On the 13th of Azar, a group of central and provincial members of the Barakat Foundation’s Mosque Headquarters visited the office of Ayatollah Araki. They met with him and, after presenting a brief report of their activities, benefited from the professor’s guidance and remarks.
Ayatollah Araki emphasized that mosques are the place where people renew their covenant with divine authority, stating: “Every day and night, we gather in the neighborhood mosque five times in order to renew our covenant of obedience to God.”
According to the Public Relations Office of Ayatollah Araki, His Eminence—speaking in a meeting with the jihadi students of the “Mosque Project” of the Executive Headquarters of Imam Khomeini (RA)—highlighted the importance of the mosque’s status in Islam, saying: “The mosque is the center of divine authority on earth and the House of God.”
Referring to the blessed verse, “The Jews say, ‘God’s hand is tied’,” he continued: “Some regard God as a creator who has ceased to act, whereas the God whom Islam knows and the Qur’an introduces is described with expressions such as ‘Say: O God, Owner of Sovereignty,’ and we know Him as the One to whom ‘belongs the creation and the command.’”
He stated that the mosque is the house of the sovereign, not the house of a retired creator, and added: “In the Islamic perspective, the imam of the congregation represents God in the mosque.”
Ayatollah Araki also discussed the status of Imamate and guardianship of authority in Islam, adding: “The highest rank of the Guardian of the Affair and the infallible Imam (peace be upon them) is the political rank and the authority to issue commands.”
He described the science of jurisprudence as the science of understanding the ruler’s command, saying: “There is no doubt that we must learn God’s commands and teach them to the people.”
He identified the Kaaba as the center of divine command, stating: “Masjid al-Nabi was the center of authority of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), the Mosque of Kufa was the center of authority of the Commander of the Faithful (AS), and al-Aqsa Mosque is the center of authority of the Imam of the Time (AJ).”
He added that every city has a central congregational mosque which must be recognized as the center of the city’s authority and the place for Friday prayers.
Ayatollah Araki described neighborhood mosques as the gathering place for people five times a day, noting: “The essence of the philosophy of the mosque is that mosques are centers for educating people under the leadership of the imam of the congregation. Therefore, we must explain to people that when we come to the mosque, we are, in fact, renewing our covenant of obedience to God.”
