By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer

“Every soul shall taste death”, says the Almighty Creator (Holy Qur’an 29:57) – in general reference to all creatures, particularly mankind the best of creation, the departure of whose members from the mortal world, depending upon their deeds, either opens for them the gates of the bliss of Paradise or the dark and dreadful doors of the fires of Hell.
This sums up the eventual fate of all human beings, whether virtuous or vicious, tyrants or benefactors, patriots or traitors, aggressors or defenders, liberators or terrorists, martyrs or murderers, believers or apostates, and so on.
Our beloved President, who possessed all the above mentioned positive qualities, passed away on May 19 in a copter crash, along with 8 other colleagues, including the equally dedicated Foreign Minister, while loyally serving the cause of God, the welfare of the public, and the development of the country.
On hearing of the accident, Iranians and the faithful all over the world had prayed for survival of Ayatollah Seyyed Ibrahim Raisi and his companions, but Divine Wisdom decreed that his return to the ethereal realm after over four decades of diligent performance of duties in various capacities for Iran and the Islamic Ummah, as a God-fearing descendant of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), was more important than completion of his 4-year term as President.
Of scholarly nature, he was ever-ready for martyrdom in view of his dauntless striving for the development and progress of Iran in the face of the West’s criminal sanctions and his defence of the rights of the oppressed in Iran and all over the world, especially the 76-year long plight of the Palestinian people and his fervent opposition to the ongoing US-Zionist genocide in Gaza.
His devotion to social justice, beginning as a young judiciary official groomed by Iran’s First Chief Justice, the illustrious Ayatollah Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti, reached climax during his two-year tenure as the Judicial Chief of the Islamic Republic. It culminated in his election in 2021 as President and saw extension of public welfare schemes, the reopening of vital industries, revival of dormant national projects, and fast-paced efforts to modernize the infrastructure that warranted frequent countrywide visits (resulting in death on duty during his last provincial trip).
These measures if they endeared him to the nation as “People’s President” and earned respect from progressive countries worldwide, it made him a thorn in the side of Global Arrogance, the US and the illegal Zionist entity in particular, especially for his success in rescuing Iranian economy from the self-imposed shackles of the American breached Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that had unjustly reduced Iran’s right to enrichment of uranium for peaceful use of nuclear energy to 3.8 percent and which under Raisi reached a healthy 60 percent.
In view of these achievements, Ayatollah Raisi’s death is a loss for the nation, but his glorious legacy lives on to inspire the nation and officials – as the person born in Holy Mashhad, sworn in as President on the auspicious birthday of Imam Reza (AS), martyred on the eve of the birth anniversary of Imam Reza (AS), and who will be laid on Thursday to eternal rest in the mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS).