In a speech at Imam Mosque in the southern Iranian city of Kerman on Tuesday, Hojat-ol-Islam Mohsen Qara’ati referred to verses from Surah Maeda of the Quran and said God in these verses reprimands those who give promises but fail to keep them.
According to the teachings of Islam, he said, one should keep his promises even if given to non-Muslims or even Kafirs (disbelievers), he added.
The cleric referred to the people of Kufa’s reneging on their promises to Imam Hussein (AS) in the year 680 AD and said they had invited the Imam to their city but fail to honor their commitment.
The third Shia Imam (AS) and a small group of his followers and family members were martyred by the tyrant of his time - Yazid Bin Moaweya, in the battle of Karbala near Kufa on the tenth day of Muharram (known as Ashura) 680 AD.