The peculiarity of the school of the Doyen of the Martyrs (`a)
The sin of Yazid was not killing the Doyen of the Martyrs. This was one of his lesser sins. His great sin was that he had distorted Islam. The Doyen of the Martyrs came to Islam's rescue and saved it. Narrating the tragedy of Karbala' at commemorative gatherings is for the purpose of preserving his school. They who tell us not to narrate it are not at all aware of what his school was and its significance. They do not know that all this mourning and narrating have safeguarded this school. It is now 1, 004 years that these sermons, narrations of the tragedy and breast-beating have safeguarded us and brought Islam up to here. Some of these young people who are not the type that bear malice think that we ought to talk about the topics of the day! Talking about the Doyen of the Martyrs is the topic of the day; it is always so. The Doyen of the Martyrs has always been bringing the topic of the day and placing it in our hands. All this lamentation, this narration of the tragic events, this din and noise, the breast-beating, and these flocks of people have preserved the school. If it was just a holy person sitting all by himself in a room in his house, repeatedly reading the `Ashoura prayer) the special prayer commemorating the tenth of Muharram, the day of the tragedy (and counting beads, there would have been nothing left of the episode. A vociferous commemoration is needed.
It is this (tradition of) mourning that has kept this school alive up to now. And it is the recital of the sad songs and such things that have kept us alive. These are the things that have brought success to this movement. It would not have succeeded had there been no Doyen of the Martyrs. He is everywhere. Every place is Karbala'. Manifestations of him are everywhere. All the pulpits are manifestations of the Doyen of the Martyrs. All the altars (praying) are there because of him.
The aim is to save the school
There is, of course, another matter that ought to concern all of us. It is that we have to make the people understand that it is not that we merely want to acquire merit. It is the progress that we have to make. The Doyen of the Martyrs did not sacrifice himself for the sake of acquiring merit. This was not very important to him. He set forth to save this school, to advance the cause of Islam and to revive it. You recite sad songs, preach and deliver sermons, and by reciting mournful verses, drive the people to tears. And they weep and wail. All these things should be aimed at safeguarding Islam. We want to safeguard it by means of such loud lamentation. Your aim should be the preservation of this school- just as it has been preserved up to now- by this public mourning, weeping, recital of mournful songs and verses, and threnodies. The people should also be told and reminded," Sir," this matter of narrating the mournful events is not that I say something and the others cry. The point is that the school has been safeguarded because of this; this lamentation. Even appearing as if you are crying is also meritorious. The reason for this is that it helps this school; it is of help to it. It is a mistake on their part to look at one side of the matter and not the other. Unfortunately, we- I mean Islam- has always been afflicted by this one-sided view; it has always been so.
It appears in the narrations that Islam is (like) a stranger. It has been so from the beginning and still is. The reason is that a stranger is one whom nobody knows. It is present among the people, but nobody knows it. They do not know Islam. It has never been known for what it really is.