Grand Ayatollah Shirazi Warns Against Being Misled by Religious Slogans and Calls for Reading History with Insight
Grand Ayatollah Shirazi Warns Against Being Misled by Religious Slogans and Calls for Reading History with Insight
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The senior religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Sadiq al-Husseini al-Shirazi, warned against being deceived by the words and slogans of some who claim religiosity, stressing the need to return to history in order to draw lessons and distinguish truth from falsehood.
Grand Ayatollah Shirazi said: “Do not be deceived by the words of those who claim religion and seek, through their sweet-sounding speech, to mislead society. Return to history and read it, so that you may know that Muawiyah’s speeches, in terms of wording and expressions, were not different from the sermons of Imam Amir al-Mu’mineen, peace be upon him.”
He added that history proves eloquence and attractive words are not enough to judge a person’s truthfulness or the justice of their positions. Rather, the real measure is commitment to truth and acting according to the authentic principles of Islam.
Grand Ayatollah Shirazi also referred to what has been recorded in historical sources about al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi, saying: “History records that al-Hajjaj would cry and his face would become wet with tears when he spoke about piety, and he would make people cry.” He noted that emotional and rhetorical appearances do not necessarily reflect the reality of a person’s conduct or positions.
He emphasized the importance of awareness and insight in confronting attempts to mislead societies. He called for careful reading of history and benefiting from its lessons so that past mistakes are not repeated, and so that the standard for distinguishing truth from falsehood remains based on principles and values, not rhetoric and slogans.
