#arbaeen

[manamrazinaqvi]

ARBA'EEN: Manifestation of Love in the name of Hussain ibn e Ali ع

[divinum-pacis]

The sun sets as Shiite pilgrims march on their way to Karbala for Arbaeen, the festival that falls 40 days after Ashura, in Babil, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

[lilacmuse]

salam <3 question for you as i'd greatly appreciate your wise advice. how do you deal with fear about the future? from ai to global warming to all the unknowns, i find myself scrolling on reddit for far too long and end up with a lot of anxiety :(

Waleikum salaam- thank you so much for the vulnerable question, may Allah (swt) relieve your heart and alleviate your distress ❤️ I completely understand how you feel; i have those moments of overwhelm, too- in so many senses, we're living in painfully dark and unprecedented times. 

Before i get into offering any sort of advice, i want to be very clear about this: it isn't just okay to be deeply concerned and upset about the state of the world, it's vitally important and necessary- to be disturbed by the ongoing genocide in Palestine; the mass starvation of innocent people in Sudan; the annihilation of our planet, its ecosystems, and its innocent creatures; the decimation of critical thinking and human connection vis a vis AI; the fascistic encroachment of late-stage capitalism on every facet of human consciousness; the seemingly self-destructive, nihilistic spiral of humankind in general- all of these issues are profoundly concerning, and it's important for us to be able to recognize this and not gloss over it; this recognition is what gives us a sense of moral discernment and compassion, and to feel pain at the suffering of God's creation is a mark of the aliveness of your heart.

All that said, God didn't intend for us to go through life in a state of chronic anxiety, despair, or unease. Having a deep sense of compassion, social justice, and discernment can still go hand in hand with equanimity, hope, and optimism- so i'll try my best to help with that part iA, with one vital caveat: please remember that you're human, and that even the greatest of all creation, Rasulallah (pbuh), experienced profound moments of grief, worry, distress, etc despite his perfection (or, to be subtly 'irfani for a moment, because of his perfection). Our elevation as souls doesn't lie in prohibiting ourselves from experiencing difficult emotions, it lies in navigating those emotions with wisdom, patience, and Divine trust.

I'll start by telling you what i try to remind myself of every time i feel overwhelmed by the state of the world: 1) Remember Who's truly in charge, 2) Heed the advice of Rasulallah (pbuh) in Hadith al Thaqalayn: hold on tightly to the Qur'an and Ahlulbayt (as).

For the first point: every time you find yourself experiencing a state of fear, panic, or unease, try reciting the Hawqala (if i get a chance someday, i'll write a post about the way this dhikr completely changed my life as a young teen). As you recite these words, try to pause and reflect on the true meaning and deeper implications of what you're saying... what would it mean if we truly, whole-heartedly believed that there is no power or strength except with Allah (swt)? How would our outlook on absolutely everything change? If we truly understood and internalized these words, what would be left to fear, except the possibility of distance from our Lord? 

If Allah (swt) wills it, every single material reality that worries us can be annihilated or transformed in a heartbeat- the only true power that exists is His; everything else is mere illusion or contingency. Everything and everyone in creation will return to Him, without exception. Every good will be compensated beyond imagination, and every evil will be compensated with the absolute totality of Divine justice. What happens in between can often be overwhelming- this is completely natural, as it's an essential part of the human condition- but when we zoom out from these material realities and remember the infinitude of God's power, everything that frightens us becomes much less daunting in our eyes, because we remember that the One we trust unconditionally is in charge. The more we make it a habit to view everything through the lens of God's infinite might and power, the more we'll be able to retain a sense of deep internal peace, no matter what unfolds in the world around us. 

From the Qur'anic perspective, we can also look at prophetic stories like the case of Prophet Nuh (as) as an example of how life can persist even in the face of seemingly impossible odds. During the flood of Prophet Nuh, nearly everyone and everything was destroyed, but those aboard the ark of Prophet Nuh (as) were saved. What this tells us is that even if circumstances in the world are such that nearly all of a population is annihilated- which is undoubtedly more extreme than anything our planet is facing today- if God wills someone to be protected, they will be protected, and if God wills life to re-emerge, it will re-emerge. Even from a purely scientific, secular perspective, the earth has undergone five major mass extinction events, and yet life re-emerged and continued in various forms each time. So although we're currently in the wake of the sixth mass extinction- this one uniquely human-caused- if Allah (swt) wills it, life will continue. This doesn't mean we should sit back and passively watch climate change destroy our planet; it means that we should do whatever good we have the capacity to do, but always trust that the outcome is up to Allah (swt), and everything He wills will ultimately be khayr.

Another beautiful Qur'anic example is that of Prophet Musa (as)- if you reflect on the brutal circumstances the people of Egypt faced under the rule of Firaun, it seems like an unfathomably dark time. Yet even within that darkness, Divine guidance was there, being raised within the very palace of the tyrant himself. And when Prophet Musa (as) and his followers later walked toward the sea as Firaun and his henchmen pursued them, normal human logic would suggest that there was no conceivable way out. And yet, by the will of Allah (swt), the sea parted at the striking of Prophet Musa's staff, and the believers were saved. Every single prophetic story contains similar examples of triumph in the face of seemingly impossible odds, and every story thus conveys to us the same lesson: whoever places their trust in Allah (swt) will always be triumphant by His will; the odds and circumstances don't matter.

