Lecture by Allamah Sayyed Issam Al-Imad, a teacher at the Qom Seminary, delivered last year in Ordibehesht 1403 (April-May 2024) at the residence of his teacher, Ayatollah Sheikh Kourani, on the day of his passing and before his funeral. This lecture was originally a video broadcast one year ago on the Global Wilayah Channel. We have decided to preserve it in its original form without any changes and to republish it on the occasion of the first anniversary of Allama Ali Kourani’s passing:
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
It is narrated in a noble hadith: (Whoever does not thank people, does not thank God.) May God have mercy on you, honorable scholar, Ayatollah, researcher, mujahid, and reviver of the Ahl al-Bayt school, Sheikh Ali Kourani. You were the banner of Islam. We learned the love of Ahl al-Bayt from you. From this great Sheikh, we learned how to immerse ourselves in the words of Ahl al-Bayt. We learned from this Sheikh how to respect the sayings of Ahl al-Bayt, contemplate them, and ponder deeply. He lived the words of Ahl al-Bayt in his conscience, thoughts, writings, sermons, lessons, style, and inspirations. He had an extraordinary intimacy with the sayings of Ahl al-Bayt. It was as if you were seeing my great teacher and Sheikh — indeed, my words about him are based on over a quarter-century of being his student — when you sat with him, the words, sermons, and wisdom of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), which he had memorized, seemed like a part of his very being and nature. And the words of Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain (peace be upon them), which he had memorized and lived under their shade, he felt those words, believed in their content, and acted upon them. You will see that the words of Imam Ali ibn al-Hussain, Imam Baqir, Imam Jafar al-Sadiq, Imam Kazim, Imam Reza, Imam Jawad, Imam Ali al-Hadi, Imam Hasan al-Askari, and Imam Mahdi (peace be upon them) have become part of his character and intellectual identity.
He had love, knowledge, and insight into the Book of God. In the books “Mufradat al-Quran al-Karim” and “Mustalahat al-Quran al-Karim,” he felt that God had granted him unparalleled knowledge of the Arabic language, and he was astonishing in his mastery of it. Yes, many claim to know the Arabic language, but when we studied and listened to his lessons on the vocabulary and terminology of the Quran, we found him knowledgeable and skilled in the words of the Book of God. We saw him as a Qur’anic personality with all the attributes and characteristics of such a figure. I found him in his research on the vocabulary and Quranic terms he dealt with, presenting them with knowledge, insight, and awareness, because he was a genius in the Arabic language. He was also a poet, a literary scholar, a jurist, and a theologian.
I remember one day a Lebanese scholar — who was the same age as my teacher, Sheikh Ali Kourani — came, and I was sitting among them listening to their conversation. He said, “Sheikh Ali, do you remember when we were young in Lebanon, in the Jabal Amel region? We used to go out and play, and you would bring the book Bihar al-Anwar by Allama Muhammad Baqir Majlisi and dedicate yourself to reading it — of course, this book is a large encyclopedia — and you would sit beside us.” One day during one of his lessons, which he taught us every day of the week except Friday, I said to him, “Respected Sheikh, I see that the words of God in the Quran, the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and the words of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) have become part of your essence and being. You do not speak about anything except that you cite a verse from the Book of God, a narration from the Prophet (peace be upon him), or a narration from the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them). So, how did you acquire all this abundant knowledge?” He told me, “I gained this knowledge by reading all the volumes of Bihar al-Anwar by Allama Muhammad Baqir Majlisi. This book, along with all the knowledge, awareness, and understanding contained in it, was engraved and preserved in my memory.”
Another point I found in him, may God be pleased with him, was that he worked very hard, was deeply passionate, and dedicated himself to learning about the issue of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance). He lived with Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him) in his heart and devoted himself to research about him to such an extent that the issue of Imam Mahdi became a part of his existence, thought, and discourse throughout his blessed life. An hour couldn’t pass without him speaking to us about Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him). Along with all his students in the sacred Qom Seminary, who are among the great scholars and learned figures of that seminary, I thank God that we had the opportunity to be his students.
Another thing I found in his lessons, may God have mercy on him, is that in his books and lessons about the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), such as his books and lessons about Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), I found material that makes you live with Imam Baqir in his speeches and in every detail of his life. Or when you look at his writings or lessons about the Wahhabi ideology – considering that I was once Wahhabi – you realize that he had precise knowledge of Wahhabi thought, as if he himself were a Wahhabi. One of his wonders was that on a Thursday, perhaps two days before his death, I was in his class and noticed that his memory had not deteriorated until the very last moments of his life. Many times, I heard him call out to God, saying, “O God, I want You to take me while I am healthy and strong. O God, I want to serve the Ahl al-Bayt until the last moment of my life.” I personally witnessed how God answered his prayer, and he obtained what he asked from his Lord.
