[PROVISIONAL TRANSLATION FROM PERSIAN]
[Translator’s notes appear in square brackets.]
[Personal information has been redacted.]
[The excerpt below is from the section of the article that pertains to the Baha’i Faith]
[Adapted from website:] Adyannet
[Date:] 5 Esfand 1394 [24 February 2016]
Fatwas [religious decrees] of Ayatollah Bahjat (May God Have Mercy on Him) Regarding the Baha’is
Ayatollah Bahjat considered the Baha’is to be infidels and najis[1] and considered it absolutely impermissible to deal with them. According to his fatwa, marriage to the followers of this perverse sect is annulled; if a person has married one out of ignorance, his/her marriage is annulled, and if a Baha’i woman marries a Muslim man, she will not be entitled to dowry...
Adyannet - Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Bahjat is one of the famous mystics and a great religious jurisprudential authority, born in 1295 [1916] in the City of Fuman. He died in 1388 [2009] in the City of Qom. In this article, we will address the istifta’at[2] that were asked of him with regard to the Baha’is, with the title and the answer:
- Taharat[3] and najasat[4] of the Baha’is: “They are infidels and najis.” [1]
- Guidance of the Baha’is: “If the enlighteners are not likely to be influenced, it is permissible.” [2]
- [Business] dealings with the Baha’is: “Dealing with the Baha’is is absolutely not permissible.” Elsewhere, he said, “Dealing with the Baha’is is like a deal with other polytheists and Ahl-i-Dhimmi [5].” [3]
- Teaching Baha’i students: “If it strengthens his [Baha’i] belief in any way, it is not permissible.” [4]
- Marriage to a Baha’i: “Marriage is annulled.” [5]
- The dowry of a Baha’i woman whom a Muslim man has unknowingly married: “It is not obligatory for him to give her anything.” [6]
- Is it forbidden to seize Baha’i property? “No” [7]
- Are Baha’is in an Islamic country safe? “No.” [8]
- Putting the Quran at the disposal of the Baha’is: “It is wrong.” [9]
- Praying in a house confiscated from a Baha’i person: “If it is known that the person is a Baha’i, there is no problem, as long as he is not one of them whose property would be inherited by his heir during apostasy.” [10]
- The property of a Baha’i after his death if he does not have a Muslim heir: “Baha’i heirs do not have the right of inheritance, but care must be taken not to incite sedition or corruption.” [11]
- Selling a house to a Baha’i: “A Baha’i cannot be an owner” [12]
In the hope of the day when all the perverse and misguided sects will be eliminated in Islamic and other societies.
Postscript Notes:
[1] Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Bahjat, Istifta’at, Qom: Publications of the office of his honour Ayatollah Bahjat,1428 [2007], vol. 1, p. 110, Question 368.
[2] Ibid., vol. 3, p. 146, Question 3868.
[3] Seyyed Mohsen Mahmoudi, New Questions from the Perspective of Erudite and Religious Jurisprudential Authorities, Varamin: Saheb-ol-Zaman Scientific-Cultural Publications, 1386 [2007], vol. 3, p. 70; Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Bahjat, Istifta’at, Qom: Publications of the Office of His Honour Ayatollah Bahjat, 1428 [2007], vol. 3, p. 250, Question 4190.
[4] Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Bahjat, Istifta’at, Qom: Publications of the office of His Honour Ayatollah Bahjat, 1428 [2007], vol. 3, p. 238, Question 4150.
5 Ibid., vol. 4, p. 87, Question 4876.
6 Ibid., p. 41, Question 4692.
7 Ibid., p. 315, Question 5662.
8 Ibid., p. 315, Question 5662.
9 Ibid., vol. 1, p. 83, Question 280; Ibid., p. 413, Question 1459.
10 Ibid., vol. 4, p. 312, Question 5652.
11 Ibid., p. 432, Issue 6067.
12 Ibid., vol. 3, pp. 250-251, Question 4191.
[1] [Najis: Ritually impure/unclean]
[2] [Istifta’at: Religious inquiries]
[3] [Taharat: Cleanliness and purification according to Islamic religious laws]
[4] [Nejasat (pl. Najis) means uncleanliness, impurity]
[5] [Ahl-i-Dhimmi (Dhimmitudes): People of the book, recognized religious minorities, and their status under the Islamic rule]