Missionaries should explain Islamic, AhlulBayt (a.s.) teachings/ Indian ulama need to know about Islamic denominations: Ayatollah Ramazani
The Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “Missionaries should be familiar with the similarities and differences of different religions and denominations. This is essential especially for Indian ulama.”
ABWA Official Website – On Tuesday, December 6, 2022, a specialized workshop for missionaries from South India was held in the city of Alipur with the speech of the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
In this workshop, Ayatollah Reza Ramazani stated, “Wherever there is resistance, victory will be achieved. Resistance is needed in all matters. Using an example, Ayatollah Motahari says that no one has anything to do with a train that is not moving. But when the train starts moving, children throw stones at it. Similarly, when a man starts moving, some people hinder him. Therefore, we must have resistance, endurance and perseverance in our path.”
Dividing Shiites into three groups, he stated, “The first group is the general public, the second group is the elites of the society, and the third is the elites of the elites. The elites of the elites are the Velayat authorities and the grand sources of emulation, who are actually the managers and border guards of Islam. They are engaged in knowledge and debates and in charge of the affairs of the believers. This group trains students who are mujtahids or missionaries, and these missionaries are the elites of the society.”
“The task of education and moral training of the common people and the general society is the responsibility of the elite,” Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly added, “That is, missionaries and clerics are the elites of the society. If the elites fulfill their duties, the society will progress, otherwise there will be no achievements. In the Sermon of Mina, Imam Hussain (a.s.) introduces the negligence of the elites as one of the reasons leading to the Karbala uprising. It means that if the elites neglect their duties, Imam Hussain’s head may be speared!”
In explaining the duties of missionaries, he said, “Missionaries should express the teachings of Islam and the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school and teach the religion to the people. According to the verse “وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ” (to purify them, and to teach them the Book and wisdom) (Holy Quran, Surah: Al-Jumu'ah, Verse: 2), missionaries have the role of education. The duty of the prophets is purifying the society and teaching it. After the prophets, this mission is the responsibility of the Imams and then the ulama. Also, according to the Quranic verse “وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ” (We have sent down the reminder to you so that you may clarify for the people that which has been sent down to them) (Holy Quran, Surah: An-Nahl, Verse: 44), ulama should explain the principles of Islam for the society. Therefore, the duty of the missionaries is very heavy.”
“Another duty of missionaries is to answer questions,” the professor of higher levels of the seminary added, “Today’s generation is questioning. Ulama should answer the questions with the literature and language of the day. On the other hand, there are many questions. The answer to some questions may be obvious to us, while to others it is may be the matter of theory. Therefore, it is necessary to answer the questions meticulously.”
“Questions can be answered in sermons and question-and-answer classes. In today’s era, we also need to use cyberspace to propagate Islam,” he added.
“Answering doubts is the mission of other missionaries. Today there are many and various doubts. Ulama should be familiar with doubts and answer them in real and virtual sermons and preaching,” continued the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
Further in his speech, Ayatollah Ramazani stated, “The nature of Shia in India has a global capacity. Ulama of India are outstanding in terms of speech and preaching, and they are very successful in this regard. Therefore, the characteristic of speech and its opportunity it provides to influence should be used.”
Regarding the methods of conversation and interaction of the missionaries with the audience, Ayatollah Ramazani said, “The first method is using wisdom. We should teach the audience in such a way that they adjust their lives based on wisdom. Wisdom means that a person avoids doing futile things, and his actions are in accordance with the reason. In talking with literate and knowledgeable people, we should use wisdom. Because we missionaries are assigned to talk to people based on their reason.”
“Preaching and sermon gatherings are very influential today. Especially during the mourning days on the occasion of the months of Muharram and Safar, we should use preaching. In our hadith books, there are many sermons with authentic texts from the Prophet (p.b.u.h) and Imams (a.s.) that should be used. We have access to a rich content of verses and hadiths, and if we want to peach for a hundred years, we will not have repeated content. A Christian once told me, “If Nahj al-Balagha was for us (Christians), we would conquer the world with it”,” he continued.
About the moral debate methods, the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly said, “In India, a course should be held to introduce religions, sects and Islamic denominations, during which different religions of Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. will be introduced to the missionaries. Missionaries should be familiar with the similarities and differences of different religions and denominations. This is essential especially for Indian ulama.”
“One of the fundamental points that missionaries should consider is confronting reactionary attitudes, superstitions, and exaggeration. There have been exaggerations and superstitions since the time of the Imams (a.s.), and the Shiite Imams (a.s.) confronted the Ghulat (exaggerators). Also, not everything should be attributed to the religion. We should not attribute anything to religion just by reading a book, unless we are certain,” he emphasized.
“Imam Sadeq (a.s.) says, “مَن تَعَلَّمَ للّه وعَمِلَ للّه وعَلَّمَ للّه دُعِيَ في مَلَكوتِ السَّماواتِ عَظيما”, “Anyone who learns knowledge for God and practices it, and teaches it to others, will be remembered with greatness in the kingdom of heaven.” The late Ayatollah Bahjat said, “If you act on what you know, you will be taught things that are not taught in any classes. If a person behaves in this way, God will be with him, and he will reach the certainty that there is no dead end,” said the teacher of the higher levels of the seminary in the end. /345/
The Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “Missionaries should be familiar with the similarities and differences of different religions and denominations. This is essential especially for Indian ulama.”
