Senior Cleric:

Arbaeen Rally Nightmare for Enemies of Islam

Tehran’s provisional Friday Prayers leader Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari underlined that the great rally of Arbaeen has become a nightmare for enemies.

News ID: 447502

Date: 18 October 2019 - 18:09

RNA - Addressing a large and fervent congregation of the people in Tehran on Friday, Hojjatoleslam Haj Ali Akbari said, “As you see they have boycotted the news about Arbaeen while also throwing Iraq into disarray before the event.”

The senior cleric reiterated that Arbaeen has turned into a nightmare for the Global Arrogance.

“The world is witnessing a great, unique and stunning event. Arbaeen is a magnificent, outstanding and inspiring phenomenon. This is a miracle from believers’ perspective that millions of pilgrims travel to Karbala on foot,” he added.

Arbaeen, which is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hossein (PBUH).

Each year, millions of people flock to Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hossein (PBUH) is located, to perform mourning rituals. This year, Arbaeen falls on Saturday, October 19.

According to Fars News Agency, last year, millions of Muslims from across the world, including Iran, attended the 100-km rally from Iraqi city of Najaf to Karbala where the holy shrine of Imam Hossein (PBUH) is located.

Observers believe the rally is unique in terms of quality and also the number of its participants. It starts from the holy shrine of Imam Ali (PBUH) - the first Shiite Imam - and ends up in the holy shrine of Imam Hossein (PBUH).

Imam Hossein (PBUH) was martyred in the 680 A.D. battle fought on the plains outside Karbala, a city in modern Iraq that's home to the Imam's holy shrine.

In the battle, Imam Hossein (PBUH) was decapitated and his body mutilated by Yazid's armies. All of Imam Hossein's male family members, relatives, friends, soldiers who all together formed a 72-member army were beheaded in an unequal war with a 30,000-strong army of the enemy in the desert of Karbala.

The occasion is the source of an enduring moral lesson for the Shiites.

Imam Hossein's martyrdom - recounted through a rich body of prose, poetry and song - remains an inspirational example of sacrifice to Shiites, who make up a majority of the Muslim population in Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and Bahrain.

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