Ramadan , why Najaf and Karbala are more important to Shias than Mecca and Madina ?

[Blue SKY]

I am from Hyderabad India and I have a lot of Shia friends who always talks about Karbala and Najaf ( whenever any religious talk between us ). some of them even visited Karbala 2 times or 3 times, Syria and Iran..
but never go to Hajj neither have any ambition to see the Non-Shias most holiest places of Islam ( Mecca and Medina ).
One day when I asked the reason they replied '' Sunnies don't know the importance of Karbala and Najaf ''
I like to ask that do Najaf and Karbala are more significant and holiest in Shias'm than Mecca and Medina ..... ?

[Teflon Don]

The Prophet was born in Mecca and died in Medina, so were Abubakar, Omar, Osman etc. The Quran was revealed both in Mecca and Medina, important battles happen in these two cities. I don't know what happen in Najaf or Karbala, other than Hassan/Hussien ra was killed in one of those cities and buried in the otther, so they more into pleasing Hassan/Husien than Allah and his messenger who said Mecca and Medina are sacred.

[MAXX]

There is no Shia sunni or any other sent in Quran or sahi hadith.
Quran says Hold on to the rope of ALLAH strongly and b not divided.
A true follower like to be called nothing but muslim view all places as important if described important by Quran and Sahi hadith.

[Vishwa]

The holiest place is your own pyre or tomb then too the earth and worms have their home. All the rest belong to others.

But the best is if you can see the holiest place in yourself while alive, and still better in others.

[massiveCommander521]

Its not about one particular place being better than other. Muslims (shia and Sunni) go to Mecca and medina for hajj (which is wajib) where as shias go visit other holy cities like Najaf (tomb of hazrat Ali), jannatul baqi in medina (graves of bibi Fatima, imam hasan, imam Ali ibn Hussain, imam muhammed al baqir and imam jafar al sadiq), kadhimain (tombs of imam miss al kadhim and imam Muhammed Taqi), Mashhad (Iran) tomb of imam Ali ridha, samarra (tomb of imam Hassan al askari).

So, all of these cities holy. Going to Mecca and Medina is wajib because of Hajj whereas the other cities mentioned above are mustahab. The reason is that these Imams sacrificed their lives to defend Islam. If they didn't then it is possible that there would be no one doing hajj today....so shias visit the imams out of love and gratitude to the them.

[Lyana]

Salaam.

Have you ever been to Mecca? I haven't, so I am only repeating what I have heard from friends of mine that have either lived in Saudi & have gone on Hajj, & other friends that have gone from here to make Hajj (their nationalities are Iranian, American, Swiss, & Indonesian & the 4 of them went as a group. My friend Narjis Pierre wrote a memoir of her trip called "Hajj Journal" that is available online). I also read a book called "Standing Alone" & while I do not agree with the author on many things, she did have a very detailed description of her Hajj experience.

First of all, in general, Saudi's are not bad people who do bad things, so when I think of all the injustices that have been committed in Saudi, it is mostly done by the Wahhabis/Salafis. Those who follow this "version" of Islam seem to be only focused on the hate that can be warped out of Islam and the Holy Qur'an. I will say that again, they are warping the Qur'an to fit their hate filled agenda. Arabic is a very deep language & if taken out of context, or read in an incomplete context, you can twist the words sharply. (For instance, Salaam means Peace, but Saam means Death! {so make sure you don't say as-Saam Alaikum just because you are in a hurry.})

