As the end of Safar approaches, hearts once again turn toward Mashhad...

Toward the shrine of an Imam for whom “stranger” has become another name — Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (peace be upon him).

They say that a stranger is someone who may be surrounded by people, yet feels alone and without a refuge...

And what greater loneliness could there be than that of an Imam who was summoned from Medina to Khorasan, only to meet a tragic and unjust death in the land of Toos?

Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him) was a refuge for troubled hearts;

a source of hope for every broken heart that sought comfort at his sacred threshold.

Today is the final day of Safar...

And the golden dome of his shrine bears witness to the tears shed by countless hearts from every corner of the world, all out of love for him.

O Imam al-Rida...

We may not have been blessed with the chance to visit your shrine, but we find comfort in the thought of your sacred courtyard and the Panjarah-ye Foolad, the lattice window of your shrine.

From afar, we send our salutations and say:

Peace be upon you, O Ali ibn Musa al-Rida,

O Stranger of Strangers, O Sun of the Suns...

My Master,

If we were not destined to weep beside your holy shrine,

then pray for us from afar...

For our hearts, just like the pigeons of your sanctuary,

long for you.

May the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (peace be upon him) be a source of remembrance and peace for all those who mourn him.