As for the Ahlulbayt (as)- perhaps the most powerful testament to the irrelevance of circumstances in the face of Divine will is the story of Imam Hussain (as) and the aftermath of Ashura. I'll write about this in greater depth someday iA, but here's a brief reflection: in Karbala, Imam Hussain's army scarcely numbered 100 people, and every single one of them was brutally massacred on the day of Ashura, including several children. His remaining family were taken prisoner and forced through the streets of Kufa and Shaam in chains; the heads of their beloved ones were paraded on spears in front of them, and they- among them the granddaughters of Rasulallah (pbuh), the beloved daughters of Ali (as) and Fatima (as)- were brutally traumatized, beaten, humiliated, and taunted throughout the agonizing journey from Karbala to Damascus. In light of such extreme loss, torment, and tragedy, from a purely worldly perspective, Karbala and its immediate aftermath would have seemed like an absolute, decisive loss for Imam Hussain (as) and his loved ones in every sense.

And yet- 1400+ years after that seemingly decisive defeat- what is the largest annual gathering of human beings on earth? The Arbaeen pilgrimage, in which over 20 million people gather in the city of Karbala to honor Imam Hussain (as), his family, and his fellow martyrs. Every year, millions of people from every corner of the globe leave behind every conceivable luxury to congregate in the desert in 110+ degree heat to honor a man who they have never met or seen, whose voice they have never heard, who they have never shared a single earthly moment or memory with, and yet is somehow dearer to them than their own flesh and blood. The more you think about this, the stranger it seems- many of us hardly even know the names of our great-grandparents, how is it that millions of us can so deeply love someone who died over a thousand years ago?

The answer is simply this: Allah (swt) willed it. Imam Hussain (as) sacrificed so thoroughly to ensure the preservation of Islam in the face of corruption, Allah (swt) rewarded him by making him beloved to humanity until the end of time. There is no human victory greater than being eternally known for the good one has done in the way of God, and by this metric, there has never been any victor more triumphant than Imam Hussain (as). Again, if our perspective were limited purely to the devastation of his immediate circumstances, we would feel nothing but despair, but over a thousand years later, we continue to see the beauty of what persists in the aftermath of Imam Hussain's sacrifices. 

In an era where capitalism is increasingly pushing people toward hyper-individualism, selfishness, and greed, the degree of generosity shown to millions during the Arbaeen Walk in the name of Imam Hussain (as) is something that has no equal anywhere in the world. At every step of the walk, thousands of strangers will beg you to allow them to feed you, quench your thirst, serve you, massage your feet, treat your ailments, and tend to any conceivable difficulty or discomfort you might be facing. Countless strangers along the way will plead with you to come stay in their homes and mawakib, and you'll be treated as if you're worth your weight in gold merely for existing as a visitor of Imam Hussain (as). In more ways than i could ever hope to capture or express in words, the culture of Arbaeen is something indescribably miraculous and unparalleled.

In the name of the man who was killed alone, hungry, and in a state of thirst, millions of visitors are fed, quenched, and treated like royalty every year. Wallahi, i never even got a chance to learn the names of the family that brought me & my fellow zaireen into their home to sleep during the Arbaeen Walk in 2017... i can't fathom any place on earth where such extreme hospitality is shown by strangers on such a consistently large scale, and so lovingly, freely, and unconditionally at that. This is one of the miracles of Imam Hussain: because he loved God so profoundly, God inspires the love that is felt and expressed in his name each year to be similarly unconditional, miraculous, and boundless. 

Beyond just the impressive realities of the number of zaireen in Karbala- and the sheer number of Muharram commemorations that are held in every corner of the globe by over a hundred million people each year- there is also the greatest miracle of Imam Hussain, and the most undeniable sign of his triumph: though the morally bankrupt fasiq Yazid sought to permanently distort Islam through his flagrant corruption and was well on his way to doing so, Imam Hussain's sacrifices were such that they annihilated every trace of Yazid's corruption and preserved the religion of his grandfather forever.

As he faced the army of Umar ibn Saad bin Abi Waqqas on the day of Ashura, this was exactly the goal Imam Hussain expressed: he stated that the sole purpose behind his mission was to enjoin good, forbid evil, and preserve the religion of his grandfather. Who could look at Islam today and argue that Imam Hussain (as) did not succeed to the highest possible degree? Today, the religion he sacrificed everything to protect has over a billion adherents, and the Qur'an remains as perfect and unblemished as the time when it was revealed. This is a triumph that Imam Hussain (as) secured with his blood and the blood of his children and loved ones, and it is a perfect example of how God's perfect will overrides all circumstance and tragedy. Our future, and the future of our world, is in the same Hand that crafted the triumph of Imam Hussain (as)- there's nothing to fear or worry about, beloved soul. Allah is with us.

x r

[rerealshamari]

🇵🇸 🇮🇶

[itsrxsi]

„the redness of the sunset and sunrise is a sign that is mourning for Imam Hussain (ع).” - Tafsir Noir Dhaqalain, V.4, p. 628

- seeing people heading towards Karbala these days leaves a deep sadness in me, I cannot even describe it. another year, another arbaeen where I am not at your shrine.., may Allah forgive me for the sin I commit which causes our separation..

[bintkhorasaan]

الأربعين

— We walk on this sacred path for you, O’ Hussain

[safdarrizvi]

The Shia Assembly in Iraq and Holy shrine of Al-Abbas (as) in Karbala confirm that 21,198,640 people visited Karbala during Arbaeen.

A record breaking number.

[3linaturabi]

Iraqi border...

Every year the peace lovers from all over the world come together in Karbala city in Iraq. In the Arbaeen journey -- people also call it the journey of love -- no matter if you're from Vatican, Chile, Africa or Asia. They welcome you in the best way!