Grand Ayatollah Shirazi Urges Foreign Pilgrims to Carry Their National Flags During Arbaeen Pilgrimage

The esteemed religious authority, His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Sadiq al-Husseini al-Shirazi, has called upon foreign pilgrims participating in the Arbaeen pilgrimage to carry their national flags during their journey to the holy city of Karbala.

This appeal was made during his address to the congregation of mourners commemorating the Ashura of Imam al-Hussein (peace be upon him) at his residence in Qom.

His Eminence emphasized the importance of everyone fulfilling their religious duties to ensure the success of the Arbaeen pilgrimage, stressing that each individual should contribute to making this event more vibrant, widely attended, enthusiastic, powerful, and significant, ultimately elevating it to a global status.

Grand Ayatollah Shirazi explained that displaying national flags would attract the attention of onlookers and facilitate the identification of the visitors’ countries without the need for words. He remarked, “When diverse peoples from around the world witness their national flags flying in Iraq, they will be filled with wonder and amazement.”

He further noted that the presence of flags would raise questions and encourage inquiries about the occasion and the shared experiences of the visitors, prompting many foreign media outlets to cover the pilgrimage due to the visibility of their nations’ flags.

Additionally, he stated that newspapers would be motivated to publish images of the event featuring these flags, contributing to one of the goals emphasized by the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) regarding the sacred rites and rituals of Imam al-Hussein, which is to raise awareness of the suffering of the Ahl al-Bayt and promote the authentic teachings of Islam.