In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Wednesday, 3/Safar Al-Muzaffar/1444

Corresponding to August 31, 2022

The religious authority, His Eminence Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi (may his shadow last long) has emphasized on the importance of looking at the two significant aspects with arrangement and responsibility, calls for them the Quraanic verse. Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:

)فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِنْ كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ لِيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ وَلِيُنْذِرُوا قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ( (التوبة: 122(                 

“A group should go forth to acquire deeper knowledge of the religion, in order to admonish their people when they return to them, so that they may be cautious.”

He has demanded from the people not to separate them under any circumstances and these two aspects are:

Seeking of knowledge and calling to Allah Almighty and propagation of His orders. His Eminence (may his shadow last long) spoke to the scholars and students who were gathered in his office in Najaf Ashraf before starting the preaching campaign on the special occasion of Arbaen. During his speech he criticized the prevailing culture of the seminary that the students pay their full attention on their first responsibility (to which the verse calls) which is limited only to the acquisition of knowledge and on the other hand they ignore the other responsibility, which is inviting people to Allah Almighty, preaching the rules of religion and beliefs, and giving people awareness and insight.

Mr. Sheikh Yaqoobi (may his shadow last long) believes that this way of thinking shows that there is some fault and disturbance in the understanding of the aforesaid verse and applying it to its examples according to the ground realities. He believes that this type of thinking means moving away from the objective of Allah Almighty that has been narrated by the Infallibles (peace be upon them).As it was mentioned in a hadith by Imam Jaffar Sadiq ( peace be upon him):

(إن تلك المجالس أحبها، فأحيوا أمرنا، فرحم الله من أحيا أمرنا)

(I like these gatherings, so keep our command alive, may Allah have mercy on him who kept our command alive) [1]

Harwi has narrated a hadith in Ayyun Akhbar al-Reza (peace be upon him) in which he says:

) سمعت أبا الحسن علي بن موسى الرضا (عليه السلام) يقول: رحم الله عبد أحيا أمرنا فقلت له: وكيف يحيي أمركم؟ قال: يتعلم علومنا ويعلمها الناس، فإن الناس لو علموا محاسن كلامنا لاتبعونا(

”I heard Abu al-Hasan Ali bin Musa (peace be upon him) saying: May Allah have mercy on the person who kept our command alive. I said: How is your command kept alive? You (peace be upon him) said: He learns our knowledge and then teaches it to the people, surely if people get to know our good words, they will follow us."[2]

It means that, by learning the sciences of the progeny of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them) and teaching people, their command is kept alive.

And this is one of the clearest examples of the last part of the blessed verse (, in order to admonish their people when they return to them, so that they may be cautious) which draws attention to the fact that only teaching And getting an education is not enough (Because that is just half the way, and the end is never achieved) unless it is accompanied by a proper understanding of our responsibilities as students, let us abide by them and move towards them.

His Excellency (may his shadow last long) said in clear words that indeed preaching is the message and duty of the Prophets (peace be upon them).

) الَّذِينَ يُبَلِّغُونَ رِسَالَاتِ اللَّهِ وَيَخْشَوْنَهُ وَلَا يَخْشَوْنَ أَحَدًا إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ حَسِيبًا} (الأحزاب: 39(

“Those who convey the messages of Allah and fear Him, and they do not fear anyone except Allah. And sufficient is Allah as a Reckoner.”

Therefore, in the light of this verse, students of knowledge should follow them (prophets) and be adorned with courage, and free themselves from self-imposed rituals and traditions that are known today and have no Religious status and have no legal basis rather they are against the practical life of the infallibles( peace be upon them). In the same way, they are against the attitude of many practical scholars who delivered their word, and worked sincerely in the way of Allah and always made the pleasure of God their aim. Therefore they will be remembered forever. And whatever has been said or is said about discouraging the scholars or their lagging behind the preaching duties, are only satanic superstitions.

) إِنَّمَا ذَٰلِكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ يُخَوِّفُ أَوْلِيَاءَهُ فَلَا تَخَافُوهُمْ وَخَافُونِ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ(

"It is the devil who frightens his friends, so if you are a believer, fear me and not these people." (Surah Al-Imran: 175).

