By:Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer

     

This year’s Arba’een or the 40th day commemoration ceremonies for the Chief of Martyrs, Imam Husain (AS), climaxed in Karbala on a grand scale with a record 21-million plus pilgrims – the largest ever gathering anywhere on Earth – in an atmosphere of faith and fraternity transcending all barriers and announcing to the world that spirit of brotherhood knows no narrow divisions of politics, class, creed, ethnicity, geography, language, and the like.

This is the message of peace and justice for the defence of which the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) preferred to court martyrdom in valiant combat against heavy odds, along with his devout followers who numbered less than a hundred, rather than acknowledge the rule of a tyrant and his promotion of vices in society.

The presence in the Arba’een ceremonies in Karbala of several non-Muslims, including the chief Christian Patriarch of the Caucasus Republic of Georgia in his traditional attire, is further proof of the fact that the message of Imam Husain (AS) is universal and his sacrifice was for safeguarding all humanitarian values.

No wonder, the most massive of the Arba’een marches, that is the 80-km trek from Najaf to Karbala, witnessed pilgrims from at least 80 countries of the world waving their national flags, along with the banners of “Ya Husain” and chanting elegies in their own languages.

There were five million foreign pilgrims, with the majority being the 3.5 million devotees from neighbouring Iran, where in Tehran and all over the country the day of Arba’een saw millions of those who were not able to go to Karbala, hold several kilometer long rallies to pay tributes to Imam Husain (AS).

Similar marches on foot were held in Lebanon, Nigeria, Turkey, Afghanistan, the Caucasus republic of Azerbaijan, Syria, and Yemen, while in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, despite the restrictions placed by the authoritarian regimes, the people took to the streets, rhythmically stroking their chests with chants of “Ya Husain”.

The next day (Sunday), because of the late sighting of the crescent of the month of Safar in the Subcontinent, millions of people marked Arba’een with lengthy processions on the streets of the cities of India and Pakistan.

The Iraqi people for their part, as usual spared no efforts to display the finest form of hospitality for the pilgrims by providing them free-of-charge food, fruits, drinks, and even places to take rest and sleep before resuming the journey to Karbala.

As a matter of fact these selfless endeavours without any government support, showed the true nature of the Muslim masses of Iraq, who have rarely witnessed peace in history and have always been persecuted by the dictatorial regimes of Baghdad, culminating in the Godless repressive rule of the Ba’th minority which had banned Arba’een and other pilgrimages and massacred those observing them.

There are lessons to be learned here by the current politicians and parties of Ira who ought to overcome their petty differences by heeding the message of Imam Husain (AS) and joining the masses in the spirit of Islamic brotherhood that warrants promotion of friendly and fraternal ties with the brotherly people of Iran as well.

No wonder, throughout the Arba’een rallies the Iraqi and Iranian Muslims, to the exasperation of the US, Israel, and Arab reactionary regimes that are trying to fan flames of sedition, joined each other, merging their national flags, and were often heard saying: “We are one people”.

As a matter of fact, the peace, progress, and prosperity of the peoples of Iraq and Iran are inextricably tied to each other, as well as the security and stability of their respective countries. 

This was firmly evident by this year’s Arba’een rituals which again proved that Iraq and Iran enjoy an unbreakable bond – a bond based on the firm basis of history, religion, and the future that has enabled Iraqis to withstand the Ottoman occupation, the nightmare of Ba’thist rule, the US invasion, and the abortive bid to create takfiristan by macabrely murderous terrorists.

This is what Arba’een, Ashura, Karbala, and Imam Husain (AS), as well as the Day of Ghadeer and the rule of social justice of the Prophet’s Vicegerent Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) – who rests in peace in Najaf – teach us, as we eagerly look forward to the reappearance of the Saviour of mankind, Imam Mahdi (AS) and his global government of peace and justice with its headquarters in Kufa, Iraq.