Hujjat al-Islam Hashemian said, “The realization of the reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi requires that the culture of Arba’in is extended to the entire year and every place." RNA – Speaking at a meeting attended by staff of the Baqir al-Uloum University and the Imam Reza Institute, Hujjat al-Islam Sayyed Mohammad-Hoseyn Hashemian, a member of the faculty of social sciences, referred to the presence of millions of pilgrims in the Arba’in pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine of Imam al-Husayn in the Iraqi city of Karbala and said, “The presence of pilgrims from different countries, cultures and religions in the Arba’in pilgrimage marks the foundation of a new Islamic civilization and the prelude to the reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi.”
His Eminence called the ritual of Arba’in as beyond time and place and emphasized, “Living a Husayni life, the culture of Arba’in and the culture of faith and self-sacrifice must not be seasonal and limited to the time of Arba’in but the realization of the reappearance [of Imam al-Mahdi] requires that the culture of Arba’in is extended to the entire year and every place.”
Hujjat al-Islam Hashemian said that some people observe religious rituals only during Muharram or engage in fasting and prayer only during Ramadhan, while in a hadith, Imam Musa al-Kadhim warned us against taking religion as something temporary and seasonal: “Oh God, do not include me among those whose beliefs are temporary.”
His Eminence said that extremism in religiosity is a form of harm, said, “Today, the arrogant powers of the world use different sects and extremists, such as Daesh, to oppress pure Islam, while the Prophet Muhammad invited the people toward to moderation because extremism in religiosity detracts from the principles and entertains secondary issues.”
Hujjat al-Islam Hashemian considered the decline in moral values in society as a another harm, and stated, “Religiosity has two wings, religious rituals and obeisance and worship, which are very important, but incomplete. Therefore, the second dimension is the increase of religious knowledge and the spread of ethics in society.”
Rasa News Agency
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