RNA – Hujjat al-Islam Abolqasem Ya’qoubi, the representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei] in North Khorasan Province and the Friday prayer leader of the city of Bojnourd, has met with a group of religious and cultural managers of this north-eastern Iranian province. They met to coordinate programs for the upcoming month of Muharram, where Shi’ite Muslims mourn the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (A), his family and companions at the hands of the Umayyad dynasty in 61 CE.
“Ashura and Muharram [along with] Mahdawiyah (Islamic messianism) and Wilayah (guardianship) are the two wings of the Muslims and the Shi’ites,” he explained. “Mahdawiyah and Wilayah protect our nation and the Islamic system against the arrogant enemies and their plots which are aimed at weakening and irradiating Iran’s Islamic system of government.” Hujjat al-Islam Ya’qoubi added that the enemies’ plots have failed due to Iran’s strong adherence to Mahdawiyah and Wilayah.
The Friday prayer leader of the city of Bojnourd stated that the three main factors of Wilayah and Mahdawiyah are resistance, triumph and the glory of the nation and the sacred Islamic system of governance, and added: “The month of Muharram and the day of Ashura are opportunities that should properly be used to strengthen the people’s faith and belief. Ashura is not just one day. Rather it is a school of thought and a lasting event which supports [and protects] the survival of Islamic system. As long as Muharram and Ashura are alive, the sacred system of Islamic governance will also remain alive and vibrant.”
Hujjat al-Islam Ya’qoubi explained that we need to preach the message of Ashura to the new generation in the method that Lady Zaynab (A) did. Zaynab was the sister of Imam Husayn (A), who after the massacre at Karbala, disseminated the news of the tragedy among the people and propagated true Muhammadan Islam during a time of great oppression by the Umayyad caliphate. “The message of Ashura is a message of belief in God, sacrifice, and martyrdom on the path of God,” His Eminence stated according to Rasa News Agency.
He stressed the need to hold on to the enthusiasm and sense of mourning of Muharram during the entire year, adding: “Unfortunately, sometimes superstitions and peripheral beliefs are added during the mourning ceremonies in Muharram. Some of these are rooted in the schemes of the enemies and are the reason that some have misunderstand the message of Ashura. For this reason, we must be careful of these dangers.”
Hujjat al-Islam Ya’qoubi also warned against self-flagellation during Ashura mourning rituals, saying that it promotes a false image of Shi’ism, saying: “The enemies and their television channels never show a correct version of Shi’ite mourning rituals except to show incorrect and peripheral rituals and the harmful aspects of this rituals. Due to seeing these rituals, the people of the world have become afraid of Shi’ites!”
His Eminence stressed that Shi’ites must abstain from performing such unfounded and irrational mourning rituals, calling them dangerous and a deviancy from true Islam which only serve the enemies of Islam and of Shi’ism. These superstitious rituals just give excuses for the enemies to endanger Shi’ites’ lives. “We must try to enjoin healthy and meaningful mourning rituals which create waves of enthusiasm for Imam Husayn (A) so that our ceremonies ennoble and improve Shi’ites,” he explained.
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