• Statements
• 28 Thi Alhija 1434

On the advent of the month of Muharram and the tragic events of Al-Taff, the representative of the leading Marja’iyah in Europe, Allamah Sayyid Murtadha Al-Kashmiri issued the following guidance for Orators and Mubaligheen

Imam Jaffar ibn Mohammad al-Sadiq (a.s.) said:
“Relive our traditions, may Allah bless those who relive our traditions”

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah the Compassionate Most Merciful

الَّذِينَ يُبَلِّغُونَ رِسَالَاتِ اللَّهِ وَيَخْشَوْنَهُ وَلَا يَخْشَوْنَ أَحَداً إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ حَسِيباً - الاحزاب 39
Those who deliver the Messages of Allah and fear Him, and do not fear anyone but Allah and Allah is sufficient to take account (The Allies:39)

All praise is due to Allah Lord of the worlds and peace and blessing be upon Muhammad and his pure household.

Allah Almighty says in the holy Qur’an:
وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِمَّنْ دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ - فصلت : 33
And who is better in speech than he who invites (men) to come to Allâh and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims." (Spelled Out: 33)

We are approaching the months of Muharram and Safar, two of the most significant months on the Islamic calendar for their important religious commemorations. The demise of the Umma’s guide and saviour, the prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family), the martyrdom of his grandson, Al-Hussain ibn Ali (a.s.), the reviver and restorer of his grandfather’s Sharia’ - who continued in his grandfather’s footsteps to protect Sharia’ from danger and desertion. He was as concerned and determined as his grandfather, until Sharia’ conceded that he was its protector and that he never died and disappeared. Thus confirming the Messenger’s prophecy when he said: “Hussain is of me and I am of Hussain”

During this period Majalis are convened and orators spread far and wide for Tabligh and speakers give talks and lectures.

وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِمَّنْ دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ - فصلت : 33
And who is better in speech than he who invites (men) to come to Allâh..(Spelled Out: 33)

So, what is this invitation to Allah? It is an invitation by Allah for man’s moral life.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ - الانفال:24
O you who believe! Answer (the call of) Allah and His Messenger, when He calls you to that which gives you life…(Anfal:24)

It is an invitation to Islam, to adhere to its teachings and tenets firmly and to correct the Umma’s path when it strays. Such was the aim of Al- Hussain’s (a.s.) uprising – as he clearly described by saying:
ألا ترون الى الحق لايعمل به والى الباطل لايتناهى عنه ؟
“Do you not see that justice is not being upheld and injustice is not being forbidden?”

إنما خرجت لطلب الإصلاح في أمة جدي محمد (ص), أريد أن آمر بالمعروف وانهى عن المنكر
“I only came seeking reform in the nation of my grandfather Muhammad (s.a.w.w,) I mean to enjoin good and forbid evil”

من رأى منكم سلطاناً جائراً, مستحلاً لحرام الله, فلم ييغير عليه بفعل ولابقول, كان على الله يدخله مدخله..
"He who sees an unfair ruler who permits what Allah has forbidden, and who does not heed to action or word to the contrary, then he deserves where Allah shall place him [hell’s fire]"

Orators and mubaligheen therefore need to reveal the secrets of the Hussaini uprising in this era where evil is superseding good and injustice is being confused with justice. Lying has become a virtue and truth impiety; leading people off the path of Islam towards perversity of thought, ideology and behaviour. Such result is due to their spirit being fed with worldly pleasures, selling their eternal-life for this transient world, repudiating the tenets and principles (of Islam) and the fundamentals of religion. Religion has become a phrase on their tongues – uttered whenever their sustenance necessitates.

Our duty today is to refute these misconceptions and fallacies with verses from the holy Quran and Ahaadith (narrations) of Ahlul-Bayt (a.s.) so as to cultivate friendship and love for other people in the heart of the listener – making it a slogan of our lectures and talks – refraining from that which causes insult to prominent Muslim figures. Otherwise the enemies will allow themselves to target everyone as they do today by killing innocent people and destroying the souls of the righteous through their bombings, suicide belts, and silencers as well as spreading repugnant sectarianism; all of which the holy Quran has forbidden us to do:

... وَلاَ تَنَازَعُواْ فَتَفْشَلُواْ وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ..الانفال : 46 -
..and do not dispute (with one another) lest you lose courage and your strength depart, (The Spoils of War: 46)
وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ وَاذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَاء فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا - آل عمران: 103

And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allâh (i.e. this Qur'ân), and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allâh's Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren [in Islâmic Faith], (Al-Imran: 103)

We trust that all advocates of Islam to enjoy the highest level of awareness and sincerity. Practicing what they preach (the teacher must first teach himself) and not be among those referred to by Allah in the Quran as:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ - الصف:2

أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ - البقرة 44
O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? (Battle Array:2) What! Do you enjoin people to be good and forget your own selves while you read the Book? Have you then no sense?

