The Hidden Trial on the Path to Karbala
Guarding the Heart from Iblis During the Sacred Ziyarah of Arbaeen
When Allah, in the Quran, relayed the words of Iblis, He revealed something that often escapes our assumptions. Iblis does not merely linger at the doors of sinful gatherings or loiter in places of open indecency. Rather, he lies in wait upon Sirat al-Mustaqim — the very path that leads to Allah.
“Because You have sent me astray, I will sit in wait for them on Your straight path.”
(Quran, Surah al-A’raf, Chapter 7, The Heights, Verse 16)
This verse is unequivocal: Iblis declares his intention to ambush those traveling toward their Lord on the very road meant for guidance and truth.
It is when a believer takes the road toward the Divine that Iblis intensifies his pursuit. You will not only find him in the shadows of vice, but standing boldly at the entrance of Masajid, in the midst of Majalis, and even along the blessed routes to Ziyarah — striving with all his might to turn back those whose hearts set out with pure intentions.
How tragic it is, then, for one to embark on the sacred journey of Ziyarah al-Arbaeen, only to fall prey to the trap of Satan. This journey, with its unparalleled spiritual potential, can utterly transform the soul. The visitor of Imam al-Ḥusayn (AS) is likened to one who visits Allah at His Throne. How, then, could a person return from such a pilgrimage unchanged — slipping back into the heedlessness (ghaflah) and sin from which they set out to escape?
When Arbaeen Becomes a Social Event
For many travelling from the West, the purity of intention that once defined Arbaeen has become diluted. The love of Husayn is sometimes blended with the love of dunya. Luxurious hotels, endless spreads of gourmet food, competing for selfies, chasing meetings with celebrity reciters or speakers, and even seeking personal worldly gain — all these distractions risk turning a journey of the heart into a social occasion.
Before one realises it, the days pass, the flight home arrives… and the soul wonders: Did you truly meet Imam al-Husayn? Was your heart present with him? In Karbala, the only true celebrity is the Master of Martyrs. To walk into the home of such a host and leave without acknowledging him is to have been robbed — not by a thief of the night, but by Iblis himself.
The Real Residence of the Beloved
Dear visitor — remember that the shrine is not the final destination of Husayn’s guests. His true dwelling is in the heart purified for his memory. Safeguard that heart. Do not allow the enemy of God to snatch away your Ziyarah before you even realise it. If the heart remains pure, every breath — even after you return home — can become an Arbaeen in its own right.
A Call Written in Blood
Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS) counted among the signs of a believer the performance of the Ziyarah of Arbaeen. Our journey to Karbala is no coincidence; our names were written as guests long before we knew it — not on paper, but in the crimson ink of Husayn’s blood, inscribed upon the pages of history.
We are not ordinary travellers. We are honoured guests of a host whose son, the Awaited Imam al-Mahdi (AS), is the heir to his cause. Arbaeen is not just a march — it is a living pledge, a renewal of allegiance to the father of the Imam of our Time.
This road is more than a path to Karbala. It is a bridge that stretches from the plains of 61 AH to the dawn of the Reappearance. To answer Husayn’s call today is to prepare for the day we will greet his son tomorrow.
We come with trembling steps, eyes brimming with tears, and hearts ablaze with longing — waiting for the horizon to break with the light of justice. We walk because the father of the Qaʾim has summoned us, and because we pray that our loyalty on this path will make us worthy to stand beside his son when the final call is made.