Reaction of scholars and religious authorities on the closure of the holy shrines in Iran
Following the closure of the holy shrines in Iran, the religious authorities declared their disapproval of this action.
Following the closure of the holy shrines in Iran, the religious authorities declared their disapproval of this action.
The Iranian government has claimed that these holy shrines were closed according to a fatwa issued by three of the religious authorities, as the offices of these authorities in Qom denounced this false claim.
After this false claim, the office of His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Safi al-Golpaygani issued a statement that followers should only receive information from his official website.
On the other hand, His Eminence, Ayatollah Milani, one of the scholars of Qom, declared, “Intercession and pleading with these holy shrines has been proven through clear evidence in the Quran and Sunnah, anyone who doesn’t believe in this is deviant and misguided.
The Ahlulbayt, peace be upon them, are the vicegerents of God, and they heal by the permission of God, as what we witness throughout the years.
His Eminence also asked the Iranian government to form a committee of scholars, officials and doctors to study matters in the holy shrines to find a solution to this crisis and avoid the side effects of the holy shrines’ closure, of which the enemies take advantage to insult the Shias.
Meanwhile, the Office of His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Sadiq Al-Husseini Al-Shirazi announced in response to a query in this regard that reviving the rituals of the Ahlulbayt, peace be upon them, and their occasions are important matters that protect the nation and society from calamities and epidemics, and the effect of these rituals has been proven again and again.
The Supreme Religious Authority stressed the importance of maximizing the rituals of the Ahlulbayt, peace be upon them, and taking precautions to prevent the transmission of the virus.
The doors of the holy shrines of Imam Redha in Mashhad, Sayyeda Masouma in Qom and Abdul-Adhim al-Hasani in Tehran, were closed and visitation is prohibited, while the holy shrines in Iraq and are still open to believers in addition to the churches and temples in other countries where people gather after being subjected to health and preventive measures against the spread of coronavirus.
