TEHRAN- The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, expressed his condolences in a message on the demise of Ayatollah Hajj Sheikh Muhammad Emami Kashani (ra) on Sunday.

“I offer my condolences on the passing of the great scholar, Ayatollah Haj Sheikh Muhammad Emami Kashani (ra), to his honorable family, those whom he has left behind, his students, and his admirers,” the Leader said. 

Ayatollah Khamenei went on to add, “Over these many years, this pious scholar served the country and the Islamic Republic both before the victory of the Revolution among the Association of Combatant Clerics and after that in sensitive positions such as in the Guardian Council, the Assembly of Experts, the Islamic Development Organization, the Shahid Motahari School, and as the interim leader of Tehran’s Friday prayers. It is hoped that God will accept all his efforts in the letter of his good deeds. May God bestow His mercy and forgiveness on the deceased.”

In the same move, other high-profile officials expressed heartfelt condolences. 

In a separate message, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi expressed his condolences on the passing of the pious scholar and long-time friend of Imam Khomeini and the Revolution, Ayatollah Emami Kashani, to the Leader, seminaries, his students, and especially the deceased’s respectful family.

Raisi went on to add that “this pious and warrior cleric, who was one of the fighters of the Imam Khomeini’s (RA) movement, spent his noble life defending and safeguarding the ideals of the revolution, serving the Islamic system and the people after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, with an influential presence in important political and cultural institutions of the country, including in the religious and political stronghold of Tehran's Friday prayer, the Assembly of Leadership Experts, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Guardian Council, and the Expediency Council, and left lasting services, which will surely remain in the memory of the grateful people of Islamic Iran forever.”

In another message issued by the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, he expressed his sadness over the passing of the spiritual scholar Ayatollah Emami Kashani.

“I offer my condolences to the esteemed clergy, seminaries, professors, students at Shahid Motahari University, the noble people of Tehran and Kashan, and their honorable household,” he added. 

In the message, he also said that Ayatollah Emami Kashani left a shining and lasting legacy as the head of Shahid Motahari University, the interim Imam of Tehran Friday prayers, a member of the Guardian Council, and a representative in the Assembly of Experts.

His demise has received lots of reactions from several other officials from Iran and other countries, including Guardian Council secretary Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, former Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani, former head of judiciary, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, former President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, Seyyed Ammar Hakim, the leader of Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement.

Ayatollah Emami Kashani (October 1931 – 2 March 2024) was an Iranian politician who was a member of the Assembly of Experts of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

He was the Interim Friday Prayer Leader of Tehran and was also the head of Shahid Motahari University, Tehran.

Ayatollah Emami Kashani called al-Qaeda an “illegitimate child of America and Israel.”

“You talk about al-Qaeda. Have you forgotten who has bred al-Qaeda? It’s the illegitimate child of America and Israel, but you name it Islam. This savagery is not Islam. It is coming from inside of you and it is now punching you,” he noted. 

It is worth saying that his burial ceremony will be held on Tuesday in Imam Reza Holy Shrine, Mashhad.