Karbala Friday Prayer Leader:

Security officials must be vigilant over terrorism during Arba’in

Rasa – Hujjat al-Islam al-Safi warns Iraqi authorities and security officials to be vigilant over terrorist acts during the upcoming Arba’in pilgrimage.

News ID: 433448

Date: 28 October 2017 - 10:58

RNA – During his Friday prayer sermon delivered to a large crowd of believers in the Iraqi city of Karbala, Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Ahmad al-Safi referred to the bravery and devotion of the Iraqi armed forces and Popular Mobilization Forces and said, “We pray to God Almighty to grant the fighters the fastest possible victory over the Daesh terrorist phenomenon and to liberate the remaining occupied areas of the country.”

The representative of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani added, “Many warriors would like to participate in the Arba’in al-Husayn walk but they are deprived of this divine grace due to the ongoing war in Iraq. We hope God Almighty will give them a great reward.”

In his recommendation to the pilgrims participating the Arba’in walk, Hujjat al-Islam al-Safi said, “The pilgrims should maintain the spiritual atmosphere of the Arba’in walk and the operators of the mawkibs [camps and booths] must treat the pilgrims with high morality and humility and serve them. We hope and aspire that this special atmosphere of dealing with the pilgrims leaves a lasting effect on them.”

He described the ‘Master of the Martyrs’ [Imam al-Husayn] as the victor of the event of Karbala and added, “The movement of Imam al-Husayn had a definite purpose and path and it was for this reason that he chose his companions for this path and they also achieved salvation.”

“This was the path of Aba Abdillah [Imam al-Husayn] and we do not want the effects of this act to be forgotten and thus, this Husayni education and training must have an impact on the on protection of the treasury, public property, cleanliness and hygiene and the holding of prayers at the beginning of its stipulated time among the pilgrims,” His Eminence said.

Hujjat al-Islam al-Safi stated, “The Arba’in pilgrimage is an appropriate opportunity for one to re-examine his affairs and religious laws and on this basis, the people, by putting aside their modesty, can ask their religious and jurisprudential question from the thousands missionaries and scholars who have been deployed along the path to Karbala.”

The renowned Iraqi cleric urged the authorities of the mawkibs to be vigilant over the actions of the Takfiri terrorist phenomenon, saying, “After the heavy defeat of the terrorists by the Iraqi defence and security forces, the cowardly terrorists are now seeking to target the pilgrims. The security forces should also take special measures to protect the pilgrims.”

Arba’in is a Shi’ah Muslim religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who was killed on the tenth day of the month of Muharram.

During the days leading up to Arba’in, millions of pilgrims from Iraq, Pakistan, India, Iran, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Turkey and elsewhere walk to the city of Karbala, where Imam al-Husayn and his companions are buried from Najaf, another holy city in Iraq, to show their devotion. The two cities are more than 75 kilometres apart.

Imam Husayn ibn Ali and 72 companions were killed by the tyrannical caliph Yazid I’s army in the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH (680 CE).