Ahlul Bayt (AS) International News Agency - ABNA: The crowds at the Jamkaran Mosque ceremony included pilgrims from across the globe, each carrying their own grief and their own stories of what the Supreme Leader meant to them.
ABNA correspondent Zainab spoke with a young man who had traveled from Lahore, Pakistan, to be part of the historic farewell. Despite the hardships of the journey, his resolve remained unshaken.
"We have come from Lahore, Pakistan," he said. "If the Supreme Leader can give his life, then we can certainly endure these hardships. Obviously, in such a huge crowd, difficulties arise – sometimes with accommodation, sometimes with transport – but the path on which the Supreme Leader gave his life is the path of truth, the path of Karbala, the path of Ashura, the path of the prophets, the path of the Imams, and the path of the Ahlul Bayt."
He described the moment he received the news of the leader's martyrdom. "At that moment it felt as if the world had ended, as if the world would not move forward anymore, because we believed that the flag of Islam would be handed over by the Supreme Leader to Imam Zaman and that the system would continue that way."
The young man recounted how he and others had protested at the American consulate in Lahore after hearing of the martyrdom, following similar actions in Karachi where believers had set the consulate on fire. "We went there with the same spirit, we also protested there and tried our best, but the terrorist soldiers of the American regime confronted us forcefully, which caused us to disperse."
He spoke of the difficulties of his journey to Qom. "We arrived here on Thursday, July 2nd, and the flight was delayed too. There were many difficulties, but we accepted all of them. We said, even if our lives are lost, it doesn't matter – nothing is greater for us than the Leader's life."
He drew a direct parallel between the leader's martyrdom and the tragedy of Karbala. "When the Leader can sacrifice his life on this path, the Supreme Leader has renewed Karbala. If Karbala had not happened, Islam would not exist today, and I believe if the Leader had not been martyred, Islam would have ended after him, because Islam has been kept alive by Karbala. And this is the second Karbala, and I believe its status is equal to that Karbala, because the Supreme Leader was martyred in exactly the same manner as Imam Hussain was martyred – along with him, his granddaughter, who was an infant, was also martyred."
He invoked the narration of Imam Sadiq: "Every day is Ashura, and every land is Karbala. The Supreme Leader proved this in practice." He also recalled the leader's recitation of Ziyarat Ashura: "O Aba Abdillah, I am at peace with those who make peace with you, and at war with those who war against you until the Day of Judgment. He taught us to live with that and showed it through his own actions."
The young man emphasized the universal significance of the Supreme Leader. "He is the only leader who is not just the leader of Shi'ism, not just the leader of Muslims, but the leader of the world – the leader of all humanity – and all of humanity can take light from him."
He reflected on the leader's consistency between word and action. "The Supreme Leader never said anything in his life that he did not himself act upon. In a video, I heard that a child asked the Supreme Leader to pray for his martyrdom, and he replied, 'You should study, learn, become useful for Islam, and then get martyred at the age of 80 or 90.' The Supreme Leader sacrificed his life in exactly that manner."
He closed with a prayer: "May Allah grant us all the ability to follow his path and to succeed in his mission, insha'Allah. And may He grant us the ability to renew our covenant and loyalty with Imam Mujtaba Khamenei, insha'Allah."
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