Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah Receives Imam Rida Flag
Source: Al Manar TV, 18-03-2008
In an unprecedented event, a delegate from Imam Ali Bin Mussa Al-Rida (pbuh) shrine panel in the Holy city of Mashhad in the Islamic Republic of Iran hands over to Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah Imam Rida's Flag raised on the Holy shrine.
This flag has an exceptional story.
The idea first came when an Iranian press delegation visited the Kheyam and Bint Jbeil villages in the aftermath of July victory in 2006. The delegation returned home and submitted a request to offer the flag raised on the shrine of Imam Ali Ibn Moussa al-Rida (AS), the eighth infallible Imam of prophet Mohammad's (pbuh) household, as a tribute for Hezbollah's achievements.
"They told me the request would be denied since such thing hasn't happened before, but we insisted on filing the request to Hazrat Imam Rida's panel. On the eve of Imam Rida's (pbuh) martyrdom anniversary, Ayatollah Sheikh Waez Tabassi, the panel's chief and representative of Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei in the holy shrine, approved our request", Mohsen Khozei, the representative of the Imam Rida shrine panel, told Al-Manar TV.
It's striking that the flag wasn't made for such purpose; it was raised before the request. What's more attracting in the story is that all flags raised on the holy shrine before included the Divine Hadith: "'There is no God but Allah' is My shelter and he who enters My shelter shall be immune from My chastisement". However, without previous planning, the following Koranic Verse was written: "Help from Allah and a victory near at hand" As-Saf 13. Usually, flags are put in a special warehouse in the holy shrine; they had never been given away to people.
"When we got the flag, we visited the shrine of Sayyeda Massoumeh, sister of Imam Rida in the holy city of Qom, the Jamkaran mosque, the Sayyeda Rukaya shrine and the (Heads) in Syria where the flag was warmly welcomed", Khozei said. "Later on, we started our visit to Lebanon. People in Bint Jbeil and Kheyam villages enthusiastically welcomed the flag. We visited the house of Martyr Ali Monif Ashmar and his brother martyr Mohammad. We also visited martyr Imad Moghniyeh's family and the martyrs' cemetery", he added.
The delegation presented the flag to Hizbullah deputy secretary general Sheikh Naim Kassem who in turn offered Hizbullah's flag to Imam Rida (pbuh) holy shrine. "We appreciate the hardship of traveling from the holy city of Mashhad to Lebanon holding a flag from the Imam Rida (pbuh) shrine", Sheikh Kassem said. "For us, it's a very nice and generous gesture. It also has a positive effect on the morale of the fighters and the faithful," he added.
The delegate is to visit Hizbullah's former secretary general Sayyed Abbas Moussawi's mausoleum in Nabi Shiet (in the Bekaa region) where a celebration would be held to welcome the flag.
The final destination of the flag will be in the hands of Hizbullah's Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah who is also Imam Rida's grandson.
In an unprecedented event, a delegate from Imam Ali Bin Mussa Al-Rida (pbuh) shrine panel in the Holy city of Mashhad in the Islamic Republic of Iran hands over to Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah Imam Rida's Flag raised on the Holy shrine.
This flag has an exceptional story.
The idea first came when an Iranian press delegation visited the Kheyam and Bint Jbeil villages in the aftermath of July victory in 2006. The delegation returned home and submitted a request to offer the flag raised on the shrine of Imam Ali Ibn Moussa al-Rida (AS), the eighth infallible Imam of prophet Mohammad's (pbuh) household, as a tribute for Hezbollah's achievements.
"They told me the request would be denied since such thing hasn't happened before, but we insisted on filing the request to Hazrat Imam Rida's panel. On the eve of Imam Rida's (pbuh) martyrdom anniversary, Ayatollah Sheikh Waez Tabassi, the panel's chief and representative of Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei in the holy shrine, approved our request", Mohsen Khozei, the representative of the Imam Rida shrine panel, told Al-Manar TV.
It's striking that the flag wasn't made for such purpose; it was raised before the request. What's more attracting in the story is that all flags raised on the holy shrine before included the Divine Hadith: "'There is no God but Allah' is My shelter and he who enters My shelter shall be immune from My chastisement". However, without previous planning, the following Koranic Verse was written: "Help from Allah and a victory near at hand" As-Saf 13. Usually, flags are put in a special warehouse in the holy shrine; they had never been given away to people.
"When we got the flag, we visited the shrine of Sayyeda Massoumeh, sister of Imam Rida in the holy city of Qom, the Jamkaran mosque, the Sayyeda Rukaya shrine and the (Heads) in Syria where the flag was warmly welcomed", Khozei said. "Later on, we started our visit to Lebanon. People in Bint Jbeil and Kheyam villages enthusiastically welcomed the flag. We visited the house of Martyr Ali Monif Ashmar and his brother martyr Mohammad. We also visited martyr Imad Moghniyeh's family and the martyrs' cemetery", he added.
The delegation presented the flag to Hizbullah deputy secretary general Sheikh Naim Kassem who in turn offered Hizbullah's flag to Imam Rida (pbuh) holy shrine. "We appreciate the hardship of traveling from the holy city of Mashhad to Lebanon holding a flag from the Imam Rida (pbuh) shrine", Sheikh Kassem said. "For us, it's a very nice and generous gesture. It also has a positive effect on the morale of the fighters and the faithful," he added.
The delegate is to visit Hizbullah's former secretary general Sayyed Abbas Moussawi's mausoleum in Nabi Shiet (in the Bekaa region) where a celebration would be held to welcome the flag.
The final destination of the flag will be in the hands of Hizbullah's Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah who is also Imam Rida's grandson.
