Commemoration ceremony for Professor Mohaghegh: unique figure of the world of literature and Islamic jurisprudence
According to the public relations department of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, the commemoration ceremony for hailing seven decades of the scientific and cultural services of Professor Mohaghegh was held on Sunday, 15 November 2020. The event was attended by professors and prominent figures in the field of culture.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Hojatollah Ayoubi, Secretary General of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, said:
“Professor Mohaghegh! You never need these honors, but we do need them; everyone should know that in the realm of literature and Islamic jurisprudence in this country, you are a sun. We thought that the days of the scholars were over, but we are in a time when science is specialized and scholars have become meticulous.”
Ayoubi stated: “we did not know that in our time, you can also see scholars like you. Thank God we live in a time when we see that professor Mohaghegh is known from the east to the west of the world. Mohaghegh is a person who carried the flag of culture and civilization to all parts of the world. This is a fertile land and great scholars are born out of this land.”
He said: “God has endowed Mohaghegh with many blessings, one of which is memory; I did not think that he would remember me, but he asked me about the issues, he was not deceived by his memory and wrote his contents. The lecture of this professor is as sweet and hearty as a symphony, an ode and a poem. He is, indeed, a real teacher.”
Secretary-General of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO continued: “Many people are teachers and pass on what they have learned to others, but there is difference between a teacher and a lecturer. Professor Mohaghegh is a teacher, that is, he helps the student to reach the destination.”
Status of Mohaghegh in contemporary culture
Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, head of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature, said: “I have had the honor of meeting Dr. Mohaghegh since 1347, when I entered the Faculty of Literature of the University of Tehran and I benefited from his knowledge and science. I had the opportunity to serve him in various ways. In addition to benefiting from his knowledge before and after the revolution, we worked together in some institutions.”
He continued: “I have been working with him at the Academy of Persian Language and Literature for 30 years; I would like to point out where is the status of professors such as Dr. Mohaghegh in the contemporary culture? We are all familiar with the dichotomy of tradition and modernity. In fact, our last 150 years are the history of the struggle between tradition and modernity.”
Head of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature explained: “In any field, including science, you see this dichotomy; universities have promoted new science, and seminaries have promoted traditional sciences and knowledge, and some people were always concerned about extremism. In the decades when universities were established in Iran, especially in the Faculty of Literature and Humanities, a generation of professors worked who were acquainted with and benefited from theological knowledge before coming to the university and getting acquainted with the new method of science.”
Head of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature said: “the remarkable point about Dr. Mohaghegh’s work is the variety of his scientific works, including teaching Arabic literature, writing Arabic books, Quranic works, various theological works and ….”
Haddad Adel added: “He was also interested in the history of Islamic science and medicine. The wide range of works of Professor Mohaghegh includes critical editing of Islamic medicine books. He was not an isolated scientist locked in a room. He has been active in the field of establishing scientific institutes. He also communicated with Western masters; masters who were among the famous orientalists.”
The pride of science realm
Mahmoud Nili Ahmadabadi, President of the University of Tehran, stated: “It is our honor to participate in this glorious ceremony, and I would like to thank you for organizing this ceremony. How glorious and honorable it is to serve in a place where such unique masters are working.”
Nili Ahmadabadi continued: “We are in a country that is proud of an ancient civilization. As we study the history, we realize that what has undoubtedly preserved us as a nation is the role of scientists and scholars. They create concepts that we are proud of. When people of a nation interact, have common issues and are proud of them, they become a nation.”
He emphasized: “Today, we are more aware of the role of science than before, not only the the kind of science that helps us directly, but the science that makes the world.”
Deep acquaintance with the Holy Quran
Then, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization, said: “it’s my honor to be present at the ceremony, organized for hailing the scientific and cultural services of professor Mehdi Mohaghegh.”
He said: “I believe that talking about Dr. Mohaghegh’s virtues requires several arts, and I don’t deserve to do this. But it is not polite to ignore the invitation of sincere friends. What attracts my attention to the personality and method of Master Mohaghegh is his deep acquaintance with the Holy Quran and the unique heritage of Islamic scholars, which is rare in our age.”
