Grand Ayatollah Shirazi: Faith is a Condition for Validity of Deeds, Not Acceptance

Another daily scholarly session led by Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Sadiq Hosseini Shirazi was held on Monday evening, the 16th of Ramadan, in his honourable residence in Qom. As in previous meetings, the Supreme Marja addressed questions from attendees regarding various jurisprudential issues.

In his remarks concerning the conditions for the acceptance and validity of deeds, Grand Ayatollah Shirazi stated that it is widely recognized among Shia jurists that faith is a condition for validity, not acceptance. However, he noted that if a person becomes a believer before death, God will forgive them. Based on some narrations, however, a minority of jurists suggest that Islam is a condition for acceptance, but the prevailing view is that faith is a condition for validity, which is also supported by various narrations.

His Eminence clarified that the concept of faith (Iman) refers to the acceptance of fundamental principles, namely Monotheism, Justice, Prophethood, Imamate, and Resurrection, rather than other principles. He emphasized that it is commonly held among Shia jurists that both Islam and faith are conditions for validity, while the view that Islam is a condition for validity and faith is a condition for acceptance is a less common opinion among some jurists.