Arbaeen is the path of an insightful love

I would like to say something about these days which are marked by this great and magnificent gathering [the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage].

News ID: ۳۸۵۵۲۴

جمعه - ۲۷ دی ۲۰۱۸ / 2018 27 October

Navideshahed:

I would like to say something about these days which are marked by this great and magnificent gathering [the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage]. This is really a great historical phenomenon. Usually, in such phenomena for which no promotion has been done, but which suddenly emerge before one’s eyes, the divine hand is more visible than other phenomena[...]
In our country, despite the existence of many obstacles, two million people go to Karbala through an eighty-kilometer walk – they walk, but they do not go there to enjoy themselves and to rest in a hotel! And a crowd, several times larger than that, goes to Karbala from Iraq and other countries. This is a divine event. This is a divine phenomenon. This shows that this path is the path of love. However, it is not a blind love, rather it is a kind of love which is marked by insight such as the love of saints for God: "Oh God, feed me with Your love and the love of whomever that loves You and the love of all those actions that help me get closer to You” [Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 91, page 149].

This affection and this love is one that is accompanied by insight. A lover – in this sense – knows and understands things and this attraction and magnetic power drive him forward. So, this task is a great task. This phenomenon is a great phenomenon. First of all, I would like to welcome those who managed to go there and I ask God to approve of their endeavor. And I announce my envy of what they did because we were deprived of this blessing, but they succeeded in doing it. Also, I would like to thank the people of Iraq for their hospitality and kindness as they succeeded in managing that crowd in the course of a few days. This event is an extraordinarily important event.

Now, what is the result? I want to say that in such events during which we clearly see the hand of divine power and divine blessings, we should thank God. If we thank God, such events will continue to exist. However, if we do not thank God, they will be taken away from us.

Imam Khamenei, Nov 23, 2016

source: Khamenei.ir