Srinagar | WTNS | Feb 01:Tehran: Prominent Iranian cleric Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani passed away at age 103 on Tuesday.
The senior Iranian cleric died after cardiac arrest on Tuesday morning.
Born in February 1919 in Iran’s central city of Golpaygan, Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani became a Grand Ayatollah and a Marji’ (source to follow or religious reference), a title given to the highest level in Ahlebayat school of thought in Islam.
After the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, he was elected to the Assembly of Experts and was a member of the Constitutional Council.
The late cleric has written scores of religious books in Persian and Arabic, some of which have won annual national book awards.
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei offered condolences over the death of Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani, a former secretary of the Constitutional Council.
In a message on Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei paid tribute to the late cleric as a pillar of the seminary of Qom and a prominent scholar with extensive experience in religious studies.
Hailing Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani as a faithful and trustworthy companion of late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini, the Leader said the late cleric always commented on the affairs relating to the Islamic Revolution and the country compassionately and responsibly.
Ayatollah Khamenei also praised Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani for his talent for poetry, his long-term memory, and his attention to social issues.
Describing the loss of the prominent cleric as a source of grief for the religious seminaries of Iran, the Leader offered condolences to the family of the deceased, scholars of religious schools, and his followers over the loss.
Meanwhile In a message offering condolences over the passing of Grand Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani, Iran`s President Ayatollah Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi stated that while protecting religious values, Grand Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani was actively present in the stronghold of the Revolution, stating, “There is no doubt that his everlasting works and his spiritual behaviour will always be an inspiration and a beacon for scholars, clerics and seminaries”.
This great scholar, who was one of the prominent students of Ayatollah Boroujerdi, Hojjat and Golpayegani, and after the Islamic Revolution was a member of the first Assembly of Experts and for some time was the secretary of the Guardian Council, had deep religious insight, asceticism and simplicity and a heart full of love for Islam and the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), especially Imam Mahdi (AS) and dedicated his precious life to the struggle for the spread of Islamic knowledge and the Islamic system.
This high-ranking marja, while protecting religious values, was actively present in the stronghold of the Revolution, and there is no doubt that his everlasting works and his spiritual behaviour will always be an inspiration and a beacon for scholars, clerics and seminaries.
I offer my condolences for this great loss to the Great Prophet (PBUH), the Supreme Leader, seminaries, his respectful family, and all his followers and disciples.