Grand Ayatollah Shirazi Remarks on So-Called Islamic Conquests Following Demise of Holy Prophet

Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Sadiq al-Hosseini al-Shirazi held his daily scholarly session on Friday, 19 Jumada al-Awwal, during which he addressed questions from attendees regarding various jurisprudential issues.

Grand Ayatollah Shirazi emphasized, referencing the practices of the Holy Prophet and Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon them both) concerning the wars that occurred during their time, that neither the Prophet nor Amir al-Mu’minin ever engaged in offensive jihad; all actions taken during their era were defensive in nature.

The Supreme Marja further stated that all the battles fought by the Prophet occurred around Medina and none began in Mecca. Additionally, the conquest of Mecca was also not an offensive jihad but a defensive action.

His Eminence clarified that offensive jihad occurs when non-believers remain in their places, and Muslims attack them without justification, a scenario that did not happen during the time of the Prophet or Amir al-Mu’minin, peace be upon them both.

Grand Ayatollah Shirazi stressed that if non-believers remain in their positions and have no intention of conflict with Muslims, it is not permissible to engage them in war. However, if they attack Muslims, then defense is certainly warranted.

He concluded by stating that the events referred to as Islamic conquests in the 25 years following the martyrdom of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) do not align with the conditions specified in Islam.