Arba'in Ceremony of Martyrs, Hajj Qasem Soleimani and Abu-Mahdi al-Muhandis

This commemoration ceremony was attended by Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, Ayatollah Sobhani, Ayatollah Hosseini Bushehri, Ayatollah Alavi Borujerdi, Ayatollah Faqihi, Ayatollah Beheshti, Hojjatoleslam Ghafuri, Hojjatoleslam Maleki, Hojjatoleslam Raf’ati, Hojjatoleslam Abbasi, Hojjatoleslam Mohammadi Golpaygani, Hojjatoleslam Madani, and Dr. Aliakbar Velayati, the advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran in in international affairs.

The ceremony began with the performance of a Tawāshīḥ group followed by the playing of some video clips of the speeches of the Supreme Leader and Hajj Qasem Soleimani. The ceremony also included the recitation of some elegies by a eulogist, and the speeches delivered by different national and international figures.

Speaking in the commemoration ceremony for martyrs Soleimani and Abu-Mahid al-Muhandis, Dr. Aliakbar Velayati referred to the funeral procession of Hajj Qasem Soleimani as an almost unparalleled event in the history of Islam. He then stated: “What occurred in Iraq was a beautiful end for these two martyrs following the tumults that were instigated by the US.” 

The advisor to the Supreme Leader in international affairs further noted: “During the past few years, it was not a customary practice of the Iraqi people to chant slogans in their demonstrations against Israel. However, the martyrdom of these two great figures brought the Iraqi people to begin chanting slogans against Israel.”

Following Dr. Velayati’s speech, Hojjatoleslam Sadriddin Qobanchi began his speech stating: “Following the overthrow of the Baʻthi regime in Iraq, we had two options before us: we could either follow the biddings of the world powers or stand up to these corrupt powers and our enemies and achieve political independence through a democratic political system based on general elections. The religious leadership and the Islamic seminaries of Iraq chose the second option and called for an independent political system.”

The Friday Prayer leader of the city of Najaf further stated: “We were finally able to create unity among the different religions, political parties, factions, and ideologies which exist in Iraq. Today, there is a good unity among the various religions, denominations, political parties and factions in Iraq.”

The next speaker in the ceremony was Ayatollah Mohsen Araki, a member of the Assemply of Experts; he began his speech by saying: “Ayatollah Makarem Shraizi is the founder of one of the greatest and most important anti-Takfiri campaigns; what he did in this regard is a truly great work, and it was so influential that even the leadership of the Al-Azhar university in Egypt was impressed by it. The conferences held by the Al-Azhar leadership as well as the letters sent to Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi by the Shaykh of Al-Azhar were all influenced by this initiative introduced by Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi.”

The member of the Assembly of Experts then noted: “The fact that the Shaykh of Al-Azhar stated that the Shi’a and Sunni schools are the two wings of the Muslim world, and that Wahhabism is not an Islamic current at all, were all due to the influential work of Ayatollah Makarem Shriazi.”

This commemoration ceremony which was in memory of two great Martyrs, Hajj Qasem Soleimani and Abu-Mahdi al-Muhandis, on the fortieth day after their martyrdom last for almost 3 hours and came to its end at 9 pm.