He never grew tired of preaching and teaching the school of Ahl al-Bayt because he had extraordinary energy. I remember one day when I was at the Global Wilayah Channel, the channel’s manager told me: We want you to give two or three lessons daily on the channel because your teacher, Sheikh Kurani, does this. I told them: I am not Sheikh Ali Kurani. Sheikh Kurani never gets tired and has incredible energy. Even at eighty years old, he used to teach more than one lesson a day. May God be pleased with him, he nurtured the Ahl al-Bayt as a matter that touched his life and was planted in his conscience, grew within him, and he lived with the Ahl al-Bayt. He carried their concerns and was in contact with them. That is why he never got tired of studying and writing about them.
A few days before his death, I was with him, and he told me and all the students in his school in the sacred Qom Seminary – and I will confirm this by asking his son – that he was about to complete two books – and maybe had already finished writing them – one about the Quraysh and their role in the war against the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and his family, and another about Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him). He was like a walking library… and you could feel that he was immersed in love for the Ahl al-Bayt, Islam, the Qur’an, and Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him).
One of the things I gained from sitting with him, socializing, attending his lessons, and reading all his books was that one day I asked him, while some people were present at my teacher Sheikh Korani’s house, may God bless him: “Our esteemed teacher and Sheikh! What is your opinion about Allama Muhammad Baqir Majlisi, the author of Bihar al-Anwar, and his father, Allama Muhammad Taqi Majlisi, regarding their understanding of the hadith? Which one of them is more precise and knowledgeable?” He said: “The author of Bihar al-Anwar is more knowledgeable than his father in collecting hadith, but the father is more knowledgeable than his son in understanding the hadith.”
What caught my attention about him was that he cared about the affairs of Muslims worldwide, lived with their issues, and spoke about their concerns. A few days ago, he spoke about Gaza and Palestine. He was interested in everything related to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Ansar Allah in Yemen. We know that Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, may God protect him, was his student. Whenever Sheikh Ali Kurani went to Lebanon, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah opened the way for him to teach in Hezbollah groups and camps. Yes, he was beloved by all and kind to everyone. His commitment to knowledge never prevented him from alleviating people’s suffering, solving their problems, or bearing their burdens. Sometimes he would call one of his students and ask: “Have you resolved your problem with your wife?” He was fully aware of the details and specific points of the lives of people around him. He was a first-class social and political figure. He was also a muhaddith (scholar of hadith), a researcher in the principles of Islamic jurisprudence, and a researcher in Islamic heritage.
He was courageous… I was deeply impressed by his extraordinary bravery. If he believed in something and became certain about it, he would declare it and fear no one but Almighty God. When he was sure that he was right, even if everyone got angry at him, he would convey it. He was never one for flattery and only feared God. Even when criticizing famous figures, he said he feared no one but God because it was his duty before God. He was a sincere man, faithful, pious, and God-fearing.
In one of his lessons, he told us – and some of those present at the house of Allama Ali Korani, may God be pleased with him, heard the same – that one of the saints of God in Lebanon, after Sheikh Ali Kurani survived an Israeli assassination attempt when he was forty years old, told him: “You are now forty and will live like this, and then you will die at eighty.” A few days before his death, Sheikh Korani told us in a lesson that he had reached eighty years old, and this was the year of his death, as the person had predicted. Indeed, he passed away at eighty.
I have truly lost a teacher, a spiritual father, a scholar, and a reviver of Islam. He is one of the rare figures of our time. I want to remind an important point… many who wronged him and undervalued him during his lifetime will, after he has returned to his Lord, see his legacy and his unparalleled scientific library—reminding you of the legacy of Allama Muhammad Baqir Majlisi, author of Bihar al-Anwar, and the great scholars who wrote encyclopedias—and they will realize that he was an exceptional man who will not be found again for a long time.
May God have mercy on you, our teacher and sheikh, and place me in your love for the Ahl al-Bayt, and your love for Islam and the Qur’an. May He resurrect me with you and grant me your intercession on the Day of Judgment.
Peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.
