“Arbaeen” in Linguistic Terms: The primary and simple meaning of Arbaeen is “forty.” The term Arbaeen is an Arabic word that holds significant importance in religious texts, to the extent that it carries a special sanctity. According to what has been conveyed from the Prophets and Divine Saints, there is a particular significance to the […]
The primary and simple meaning of Arbaeen is “forty.” The term Arbaeen is an Arabic word that holds significant importance in religious texts, to the extent that it carries a special sanctity. According to what has been conveyed from the Prophets and Divine Saints, there is a particular significance to the number forty that is not found in other numbers. Many Prophets reached the rank of prophethood at the age of forty. Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) spent forty nights in communion on Mount Sinai: “And We appointed for Moses thirty nights, and completed them with ten” (Quran 7:142). It is also said that on the fortieth night, one should pray for forty believers, and for Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him), the heavens and the earth mourned for forty days.
The arrival of Arbaeen for Abu Abdullah al-Hussein (peace be upon him) marks about forty days since the martyrdom of the Imam and his self-sacrificing companions. On this day, visiting the great Imam and the martyrs of Karbala is recommended. Consequently, the day of Arbaeen becomes one of the busiest days in the holy city of Karbala every year. Muslims and Shia from all over come to this revered land to pay their respects to the great and noble men who demonstrated the highest levels of sacrifice and honor, sending their greetings and salutations.
The pilgrimage of Arbaeen is unique to Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), and no such pilgrimage is recorded for other infallibles. As the renowned scholar and researcher Abu Rayhan al-Biruni said: “On the twentieth of Safar, the head of Hussein (peace be upon him) was returned to his body and buried with it, and on this day the pilgrimage of Arbaeen is observed.”
The tradition of visiting on Arbaeen began after the head of the Imam was reunited with his body on the twentieth of Safar. It is known that the head of the Imam was brought to Karbala by Imam Zain al-Abidin (peace be upon him), so the significance of the Arbaeen pilgrimage is linked to the reunion of the heads of the martyrs with their bodies on this day, as carried out by Imam Zain al-Abidin (peace be upon him) and the holy caravan.
Therefore, Allameh Majlisi writes in “Zad al-Maad”: “It is well-known that the reason for emphasizing the visitation of the Imam on this day is that Imam Zain al-Abidin (peace be upon him) and the other members of the family returned to Karbala on this day after coming back from Syria, and the heads of the martyrs were reunited with their bodies.” Although he himself considers the entry of the family into Karbala on the twentieth of Safar to be improbable, his statement indicates that even during the time of Allameh Majlisi, it was well-known that the importance of the Arbaeen pilgrimage was due to the visit to the martyrs of Karbala and the reunion of the heads with their bodies by Imam Zain al-Abidin (peace be upon him).
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