The Religious Jurist Leader Qassim: The Master of Martyrs (peace be upon him) did not rise up and sacrifice his life except to extinguish falsehood and revive the truth
The religious jurist and leader, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, issued a statement on the occasion of the 10th of Muharram, 1447 AH. The text reads as follows:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
The Day of Ashura — the day of al-Husayn (peace be upon him) — is a day for renewing the covenant with the slogan: “Far from us is humiliation”, founded on the principle of a nation that submits to no humiliation except before Allah.
It is a day of answering the call of Karbala — “Is there anyone to support us?” — by the Ummah standing as one united hand to repel the Zionist and American aggression against Gaza and Palestine, and against any part of the Ummah’s lands, as well as any transgression against the sanctities of Islam, the dignity of any sincere jurist among its scholars, or any rightful leadership among its leaders.
It is a day for the Ummah to rally behind divine leadership — not Zionist, not American, not the leadership of Yazid, and not any leadership hostile to Islam and the Ummah, or one that is perpetually ignorant of, or indifferent to, its interests.
It is a day that reminds us of the divine obligation placed on the shoulders of the Ummah: to seek recognition of its Imam and leader, to show loyalty and provide the support that is religiously incumbent upon it for the sake of its faith; to offer him sincere counsel in speech and action, both outward and inward; and to join him — and for him to join them — in sacrifice for Islam.
It is a day on which, if the Ummah conducts its life according to the guidance of the Imam (peace be upon him), and takes the same stance that he took in Karbala in its struggles, it will attain guidance, dignity, victory, and a dominant position among nations.
It is a day abundant with flowing tears in response to the immense calamity that befell Islam, the Prophetic household, and the righteous of the Ummah — a calamity that caused division, weakness, humiliation, and disgrace over a prolonged period of the Ummah’s history. Its severe and negative consequences enabled the dominance of atheistic, infidel, and tyrannical world powers over the nation of faith, tightening the grip of oppressive, pre-Islamic, and hostile forces upon it, and subjecting it to existential threats of complete annihilation.
Yes, it is a day overflowing with burning tears from the eyes of believers — tears that ignite revolution against ignorance, injustice, and corruption on Earth, seeking to purify it from all defilements, destruction, and abominations.
The tears of Ashura — when they spring forth from conscious, pure, and righteous hearts filled with love for Islam, protective jealousy for its sanctity, a deep attachment to justice, and revulsion at injustice — increase in their purity, and in their righteous anger against deviation and moral decline.
The Islamic Ummah must be certain — not ignorant, nor forgetful — that the Master of Martyrs, Aba Abdillah (peace be upon him), did not rise and was not martyred except to extinguish falsehood and revive the truth; so that the word of God may prevail over the Earth and its inhabitants, and so that the word of the Ummah may unite upon piety and not be torn apart.
Its unity must not be fractured — neither due to internal disagreement nor due to exploitation by seekers of worldly power and prestige, even if they offer what they offer in the name of religion and in the name of commemorating the revolution and martyrdom. That is, in fact, among the most insidious forms of conspiracy against the faith, and among the gravest forms of deception and transgression upon it.
And whoever assists in this grave evil and profound injustice will bear a considerable portion of its sin. Therefore, let every Muslim who fears Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, beware of becoming involved in this sinful matter.
Isa Ahmad Qassim
10th of Muharram, 1447 AH
6 July 2025
