Abusing and Insulting Leaders of Sunni Madhhab according to Shia Jurists

The painful situation of the contemporary Muslim world –from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Bahrain and Iraq– demands extreme patience and insightful understanding from the Shi‘as of Ahl al-Bayt. Let us not allow the Salafis to use our words to add to the fuel of the fire lit by their hatred to the Ahl al-Bayt.

What follows are the answers of the Shia Maraj’ on abusing and insulting leaders of Sunni Muslims:

By the Grand Ayatollah Sayyid ‘Ali Khāmena’i

When a person speaking in the name of Shi‘as on his private internet television channel (based in London, UK) used abusive and insulting remarks about one of the wives of the Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.), a group of Shi‘a scholars from Ahsa’[1] (Saudi Arabia), sent a question to the Grand Ayatollah Khamena’i and asked for his verdict.

In his reply, Ayatollah Khamena’i said:

“Insulting the personalities of Sunni brethren, including the wives of all the Prophets, in particular those of the Leader of the Prophets and accusing the wife of the Prophet of Islam, is forbidden (ḥarām).”

By the Grand Ayatollah Sayyid ‘Ali Sistani

Question:

As-Salaamun ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

A video clip is circulating on social media of a mourning procession on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam al-Jawād (a.s.),and a group of people in the area of al-A‘dhamiyya are seen shouting abuses on ‘Umar and ‘Aisha and others.

Is such an act condemned by the highest religious leadership (marji‘iyyat)? Especially since it relates to abusing the religious symbols of our Sunni brethren and this, in turn, will further enflame the fire of blind civil strife among the Iraqi people.

Was-salaam.

Answer:

In the name of Allah, the Kind, the Merciful

This behavior is condemned and strongly objectionable, and is against what the Imams of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) has ordered their followers (Shi‘as). Allah is the Guide.

Office of As-Sayyid As-Sistani

An-Najaf al-Ashraf

2 Dhul Hijjah1434 (8 October 2013)

By the Grand Ayatollah N. Makarim Shirazi

“…Recently a pseudo scholar, an ignorant person…has shockingly abused the wives of the Noble Prophet and has insulted some holy entities of other sects and has accused wives of the Prophet of inappropriate things.

“Either this person is in pay [of the enemies] or is foolish and a lunatic; and more ignorant than him are those Wahhabi scholars who use such statements as a basis [for their hatred against us]. This is in spite of the fact that hundreds of Shi‘a scholars have condemned this act but they [the Wahhabis] have accepted the words of this servant [of the enemies]. This shows the illogical attitude of the Wahhabis….

“Our condemnation was publicized on the Global Wilayat Channel, and we have condemned every kind of insult of the wives of the Prophet. These [Wahhabis] have forgotten that the late Imam [Khumayni] declared Salman Rushdie as an apostate because of the Satanic Verses in which inappropriate things had been attributed to the Prophet’s wives.

“We should be careful to make our statements on the basis of proofs and logic, but at the same time, we should not do something that will cause conflict.”

By the Grand Ayatollah H. Waḥīd Khurāsāni

Once in his lecture, Ayatollah Ḥusayn Waḥīd Khurāsani, the teacher of Hawza-e ‘Ilmiyyah of Qum and Shia Marja’, read a narration from tafsīr of Imam Fakhru’d-Dīn Rãzi in which the name of ‘Umar, the second caliph, had come.

The narration had the words, “raziyallahu ‘anhu,” and Ayatollah Waḥīd Khurāsāni recited it the way it had occurred in the book.

Some from the audience uttered words of insult regarding the second caliph. Ayatollah Wahid responded by saying:

“Have I not said that in my lecture do not use such words?!

مـگـر نـگـفته بودم سر درس من از اينگـونه كلمات به كار نبريد!”

This text Compiled & Translated by ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi.

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References

[1] It should be noted that a person with a Shi‘a garb sitting in the comfort of his studio in London utters abusive things about Sunnis and its brunt is felt by Shi‘a minorities in Saudi Arabia and other countries. A speaker, especially one who is be heard through internet, should realize the serious consequences of what he says.