A report on the presence of the foreign servants of Arba’in pilgrims in Qom ‎

RNA – Every year, millions of sincere lovers of Imam al-Husayn travel to his holy shrine in ‎the holy Iraqi city of Karbala for the Arba’in pilgrimage. News and reports of the reception of ‎the Iraqi people for the pilgrims of Imam al-Husayn during the days of Arba’in have been ‎published in various news agencies. But it is also a fact that the people of Qom also enjoy ‎receiving the pilgrims and the people of this city have welcomed the pilgrims visiting from ‎different countries in the city’s Musalla (Prayer Hall).‎

According to Mr. Allahyari, the executive director of the international section of the ‎welcoming committee for the Arba’in pilgrims in Qom, said, “This year, pilgrims from various ‎countries such as Azerbaijan, Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan have come to Qom before ‎heading to Karbala, and they have been the guests of Lady Fatimah al-Ma’sumah.” ‎

The Musalla of Qom has taken on the current climate and atmosphere of Karbala. Just as on ‎the roads leading to Karbala, various booths have been established to meet the needs of ‎the pilgrims which give out free food, tea and even repair the pilgrims’ shoes. ‎

According to Mr. Allahyari, since the largest number of Arba’in pilgrims present in Qom are ‎Pakistani Shi’ahs, a booth for the preparation of Pakistani food has been established in the ‎Musalla and its cooks are Pakistani seminarians from al-Mustafa International University. ‎

Alongside the Iranians who are volunteering to serve the pilgrims, including the Basij ‎volunteer forces, many non-Iranian seminarians are also serving the pilgrims in the Musalla. ‎The sincere Pakistani and Afghani seminarians in Qom constitute the largest number of non-‎Iranian servants and there are also two Russian seminarians serving the pilgrims as well – ‎Rasim and Ismail, who converted to Islam and are now students of al-Mustafa International ‎University.

Ismail stated that when Arba’īn is spoken of, perhaps the first thing to come to mind is the ‎large number of pilgrims, which is a matter that is censored in the Western media and said, ‎‎“Since the Western media censors the huge number of those participating in the pilgrimage, ‎Western audiences cannot understand the purpose of such a massive gathering and because ‎Islam has only been introduced to them through Daesh, the Western media censors any ‎news about Arba’in.”‎

Rasim also said that murder and killing news are more appealing to Western audiences but ‎news about religious events is unattractive to them.‎

Ismail noted that on the path toward Karbala, there are people who, despite being destitute, ‎sacrifice all their belongings to receive the pilgrims and added, “This is due to the culture of ‎generosity and sacrifice of Shi’ism, as well as the love of the Ahlul-Bayt. Shi’ahs have been ‎nurtured in this culture from the time they were children to sacrifice themselves and help ‎each other.”‎

In regard to the relation between the Arba’in pilgrimage and the advent of Imam al-Mahdi, ‎Ismail said, “In a hadith, it’s said the reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi is dependent on the ‎readiness of the people. The Arba’in pilgrimage is one of the signs of the readiness of the ‎people for reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi. When people are ready for this pilgrimage, they ‎will be ready to gain knowledge about the Imam al-Mahdi and his reappearance. Thus, God-‎willing, the reappearance is near.”‎

Ismail added that followers of other religions and denominations also participate in the ‎Arba’in pilgrimage, including Sunnis and even Christians and said, “This pilgrimage is a ‎demonstration of love, something that is spoken about in Christianity, but is less seen in the ‎West today.”‎