Salehi continued: Dr. Mohaghegh is one of the revivers of the heritage of rationalism in the Islamic era, so it is not surprising that cultured people owe their acquaintance with thinkers to Master Mohaghegh. By recreating the ideas of our thinkers, he invites us to work to revive the position of Shiite reason and rationalism.”
Supporter of science
Dr. Hassan Bolkhari, head of the Society for the National Heritage of Iran, said: “I would like to talk about the extraordinary beautiful title of this event “Tamashaye Khorshid” which means “watching the sun”. In our culture, the word sun is both an image of matter and meaning. In the material aspect, light is part of the earth and every object receives light and heat. Dr. Mohaghegh is like a sun whose heat and light has influenced the whole society. His efforts have led to the promotion of science and knowledge in Iran. I have been by his side since 2017, and I am still his disciple. I would like to thank the teacher who did not stop helping us.”
A perfect role-model
Dr. Ali Asghar Mirbagheri, head of the Association for the Promotion of Persian Language and Literature, said: “he is a role-model and we can use his teachings to rebuild the educational structure. It is useful to benefit from these role-models and to know their training method. Mohaghegh has a trait that was rarely seen in other professors of his generation.”
Head of the Association for the Promotion of Persian Language and Literature emphasized: “Although there are many professors who studied both in the seminary and at the university, but among them professor Mohaghegh has a prominent feature. He is a master in various fields, which is unique. He is not only an expert in contemporary research and the scope of his activities is very wide. In addition to his scientific activities, the special work he did was creation of structures for plans and work team.”
Speech by Master’s wife
Then, Nooshafarin Ansari, wife of Mehdi Mohaghegh, said: “In 1347, when we returned from Canada, he established the Institute of Islamic Studies. In this institute, professor focused on the publication of works. This kind of view is effective in the production of science. In one of these collections, which is the history of medicine, we had a story that had been published in several volumes, and professor was worried during the quarantine period whether the fourth volume would be published or not. He thought this book was important because it was written before the book of Avicenna. Suddenly, Mohammad Turkaman announced that this book would be published. Two weeks ago, the fourth volume of Kamel-alsanaye was published and it was the best gift for the professor, especially when he realized that the fifth and sixth volumes would also be published.”
Awarding UNESCO Medal and unveiling the stamp
In this ceremony, Professor Mehdi Mohaghegh was awarded a Medal by the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO for his seven decades of scientific, cultural and Quranic activities.
The ceremony was attended by Hojatollah Ayoubi, Secretary General of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, Dr. Younes Shokrkhah, head of the communication department of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, Mahmoud Nili Ahmadabadi, president of the University of Tehran, Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, head of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature, Hassan Bolkhari, head of the Society for the National Heritage of Iran, Dr. Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization, Dr. Seyed Ali Asghar Mirbagheri, head of the Association for the Promotion of Persian Language and Literature, Dr. Abdolmehdi Mostakin, head of the culture department of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO and Dr. Nooshafarin Ansari.
Also, the stamp of Mehdi Mohaghegh was unveiled in the ceremony.
Professor Mehdi Mohaghegh said: “I would like to refer to two great figures of the Shiite world that some of you may have heard their names, Seyyed Razi and Seyyed Morteza. Seyyed Razi collected the sermons, letters, tafsirs and narrations of Imam Ali. Now that we have Nahj al-Balagha, we are thankful to Seyyed Razi. Seyyed Morteza, in his book, examined the concept of Imamate based on a rational and philosophical approach so that the issue of Imamate in Shiism has a rational and narrative aspect. The father of these two brothers died and they held a mourning ceremony.”
He continued: “a poet from Syria came to this ceremony, his eyes were blind, and the blind people sit near the entrance door when they go somewhere. The two brothers had not seen this poet previously, and when they saw that the blind man was sitting in the doorway, they thought that he was not an ordinary person. They went near the man and asked him: are you a poet? And he said: yes, and they took him to the top place of the ceremony location. This event shows that culture and knowledge are important in Islam and scientists have always been respected in our country
