Sayyid Hossein al-Qazwini narrates about his father, Ayatullah Sayyid Murtadha al-Qazwini:14
‘My father had the honour of reciting the Muharram majalis (lectures) of Imam Husayn (A) every year; sometimes it would be in Iraq, sometimes in Kuwait and sometimes in other places.
‘However, one year, after my father migrated to the States, he was without an invite to recite anywhere. The month of Muharram approached and my father would sit in his house, depressed by the thought of not being able to serve Imam Husayn (A) as he had been doing each year; his heart was truly broken.
‘Literally, three days before the month of Muharram arrived, one Iraqi man came to him and said, “Sayyid, I hear that during this month of Muharram, you are not reciting anywhere. I have a place that I would like to offer you to recite majalis in, but it’s very run down and in a very bad state.” Of course, my father was delighted and he and the man went to view the building; it was an old bank, very dirty and in as poor a state as the man had warned.
‘My father immediately called several of his family members, colleagues and friends to inform them that he had found a place to recite and that he would need their help in tidying the place up and getting it ready. Of course, they all agreed, but for varying reasons, all were busy at that moment; some were at work and so they said they would come after 5 p.m., when the working day was finished.
‘Not wanting to lose any time, my father went to a local store and bought a broom; he removed his amamah [turban], his aba [cloak] and jubba [robes] and began sweeping the floor and moving things out of the dilapidated bank by himself and as he was doing so he recited the maqtal of the Imam [narration of the events of the day of Ashura that led to the killing of Imam Husayn(A)] to himself.
‘After a few hours, when his friends arrived, they found him dusty and busy cleaning the room. They said, “Sayyid, you should not be doing this yourself; we were coming to help you.” My father replied, “I’ve had the honour of reciting majalis for Imam Husayn (A), making people cry for Imam Husayn (A), but today, praise be to Allah, I had the honour of becoming a janitor for Imam Husayn (A)!”
‘The next day, an Iranian man came to the bank and saw the progress; people were bringing carpets and wall coverings. He said to my father, “I do not see a pulpit here. I am a carpenter; would you like me to make one?” And so, with only a few hours to go before the first night of Muharram arrived, my father even had a pulpit for the delivery of his majalis. My father said that this Muharram was one of the best he had ever partaken in.’
Sayyid Mothafar al-Qazwini continues the story:
‘The day the statue of Saddam was pulled down, my grandfather [Ayatullah Sayyid Murtadha al-Qazwini] decided to leave America and return to Iraq. Aware of the tense situation there, we all advised him not to return, but his ticket was booked that very day. We cried at the thought of losing our grandfather.
‘As soon as he came to Karbala, his first action was to immediately head to the shrine. When he first saw it and after sending his salutations to the Imam, his first supplication was, “O Imam, all I want is to be able to serve you, every day of my life.”
‘As my grandfather entered the haram of the Imam, there was latmiyyah15 going on – I think it was Bassim al-Karbalai who was reciting – and as soon as he saw my grandfather enter, he halted his recitation, announced my grandfather’s arrival on the microphone and called for a Salawat.’
With tears in his eyes, Sayyid Mothafar concludes, ‘And immediately my grandfather ascended the pulpit and gave his first lecture in the haram of Imam Husayn (A) since his return.’
The Ways Of The Righteous Vol. 1