The Chain-Mail Weaver of our Town
October 20th, 2016
(The words of Āyatollāh Javādī-e Āmolī)
The message of the Qoran in verses 78 to 80 of Surat al-Anbīyā (The Prophets) is that God taught the prophet David the art of weaving chain mail in order that the community of those who have attained to faith be grateful that there are scientists among you who defend you against your enemies. And it is clear for all to see that the issue of nuclear technology is the present-day analogue of our shielding or armor. Martyrs such as Dr. Majīd Shahriyārī and other [leading nuclear] scientists are the chain-mail weavers of our town. Nuclear technology is our present-day analogue of an armor which immunizes us against the trespass of our enemies.
Today, this assassination is condemned by our scholars of religion from the seminaries just as equally as it is condemned by academic scholarship. Now that Dr. Shahriyārī’s soul has been entrusted to God, it is fitting that the learned [from among the community of faith] should offer the Ritual Supplication of the Night of the Burial (namāz-e laylat od-dafn) [to God] on his behalf. For those who did not know the martyr in person, be hereby informed that he was a person who was committed to and abided by the sacred law of Islam (motesharre’). He made his obligatory acts of ritual devotion and worship religiously, was devoted to making supplicatory prayers to his Lord and Cherisher, and was devoted to acts of piety such as the ritual invocations of God (dhekr); that is the kind of person he was. If and when possible, each and every one of us should offer the Ritual Supplication of the Night of the Burial (namāz-e laylat od-dafn) for him for the sake of seeking God’s good pleasure; we should do so for all of the martyrs from the dawn of Islam up to the martyrs of the [Islamic] Revolution [of Iran], for the martyrs of the seminaries and universities, and for the sake of anyone who has drank from the Chalice of Martyrdom for the sake of our cause.
Today, the seminaries are in mourning for their loss, no less than are the universities; the seminaries condemn this assassination no less than do the academics of the universities. And like them, the centers of religious learning send this message to the arrogant powers [who seek global hegemony]: God is limitless in His bounty unto all the worlds, and thanks to God’s grace, the likes of Professor Shahriyārī produced by this nation are not few in number.
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[21:80] And We taught him how to make garments [of woven mail armor] for you, [O men,] so that they might fortify you against all that may cause you fear: but are you grateful [for this boon]?
This is a ritual supplication whose purpose is to relieve the pressure of the grave from the soul of the deceased and to facilitate his journey in the next world.
The phrase is from the Qoran, where the context is the struggle of David against Goliath: [2:251] And thereupon, by God’s leave, they routed them. And David slew Goliath; and God bestowed upon him dominion, and wisdom, and imparted to him the knowledge of whatever He willed. And if God had not enabled people to defend themselves against one another, corruption would surely overwhelm the earth: but God is limitless in His bounty unto all the worlds.