Respect

We should show respect for each other’s revered figures. Imam al- Sadiq’s behaviour with (members of) the other schools of thought was friendly and warm. It is an indisputable fact both in our history and in hadith that we should interact with all human beings with love and brotherhood. In narrations attributed to Imam Sadiq (A) he said:

مَنْ صَلَّى مَعَهُمْ فِی الصَّفِّ الْأَوَّلِ كَانَ كَمَنْ صَلَّى خَلْفَ رَسُولِ اﻟَّﻠﻪِ ص فِی الصَّفِّ الْأَوَّل

Whoever prays in the first rank (behind a Sunni imam) is like someone who has prayed in the first rank behind the Messenger of Allah (S).

For this reason, Shahid al-Awwal (may God have mercy on him) says in his textbook that, ‘If someone had the option to choose between praying behind a Shi‘i imam and Sunni imam, I would choose to pray behind a Sunni imam’. This explication of Shahid al- Awwal – because of his greatness – should not be taken lightly. This religious scholar with such a status and position says that instead of wanting to be present in the congregational prayer of Shi‘is, he prefers to be present at the congregational prayers of the Sunnis1.

• 1. Ayatollah Taskhiri in an interview with Shafaqna:
  http://shafaqna.com/persian/elected/item/133225