His Eminence, Grand Ayatollah al-Hakeem, receives the Swedish Ambassador to the OIC and Calls the International Community to Block the Sources of Terrorism and Extremism

His Eminence, Grand Ayatollah al-Hakeem, receives the Swedish Ambassador to the OIC and Calls the International Community to Block the Sources of Terrorism and Extremism
2019/04/27

His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammed Saeed al-Hakeem received Mr. Joachim Bergstrom, the Swedish Ambassador to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on 27 April 2019.

During the meeting, His Eminence called the international community towards a serious attempt to blocking the sources of terrorism and extremism, in all its types and manners, and to eliminate this cancerous illness from its roots, and not to ignore it. It has created much misery and tragedy in different societies and is spreading its culture, as well as distorting the true image of Islam, which the Holy Quran and the Holy Infallibles (peace be upon them) deliver.

His Eminence indicated the importance of the international community giving due regard to noble ethical traits, which will lead to participating in forming good societies and families.

His Eminence also mentioned the role of Marji'iyya, which requires of its followers to follow the laws of the land, to be truthful, responsible, sincere and to abstain from creating hardships. The Marji'iyya emphasizes the peaceful coexistence and respect for others, whatever ethnicity or creed they may have.

Mr. Bergstrom thanked His Eminence, appreciated his warm welcome. He also expressed his appreciation of the role of Marji'iyya in bringing about peace and easing religious tension in the region.

Day Questions

Sometimes I get marriage invitations from non-Muslim or non-Shia friends in the month of Safar before 20th Safar (Arba’een). Could you please advise whether we can attend weddings during these days?

These days are days of sadness and mourning for the Shia because of the tragedies that befell the Ahlulbait in this period of the year.

I have a belt that is made from natural leather. I have already prayed a few times while wearing it; do I need to repeat those prayers?

If you offered your prayers with the leather belt out of ignorance then your prayers are valid. If you prayed out of forgetfulness of the law then they are invalid based on compulsory precaution.

If I am in a Shia area and the Adhan is raised, does this suffice for me and can I consider it that time of prayer? Or is it better for me to wait for a few minutes as a precaution?

It is permissible to depend in determining the time of the prayers on the adhan of someone reliable and knowing. So it is permissible to rely on the adhan for Dhuhr and Maghrib. In determining the time for the Morning Prayer one should act on precaution in delaying the prayer until he is sure that the Fajr time has entered.

Is a son required to offer the lapsed prayers and fasts of his deceased mother if the parents deliberately abandoned the praying and fasting without any good reason, is the son still obligated to make them up on their behalf?

It is not obligatory for the children to make up the prayers and the fasts that their mother missed, although it is strongly recommended to do so. If the father did not care about making up the prayers and the fasts that he missed, then it is not obligatory on his sons to make them up after his death.