Pilgrimage or visiting the holy places on foot has roots in human history. It was narrated that the Prophet of God Adam went to visit the House of God on foot for a thousand years. It was narrated from the Noble Prophet (may God bless him and his family and grant them peace) that he said: Adam, peace be upon him, came a thousand times and he never rode from India on foot (1). It was not limited to a specific religion, culture or people, as history reported that the Caesar of Rome pledged to God that in every victory in a battle of his battles with the Persian Empire, he would visit Jerusalem on foot from the seat of his government, Constantinople, in gratitude for this victory. He fulfilled his vow and made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem on foot, and there are many other examples to show that Hajj or visiting the holy places on foot has deep roots in human history. The word (Arbaeen) is considered one of the terms used frequently in religious texts, whether narrative or historical. Many matters have been specified and defined in this special issue. For example: the perfection of the mind at forty years of age, the effects of sincerity for forty days, the effects of memorizing forty hadiths, the supplication of forty people together, the supplication for forty believers, reading the supplication of the covenant forty mornings, the non-acceptance of the prayer of a drinker of alcohol until forty days. The fortieth day after death is important for the family of the deceased, as they do good to him and count his merits in holding a memorial council to immortalize his memory and take care of this occasion. It is an Arab-Islamic custom related to the importance of the number (forty) and its sanctity. This occasion was not limited to Islam, as it is an ancient custom that was held in other religions such as Christianity and Judaism and ancient civilizations such as Sumerian and Babylonian. Mourning the dead for forty days is a familiar method and a custom inherited among people. On the fortieth day after his death, a memorial service is held at his grave, attended by his relatives, close friends, and acquaintances. Christians hold a memorial service for the dead forty days after the death of their deceased. They gather in the church and repeat the prayer for him, which they call the funeral prayer. They do this in the middle of the year and at the end of it to commemorate him and to commemorate him and his effects and deeds. Islam has taken care of this custom. Noble hadiths have been narrated about the sanctity of the number forty. It was narrated from the Messenger of God (PBUH) that he said: “The earth weeps for the believer for forty mornings.” (2) The Arbaeen visit was also given this name naturally because it represents the passing of forty days since the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him). It is also the same day on which Jaber bin Abdullah Al-Ansari returned from Medina to Karbala, which coincided with the return of the captives from Syria to Karbala. Imam Zain Al-Abidin (peace be upon him) met Jaber Al-Ansari, and it is the day on which the heads of the martyrs were returned. The people of the house and their companions to their bodies. It is the day on which the flag of the message of the martyrdom of Karbala began to be raised high and the day of immortalizing the memory of the heirs of the martyrs. Many narrations have been reported from the infallible Imams regarding the specificity of the Arbaeen Day and the merit of visiting Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) on that day. On the authority of Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq, he said: The sky wept over Hussein for forty mornings with blood, the earth wept over him for forty mornings with blackness, and the sun wept over him for forty mornings with eclipse and redness. None of us dyed her hair, applied oil, applied kohl, or walked until the head of Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad came to us, and we are still in tears after him.
Many narrations have been reported regarding the merit of visiting Arbaeen, including what was reported from Imam al-Hasan al-Askari (peace be upon him), who said: The signs of a believer are five: fifty-one prayers, visiting Arbaeen, wearing a ring on the right hand, prostrating one’s forehead, and reciting the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful aloud. As for the famous visitation on the fortieth day, it was narrated in two narrations. The first narration was narrated by Safwan al-Jamal on the authority of Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him), who said: My master al-Sadiq told me to visit al-Husayn at high noon and say... Then he recited the visitation (6). As for the second narration, it was narrated on the authority of Ata on the authority of Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari, who said: I was with Jabir on the twentieth of Safar, and when we reached al-Ghadiriyah, he washed himself in its Shar’iyyah and put on a clean shirt that he had with him, then he said to me: Do you have some perfume with you, Ata? I said: Sa’ad, so he put some on his head and the rest of his body, then he walked barefoot until he stopped at the head of al-Husayn and said Allahu Akbar three times, then he fell unconscious, and when he regained consciousness, I heard him say... Then he recited the visitation, which is the famous visitation in the book Mafatih al-Jinan by Sheikh al-Qummi. Since the meeting of Imam Zayn al-Abidin (peace be upon him) with Jabir al-Ansari on the first of the fortieth of Karbala, which is the twentieth of Safar, this date has become a famous one, and millions of visitors flock to it inside and outside Iraq to visit Imam al-Husayn (peace be upon him). Peace) and performing rituals and renewing this painful memory and holding mourning processions and service along the way to Karbala in providing services and hospitality and listening to the sermons and poems that are held on this occasion which express their pride in the sacrifices of Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas (peace be upon them) for the sake of Islam and their love and dedication in serving the visitors.
Zain Al-Abidin Al-Ubaidi
Sources
(1) Subul Al-Huda Wal-Rashad, Al-Salihi Al-Shami, Vol. 1, p. 209
(2) Bihar Al-Anwar, Al-Majlisi, Vol. 2, p. 679
(3) Al-Hawf fi Qutla Al-Tafuf, Sayyid Ali bin Tawus, p. 86
(4) Al-Athar Al-Baqiyya fi Al-Qurun Al-Khaliyya, Al-Biruni, p. 422
(5) Mustadrak Al-Wasa'il, Al-Nuri, p. 215, Chapter 94
(6) Misbah Al-Za'ir, Sayyid Ali bin Tawus, p. 151
(7) Tahdhib Al-Ahkam, Al-Tusi, Vol. 6, p. 113