Oct 19 2025
Lecture by Allama Syed Issam Al-Emad at the residence of Ayatollah Sheikh Ali Kurani, on the day of his passing
Lecture by Allamah Sayyed Issam Al-Imad, a teacher at the Qom Seminary, delivered last year in Ordibehesht 1403 (April-May 2024) at the residence of his teacher, Ayatollah Sheikh Kourani, on the day of his passing and before his funeral. This lecture was originally a video broadcast one year ago on the Global Wilayah Channel. We have decided to preserve it in its original form without any changes and to republish it on the occasion of the first anniversary of Allama Ali Kourani’s passing:
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
It is narrated in a noble hadith: (Whoever does not thank people, does not thank God.) May God have mercy on you, honorable scholar, Ayatollah, researcher, mujahid, and reviver of the Ahl al-Bayt school, Sheikh Ali Kourani. You were the banner of Islam. We learned the love of Ahl al-Bayt from you. From this great Sheikh, we learned how to immerse ourselves in the words of Ahl al-Bayt. We learned from this Sheikh how to respect the sayings of Ahl al-Bayt, contemplate them, and ponder deeply. He lived the words of Ahl al-Bayt in his conscience, thoughts, writings, sermons, lessons, style, and inspirations. He had an extraordinary intimacy with the sayings of Ahl al-Bayt. It was as if you were seeing my great teacher and Sheikh — indeed, my words about him are based on over a quarter-century of being his student — when you sat with him, the words, sermons, and wisdom of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), which he had memorized, seemed like a part of his very being and nature. And the words of Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain (peace be upon them), which he had memorized and lived under their shade, he felt those words, believed in their content, and acted upon them. You will see that the words of Imam Ali ibn al-Hussain, Imam Baqir, Imam Jafar al-Sadiq, Imam Kazim, Imam Reza, Imam Jawad, Imam Ali al-Hadi, Imam Hasan al-Askari, and Imam Mahdi (peace be upon them) have become part of his character and intellectual identity.
He had love, knowledge, and insight into the Book of God. In the books “Mufradat al-Quran al-Karim” and “Mustalahat al-Quran al-Karim,” he felt that God had granted him unparalleled knowledge of the Arabic language, and he was astonishing in his mastery of it. Yes, many claim to know the Arabic language, but when we studied and listened to his lessons on the vocabulary and terminology of the Quran, we found him knowledgeable and skilled in the words of the Book of God. We saw him as a Qur’anic personality with all the attributes and characteristics of such a figure. I found him in his research on the vocabulary and Quranic terms he dealt with, presenting them with knowledge, insight, and awareness, because he was a genius in the Arabic language. He was also a poet, a literary scholar, a jurist, and a theologian.
I remember one day a Lebanese scholar — who was the same age as my teacher, Sheikh Ali Kourani — came, and I was sitting among them listening to their conversation. He said, “Sheikh Ali, do you remember when we were young in Lebanon, in the Jabal Amel region? We used to go out and play, and you would bring the book Bihar al-Anwar by Allama Muhammad Baqir Majlisi and dedicate yourself to reading it — of course, this book is a large encyclopedia — and you would sit beside us.” One day during one of his lessons, which he taught us every day of the week except Friday, I said to him, “Respected Sheikh, I see that the words of God in the Quran, the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and the words of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) have become part of your essence and being. You do not speak about anything except that you cite a verse from the Book of God, a narration from the Prophet (peace be upon him), or a narration from the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them). So, how did you acquire all this abundant knowledge?” He told me, “I gained this knowledge by reading all the volumes of Bihar al-Anwar by Allama Muhammad Baqir Majlisi. This book, along with all the knowledge, awareness, and understanding contained in it, was engraved and preserved in my memory.”
Another point I found in him, may God be pleased with him, was that he worked very hard, was deeply passionate, and dedicated himself to learning about the issue of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance). He lived with Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him) in his heart and devoted himself to research about him to such an extent that the issue of Imam Mahdi became a part of his existence, thought, and discourse throughout his blessed life. An hour couldn’t pass without him speaking to us about Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him). Along with all his students in the sacred Qom Seminary, who are among the great scholars and learned figures of that seminary, I thank God that we had the opportunity to be his students.
Another thing I found in his lessons, may God have mercy on him, is that in his books and lessons about the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), such as his books and lessons about Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), I found material that makes you live with Imam Baqir in his speeches and in every detail of his life. Or when you look at his writings or lessons about the Wahhabi ideology – considering that I was once Wahhabi – you realize that he had precise knowledge of Wahhabi thought, as if he himself were a Wahhabi. One of his wonders was that on a Thursday, perhaps two days before his death, I was in his class and noticed that his memory had not deteriorated until the very last moments of his life. Many times, I heard him call out to God, saying, “O God, I want You to take me while I am healthy and strong. O God, I want to serve the Ahl al-Bayt until the last moment of my life.” I personally witnessed how God answered his prayer, and he obtained what he asked from his Lord.