ABWA Official Website – On Tuesday, December 6, 2022, a specialized workshop for missionaries from South India was held in the city of Alipur with the speech of the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
In this workshop, Ayatollah Reza Ramazani stated, “Wherever there is resistance, victory will be achieved. Resistance is needed in all matters. Using an example, Ayatollah Motahari says that no one has anything to do with a train that is not moving. But when the train starts moving, children throw stones at it. Similarly, when a man starts moving, some people hinder him. Therefore, we must have resistance, endurance and perseverance in our path.”
Dividing Shiites into three groups, he stated, “The first group is the general public, the second group is the elites of the society, and the third is the elites of the elites. The elites of the elites are the Velayat authorities and the grand sources of emulation, who are actually the managers and border guards of Islam. They are engaged in knowledge and debates and in charge of the affairs of the believers. This group trains students who are mujtahids or missionaries, and these missionaries are the elites of the society.”
“The task of education and moral training of the common people and the general society is the responsibility of the elite,” Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly added, “That is, missionaries and clerics are the elites of the society. If the elites fulfill their duties, the society will progress, otherwise there will be no achievements. In the Sermon of Mina, Imam Hussain (a.s.) introduces the negligence of the elites as one of the reasons leading to the Karbala uprising. It means that if the elites neglect their duties, Imam Hussain’s head may be speared!”
In explaining the duties of missionaries, he said, “Missionaries should express the teachings of Islam and the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school and teach the religion to the people. According to the verse “وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ” (to purify them, and to teach them the Book and wisdom) (Holy Quran, Surah: Al-Jumu'ah, Verse: 2), missionaries have the role of education. The duty of the prophets is purifying the society and teaching it. After the prophets, this mission is the responsibility of the Imams and then the ulama. Also, according to the Quranic verse “وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ” (We have sent down the reminder to you so that you may clarify for the people that which has been sent down to them) (Holy Quran, Surah: An-Nahl, Verse: 44), ulama should explain the principles of Islam for the society. Therefore, the duty of the missionaries is very heavy.”
“Another duty of missionaries is to answer questions,” the professor of higher levels of the seminary added, “Today’s generation is questioning. Ulama should answer the questions with the literature and language of the day. On the other hand, there are many questions. The answer to some questions may be obvious to us, while to others it is may be the matter of theory. Therefore, it is necessary to answer the questions meticulously.”
“Questions can be answered in sermons and question-and-answer classes. In today’s era, we also need to use cyberspace to propagate Islam,” he added.
“Answering doubts is the mission of other missionaries. Today there are many and various doubts. Ulama should be familiar with doubts and answer them in real and virtual sermons and preaching,” continued the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
Further in his speech, Ayatollah Ramazani stated, “The nature of Shia in India has a global capacity. Ulama of India are outstanding in terms of speech and preaching, and they are very successful in this regard. Therefore, the characteristic of speech and its opportunity it provides to influence should be used.”
Regarding the methods of conversation and interaction of the missionaries with the audience, Ayatollah Ramazani said, “The first method is using wisdom. We should teach the audience in such a way that they adjust their lives based on wisdom. Wisdom means that a person avoids doing futile things, and his actions are in accordance with the reason. In talking with literate and knowledgeable people, we should use wisdom. Because we missionaries are assigned to talk to people based on their reason.”
“Preaching and sermon gatherings are very influential today. Especially during the mourning days on the occasion of the months of Muharram and Safar, we should use preaching. In our hadith books, there are many sermons with authentic texts from the Prophet (p.b.u.h) and Imams (a.s.) that should be used. We have access to a rich content of verses and hadiths, and if we want to peach for a hundred years, we will not have repeated content. A Christian once told me, “If Nahj al-Balagha was for us (Christians), we would conquer the world with it”,” he continued.
About the moral debate methods, the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly said, “In India, a course should be held to introduce religions, sects and Islamic denominations, during which different religions of Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. will be introduced to the missionaries. Missionaries should be familiar with the similarities and differences of different religions and denominations. This is essential especially for Indian ulama.”
“One of the fundamental points that missionaries should consider is confronting reactionary attitudes, superstitions, and exaggeration. There have been exaggerations and superstitions since the time of the Imams (a.s.), and the Shiite Imams (a.s.) confronted the Ghulat (exaggerators). Also, not everything should be attributed to the religion. We should not attribute anything to religion just by reading a book, unless we are certain,” he emphasized.
“Imam Sadeq (a.s.) says, “مَن تَعَلَّمَ للّه وعَمِلَ للّه وعَلَّمَ للّه دُعِيَ في مَلَكوتِ السَّماواتِ عَظيما”, “Anyone who learns knowledge for God and practices it, and teaches it to others, will be remembered with greatness in the kingdom of heaven.” The late Ayatollah Bahjat said, “If you act on what you know, you will be taught things that are not taught in any classes. If a person behaves in this way, God will be with him, and he will reach the certainty that there is no dead end,” said the teacher of the higher levels of the seminary in the end. /345/