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Esra News Agency: His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, the esteemed Shia Marja', delivered a speech on the afternoon of Tuesday, 23rd of Ordibehesht (May 13, 2025), at the Dar al-Ilm of Imam Khoei n the holy city of Najaf, addressing a grand assembly of hundreds of seminary scholars, students, and clerics.
Honoring Najaf’s Seminary Legacy
His Eminence by honoring the historical and deeply rooted seminary of Najaf Ashraf, stated: This seminary is a manifest example of the Quranic verse, ‘Founded upon piety’ (9:108). From Sheikh Tusi to Ayatollah Khoei, divine men have been nurtured here—embodiments of the verse, ‘In it are men who love to purify themselves’ (9:108). All these blessings stem from the guardianship of the Absolute Wali, Amir al-Mu’minin (The Commander of the believers) Imam Ali (peace be upon him).
Twofold Duties: Affirmative and Prohibitive
He divided the core of his speech into two sections: "Affirmative Duties" and "Prohibitive Duties" for seminary students.
First Section: (Affirmative Duty): Pursuit of Knowledge as a Universal Obligation
Citing "Seeking knowledge is obligatory", Grand Ayatullah Javadi Amoli emphasized: The Almighty God has placed the heavens, the earth, and all that is within them at humanity’s disposal and subjugated them for mankind. No one may claim incapacity. The universe is God’s library, and humans are tasked with learning and mastering it.
Seminaries, he stressed, must cultivate profound understanding of the Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt’s (peace be upon them) traditions. Universities, meanwhile, must study nature, cosmology, and the material world to free Islamic societies from dependence on East or West.
Second section: Prohibitive Duty; Liberation from general, deliberate and systemic or pre-Islamic ignorance (Jahiliyyah).
He warned: Knowledge alone is insufficient; society must also cultivate wisdom. Our duty is not merely to eradicate individual ignorance but to dismantle systemic Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance). He stated: The Imam is not just a teacher of faith but a purifier of civilizational decadence.
Referencing the hadith
«من مات و لم یعرف امام زمانه مات میتة جاهلیة»،
"Whoever dies without recognizing the Imam of his time dies a death of Jahiliyyah," he underscored that rejecting the divinely ordained Imamate and guardianship perpetuates societal ignorance.
Drawing parallels to the Battle of Siffin and the arbitration crisis, he noted: After these events, Imam Ali (peace be upon him) repeatedly declared society’s regression into Jahiliyyah—not due to personal ignorance but falling into the ignorant system.
Call the Students for Ijtihad, Not Blind Imitation
In a pivotal segment, he urged students to strive for true scholarly independence:
Blind imitation (taqlid) cannot solve societal problems. Those capable must reach the state of ijtihad—deriving rulings from primary sources, linking branches (details) to roots (principles), and addressing contemporary needs.
The Triad of Salvation
His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Javadi Amoli described the salvific triad of 'knowledge, intellect, and moral refinement (self-discipline)' ('ilm, 'aql, tazkiyah) as the path to individual and societal flourishing—for both Islamic seminaries (hawzat 'ilmiyyah) and universities across the Muslim world. In conclusion, he offered prayers for the entire Muslim ummah.