Full Text of Ahmad Montzeri’s Eulogy for the late Grand Ayatollah MontzeriFull Text of Ahmad Montzeri’s Eulogy for the late Grand Ayatollah Montzeri

Source:Rahesabz
Date: Sunday, December 20, 2009

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

In The Name of God the Merciful and the Compassionate,

We are all from God and to Him we shall return -

“Among the believers are men who have been true to their pledge with Allah. Some have completed their vow (to the utmost), and others (still) wait: but they have not changed (their determination) in the least” [Qur’an: 33-23]

The great guardian of Alavi Shi’ism Alavi Shi’ite [2], the brave hero of Islam and of Iran, the legend of resistance, enterprise, jurisprudence and religiosity, the exceptional resource of Muslimhood and freedom, great Islamic juror and the continuously resistant – Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Hossein-Ali Montazeri (may God sanctify his virtuous soul) has passed away and tasted attainment with God. His agonized body is now in peace, and that divine soul is now privy to 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 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 unique role model for the Shi’ite clergy. This is a result of his constant search for virtue, for his honest labor and his responsible efforts (along with the departed leader of the Revolution) to ensure the growth and prosperity of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic. He spent his life studying, researching and attempting to make his truth a reality. His death will undoubtedly awaken hearts and souls. His memory will resemble the sweet-scented human being, who is on the path of Ali (peace be upon him) and Hossein (peace be upon him) [4] .

I would like to extend my condolences to our great divine Imam, to all those who seek freedom and truth, and to those all over the world, who fight in the name of God. I would like to express my condolences to all the Islamic scholars and jurists in the seminaries, especially the loving students of this blissful and departed soul.

– Holy Cty of Qom
Moharram 3, 1431

[1] Source of Immolation, or marja (Arabic/Persian: مرجع), also known as a marja-i taqlid or marja dini (Arabic/Persian: تقليد مرجع /ديني مرجع), literally means “Source of Imitation” or “Religious Reference”. It is the label provided to a Shi’a authority – a Grand Ayatollah with the ability to make legal decisions within the confines of Islamic law for followers and junior clerics. Following the Qur’an and the Prophets or Imams, marjas are the highest authority on religious laws in Shi’a Islam.

[2] Literally, the followers of Ali ibn-Abitalib – the first Shi’ite Imam and the Fourth Caliph. The term is generally used to refer to a specific sect of Shia Islam. Alavi is the Arabic adjective used to refer to Ali ibn-Abitalib.
[3] The Nahj al-Balagha (Arabic: البلاغة نهج, “Peak of Eloquence”) is the most famous collection of the Shi’a hadith, attributed to Ali ibn-Abitalib. It was collected by Al-Sharif al-Radi (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] Ḥossain ibn Ali ibn-Abitalib (Arabic: طالب أﺑﻲ بن علي بن حسين‎)‎ (3rd Sha‘ban 4 AH – 10th Muharram 61 AH or 8 January 626 AD – 10 October 680 AD) was the son of Ali ibn Abi Ṭalib (final Rashidun Caliph [6] and first Shi’a Imam) and Fatimah Zahra (daughter of Muhammad). Hossein is an important figure in Islam, as he is a member of the Ahl al-Bayt (the household of Muhammad) and the Ahl al-Kisa, as well as a Shī’a Imam and one of the Fourteen Infallibles of the Shi’a Twelve.
Hossain ibn Ali is revered by all Shi’a as a martyr who fought tyranny, refusing to pledge allegiance to Yazid.