‘Abdul Salam al-Harawī quoted from Imam Riḍā (P.B.U.H.) saying, “May God have mercy upon the one who revives our affairs.” Al-Harawī asked, “How should one revive your affairs?” The Imam (P.B.U.H.) said, “He should learn our knowledge and teach it to people. If people get informed of the virtues of our words, they would follow us.”
‘Uyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā (P.B.U.H.), vol. 1, p. 307
One of the great blessings of God the Almighty to us is that He put the Infallible Imams (P.B.U.T.) among us to learn how to live a God-centered life through observing their lifestyle and to achieve eternal bliss through practicing their useful guidelines.
Mashhad is a piece of paradise where [the shrine of] the son of the Messenger of God (P.B.U.H.), the eighth star in the sky of Imamate, is located and every year from various parts of Iran and the world, millions of fascinated pilgrims visit this heavenly shrine to quench their thirsty souls from the limpid spring of the infallible Imam’s (P.B.U.H.) knowledge.
The servants of this shrine, Āstān Quds Raḍawī, are all by some means in the service of the pilgrims of Imam Riḍā (P.B.U.H.) so that they can make a pilgrimage with peace of mind and get many benefits from this heavenly shrine.
“The Management of Foreign Pilgrims of Āstān Quds Raḍawī” also has been trying in various forms to introduce culture, manners, and lifestyle of the Infallibles (P.B.U.T.) specially Imam Riḍā (P.B.U.H.) to the lovers and enthusiasts of this school.
The affairs of this management are in line with the Supreme Leader of Iran’s statements and running the commands of the custodian of Āstān Quds Raḍawī as well as Āstān Quds Raḍawī 20-year vision plan for disseminating Islamic culture and civilization in accordance with needs of non–Iranian pilgrims in order to create insight and spiritual growth in them.
Some good examples of these affairs done in line with serving non-Iranian pilgrims of Imam Riḍā (P.B.U.H.) in the international arena are as follows; organizing special cultural programs, insight circles, professional meetings, scientific conferences, educational classes and workshops, cultural competitions, poetry nights, conversion ceremonies, expert panels and advisory board as well as responding to letters, sending books and cultural products around the world; answering religious and theological questions; and also Raḍawī Talk chat rooms, production and translation of pure Islamic teachings into various languages.
It is the time that the call of Islam is going not only to return the people, who have fallen from their origin in every corner of the world, to the truth but also to return Islam-seeking and truth-seeking hearts to [Islamic] sublime and magnanimous teachings which are spreading in the world. It is hoped that in such days, reading this book would be found useful for the truth seekers and it would be regarded as a forward step for giving insight to the pilgrims and lovers of the Infallibles (P.B.U.T.) as well as gaining the satisfaction of God.
“O’ God bless Muḥammad and Muḥammad’s household, give me to enjoy a sound guidance which I seek not to replace, a path of truth from which I swerve not, and an intention of right conduct in which I have no doubts!
Let me live as long as my life is a free gift in obeying Thee.”
The Management of Foreign Pilgrims of
Translator’s word
If the style of this book is found unattractive, it will show that I have done my work ill and not represented the author truly; but, if it is found odd, I beg that I may not bear all the blame. I have simply tried to reproduce the author’s own mixture of colloquialisms and formalisms, and his preference for the precise expression of his thought rather than the word conventionally expected.
One special feature of the style, however, gives the reason why this preface should exist. It is characteristic of the Supreme Leader of Iran-Ayatollah Khamenei’s lectures and speeches that the thread of thought is carried on largely by the repetition of the same word in a modified form or sense. That connection of ideas which has guided popular instinct in the formation of words is made to suggest the line of thought which the author wishes to follow. If this echoing of words is missed, the bearing of statements on each other is in a measure lost; and, where the ideas are very new, one cannot afford to throw away any help in following their connection. Therefore, where a useful echo could not be reproduced in English, I have generally called attention to it in a note. My notes are distinguished from the author‘s by being enclosed in brackets.
I have set my face as a flint against the temptation to add footnotes that were not part of the translation. There is no telling how much I might have enlarged the book if I had put a footnote at every sentence which deserved to have its truth brought out by fuller elucidation–or even at every one which I thought needed modification. It might have been within my province, if I had been able, to explain all the comments to references and sources, but I doubt whether anyone could do that properly without having access to the books of four or five well-chosen prominent Shī’a scholars and authors. The comments are clear enough, without names and sources, to give a vivid picture of certain aspects of repentance and seeking for forgiveness in daily life then. Where Persian books are referred to, the pages cited are those of the Persian editions even when (usually because of some comments in the text) the titles of the books are translated.
Shahireh Nozari
September, 2017
September, 2017