Grand Ayatollah Shirazi: “Non-Muslims are respected when they are in peace with Muslims”

The daily scholarly meeting of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Sadegh Hosseini al-Shirazi was held on Tuesday, 20 Muharram 1445. In this session, just like the previous meetings, the Marja answered the questions of the attendees about various jurisprudence issues.

“The infidels and non-Muslims who have not taken up arms and have not oppressively fought against Muslims and Islamic countries, classified as neutral, disinterested and impartial, are respectable non-Muslims, whether they are in an Islamic country or a non-Islamic country” the Marja stated.

His Eminence went on to say that during the time of the Holy Prophet and during the rule of Amir al-Momineen, which lasted for five years, individuals like these lived peacefully under the protection of the Islamic government.

The Supreme Marja emphasized that there are several verses in the Holy Quran which state that: “As long as these people have not taken up weapons to fight, they are termed Musaalim, which means they are in a state of peace.”

Grand Ayatollah Shirazi went on to say: “Of course, when these people take up arms and fight with Muslims and Islamic countries, the ruling changes and everything is permissible against the infidel during war.”