Condolence Message on the Passing of Grand Ayatollah Haj Sayyid Abdolali Sabzevari

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Indeed, we belong to God, and to Him do we indeed return.

With sorrow and grief, we have been informed that Grand Ayatollah Haj Sayyid Abdolali Sabzevari, one of the esteemed sources of emulation residing in Najaf Ashraf, departed this mortal world yesterday and joined the divine mercy. He was among the high-ranking jurists and great scholars who spent his blessed life in Najaf teaching, researching, training students, and authoring valuable and beneficial books. Two major comprehensive books on jurisprudence and exegesis have been published and remain as his legacy. In the final years of this noble cleric's life, the bloody events in Iraq and the courageous uprising of the people against the oppressive Ba'athist government occurred, in which he played a role in leading and guiding the people. Consequently, after the suppression of the uprising, he endured the pressures of the Ba'athist regime for some time. It is reported that his pure body was also buried yesterday in Najaf in a lonely manner, and the presence of people, students, and scholars from the Najaf seminary was prevented at the ceremony. I extend my condolences for this unfortunate event to His Holiness Baqiyatullah al-Azam (may my soul be sacrificed for him), the esteemed sources of emulation, the seminaries, his family, devotees, followers, especially his honorable children and esteemed family, and I pray to Almighty God for the elevation of his ranks.

Seyyed Ali Khamenei

28 Safar 1414 corresponding to 27 Mordad 72