بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

مكتب سماحة
آية الله العظمى السيد السيستاني (دام ظله)
النجف الاشرف
10 محرم الحرام 1425

English translation of the Press Release from the Press Office Of Grand Ayatullah Seestani in the holy city of Najaf on the evil crimes that were perpetrated in the holy cities of Karbala and Kadhmiyyah




[And be not infirm, and be not grieving And you shall have the upper hand if you are believers (Holy Quran 3:139)] Peace be upon you, O father of Abdullah, and upon the souls that were martyred with you .

On this mournful day, the 10th of Muharram (a holy month) commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussain and members of his household and companions (peace be upon them), evil hands have stretched out to target mourners and pilgrims in the holy cities of Karbala and Kadhmiyyah - perpetrating such repugnant and heinous massacres that led to hundreds of victims being martyred and wounded. Among them were large numbers of Iraqi women and children and others.

Allah Almighty destined Karbala to be a place for tribulations, an icon of sacrifice and an ongoing school throughout the centuries and generations where Muslims acquired the most graceful lessons in patience and most sincere verses of piety and the greatest example of sacrifice in the cause of faith without greed whatsoever for one’s own life and continuity.

Karbala was just that today, together with the holy city of Kadhmiyyah, where the severed limbs of hundreds of lovers of the Prophet’s household (peace and blessings be upon them) and devotees of their path - in challenging despots and rejecting oppressors and deviants - lay scattered on their untainted grounds .

Words fall short of condemning these heinous crimes and evil that stem from those who are completely detached from any values and faith whatsoever. They caused needless bloodshed during a holy month and in the most noble and sacrosanct of all places, the mausoleum of the pure and virtuous Imams (peace and blessings be upon them) .

While we place the responsibility of the noticeable delay and procrastination in controlling Iraqi boarders to stop infiltrators on the occupying forces as well as the responsibility of the none reinforcement of civil forces in charge of providing security - with the appropriate elements and ensuring their needs such as equipment and staff required to do their work - we call upon all the beloved Iraqi people to increase their alertness and guard against the conspiracies of the enemies and the greedy ones and we urge them to work diligently to consolidate their ranks and unify their word in order to quickly regain the sovereignty, independence and stability of the wounded homeland .

We ask Allah, The Most High, The Omnipotent, to accept the noble victims as martyrs and gather them with Imam Hussain (peace and blessing be upon him) and to grant their loved ones patience and ample reward and for the wounded and victims a speedy recovery. He is All Hearing and [He] Answers Prayers.