Soon after the demise of Ayatollah Boroujerdi everybody was anxious to know what person would succeed him as the supreme Shiite ‘Marja’ or head of the Shiite religious establishment.
The students of Imam decided to glorify him at the funeral ceremony of the Ayatollah so as to show their desire on nominating him as the next head of the Shiite religious body.
Thus, we planned to surround the Imam at the funeral service and chant advertising slogans and salutations.
But that day Imam was absent and we could not find him!
Later the Imam himself remarked:
“I did not attend the ceremony, not because I was severely indisposed, rather because I observed that my presence would have certain implications of succession following the demise of Ayatollah. Therefore, in order to distance myself from those issues and keep off from them I decided not to attend the funeral service.”
He went onto say that: “Any person who has sincere affection for me should allow that affection stay within the confines of his heart. Nobody should take a single step to induce me to hold a position!”
Narrated by: Ayatollah Mohammad Mahdi Rabbani Amlashi
Payam-e Enqelab journal, no. 78