Small narratives of a remnant of Arbaeen

group life- Samia Dehghanzadeh: The first time I heard about the Arbaeen walk was in the late fall of 2013, I was a passionate girl in the world of media. I called a documentary maker to tell me about his new work, he said he is a traveler in Iraq and he wants to fit a documentary of pilgrims who walk from Najaf to Karbala in his picture frame, he said he wants old men and women who themselves have nothing in the world. But they collect money every year and welcome Arbaeen pedestrians with all their means and needs, he said.

It was there that my heart trembled from all this sincerity. I said to myself, is it possible for people to give up everything for the comfort of a stranger who they may never see again? I started gathering information about this way of walking, this way of love.

From the fact that it is said that this walk was from the time of the Imams (peace be upon them) and then scholars and special people did it until later and later. Until after the years of holy defense, when the road to Karbala was finally opened in Iran and limited walks started, until now, we see the biggest gathering of humanity every year during Arbaeen Hosseini.

In Yemeni Cho with me before me
And from the same year, I made up my mind to go and see and enjoy the route that started with the pilgrimage of Imam Ali (a.s.) and ended on foot to visit Imam Hussein (a.s.) and Hazrat Abulfazl Khattam. But hesitance and a thousand times hesitance that my father’s worry did not end and I passed the journey that year because of his calmness, and how difficult it was.
Until that time when a friend read me the poem “Dar Yemeni Cho Ba Meni Pish Meni” and I was accompanied by Owais Qarani, who was one of the loved ones of the Messenger of God and one of the loyal companions and lovers of the Amir al-Mu’minin, peace be upon him. Owais was born in Yemen and he used to spend time with his old, blind and infirm mother and take care of his kind and aged mother’s affairs. When he asked his mother for permission to go to Madinah to visit Hazrat Rasool, his mother gave him permission for half a day. Owais traveled to Madinah and when he arrived at the Prophet’s house, the Prophet was not at home. Inevitably, because of the promise he made to his mother, he returned without seeing the Prophet of God.
The same Owais who could never see the Messenger of God and the Prophet said about him: The smell of heaven blows from the direction of the century, O Owais of the century! How much I love you, whoever sees him, greet him on my behalf.
And after reviewing this amazing story, it became a little easier for me to bear the pain of distance.

“Jabri” I knew
They came and went for years, and my father’s heart was still worried, and every year my thirst grew more and my heart grew hotter. I wanted to mutter to myself, “Beside the footsteps of Jabir, we will leave for Nineveh, we will count the pillars of this road with the passion of the shrine” and start walking from the vertical zero, but now that I could not, I thought of Jabir, Jaber bin Abdullah Ansari, a companion of the Messenger of God (pbuh), who had left Madinah to visit the grave of Abu Abdullah al-Hussein (pbuh) and his devoted companions, reached Karbala on the 20th of Safar and was the first person to visit the Imam (pbuh) and then I felt better than Knowing and not just whispering his name in a pleasant and passionate lament.
And many times I walked next to Jaber in the imaginary world on the path of love and in the real world, I walked to my father’s heart.

The “subpoena” that shook me
Another year had passed and I was still looking forward to the Arbaeen walk. My friends were going one by one and everyone was asking when are you coming? Isn’t it time to go? And I would remove the anger that had settled in my throat with tears of joy that my friends would achieve their wish and I would smile that it is not yet time.
I already knew the way for myself, I who always have problems with addresses, now I knew the walking routes like the palm of my hand. I knew that if they leave the border of Mehran, they will reach Najaf through the cities of Badra, Kot, Nomaniyah, Shumli and Diwaniyah and fall on the main route of the Arbaeen pilgrimage. If they enter Iraqi territory from Shalamcheh border, they will reach Najaf after passing through Basra and Diwaniyah. From the border of Chazaba, they pass the cities of Moshreh, Al-Amara, Fajr, Afek, Diwaniyeh, Shamiya and reach Najaf.

That year, I received the book “Akhtariyeh” by Ali Mozni and I drank it bit by bit, it was sweet enough. A story on the border between reality and fantasy of Massoud, a journalist who goes on a trip to Karbala with the insistence and suggestion of one of his friends, and everywhere he sees his sister who dreams of going on this trip with him.
The “summons” told me about being called and I knew that there was no questioning and that we were requesting to be called for their pilgrimage and how much calmer I became.

Greetings to you from afar

When the Corona monster hit the world and all the daily affairs of the world stopped, the example of a leaf not falling from a tree without God’s permission became more clear to me than ever before. And I, who practiced resilience for many years, no longer had the feeling of being a victim and a pure submission that cannot master the situation. Because I knew that some things are out of my power and will and something higher manages it, and exactly when I reached this point, the name of a dear friend appeared on my mobile screen, and I saw that he was making a video call, and I heard until the call was made. Who asks Imam Hussain first or Hazrat Abulfazl? Which one do you want to greet first? And all the good feelings of the world reached me from between Al Haramin and Tehran, and I gave a high greeting from these nobles, and tears came to my eyes, and what a dear guest you have made.

I’m not alone
Now the time of Arbaeen is approaching again, I look carefully and see that I am not alone; I saw a +10 police officer who had both money and a passport, as well as enthusiasm and the intention of pilgrimage, but he could not go because of his duty, and every time he went to work as a pilgrim It seems as if he has accompanied him and is leaving.
I saw a journalist who has been publishing Arbaeen news for years, but he was not invited for this trip, a doctor who died of Corona before leaving and his soul reached Karbala earlier than he did.
Mothers of toddlers, women with bottles in their stomachs, old people with heart alive, girls with fathers with worried hearts, women with bigoted husbands and of course worried hearts, workers without leave, far from their homelands from everywhere, those trapped in hospital beds and all the servants who serve The processions of Iran and Iraq have been preferred to walking, so that this huge human caravan can be the mourner of Arbaeen Hussain, peace be upon him.
So, you who have been invited, take a step in the number of all those who wish that their hearts are with you but have no income, and remember them, remember us.
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