Anyway, on to your question. Because Saudi is filled with Wahaabis, they are taking free reign to do whatever they like with the holy sites in Mecca & Madina. Did you know that they have turned the home of one of the Prophet's wives (I believe it is Umme Salmah) into a public bathroom!? Did you know that they are taking down the mountain of Uhud (where the Muslims were defeated because many of those on the mountain decided to disobey the Prophet and run after the spoils of war because it LOOKED like the Muslims had won) & they are building a parking lot/deck there? The "mountains" of Saffa & Marwa are now mere hills because of their neglect. They are building towers & hotels that dwarf the Holy Kaaba!
http://nativepakistan.com/wp-content/upl...-Night.jpg
In Madina, many of the Masajids built by the companions and family of the Prophet have either been closed & left to ruin or they are being demolished & rebuilt/compiled in the "contemporary style". A small Masjid was built to mark the spot where the Holy Prophet received the revelation of the Surah Nasr (110) & it is left to rot. A Masjid that was built by the companion Salman e-Farsi is left in a similar situation, and the Masjid Ali'wa Fatimah is completely closed! Just sitting there in the dark! The burial ground of Baqee is in ruins! There were once beautiful shrines and Masaajids build to honor those who had passed on & the Wahaabis tore them down because they were afraid of "shirk".
https://twitter.com/AliDaMalang1/status/...08/photo/1
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showthre...nah)/page4
When you go to Mecca or Madinah & you want to do some recommended prayers, you are restricted as to when, where, & how you can perform these mustahab prayers. God forbid you actually want to touch the Kabah or the Zaree of the Prophet out of respect for these places! They will strike you with their batons and yell at you for acting like a Shia'! In "Standing Alone" the author comments about the time limits imposed on women for visiting the place where the Prophet is buried (Zaree) as being ridiculously restrictive. Her nephew even commented that he did not want to go if his sister was not allowed (because the "time had run out").

Now, hearing all that makes me very upset. When you go to visit the grave of the Prophet, should you have anger in your heart? When you go to do tawaf of the Holy Kabah, should you be ashamed of the waste and extravagance you see all around you?

In Mecca, the Wahaabis are so concerned with beautifying things AROUND the Kabah & showing off their wealth, while in places like Karbala, we beautify the actual place of remembrance. Everything surrounding the shrine is simple & functional.
http://www.bargah.org/images/ImamHussain...arbala.jpg
If you go to these places, you are not yelled at for showing respect. You are not hit if you want to simply touch the wall.
Also, you do not have to pay hundreds-thousands of dollars just to go to Karbala, Najaf, and other places of Ziyarat, but you do have to pay that to go to Hajj. The prices are so high on Hajj, but when you want to go to Ziyarat, especially to Karbala, people are giving out free food, asking people to stay in their homes, & trying in any way they can to help the pilgrim. Look for information about the Walk to Karbala (when people often walk from Najaf to Karbala for Arba'een) & you will see the generosity!

In conclusion, Hajj is waajib, there is no getting around that. You have to go. However, Ziyarat is mustahaab & a recommended thing. When you love Allah, you don't want to do only the waajib, you desire to do the mustahaab as well. InshAllah, if I get the chance, I plan to go to Umrah first, then Hajj another year, because I know myself & I personally will get angry seeing all the israaf (extravagant waste) in Saudi & if you get angry on your Hajj, it is void. I am not going to waste $3,000. for that.

Lyana

To Maxx: It is true that the Holy Qur'an says to "hold fast to the ROPE of Allah".
However, have you ever wondered what that ROPE is? Is a rope made of a single strand (i.e. Prophet) or two strands (i.e. the Holy Qur'an & Prophet)?
No, a ROPE is made of many strands intertwined together that make is strong. As Shia's, we believe this ROPE symbolizes the Holy Qur'an, the Holy Prophet (saw) & his Sunnah, his Ahlul Bayt (as), & the appointed Imam's after him (saw). 15 strands interwoven together that will keep you on Allah's (swt) Straight Path. If you take 1, 2, 3, (or in the case of some, 14 {"Sufficient for us is the book of Allah"}) out, you are no longer left with a ROPE of Allah, but one of His strands.

[Z Z]

Well as a Shia living in Iran, most of the religious people I know have been to Mecca and Medina (many several times) for both Hajj and Umrah. I myself have been to Umrah and am saving to go to Hajj in the comming years In sha' Allah. Thousands of Iranian Shia visit Mecca and Medina yearly.

And there is no denying that despite there being a lot of reward mentioned in Shia'ism for visiting the graves of the Imams, specially the grave of Imam Hussein AS in Karbala, it is Hajj which is Wajib and those are Mustahab.

But I also have to agree with "Lyana". As a Shia, I was greatly mistreated in Saudi myself and although I felt it a privilege from Allah that I was able to visit those holy cities, I do not have a memory of good spritual feelings. This was due to the pressure there was on us for not being able to worship Allah SWT the way we wanted to at those places and having to abide by the rules of the Salafis.
The Saudi government has totally ruined the spirituallity of these cities specially by constructing means of being attracted to the world just outside the Harams and having ruined many of the original places of the history of Islam.

Whereas when I visited Karbala and Najaf, the spirit of worshipping Allah was felt in these cities and it has left me a much better memory.