RNA – Speaking during his class at Qom’s Grand Mosque, Ayatollah Ja’far Sobhani said that the epic Arba’in pilgrimage has become a vital issue for the Shi’ah and the Muslim worlds and noted, “Today, the tyrannical countries express dissatisfaction with Shi’ism because they want a government which will say and do whatever they want and which will cooperate them in their work, which was why they didn’t have trouble with Iran during the former [Pahlavi] regime.”
The revered source of emulation added, “Today, the enemies see that the Islamic Republic wants to act on the basis of the Quran and sunnah (tradition), to be independent, to act on its own accord and to sell oil for itself and these are heavy issues for the enemies. Previously, they used issue diktats to us in Tehran on what must be done and intervened in elections.”
He said that when enemies see that their hands fall short in everything, they expressed dissatisfaction, stating, “Even the reactionary Arab governments have been provoked against the Islamic Republic in order to pursue their Iranophobia program.”
Ayatollah Sobhani said, “Iran isn’t something to be afraid of for anyone but it’s a centre of confidence and power for all. If the same people who are afraid of Iran abandon the arrogant powers and foreigners and return to the Islamic world, they will be more relaxed.”
His Eminence expressed that presently, Arba’in al-Husayn is a program and a slogan that makes Shi’ism more coherent and said, “People have gathered in Karbala, not just from Iran, but also from Western and Eastern countries, and with the pilgrimage of Imam al-Husayn, the Husayni slogan of ‘hayhat minna al-dhillah’ [we will never be humiliated’] is being practiced.”
He said, “Perhaps that millions of people gather in a place on one day for a single purpose is unprecedented in human history and the Arba’in pilgrimage and the presence in Karbala will preserve the integrity of Shi’ism and revitalize the Husayni slogan.”
Ayatollah Sobhani stated, “The pilgrimage of Arba’in al-Husayn, besides having a formative effect, is considered to be a slogan of Shi’ism. One of the cases of protecting the slogan of Shi’ism is the pilgrimage to the grave of the ‘Master of the Martyrs’ on Arba’in and the first person to perform the pilgrimage to the grave of Imam al-Husayn was Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari.”
Rasa News Agency
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