Knowledge, Conscience and Public Responsibility

Introduction

This week’s issue of Friday Bulletin honours two towering Shiʿi scholars and highlights the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Together these occasions invite Muslim community leaders to reflect on the relationship between knowledge, moral responsibility and public action.

22 Shaʿbān: Death of Ibn Shahr Āshūb (d. 588 AH / 1192 CE)

Ibn Shahr Āshūb (Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. ʿAli) was a major Twelver Shiʿi scholar, famed for works such as Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib and his commentaries on ḥadīth and Qurʾānic sciences. He died in Aleppo on 22 Shaʿbān 588 AH (1192 CE). Ibn Shahr Āshūb’s life reminds us that careful scholarship, textual mastery and moral courage shape communal memory; his example challenges religious centres to conserve rigorous learning while addressing contemporary needs.

Message for Today:

Preserve deep study of our texts, but always translate that learning into ethical leadership and social care.

24 Shaʿbān: Death of Mirzā Muḥammad Ḥasan Shīrāzī (Mirzā-ye Bozorg) (d. 1312/1895 CE)

Grand Ayatollah Mirzā Muḥammad Ḥasan Shīrāzī (1815–1895) was a pre-eminent marjaʿ who famously issued the 1891 fatwā against tobacco (the “Tobacco Protest”), an act that mobilised popular ethical and political resistance in Qajar Iran. He died in 1895 and was buried in Najaf. Mirzā Shirāzī’s example shows how religious authority can connect moral conviction with public welfare – a reminder that clerical guidance must meet concrete social harms.

Message for Today:

Religious guidance must be grounded in social responsibility; scholarship that ignores public welfare loses its moral force.

11 February: International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, 11 February is observed annually to promote access for women and girls to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Enabling girls and women in science is both a matter of justice and communal flourishing – more diverse knowledge serves the common good. Islamic tradition places a high value on pursuing useful knowledge. A well-known prophetic formulation states:

طَلَبُ اَلْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ وَ مُسْلِمَةٍ (بحارالانوار، ج ۶۷ُ ص ۶۸)

“Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim man and Muslim woman.” (Bihār al-Anwār, vol. 67, p. 68)

Message for Today:

Support and enable girls and women to learn and contribute in science – it strengthens faith, community and global wellbeing.

Final thought

Use this week to programme mosque-based and community events that combine historical learning with practical initiatives: a short seminar on the ethical role of scholars (Ibn Shahr Āshūb), a discussion on religious leadership and civic action (Mirzā Shirāzī), and a local event encouraging girls and young women to explore STEM pathways. In doing so, we honour our past while enabling a more just and knowledgeable future.