AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): This year, during the Arbaeen pilgrimage, the temporary camp of the World Assembly and its officials in the Holy City of Karbala created an opportunity for the interaction and synergy of religious and cultural personalities and activists from different parts of the world.
From 10th to 21st Safar (August 15th to 26th), 12 specialized meetings were held at the camp of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly next to the Holy Shrine of Hazrat Abbas (a.s.) in Karbala, attended by more than 1,600 guests from about 30 countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait, Tunisia, Palestine, Comoros, Yemen, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Myanmar, England, Portugal, America, Netherlands, France, Denmark, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania and Uruguay.
During the days of Arbaeen of Imam Hussain (a.s.), Ayatollah Reza Ramazani the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly traveled to Iraq, and in addition to attending the Arbaeen Great Walk, he met and talked with a group of religious figures and Islamic world intellectuals in the Holy City of Karbala.
In an interview with Ayatollah Ramazani, the AhlulBayt (a.s.) International News Agency – ABNA, asked him about the different aspects of the Arbaeen Pilgrimage, and the activities of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly during this international event.
At the beginning of the interview, Ayatollah Ramazani mentioned the importance of being grateful for God’s blessings and said that Imam Hussain (a.s.) states in Dua Arafah that if we want to be grateful for God’s blessings throughout our lives, we cannot. Also, if someone wants to count the blessings of God, he cannot. “One of the greatest blessings is being present in Karbala during the Arbaeen pilgrimage,” he said.
Further, regarding the history of Arbaeen, he said, “Arbaeen originated from a great event that took place 50 years after the demise of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) (the movement and martyrdom of Imam Hussain (a.s.) on the Day of Ashura). Of course, the reason for the Ashura incident should be discussed in detail. Why, after 50 years of the demise of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h), the head of his grandson (a.s.) was speared. In studying of Ashura Event, it is understood that it is caused by some great historical events in the past. First, the Be’ethat and Prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h). The Prophet was sent as a prophet to confront ignorance and any kind of crisis. At that time, the biggest crisis that society suffered from was the ideological, belief, intellectual, and practical crisis. The next big event, which can be mentioned as the second most important event before Ashura, was Ghadir. About Ghadir, the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) said that this day is the biggest Eid of his Ummah, which is actually a celebration of the continuation of the Prophethood. Ghadir is for maintaining and continuing all the achievements and results of the Prophet’s Be’ethat.”
“After Be’ethat and Ghadir, the Ashura incident happened. Of course, another great event that will happen is the Reappearance of Imam Mhadi (a.s.), Mahdism. These four events – Be’ethat, Ghadir, Ashura, and Mahdism – are closely related,” he added.
Regarding the reasons for the Ashura uprising during the time of Imam Hussain (a.s.), he said, “During the time of Imam Hussain (a.s.), some people had turned Islam upside down, that is, they had once again returned to Jahiliyyah (Ignorance Era of Arabian Peninsula). A group had come to power that had no faith in the teachings of Islam and the Quran. The person who was at the head of the Muslim government at that time was Yazid, who was always drunk, a debauchee, a wicked who played with monkeys. At that time, the rulership of Islamic geography, which was very large, fell into the hands of an incompetent person. After the death of Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, an order was issued that some people should be sworn in for Yazid, his son, one of whom was Imam Hussain (a.s.). The ruler of Madina made this proposal to the Imam. The Imam responded: “Someone like me would never pledge allegiance to someone like him (Yazid). The Imam meant that he was from a family of divine revelation, while Yazid was from a base family with dark roots, and the one who is absolute light will never pledge allegiance to the one who is absolute darkness, and if the affairs of Islam are left in the hands of such a wicked person, we should bid farewell to Islam.”
“Imam Hussain (a.s.) did not pledge allegiance to Yazid and moved from Medina to Mecca,” he noted, “In the eighth month of Dhu al-Hijjah, in order to protect the heritage of the past divine prophets and the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) – i.e. the Kaaba and Masjid al-Haram, Zamzam and Safa, etc. – from being damaged, he left Makkah for Kufa. Then, on the way to Kufa, the events of Karbala and Ashura occurred. Imam Hussain’s (a.s.) uprising philosophy can be understood from his words.”
Regarding the scholarly view of the teachings of religion and Arbaeen and the way of explaining it by intellectuals, he said, “These issues and topics are intertwined, which play a role in understanding the Islamic foundations. There is a famous saying, that I think it is true. It says, “Islam was brought by Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h), and was preserved by Imam Hussain (a.s.). This saying is very famous. There is another famous saying of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h): “I am from Hussain, and Hussain is from me.” These two sayings and concepts are very intertwined. Imam Hussain (a.s.) played a very outstanding role, i.e. revival of Islam and divine tradition. Imam himself said about this: “My uprising is to reform my grandfather’s nation.” In another place, Imam Hussain (a.s.) said: “Traditions have been destroyed, heresies have been revived, and nothing of Islam remains, either in terms of governance or content.” It means that Islam was practically mocked by someone who was the so-called ruler of Muslims – Yazid.”
