In a lecture at Qom’s Holy Shrine of Lady Fatimah al-Ma’sumah on the sorrowful day of Ashura, Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem-Shirazi explained to the thousands of mourners gathered the most important messages of Imam Husayn’s uprising against the evil and oppressive caliph, Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah and his corrupt government.
He stated that the establishment of prayer, enjoining the good, freedom and standing up against oppression are the most important messages that we can learn from Imam Husayn. “All of our efforts must be to implement these lessons in society. In addition to mourning rituals, we must take the various dimensions of the uprising and movement of the Master of the Martyrs [a title of Imam Husayn] into consideration,” Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi stated.
The renowned source of emulation explained that that calling oneself a follower of Imam Husayn has obligations. “The movement of the Master of Martyrs was to protect and preserve the religion [of Islam] and if we want to follow on the path of the Imam, our efforts must be to protect the values which he stood up for,” His Eminence explained.
Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi explained that the revival of the obligatory duty of enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong is one of the most important principals we can learn from the event of Ashura. His Eminence criticized the various excuses that people use to weaken these important principles of the Islamic faith, saying: “Unfortunately, some would like to weaken these two divine principles which form the basis [of Islam] in order to give a green light to engage in sin. Due to these conditions, we must be vigilant.”
“When enjoining the good and forbidding the wrong there must not be any violence. It is our enemies who pretend to enjoin the good and forbid the wrong with violence,” His Eminence added.
Implementing and abiding by the culture of Ashura is the best way to overcome the problems of society, Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi said. “If we follow the culture of Ashura and Karbala, which is the same as opposition to oppression and to the oppressors, than we will be successful and will face no unsolvable problems.”
Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi stated that the successful Islamic Revolution which was led by Imam Khomeini was inspired by the uprising of Imam Husayn.
During his speech, he also commemorated the anniversary of the seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran which occurred on November 13, 1979. Iranians called the American Embassy the “den of spies” because it had turned into a centre of spying aimed at overthrowing the nascent Islamic Republic in Iran following the Islamic Revolution which occupied earlier in 1979.
He also emphasized that Iran can be successful with its nuclear dispute if it has the same Husayn-inspired spirit that led it to success over its enemies in 1979.
