the case, Islamic society would be magnificent.”
He referred to the functions of scholars and clerics in society and said, “The Commander of the Faithful said that God has taken a promise from the scholars to fight against the oppressors and support the oppressed. In the life of the Commander of the Faithful, we see that he did not even carry out the slightest act of oppression and said, ‘By God, even if I were to be given all the domains of the seven heavens with all that exists under the skies in order to disobey God to the extent of snatching one grain of barley from and ant, I will never do it’ [Nahj al-Balaghah, sermon 223].”
The teacher in the Islamic Seminary of Qom stated that Islam contains many teachings about the rights of Muslims toward each other and said, “There are important rights for Muslims against each other but because they said that they are recommended, they are not well explained to the people. If these rights were expressed for society, the condition of society would not be the way it is.”
Ayatollah Nouri-Hamadani referred to the ongoing tragedy in Myanmar, saying that Buddhist soldiers entered the Muslim-majority areas of the country, killing many Rohingya men, women and children indiscriminately, destroying their homes and shooting them from close range which led to the deaths and wounding of a large number of them but the international organizations were silent in the face of the criminal and terrorist events that are taking place against the Muslims of Myanmar.
He said, “In the world today, the imperialists and their mercenaries slam the Islamic Republic of Iran and independent and Islamic countries in the name of the human rights. Today in Myanmar, Muslims are facing great oppression and this is something that the entire Islamic ummah has a responsibility for.”
The Iranian scholar stressed, “We must stand against the hegemonic powers and oppressors. Around the world, the arrogant powers kill innocent people but accuse Iran of not complying with human rights whenever death sentences against drug smugglers and murderers are carried out. Today, we need to understand and apply religious teachings in the world.”
In conclusion, Ayatollah Nouri-Hamadani noted, “It is time for every Muslim to get out his pen and write, raise his voice, go to the pulpits and give speeches and preach and raise his weapon and deliver a victory for the Muslims of Myanmar.”