It is narrated that: If the Alim does not apply his knowledge then his sermon will slip of the hearts [of listeners] like a drop [of water] on a rock.

Therefore, sincerity is the basis of Tabligh, on condition the Mubaligh identifies the problem and gives the right prescription to those in need - to safeguard their religion and their worldly existence. This was the aim of the prophets (a.s) whose path was followed by the righteous Awlia and Awssia (a.s.)

In describing some of the attributes of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.w.), Amirul-Momineen (a.s) says, he (s.a.w.w.) was : “a roaming doctor, confident of his medicine and cures, accurately prescribing to those whose hearts are blinded, the deaf and dumb, taking his cure to wherever there is ignorance and mental conditions.”

In addition to what we mentioned regarding sincerity, the Mubaligh must enjoy the following in order to convey his message:

1- Conform to good ethics and morality to encourage and attract Momineen to the realm of Iman as did the Messenger of Allah. It was with his high morals that he was able to guide people and save them from darkness to the right path.

وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظّاً غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لاَنفَضُّواْ مِنْ حَوْلِكَ - ال عمران 159
..and had you been rough, hard-hearted they would certainly have dispersed from around you (3:159)

وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ - القلم 4 And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality

2- Not to believe whatever anyone reports without verifying its source (the problem with news is its communicators). Use your intellect and be aware of the ins and outs of situations.

“O you who believe! If an evil –doer comes to you with a report, look carefully into it, lest you harm a people in ignorance then be sorry for what you have done”(Holy Quran 49:6). So that you do not get into difficulties when talking about matters which may lead others into ignorance, creating gossip in the community based on inaccuracies.

3-To speak to people on their wavelength, and not delve into ambiguous matters which cannot be fathomed, or use various philosophical and scientific terminology only experts can understand. As the narration goes: “we associate with prophets and we talk to people according to their mental capacity”.

4-Convey the beauty of the words of our Imams (a.s.) so as to cultivate their love in the hearts of the listener, as our Imam Al-Ridha (a.s.) said: Blessed is the one who relives our traditions, I said: How do we relive your traditions? He said: To learn our knowledge and teach them to the people – for if they only knew the beauty of our words they would surely follow us.”

5- Allocate part of the Majlis for everyday jurisprudential laws (Ahkam) whether on Ibadaat or Muamalaat based of rulings from Islamic law books.

6- Avoid myths and legends and quoting narrations with no solid proof emanating from the prophet (s.a.w.w.) and his pure progeny (a.s.).

7- Educate the youth and increase their social awareness. Include historical tales to benefit them now and in future and urge them to respect their parents, as Allah (swt) has said:

And your Lord has commanded that you shall not serve (any) but him, and goodness to your parents. If either or both of them reach old age with you, say not to them (so much as) Ugh nor chide them, and speak to them a generous word. (17:23)

9-The Mubaligh must also read useful books as much as possible nurturing his soul with knowledge in order to have an insight into the concepts, thoughts and visions he wishes to convey, so he does not become as Amirul-Momineen (a.s.) said: “He who trades without knowledge shall be plagued and plagued.”
This narration does not only apply to commercial trading, but to every action one embarks upon without knowledge. “

We should not forget the important part of the Majalis which is to generate tears and sadness for the tragedy that befell upon Al-Hussain and his household (a.s.) and to portray their grievances in line with his sayings (a.s): “Tell our Shia’s what happened to us. Chant me with tenderness.” Thus arousing emotions in the hearts of Momineen by various soul-stirring methods without distorting the spirit and magnificence of these commemorations by giving due consideration to the circumstances and time of these Majalis.

Imam Ali ibn Moussa Al-Redha (a.s.) said: “He who is reminded of our suffering and weeps and makes others weep, shall not shed a tear on the day when eyes are blinded”

Abi Abd-illah Al-Sadiq (a.s) said: “Whenever Hussain is mentioned and a tear the size of a fly’s is shed, that person’s reward will be with Allah and He [Allah] shall not be satisfied with anything else for him except paradise.”

Lastly, we ask the Almighty, the Omnipotent, to grant all Mubaligheen success to that which pleases and satisfies Him and not to forget us in their Duas.

Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabaraktoh

Representative of the leading Marja’iyah in Europe
28 Thil-Hijja 1434
4 November 2013