Kamil Al Ziyarat - everything you need to know about ziyarat
Syed Moderressi interviewed by Kausar Chatoo, abridged by Hasanain Jagani
We have been blessed with a number of engaging and learned scholars at JIC and Syed Mahdi Modaressi is no less. His lectures were current, thought provoking, informative, inspiring, easy to follow and relevant. He has captivated listeners in over 30 countries with the guidance of the Ahlul-bayt (a.s).
Syed Modaressi was born in Kuwait in 1977 and traces his lineage back to Imam Husain (a.s). He comes from a prominent family of scholars that include his father, Ayatullah Syed Hadi Al-Modaressi, and his uncle who are Maraje’a. Syed Hadi has authored 300 books, given 7000 speeches, and is one of Iraq’s four senior grand Ayatullahs. As a staunch opponent of Saddam Hussein he spent many years in exile in Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, and Iran before returning to Iraq after the fall of Saddam. Syed Mahdi was consequently raised in those countries as well as Bahrain, UAE, Australia, and Malaysia.
From a young age Syed Mahdi accompanied his father to most visits, gatherings and classes. He credits his father as his biggest role model and inspiration. He also said that, “Every good that I have been able to achieve I owe it all to Ahlul-bayt (a.s) and my father.” Growing up among scholars in the religious establishments inspired him to pursue this path. He completed his religious studies in the hawza of Damascus, for four years, and Qum, Tehran and Mashad for a total of eight years. Syed migrated to Australia in 2000 to pursue tabligh work. He completed a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, Politics and Philosophy.
Author of four books, Syed has made numerous TV appearances on SAHAR satellite TV and news stations in relation to the situation in the Middle East, as well as given interviews for newspaper articles. He has also lectured at universities and colleges on issues relating to Islam and is a strong proponent of interfaith dialogue. (http://www.modarresi.org/english/index.htm).
When asked what advice or message he had for the youth and parents of the West, Syed encouraged us to view ourselves not merely as Muslims but as ambassadors of the faith and as people who pave the way for the appearance of Imam-e-Zamana (a.t.f). He pointed to Imam Jafar As-Sadiq (a.s)’s hadith that says, “Lead people your way, by other than your tongue.” Syed added that, “It is easy to talk and preach, but we should be the ones who put morality into practice.” He stressed that we need to invest our time, money and effort in reaching out to the people in the West.
Living in Australia, Syed recognizes the plight of parents raising children in the West with all its associated immorality, depravity, corruption and vices. When asked by parents if moving to the West was the right choice, Syed said, “You may be better off staying here, but remember, raising your child in a proper Islamic fashion is a full-time job. You have to pay full attention to what their needs are spiritually and from an educational perspective.” He stressed that first and foremost parents MUST be good role models and this cannot be underlined enough. Failing to do so “create[s] a dichotomy in the mind of the child” and results in too much emphasis being placed on Islamic schools and Madressahs.
Once they get older, Syed stressed that marriage needs to be facilitated. He felt that marriage is not given the attention it requires and quoted a hadith from the Prophet (s.a.w) that says, “When a youngster marries early in his youth, Shaitan cries out of desperation and says, ‘Alas! This person has protected one third of his religion, now he will protect the remaining two thirds also’.” Syed interpreted the hadith to mean that we can prevent two-thirds of social ills by facilitating marriage for the youth. He added that it is not enough to just facilitate marriage but also to educate the youth about the need and benefits of marriage and to provide assistance in the early stages of the marriage.
The Prophet (s.a.w) has said “Teach your children the love of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s).” Syed said that we can do this by sharing their stories, merits and accomplishments with our children. He does this with his own children every night, as far as possible, by narrating a story of the Ahlul-bayt (a.s.). He sensationalizes these stories keeping in mind that kids watch cartoons in which superheroes do extraordinary things, similarly the Ahlul-bayt (a.s) are sensational individuals. Over time they will start developing an intimate relationship with the Imams and gradually Imam-e-Zamana (a.t.f.) can be introduced as being the Imam that actually exists and is with us in this day and age.
Syed conceded that you may have to make concessions and compromises with your children. He said always “keep a string attached” regardless of how entrenched your child is in sinful acts and more importantly don’t throw them out of the house for this because “There are hundreds, if not thousands, of institutions and clinics just waiting to grab him once he’s out of the house...focus on at least one bridge, and maintain it, and that is salaat.” He said that we should create an environment in the home that accommodates and encourages prayer. If this is properly implemented then “salaat will always pull them back in.”
Syed explained that religion should not be forced on our children; rather we should create a love for it and associate good with it. He shared a hadith in which Allah (SWT) says to Prophet Musa (a.s), “Make my servants love Me. Don’t force it [religion] down their throats.”
With regards to caring about the condition of the Muslimeen, Syed shared a hadith from the Prophet (s.a.w.) that says, “He who wakes up not caring or not worrying about the affairs of other Muslims, is not even a Muslim to begin with.” He pointed out that Karbala is “the spiritual capital of the universe” and “the city which enshrined the sacred body of Aba-Abdillah al Husain (a.s)” is among the poorest on Earth, with a disproportionately high number of orphans and widows and where the most basic of services and infrastructure is non-existent, “So there needs to be a particular attention paid to that city.”
Syed is also working with a number of prominent ulema on a unique media initiative that is the Ahlul-bayt (a.s) satellite channel. It offers documentaries, supplications, live Q&A sessions, and special coverage of religious events in Kerbala and, soon, animated cartoons. Its main objectives are to educate the masses, present the Ahlul-bayt (a.s) to the world, preach tolerance by actively promoting interfaith dialogue, build channels of communication between leading Shia and non-Shia religious and cultural institutions, and refute misconceptions to address Islamophobia present in this day and age. They plan to expand to North America soon Insha-Allah.
Syed concluded by reminding us to use the inspiration and education that we have gained in Muharram to get involved in something, help out, contribute, and give something back. He thanked the community for the hospitality and hoped to return soon Insha-Allah. He also sees a bright future and great potential in our community.
General enquiries and questions can be addressed to the office of Syed Mahdi al-Modarresi at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
