The Martyrdom That Became a Resurrection
The Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (AS) World Assembly, Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, mourns the martyred Leader and calls the historic farewell of tens of millions a sign of the Ummah's awakening
The Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (AS) World Assembly, Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, has described the martyrdom of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei, as an irreparable blow to Islam, the Iranian nation, and the wider Islamic Ummah — while framing the vast farewell that followed as the beginning of a “resurrection” of the Ummah.
In a statement issued on the occasion of the martyrdom and burial of the late Leader, Ayatollah Ramazani offered his condolences to Muslims across the world and reflected on the meaning of the loss. He opened with the Quranic verse:
“Let those who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter fight in the way of Allah; and whoever fights in the way of Allah, and then is slain, or he subdues the enemy, We shall soon give him a great reward.”
— (Surah an-Nisa, Chapter 4, The Women, Verse 74)
A life of scholarship and struggle
Ayatollah Ramazani honoured the martyred Leader as a divine jurist and religious authority for the followers of the AhlulBayt (AS), a reformist thinker, a just ruler, and a tireless mujahid — an unrelenting foe of oppression, a defender of the oppressed and of the nations of the region, a champion of the resistance against arrogance, and a steadfast supporter of the cause and people of Palestine. Above all, he described him as a bearer of the banner of awaiting the appearance of the Promised Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance).
After a lifetime of scholarly, political, and field jihad — devoted to the awakening of the Islamic world, the deepening of Islamic society, the movement toward a modern Islamic civilisation, and the confrontation with what he called the slavery of the new age and neo-colonialism — the Leader, Ayatollah Ramazani wrote, “proudly met his Lord.” His name, he added, would endure in history as that of a scholar, religious authority, ruler, and martyred leader unmatched since his ancestor, the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (AS).
A farewell across five cities
Ayatollah Ramazani traced the journey of the martyred Leader’s body through the sacred geography of the farewell: from the great Tehran Prayer Grounds — itself one of the Leader’s own legacies — to the holy city of Qom, the shrine of Lady Fatimah Masoumah (peace be upon her), and the Jamkaran Mosque; then, carried on the shoulders of the loyal people of Iraq, beneath the domes of the shrines of his ancestors Imam Ali, Imam Hussain, and Hazrat Abbas (peace be upon them) in Najaf and Karbala; and finally to Mashhad, where he was laid to rest in the land of Tus, near the shrine of Imam Reza (AS).
The martyrdom of the great Leader of the world’s Muslims, he declared, marked the beginning of the resurrection of the Iranian people and the Islamic Ummah. The presence of tens of millions across Iran over more than four months, and in the funeral processions across five cities in two countries, was — in his words — a sign of that resurrection: a testament to the will of Muslims and free people to confront arrogance, America, and the Zionist regime, and to continue the path of jihad under the leadership of the martyred Leader’s successor, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mujtaba Hosseini Khamenei. That path, he said, would continue until the establishment of a modern Islamic civilisation and, ultimately, the appearance of the awaited Saviour and the founding of a government of justice and equity.
Gratitude to the Ummah
On behalf of himself, the AhlulBayt (AS) World Assembly, and Muslims and justice-seekers across the world, Ayatollah Ramazani expressed his deep gratitude for what he called the unparalleled participation of the people of Iran and the wider Ummah — governments and officials, religious leaders and clerics of various faiths and denominations, thinkers, fighters, and all those who endured the hardships of travel to take part in the historic farewell. Acknowledging the heavy conditions facing the region, he asked that any shortcomings in the hosting of the event be met with the mourners’ magnanimity and tolerance.
He closed with a prayer that God grant all of them the grace to remain united in fulfilling the divine covenant, in continuing the path of the martyred Leader, and in exalting the word of God.
Reference: ABNA24