Arba’een – the great global gathering

The Arba’een Pilgrimage is the world's largest public gathering held every year in Iraq in the holy city of Karbala to pay homage to Imam Husain (AS) on the 40th day of his martyrdom. Tens of millions of pilgrims come from all over the world to pay respects at the shrine of the Chief of Martyrs.

The majority of them walk, especially the 90-km distance between holy Najaf the resting place of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS) and the mausoleum of the Grandson of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). The devotees chanting Labbaiks Ya Husain which means “Here I am O Husain” convey to the world the mission of peace, justice, and freedom of the Immortal Martyr of Karbala whose message was internationalized and universalized by his sister, the indomitable Zainab (peace upon her). Now we have a feature in this regard as follows:

Imam Husain (AS) was cruelly killed by the enemies of humanity who claimed to be Muslims, yet they violated every tenet of Islam. These Godless hypocrites actually wanted to erase Islam but couldn’t do, as ayah 8 of Surah Saff of the holy Qur’an speaks about the immortality of the universal message of the Prophet of Islam:

“They desire to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah shall perfect His light though the faithless should be averse.”

The immortal saga of Karbala continues to jolt consciences as the world looks astonishingly at the huge gathering of men, women, and children marching for the annual pilgrimage, without the least fear of the Takfiris and other terrorists who cowardly attack such peaceful rallies. The epic of Imam Husain (AS) cannot be described by words. It is not limited to a particular school thought or a sect. Besides Shi’a Muslims, a large number of Sunnis and Sufis also converge on Karbala, as well conscientious persons of other religions, such as Christians and Zoroastrians. This majestic march is so memorable that it does not know any barriers of ethnicity, language, country, class of society and school of thought. Even a cursory glance at images broadcast of the world's largest march can revive the dead heart.

Pilgrim Jaber Kazem Khalaf said: “I came walking from Basra with my wife and three sons... This is the third time. We started walking 13 days ago and reached Karbala on Sunday night.”

The 40-year-old said his prayers would be for the Hashed ash-Sha’bi paramilitary forces that have tens of thousands of men deployed on the frontlines to protect against the Daesh terrorists.

As a matter of fact, the Arba’een march in Iraq provides an opportunity to knit ranks among believers from around the world.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, believes that those who cover this course and participate in this epic march are performing a great task and reviving a grand tradition, since this pilgrimage is based on deep and rightful belief. He believes that creation of unity is another important characteristic of the huge Arba’een march. He says:

“The unique and unprecedented phenomenon has emerged in the recent years, namely the marching on foot between Najaf and Karbala or from farther cities, some from Basra, some from the borders and some from other cities set out on foot and move. This move is the move of love and faith. But we look at this move from afar and have our hearts set on the state of those who have enjoyed this blessing.”

Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi, a member of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Cultural Revolution said: The gathering of Arba’een in Karbala is indeed an unprecedented event on a global scale. Such a massive march has not taken place in history. Imagine some 25 million people walking kilometers from all direction towards Karbala! This does not happen anywhere in the world. This is among the miracles of the Chief of Martyrs, Imam Husain (AS).

A 45-year woman walker, who came with her son and two daughters to join the march, and gave her name as Halimah, said: “I came from Samawa to Najaf by car. Now I am proceeding towards Karbala on foot, to beseech God Almighty, for the sake of Imam Husain (AS), to protect my husband and all those confronting the cowardly terrorist outfit, Daesh.

Despite the pilgrimage being one of the world's largest - it is far larger than the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in which around 2.5 million people take part - it has largely been ignored by the Arab and western media for obvious reasons. The West and its clients, the Arab reactionary regime, fear the growing awareness of the people of the region which will definitely undermine their hegemony and dubious rule.

It should be noted that in Britain, Organizers of the annual Arba’een processions in London and other cities, have previously spoken of their frustration over the lack of mainstream media coverage of the event.

Mohammed Al-Sharifi, a volunteer at last year's event, said: “Unfortunately [some] media outlets have gone for stories that to some extent can be divisive. If a group of Muslims do something good, it's not mentioned or the religion is not mentioned. But if someone does something [negative], it is on the front page and their religion is mentioned.”

Dr. Mohammad Shomali, director of the Islamic Centre of UK, said: “For Muslims and non-Muslims, the sacrifice and noble message of Imam Husain (AS) represents the peace and virtue of Islam. This is why non-Muslims as well as Muslims of different sects and denominations have been able to gather together for this event in Iraq and globally – the Imam’s decision not to yield to the unjust demands and tyranny, is a model all of humanity can replicate."

AS/ME