Bahrain Mirror: The spiritual leader of Shiite majority in Bahrain, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, issued a statement on the prisoners in Bahrain, saying that they languish behind bars for the sake of "all innocent, oppressed and vulnerable".

Ayatollah Isa reiterated in his statement the sufferings prisoners live in Bahrain, stressing that "they can only be repaid by [Bahrainis'] staying on the path"

Following is Sheikh Isa Qassim's letter:

Dear free and honorable prisoners in the Bahrain of faith, freedom, pride, and dignity.

O loud sound of the call of freedom, do not diminish; O word of truth that has been brought to life and will not die; O invincible light that penetrates the darkness; O penetrating awareness that cannot be fought...

O Prisoners, your light penetrates walls, illuminates hearts, fuels willpower and pushes determination forward... Your patience is a lesson, your awareness is a proof, your vision is guided and your silence is an eloquent speech...

Your sufferings are bleeding wounds in the hearts. Your recitation, worship at night, remembrance of the Almighty God, prayers, and invocation of God in the darkness of the prisons are reflected bright lights on all of the country, from which a beam reaches every heart that is open to guidance and light.

Our dear noble prisoners,

Prisoners of virtue and dignity, everyone knows the cruel suffering and severe affliction you are in; but you are the ones actually living this suffering and affliction, experiencing their harsh reality, and bearing their bitterness on your souls in reality - not in words - for a long time.

All of this is known to God, the ever knowing and aware, and recorded by him. You will be granted a generous, great reward that no aspirant aspires for and no one can imagine.

You are prisoners of honor, and the most honorable people...

You were imprisoned because of saying the word of truth, taking a righteous stance, being angered and hurt by affecting the sanctity of religion, not remaining silent after an oppressed was subjected to injustice, not accepting the violation of a right, and denouncing the commitment of wrong.

You were imprisoned because you called for the realization of the right, the return to justice, the establishment of fairness, the respect of religion and its values, the reverence of the Shariya and its provisions, and the respect of the human being and the realization of his rights.

You were imprisoned for the sake of all the honorable people, all the innocents, all the oppressed, all the vulnerable, all the martyrs, and every drop of blood that fell on the ground for the sake of an oppressed who sought help. What a great favor you have done... Everyone owes you.

Every day, every hour, and every moment, whether you were standing, sitting, awake or asleep, you have been achieving great gain, enormous profit, an increase in benefit, and an abundance of generous wealth from God that is never lost.

If this prisoner was imprisoned for the sake of God - and remained committed to the path of God, remained sincere to God, and remained committed to the objectives of his religion and the provisions of his Shariya - he will be constantly fighting for the sake of God, always worshiping, and continuously rewarded.

How do people repay the prisoners of religion, honor, freedom, pride and dignity?

They can only be repaid by staying on the path that realizes righteousness, eliminates falsehood, establishes justice, removes injustice, preserves religion, restores dignity, safeguards freedom, ends vulnerability, and puts everything in its place.

This is the first right that people owe prisoners, and all their rights must be preserved, and every right has an object.

May God free our honorable prisoners in Bahrain and every oppressed prisoner, and achieve an immediate victory for all the oppressed.

Isa Ahmad Qassim

August 13, 2019

Arabic Version