“During human history, there has been no commemoration of the 40th day after the death of people, and it is commemorated only for Imam Hussain (a.s.). We need to study the reasons for this. We should study why after Ashura some people tried to erase the whole story so that no grave of Imam Hussain (a.s.) remains. Why did Abbasid Caliph Mutawakkil order to destroy the holy grave of Imam Hussain (a.s.) and why did he prevent people from going on the pilgrimage of the Imam?” he said about Arbaeen Pilgrimage.
“For the commemoration of the heritage of Arbaeen, there is a historical process that started from the companions to the special students of the Infallible Imams (a.s.), to the ulama. Ulama made great moves to revive Arbaeen, and they made plans in this direction throughout the year. During the year, elders, sources of emulation, and great figures of Najaf seminary went to Karbala several times on foot, because there are hadiths about the place of walking towards Karbala,” he said about the revival of Arbaeen Great Walk.
About the walking from Najaf to Karbala tradition to respect Imam Hussain (a.s.) and the reward of visiting the Imam’s Holy Shrine, Ayatollah Ramazani said, “The late Grand Ayatollah Khoei and many other Shiite elders and figures in Najaf, used to go from Najaf to Karbala on foot, which would take several days. The book Kamil al-Ziyarat by Ibn Qulawayh contains more than 600 hadiths about Imam Hussain (a.s.). The book contains hadiths about the Prophet (p.b.u.h), Imam Ali (a.s.), Imam Reza (a.s.), and other Infallibles (a.s.). But about 80% of the hadiths in this book are related to Imam Hussain (a.s.). In this book, great rewards are mentioned even for those who intend to visit Imam Hussain (a.s.). Even before the Event of Ashura, AhlulBayt (a.s.) emphasized the reward of visiting Imam Hussain (a.s.). Of course, the amount of this reward depends on the knowledge of the pilgrim. Because it has been emphasized in a hadith: “Whoever visits Imam Hussain (a.s.) with knowledge, it is as if he has visited God in His Throne.” This means that in the pilgrimage of Imam Hussain (a.s.), you can see the glory and beauty of God. This means that this pilgrimage itself can be a source of education and guidance.”
In response to a question about the specification of the Arbaeen pilgrimage in the book Kamil al-Ziyarat, Ayatollah Ramazani said, “In this book, the importance of the Arbaeen pilgrimage is specified. The hadiths mentioned in this book are generally about pilgrimage, including those who intend to do pilgrimage. In one of these hadiths, even the reward for someone who intends to go on the pilgrimage of Imam Hussain (a.s.) is mentioned. This hadith is one of those hadiths that have been emphasized a lot, and whoever starts his movement to visit the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.) in Karbala, for every step he takes, good deeds will be written for him; he will be given a thousand positions (in Paradise); and his thousand sins will be cleansed. According to traditions, on the Day of Ashura, 4000 thousand angels planned to avenge the blood of Imam Hussain (a.s.), but God did not allow them. Rather, He told them to stay and always seek forgiveness for the pilgrims of Imam Hussain (a.s.) from the beginning of their arrival until the end.”
About the pilgrimage, Ayatollah Ramazani said, “Many tried to eliminate the Ashura and Arbaeen concepts, but they could not. The first point about pilgrimage is the lesson of monotheistic behavior. By looking at the Ziyarat letters, narrated from the Infallibles (a.s.), and by studying the entire book of Kamil al-Ziyarat, we can understand that all of them have lessons in monotheism and resurrection. The greatest monotheistic lessons can be seen in the letters of Ziyarat. In this regard, Imam Ali (a.s.) said: “Help me with piety, effort, chastity, and honesty (in actions and words).” By this saying, Imam denoted that people are not capable of accompanying and helping in many matters, but in the mentioned cases they can help the Infallibles (a.s.). Imam Musa Sadr says about this that we should be like Imam Ali (a.s.) and get closer to him. Today, we should introduce Imam Ali (a.s.), by being like him and representing him in terms of behavior. Therefore, the Arbaeen pilgrimage has an ideological and epistemological basis in the domain of Imamate. Imamate is mentioned in the continuation of prophethood, and the most important lesson of prophethood is monotheism, which means origin and resurrection. The revival of Arbaeen is the basis of a great Islamic and human civilization in which there is freedom, dignity, wisdom, and spirituality.”
About the meaning of pilgrimage and spirituality in the West, he said, “Pilgrimage to Infallible Imams (a.s.) means taking a step and moving towards monotheism. Contrary to what some claim that pilgrimage is polytheism, (and it turns out that they are not familiar with true Islamic teachings), all the teachings of pilgrimage are monotheistic. Even pilgrimage is a basis for removing polytheism and confronting it. Looking at the pilgrimage from this point of view, we see that being next to the holy shrines increases our spirituality, and causes our attention to God, monotheism, and spirituality to increase, a spirituality that forces a person to accept responsibility, not run away from it. Some types of spirituality are completely at odds with accepting responsibility, such as those found in Buddhism and other schools. Spiritualities that are prevalent in the West believe in the unseen. In my opinion, they believe in the unseen things of the world, but they do not believe in the unseen world. Pilgrimage promotes a spirituality in which there is belief in the unseen world, not just believing in the unseen things of the world. In the prevalent spirituality in the West, they somehow believe in the unseen. That is, they believe in immaterial things, but not necessarily God or angels.”
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