December 20th 2009

Source:Rahesabz & Khordaad 88

Ahmad Montazeri, the son of the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri’s and the head of his office, in a message offered his condolences for the loss of this divine scholar and great Source of Immolation [1] for the Shi’ite World.

In The Name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful
We are all from God, and to Him we shall return

“Among the Believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah. Of them some have completed their vow (to the extreme), and some (still) wait: but they have never changed (their determination) in the least:”
[Quran: 33-23]

The great guardian of Alavi Shi’ite [2], the brave hero of Islam and Iran, the legend of resistance, endeavor, jurisprudence and religiosity, the rare resource of Muslimhood and freedom, great Islamic juror and restless struggler Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Hossein-Ali Montazeri (May God sanctify his virtuous soul) has passed away and tasted the attainment to God. His agonized body is now in peace and that divine soul is now in His Compassion. That afflicted heart that beat in the sorrow for Islam, people and their rights and had yearning for truth has now stopped. The divine soul of the great juror of Shi’ite and the one of a kind Islamic scholar is now with the prophet of compassion and his virtuous household.
Montazeri is now gone but his memory of his struggle to make the true Islamic Republic a reality stays with us. Montazeri is gone but his truth telling and his free being is a light for those who seek the sweetness of Alavi traditions through the lessons of Nahj Al-Balagha [3] and would find it in his [Ayatollah Montazeri] life and manners. The years of detainment, torture, exile, the martyrdom [of his son] and his tolerance towards grief in the oppressing era of Shah, has made him a one of a kind role model for the Shi’ite clergy. This is due to his goodness-seeking, honest labor and his responsible effort along with the departed leader of the Revolution for the growth and prosperity of the Revolution and the Islamic republic. He spent his life in studying, researching and making the effort to make the truth that he had learned a reality. His death will undoubtedly awake the hearts and the souls. His memory will resemble the fragrant a human being who is in the path of Ali (Peace be Upon Him) and Hossein (Peace be Upon Him) [4] .
I would like to send my condolences of this painful loss to our great divine Imam and the hope of the world of justice, to all those who seek the truth and freedom, and to all those who are resisting in the path of God all over the world. I would like to send my condolences to all Islamic scholars and jurists in the seminaries, especially the loving students of that blissful and departed soul.

Holy Qom
The third of Moharram 1431

[1] Source of immolation or Marja’ (Arabic/Persian: ????) (Plural: maraji), also known as a marja-i taqlid or marja dini (Arabic/Persian: ???? ????? / ???? ????), literally means “Source to Imitate/Follow” or “Religious Reference”. It is the label provided to Shia authority, a Grand Ayatollah with the authority to make legal decisions within the confines of Islamic law for followers and less-credentialed clerics. After the Qur’an and the Prophets and Imams, marjas are the highest authority on religious laws in Shia Islam.

[2]Literally, it means the followers of Ali ibn Abitalib-The first Imam of Shi’ites and the Fourth Caliph. The term is generally refereed to the Shia’ sect of Islam. Alavi is the Arabic adjective used to refer to Ali ibn Abitalib.

[3]The Nahj al-Balagha (Arabic: ??? ??????? “Peak of Eloquence”) is the most famous collections of Shi’a hadith, attributed to Ali (Ali ibn Abi Talib). It was collected by Al-Sharif al-Radi, or in Persian Seyyed Razi, in the 10th century. It is considered by many to be the epitome of eloquence, a masterpiece of Arab literature.

[4] ?usayn ibn ‘Al? ibn Ab? ??lib (Arabic: ???? ?? ??? ?? ??? ?????)? (3rd Sha‘b?n 4 AH – 10th Muharram 61 AH; 8 January 626 AD – 10 October 680 AD) was the son of ‘Al? ibn Ab? ??lib (final Rashidun Caliph[6] and first Sh?‘a Im?m) and F?timah Zahr? (daughter of Muhammad). Husayn is an important figure in Isl?m as he is a member of the Ahl al-Bayt (the household of Muhammad) and Ahl al-Kis?, as well as being a Sh?‘a Im?m, and one of The Fourteen Infallibles of Sh?’a Twelvers.

Husayn ibn ‘Al? is revered by all Shi’a as a martyr who fought tyranny, as he refused to pledge allegiance to Yaz?d