The Leader issued the message on Tuesday, a day after Ayatollah Shobeiri Zanjani’s office announced his passing.
The following is the full text of Ayatollah Khamenei’s message, as shared by his official Telegram account:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The sorrowful news of the passing of the revered teacher and distinguished jurist, his eminence Grand Ayatollah Shobeiri Zanjani (may God be pleased with him) has been received.
Throughout his noble life, except for the first few years of childhood, this esteemed scholar devoted himself to learning, teaching, and scholarly research. He was consistently regarded by his peers, contemporaries, and teachers as a meticulous scholar and profound thinker. His mastery of the various disciplines pertaining to the derivation of Islamic legal rulings was accompanied by great subtlety and a careful consideration of the finest details.
The lessons he delivered, even when attended by no more than a handful of students, were renowned for their thorough research and meticulous analysis—and rightly so.
By the grace of God, over the course of slightly more than the past three decades, many people had the opportunity to benefit, according to their own capacity, from his invaluable presence and to draw from his knowledge for their own scholarly circles and teaching. His company was a source of both imparting and acquiring knowledge—even when, after his lessons, he would walk toward his home. Beyond his undisputed scholarly stature, his humble and fatherly manner toward students and scholars was also evident and deeply instructive.
Without doubt, the passing of this distinguished personality has left a void among the foremost Shia scholars of the present age, and filling this void may take a considerable length of time.
I extend my condolences for this grievous loss to our Master [Imam Mahdi], may God hasten his noble reappearance, to the Islamic seminaries, and especially to his students and admirers, and most particularly to his noble household, a family that has nurtured generations of scholars and learned figures. I ask Almighty God, the Glorious and Exalted, to elevate the rank of this great scholar and grant him the highest degrees of divine grace.
