Remarks of Ayatullah Sayyid Mujtaba Nur Mufidi Following the Insults to the Noble Prophet of Islam (PBUH)

By way of blessing, a narration from the sacred presence of the Noble Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his family) is recited, and may Almighty God grant us the success to comprehend the reality of these luminous teachings.

He states: “A heart wherein lies nothing of wisdom is like a ruined house; so acquire knowledge, teach it, comprehend, and do not die ignorant, for indeed, Allah does not accept ignorance as an excuse.” [1]

Based on this narration, the sacred existence of the Holy Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his family) points to a highly significant and key matter. His statement: “Do not die ignorant, for indeed, Allah does not accept ignorance as an excuse,” may run contrary to the common understanding among Muslims and the followers of the Prophet’s Ummah. The majority of Muslims direct their attention to performing obligatory acts such as prayer, fasting, Khums, and Zakat (even if all were to remain committed to them), but they do not attach much importance to the obligation of acquiring knowledge, insight, learning, and awareness. His statement that you should not die as an ignorant person, and that if you die ignorant, Almighty God will not accept any pretext or excuse for your ignorance, demonstrates that acquiring knowledge, insight, and awareness is an obligation. The fact that Almighty God does not accept an excuse means that individuals will be held accountable, precisely for not knowing and for knowing too little. At times, ignorance is absolute, and at times, it is ignorance in lower degrees; nevertheless, ignorance—whether a person fundamentally lacks knowledge and insight or is ignorant to some degree—makes no difference. According to this narration, no excuse is accepted for absolute ignorance. Could we have an explanation more significant than this regarding the importance of knowledge, its impact on the realm after death, and being held accountable for abandoning learning and the acquisition of insight and awareness?

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) states: “A heart in which there is no wisdom…”; here, wisdom refers to a specific meaning and does not denote absolute knowledge. A heart without wisdom is like a ruined house. In the previous session, I mentioned that knowledge, awareness, and insight, particularly divine knowledge and the science of monotheism (Tawhid), are actually considered practical sciences; even the science of Tawhid is a practical science. They say Tawhid is on the paradigm of taf’il, which means bringing about something—in the sense that man moves from multiplicity toward unity; moving from the multiplicities that surround him toward unity. This is not achieved merely by accumulating certain propositions and concepts in the mind; rather, in the realm of action and heartfelt belief, one must move in this direction. A heart lacking this knowledge and awareness is like a ruined house. Hence, he states: Learn and teach.

Then he says: “Tafaqqahu”; understand, perceive. It is not sufficient for a person merely to commit a series of memorized facts to mind and move past them. According to this narration, that which serves as the criterion and measure for God’s questioning is insight and knowledge, and in contrast, ignorance. No matter how much we strive here to strengthen our station of outward manifestation so that others think we know a great deal, it does not change the reality of the matter. He states: “And do not die ignorant.” If I shout here a thousand times, present myself, and prove to others that I am a scholar, while in reality I am ignorant, I will become exactly what the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) described. Ultimately, in our calculations, the valuations we make here are sometimes somewhat different from the realities and matters based on which Almighty God receives a person.

Here, I may teach, deliver speeches, write books, and introduce myself as a scholar, scientist, and prominent figure, and everyone may recognize me as such; yet, I might not strive as I should to remove my own ignorance. That is to say, I could know many more issues, but I act with neglect and laxity; it satisfies me that others say I am a good professor or seminary student. Yes, one can pass by these things here, but when a person is departing this world, they must see what they are carrying with them. If I am teaching, do I teach in such a way that others say “he teaches well,” while the issues remain unresolved for myself? Or when I am debating, do I debate in a manner to make the other party understand that “I know,” while I myself still do not know, and I know that I have not yet comprehended? Ultimately, it is natural for us not to know many issues at the time of death; what we know is nothing compared to what we do not know. However, has each person, to the extent of their existential capacity, capability, and talent, strived for what they ought to know and could have known? For he states: “Do not die ignorant, for indeed, Allah does not accept ignorance as an excuse.” God accepts no excuse for ignorance. Accepting no excuse means that when we look at these pretexts we currently present for not learning and for escaping, none of them are acceptable. These are pretexts; they are unacceptable excuses. Now let us calculate: if we are asked how much we have utilized the opportunities we had to dispel our ignorance up to this point in our lives, what answer do we have? Ignorance is dispelled when an unknown is discovered; if we did not utilize the opportunities we could have used, and we bring forth excuses and pretexts for it, will Almighty God accept them?

Therefore, the value of man, and his capital and savings, is that which he carries with him at the time of death. This capital consists of true knowledge, and not a series of superficial concepts and mental representations accumulated in the mind with a set of terminologies, creating a storehouse in one’s mind. The knowledge whose fruit is the fear of God, whose fruit is forbearance (hilm), the swallowing of anger (kadzm al-ghaydh), and forgiveness and clemency—if a person carries this knowledge with them, this is the true capital. If every single act, behavior, and word of man is to be questioned, both the good and the bad, then every single detail of human life, our behaviors and actions, the tasks we substituted for acquiring knowledge and seeking learning, and the things we should have done but did not, will be subject to questioning and accountability, and God will accept no excuse. Therefore, resolve must be redoubled and efforts increased so that, God willing, when Almighty God wishes to take back the soul of man, it is under conditions free of these excuses and pretexts, or if there is an excuse, it is of a kind that God accepts.

Thus, despite all the existing problems, the prevailing circumstances, and the hardships we face—whether hardships in livelihood or the specific conditions we are currently living through—these must not hold us back from our duty. Of course, the lives and life stories of the great figures of religion—those who strived under extremely difficult conditions and preserved this precious heritage—can be highly beneficial for us if we familiarize ourselves with them and study them.

Indifference to Insults Against the Holy Prophet (PBUH) Opposes the National Security and Interests of Those Countries

On the occasion that this narration is from the sacred presence of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and during these days when insults have been directed at his sacred presence—which will be neither the first nor the last such act—we declare that indeed, a Prophet who, independent of our specific belief as Muslims, speaks so wisely in the station of sagacious discourse and behaves in such a manner in the station of action that he attracts even non-Muslims, the efforts made to tarnish this character clearly reveal the objectives behind them. In any case, over the years, they have arranged these programs both to divert the mental attention and the inclination shown toward Islam and the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and at certain intervals to distract minds from some of their own plans and schemes. We have seen this repeatedly in the past, and indeed, each time these events have occurred, it has only led to greater awareness and unity among Muslims, aroused their sensitivity, and caused the designs they had in mind to be completely frustrated.

It is interesting that they publish these under the pretext of freedom of expression and freedom of opinion, whereas this is not the expression of an opinion; this is not speech whose freedom should be recognized and respected. Even in the United Nations Charter of Human Rights, a boundary is drawn between freedom of expression and insult; that is to say, freedom of expression is not without limits even in that charter. It is not the case that anyone is free to present any opinion, even at the cost of insulting the beliefs of others. Therefore, by no logic is this behavior acceptable. Neither intellect accepts it, nor do rational people approve of it, nor do past experiences and historical precedents confirm the effectiveness of such actions, nor does the UN Charter of Human Rights grant such authorization, nor do the national interests and collective security of countries dictate that these actions remain unanswered.