He never grew tired of preaching and teaching the school of Ahl al-Bayt because he had extraordinary energy. I remember one day when I was at the Global Wilayah Channel, the channel’s manager told me: We want you to give two or three lessons daily on the channel because your teacher, Sheikh Kurani, does this. I told them: I am not Sheikh Ali Kurani. Sheikh Kurani never gets tired and has incredible energy. Even at eighty years old, he used to teach more than one lesson a day. May God be pleased with him, he nurtured the Ahl al-Bayt as a matter that touched his life and was planted in his conscience, grew within him, and he lived with the Ahl al-Bayt. He carried their concerns and was in contact with them. That is why he never got tired of studying and writing about them.
A few days before his death, I was with him, and he told me and all the students in his school in the sacred Qom Seminary – and I will confirm this by asking his son – that he was about to complete two books – and maybe had already finished writing them – one about the Quraysh and their role in the war against the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and his family, and another about Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him). He was like a walking library… and you could feel that he was immersed in love for the Ahl al-Bayt, Islam, the Qur’an, and Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him).
One of the things I gained from sitting with him, socializing, attending his lessons, and reading all his books was that one day I asked him, while some people were present at my teacher Sheikh Korani’s house, may God bless him: “Our esteemed teacher and Sheikh! What is your opinion about Allama Muhammad Baqir Majlisi, the author of Bihar al-Anwar, and his father, Allama Muhammad Taqi Majlisi, regarding their understanding of the hadith? Which one of them is more precise and knowledgeable?” He said: “The author of Bihar al-Anwar is more knowledgeable than his father in collecting hadith, but the father is more knowledgeable than his son in understanding the hadith.”
What caught my attention about him was that he cared about the affairs of Muslims worldwide, lived with their issues, and spoke about their concerns. A few days ago, he spoke about Gaza and Palestine. He was interested in everything related to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Ansar Allah in Yemen. We know that Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, may God protect him, was his student. Whenever Sheikh Ali Kurani went to Lebanon, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah opened the way for him to teach in Hezbollah groups and camps. Yes, he was beloved by all and kind to everyone. His commitment to knowledge never prevented him from alleviating people’s suffering, solving their problems, or bearing their burdens. Sometimes he would call one of his students and ask: “Have you resolved your problem with your wife?” He was fully aware of the details and specific points of the lives of people around him. He was a first-class social and political figure. He was also a muhaddith (scholar of hadith), a researcher in the principles of Islamic jurisprudence, and a researcher in Islamic heritage.
He was courageous… I was deeply impressed by his extraordinary bravery. If he believed in something and became certain about it, he would declare it and fear no one but Almighty God. When he was sure that he was right, even if everyone got angry at him, he would convey it. He was never one for flattery and only feared God. Even when criticizing famous figures, he said he feared no one but God because it was his duty before God. He was a sincere man, faithful, pious, and God-fearing.
In one of his lessons, he told us – and some of those present at the house of Allama Ali Korani, may God be pleased with him, heard the same – that one of the saints of God in Lebanon, after Sheikh Ali Kurani survived an Israeli assassination attempt when he was forty years old, told him: “You are now forty and will live like this, and then you will die at eighty.” A few days before his death, Sheikh Korani told us in a lesson that he had reached eighty years old, and this was the year of his death, as the person had predicted. Indeed, he passed away at eighty.
I have truly lost a teacher, a spiritual father, a scholar, and a reviver of Islam. He is one of the rare figures of our time. I want to remind an important point… many who wronged him and undervalued him during his lifetime will, after he has returned to his Lord, see his legacy and his unparalleled scientific library—reminding you of the legacy of Allama Muhammad Baqir Majlisi, author of Bihar al-Anwar, and the great scholars who wrote encyclopedias—and they will realize that he was an exceptional man who will not be found again for a long time.
May God have mercy on you, our teacher and sheikh, and place me in your love for the Ahl al-Bayt, and your love for Islam and the Qur’an. May He resurrect me with you and grant me your intercession on the Day of Judgment.
Peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.
By english • Perspective of converted to Shiaism • 0 • Tags: Allamah Sayyed Issam Al-Imad, Dr. Esaam al-Emaad, Sheikh Ali Kurani