To begin with, I would like to express my thanks to you and my appreciation for the efforts you have made—and continue to make—on the Bayynat page, which is the window through which we engage with the world.
Perhaps you all know that when we seek to communicate with the world through any media outlet—whether in writing or speech—it is not out of a desire to further promote ourselves. Rather, we move forward driven by the message we have lived for over fifty years: that Islam should be the mind, the heart, the movement, the system of the world and its soul. We are responsible for delivering this message after the Messenger himself, and this is the responsibility of every Muslim, men and women alike.
As you may know from the approach we have adopted, we do not advocate for a fanatical form of Islam. Rather, we call for an open-minded, committed, and dynamic Islam that engages with all human issues—whether within the Islamic sphere, where sects differ; the religious sphere, where religions vary; or the intellectual sphere, where ideological lines are many.
We have learned from Allah in His Book, from the Prophet (p.) in his Sunnah, and from the Imams (a.s.) in the way they transmitted, deepened, and established the Message and the Sunnah in people's minds, that dialogue is the solution to disagreements. A person must respect what the other thinks. Respect does not necessarily mean agreeing to the others’ ideas, but it does mean taking them seriously. Even when we criticize another’s thought, we are respecting it—because to criticize an idea is to regard it as worthy of discussion and engagement.
Therefore, in all that we have addressed and continue to address, we affirm that truth is born from dialogue; that nothing is sacred in dialogue, and that we must bring the full richness of Islamic thought—its theology, jurisprudence, activism, and methodology—into the minds of the people.
We want this page to be one of the message, one of the cause, and one of humanity—a page where we try to honor our own humanity through our respect for the humanity of others, and our own thought by engaging respectfully with the thoughts of others.
Thus, I call upon you to further develop this page in terms of ideas, style, and presentation, and to keep pace with all that is happening in our Islamic arena.
You may come across a lot of idle talk from some people who create pages or forums aiming to stir sedition, disturb the Islamic reality, and spread hatred, hostility, and division. In such cases, we follow the words of Allah:
"And when they hear ill speech, they turn away from it and say, 'For us are our deeds, and for you are your deeds. Peace be upon you; we seek not the ignorant.'" Surah Al-Qasas (28:55)
However, we must also pay attention to the doubts and objections raised by others, and the schemes they devise to undermine Islamic unity. We must develop a methodical approach to the work at hand in order to protect people from being influenced by such efforts—through a scientific, objective and method free from insults, slurs, or irresponsible language, as some others unfortunately use.
This work is about enlightening people about Islam, educating the Muslim about Islam’s straight, rational, objective, and civilizational path. It is also about clarifying the essence of Shi‘ism—distancing it from myth and backwardness and presenting it to others in a civilized way, far from exaggeration and deviation. There is a wave of exaggeration and myth in the current Shi‘i Islamic reality, and we must face it with wisdom, good counsel, and the best forms of debate.
Your work is significant. You have already seen how your efforts have been fruitful, with millions of visits from people all over the world to this page. I have received many calls and messages confirming that this page is the primary source of spiritual nourishment for Muslims and believers in places where they have no religious scholars to guide them, and no access to books. This is the value of your work in the eyes of Allah, the Most Exalted.
The Prophet (p.) once said to Imam Ali (a.s.) when sending him to Yemen:
"O Ali, if Allah were to guide a single person through you, whether a woman or man, it would be better for you than all that the sun rises upon."
Thus, by the grace of Allah, the Most Exalted, , this page has become a source of guidance. The reward reaches each of you according to your effort and capacity in this field. And we are reminded of the Qur'anic motto:
"And say, 'Do [as you will], for Allah will see your deeds, and [so will] His Messenger and the believers." Surah At-Tawbah (9:105)
A speech delivered by His Eminence, the late religious authority Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah (ra),
during a meeting with a delegation from the Bayynat website, dated December 13, 2002.