• Activities
• 18 Safar 1435

The representative of the leading Marja’iyah in Europe:
* Pays tribute this year, 1435, to the millions walking towards the Ka’ba of freedom, Karbala, to mark the fortieth day ‘Arbaeen’ of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, peace be upon him.
* Values the role of Hawza scholars in teaching religious rulings ‘Ahkam’ to pilgrims.
* Appreciates the efforts of the Hussaini and Abbasi holy shrines in serving the devotees of Imam Hussein (a.s.) and thanks the security forces for ensuring the safety of the pilgrims from terrorists, extremist groups and others.
* The custom of walking, to seek nearness, began since the time of Imam Hassan Al-Mujtaba (a.s.) * It is possible to unite the peoples of the world in love and friendship through the aim of visiting Imam Hussain (a.s)

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, Most Compassionate
((..and whoever respects the signs of Allah, this surely is due to the piety of the heart)) Holy Qur’an (22:32)

Reviving the Arbaeen of Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, means reviving the signs of religion, and the renewal of the nation’s loyalty to the prophet and his pure family, peace be upon them. We therefore need to develop this revival to include all communities, and enhance its performance to a level matching the goals of the commemorated one and befitting his great status – peace be upon him.

Time has proven the depth of our people’s faith in this ritual, and their adherence to its revival despite difficult circumstances. The oppressors’ opposition and all their efforts to prevent it, only added to its continuation, immensity and prominence. We see it growing year after year bringing forth its fruit at all times.

We and the world have seen as soon as the believers had a chance to perform the Arbaeen commemorations, after Allah removed the nightmare of injustice and anti- values; millions of people – as never seen before - from our beloved Iraq headed for Karbala, expressing their allegiance to Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, and the Islamic and humane values that he embodied and shed his pure blood for. This unprecedented scene was reflected in global media outlets. It amazed the people of the world and raised their admiration.

This Hussaini flame continued in the following years and in the most difficult of circumstances, defying criminals’ bullets and their explosives, thus proving neither danger nor crime would discourage them from continuing to revive this sacred rite and declare their allegiance to the immaculate Ahlul-Bayt (a.s.) peace be upon them .

The aforesaid was predicted by the Aqeela Zainab (a.s.) when she said to the tyrant of her time: “Scheme your scheme, pursue and intensify your efforts but by Allah you will not erase our mentioned, nor erase our influence... "

While we welcome the Hussaini Arbaeen we remind the dear pilgrims, may Allah Almighty protect them, the following matters:

1 - To exchange hearty words of love and affection among themselves from all nationalities, affiliations and religions, because this huge number of people does not and will not come together for any occasion in the whole wide world but under the tent of Hussain, peace be upon him. We must seize this opportunity and use it globally and in the media to unite the Muslim people and others and show the world if intentions come together on a certain principle it can lead to unity and agreement; with each retaining their national identity - as is the case with the visitors of Hussein in Karbala, peace be upon him.

2- The custom of walking was established by Imam Hassan Al-Mujtaba (a.s.) when he walked to the House of Allah for Haj and Umrah. This custom of walking to the shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.) started during the time of Imam Al-Sajjad (a.s.) till Imam Al-Askari (a.s.) and the Ahlul-Bayt (a.s.) stressed upon it in order to obtain Thawab and to link the believers spiritually and ideologically with the Muahmmadi Islam. They also highlighted the rewards of this pilgrimage and other reliable Ziyarates of Imam Hussain (a.s.) during other months of the year, mentioning the recompense of each Ziyarate. Since then, the followers of Ahlul-Bayt (a.s.) committed themselves to walking for Ziyarate, in spite of the difficulties and constraints they faced from the rulers of their times; such as imprisonment, confiscation of possessions, kidnapping of their children, amputation of limbs, murder and other forms of torture. All this was witnessed by the Imams (a.s.). With tears running down his eyes Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s.), in his prostration, used to pray for the pilgrims of Imam Hussain (a.s.).

3- Hussaini symbols must be pure and sincere and solely for the pleasure of Allah Almighty, to seek nearness to Allah in reviving this tradition and must not include hypocrisy, reputation seeking, showing off, political matters and advertising for this or that faction, which mars the occasion and has a negative effect on the reputation of the faith and religion.

4- Those serving the pilgrims should offer varied services to encompass all aspects of the occasion such as: transport and looking after the walkers, fulfilling their moral & medical needs, welcoming and housing them in Karbala - in addition to educational and religious needs via lectures and useful tapes. The Hawza scholars must also be commended for the religious services they offer in order to educate the pilgrims and teach them the Ahkam. Also the security forces must be commended for ensuring the safety of pilgrims from the centre and south of Iraq and its frontiers.

5- Those of us participating from the Sunni faith enjoy special rights from us and must be respected, welcomed and served accordingly. For they are guests of Imam Hussain (a.s.) and must be honoured and thanked; because Imam Hussain (a.s.) was for all Muslims, rather for humanity as a whole, from any religion – particularly from those people of the book. During these years many of them got used to joining in Hussaini commemorations that are convened all over the world and we need to welcome them and introduce them to the personality of Imam Hussain (a.s) and the reasons for his movement in different languages. By the grace of Allah this has been acheived during the past two years.

6 - The advantage of our time is that media outlets reflect the events from all over the world, especially the events of millions walking in our beloved Iraq. The faithful should know that their processions, Ziyarates and all their actions fall under the glare of the world. They should strive to be advocates for Imam Hussein peace be upon him and his household (a.s) through their morals, their actions and appearance.
Imam Redha (a.s.) said: “Allah bless he who revives our ways ... he was asked ... and how to revive your ways? He, peace be upon him, said: Learn our knowledge and teach it to the people, for if they knew the virtues of our words they would follow us.” The faithful should maintain the performance of their prayers on time because it is the pillar of their religion. The intercession of the Ahlul-Bayt (a.s.) cannot be attained by those who underestimate their prayers. Imam Hussain (a.s.) offered his prayers on the battlefield at the height of battle; when the shooting of arrows had intensified, and said to he who reminded him to pray on time: “You reminded me of prayer may Allah make you among those who pray”.
The sisters should maintain their Hijab and veils because it is the most important thing the Ahlul-Bayt family cared about in the cruelest of circumstances. All the believers should therefore observe appropriate dress and for the sisters Hijab, avoiding anything that may be construed as morally offensive so as to elevate this sacred ritual of any inappropriateness.

We ask Allah to bless the pilgrims their pilgrimage of Abi Abdullah (a.s.) and accept their acts as best as He accepts the acts of the righteous ones and let their effort be a reserve for them in this world and in the next one. We ask Allah to prolong their lives and increase their sustenance and consolidate their stance and bless their children with the love of the Wilaya of Amirul-Momineen and his pure household (a.s.) and keep them away from the wicked, the ungodly evil doers by Muhammad and his pure household for He listens and Responds.