Mr. Sheikh (may his shadow last long) expressed sorrow and regret over the current situation and prevailing culture, which some people try to spread further and students contribute to it through their social behavior and without thinking. His Eminence asked: was not the prophet (peace be upon him a preacher? Was not the commander of faithful a preacher? Was not Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain (peace be upon them) preachers? Then why the speech of religious scholars with nation is considered a deficiency and defect? Why the nation does not listen to its leaders directly and take speech from an authentic source. We have in our hands a lot of the legacy of Imam, Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him). One of his advices to his representative, governor of Makkah,Qasam bin al Abbas is:

(ولا يكن لك الى الناس سفيراً الى لسانك ولا حاجباً الى وجهك)

(There should be no ambassador to convey the message to you on behalf of the people, nor should anyone hinder them from meeting you)[3] it means that people must listen to you directly without any mediation and arbitration. This is the politics of the commander faithful (peace be upon him) and this is the life style of the Infallible (peace be upon them). We should follow and adopt it.

His Eminence (may his shadow last long) repeated his call to advantage from the blessed atmosphere of forty –day visit inviting people to God Almighty, educating and guiding people and rejecting all the factors of division.people have been waiting for this visit from year to year and this is a great opportunity for millions of people to meet the seminary students, listen to them directly and watch the processions of awareness and guidance.

They live in a sublime spiritual atmosphere that God Almighty bestows with dignity on Abu al-Ahrar (peace be upon him) because they are cut off throughout the year from the religious centers and are busy with their daily life activities.

Similarly, with grace of God Almighty this pilgrimage has become a great global forum in which people from different colors and races get together. Therefore, it is like an introduction market which is used to invite people to Allah and spread awareness and knowledge.

At this point, Mr. Sheikh (may his shadow last long) mentioned as a proof the Hadith narrated by Hazrat Zahra (peace be upon her) from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), in which she (peace be upon him) says:

"I heard my father saying: Indeed, our Shia scholars will be gathered on the Day of Judgment and they will be adorned with robes of dignity according to their abundance of knowledge and the guidance of people until each of them will have an ornament of light casts a million on their body. Then the caller of God Almighty: O guardians of the orphans of the family of Muhammad, who exalted those who were cut off from their forefathers, their Imams.”[4]

Mr. Sheikh has pointed to two important matters that have been mentioned in the hadith and they are among the conditions of wearing the dress of dignity. The first one of them is (the abundance of sciences and this one is not enough to achieve the target. It is just concerned with the student himself, for example, he becomes a scholar or teaches advance levels as (kifaya and Makasib) and a number students gather around him. All this alone is not enough until the second condition is fulfilled and that is (his struggle to guide the servants of God) and this is the most important goal and purpose of it.

It is mentioned in the last part of hadith ((O guardians of the orphans of the family of Muhammad, who exalted those who were cut off from their forefathers, who are their imams. So these people are the orphans who have been cut off from their real parents. O Ali, I and you are the fathers of this nation)[5] and they have been deprived of their blessings.)

After that, Mr.Sheikh (may his shadow last long) addressed the gathering of the senior students, all the teachers and students of the seminary and said: (O Scholars! You are the inheritors of the Prophets as mentioned in the Hadith Sharif (The Scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets), and you are like the father of this nation and these are your orphans, they are under your responsibility, so hurry up. Do work hard in their guidance. Who knows, maybe some of these orphans will stop us on the Day of Judgment and grab us by the collar, and say I am your neighbor or say I am the shopkeeper from whom you used to buy goods or say I am the taxi driver whose car you used to rent, or say I am your colleague or fellow pilgrim, and we spent many days together but you did not teach me such and such a problem, You did not correct my ablution and prayer, and did not guide me to the good, and did not warn me of such and such evil, and did not advise me this, etc. speculate in the same way, how many people will there be who will stop us on the Day of Judgment and we will be accountable to them and we will be questioned about their rights?

At the end of his address, Mr. Sheikh (may his shadow last long) asked the preachers that their approach should be deep and real so that they will know well how to communicate with the pilgrims of different castes and nationalities and speak according to the demands of current conditions and circumstances, modern challenges and problems, and modern intellectual, doctrinal, social and moral difficulties.the most important issue among these issues is to ask people to offer their prayers in congregation during the prayer time. Similarly explain for them the fundamental rulings of the religion as ablution and prayers and ask them to consult the religious authority in other matters. Apart from this, state such advices and guidance which are useful against the temptations and false propagations that arise in the world of Islam so that they do not face doubts and suspicions.

And read the movement of Imam (Hussain, peace be upon him) with awareness and insight, and address the Imam (peace be upon him) while reciting Ziyarat Arbaeen that (he has sacrificed his life in your path to save your servants from ignorance and wonder)[6]

Therefore, it is not correct that millions of people return from the pilgrimage of Imam (a.s.) while they are deprived of spiritual grace.

Mr. Sheikh also recommended (may his shadow last long) reminding Imam Al-Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance), introducing his sacred cause and ways to revive it, preparing for it in the correct manner, and falsifying the allegations that are referred to him in one way or the other.