RNA – In a speech, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Musa Shobeyri-Zanjani referred to the Arba’in pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine of Imam al-Husayn in the Iraqi city of Karbala and said, “The Arba’in pilgrimage is the propagation of shari’ah [religious law] and the propagation of wilayah [guardianship]. The enemies, oppressors and these Takfiri groups are afraid of this power.”
The prominent teacher in the Islamic Seminary of Qom added, “This pilgrimage is a sign of the greatness of Shi’ism and I wish that my physical fitness was strong enough that I could participate in the walk.”
Ayatollah Shobeyri-Zanjani stated, “In many narrations, emphasis has been given to the pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine of Imam al-Husayn. The necessity and the obligation of this pilgrimage are noted in some of these narrations to the extent that some scholars such as the late Allamah Muhammad-Baqir al-Majlisi and his great father [Muhammad-Taqi al-Majlisi] were inclined to the view that the it is obligatory to perform this pilgrimage at least one time for those who have the ability to perform it.”
He continued, “Today, this pilgrimage has become one of the Islamic rituals and a means of promoting of the Shi’ah school of thought and this is given as an example in the narrations related to reverence for the divine rituals.”
Ayatollah Shobeyri-Zanjani stated, “The late great hadith scholar Hajji Nouri [Mirza Husayn Nouri al-Tabarsi, d. 1902] gave special attention to this glorious pilgrimage by walking uninterruptedly from Najaf to Karbala during the days of Arba’in along with the great scholars and finally, on the way back from the pilgrimage, he passed away.”
It must be noted that Arba’in marks forty days after the Day of Ashura, the day Imam al-Husayn ibn Ali, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, was martyred in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE.
On the day of Arba’in, the Shi’ah faithful traditionally walk for several days or longer to reach the Iraqi holy city of Karbala where crowds chant and march around the Holy Shrine of Imam Husayn.
This year, Arba’in will be commemorated on October 30th.
Rasa News Agency
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