Foresight about Arbaeen
This is according to Hojat-ol-Islam Shahabeddin Doaei, a researcher, who made the remarks in a conference focusing on Arabeen. What follows are exerpts from his speech:
If we consider it a civilizational issue, we will bring about a civilizational future for it but if we consider it just a symbol, it will remain so.
We should turn Arbaeen into a discourse in life and have better foresight and planning for it in the coming years.
Arbaeen pilgrimage is not a ritual that begins at a certain time in a certain place and ends at another certain time and place. It has a sublime content and subject.
We should make efforts so that Arbaeen will turn from a personal and social act of worship into an influential current in Islam and serve as a prelude to the new Islamic civilization, because it has such a capacity.
Arbaeen symbolizes the unity of believers around the pivot of Imamate and love for Imam Hussein (AS). If we are to build such a civilization, we should be able to create and enhance unity and have maximum interaction with other schools of thought.
While man is the pivot of materialistic civilization, in Arbaeen the pivot is Imamate. Here, spirituality and reaching God are the main point where as in capitalism, the main issue is capital.
If welfare is the main objective in the Western civilization and humanity sacrifices his peace for reaching welfare, in Arbaeen there is a peace that originates from hardship. That is, people accept going through hardships in order to achieve an ideal God-based society and in the process, they also reach peace and enjoy it.
This joy is such that pilgrims see no difficulty as a barrier to go on the pilgrimage again.
Arbaeen is an opportunity for interaction based on goodness and virtue in order for all to get to their objective. That is why they provide services to the pilgrims with kindness and love.
Arbaeen is unique and unprecedented in the world.
Without governments being in charge, 20 million pilgrims go to Karbala and the people themselves manage the affairs.
Arbaeen is not reporting an event but it is an event that influences life and social structure. That is to say, Arabeen has a social continuation so that we can implement Imam Hussein’s (AS) objectives in our lives.
