Rastin Husayniyya
Rastin Husayniyya
Sufi Order of the Nematollahi Soltan Ali Shahi Gonabadi Dervishes
This Husayniyya was built in the city of Arak. Construction began in October 1980 and was completed in 1981. The two-story building includes separate halls for men and women along with various rooms and all essential facilities, situated on a plot of approximately 1,200 square meters with a built-up area of around 1,100 square meters. Today, it serves as a gathering place for the fuqara for dhikr, remembrance ceremonies, and mourning for the Fifth of the People of the Time (Khamis Al-‘Aba). The Husayniyya is endowed to the Nematollahi Gonabadi Order, and its custodianship and supervision are perpetually under the authority of the current spiritual leader.
Various inscriptions appear on the interior walls and courtyard-facing exteriors in the form of tile panels crafted with notable artistic detail. Inside the men's hall, a tile panel features Ayat al-Kursi:
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَى لَا انفِصَامَ لَهَا وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَوْلِيَاؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُم مِّنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ أُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
Allāh - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursī extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great. There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become distinct from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in ṭāghūt and believes in Allāh has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allāh is Hearing and Knowing. Allāh is the Ally of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into the light. And those who disbelieve - their allies are ṭāghūt. They take them out of the light into darknesses. Those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein.
(Quran, Ayatul Kursi, 255, 256 and 257)
Additionally, the “Khutba of the Twelve Imams” by Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi is beautifully inscribed:
اللّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَ سَلِّمْ وَ زِدْ وَ بارِكْ عَلي صاحِبِ الدَّعْوَةِ نَبَويةِ وَ الصّوُلَةِ الْحَيدَريةِ وَ اَلْعِصْمَةِ الْفاطِميَّةِ وَ الْحِلْمِ الْحَسَنيَةِ وَ الْشُّجاعَةِ الْحُسَينيَةِ وَ الْعِبادَةِ السَّجّاديَةِ وَ الْمَآثِرِ الْباقِريَةِ وَ الْآثارِ الْجَعْفَريَّةِ وَ الْعُلوُمِ الْكاظِميَّةِ وَ الْحُجَجِ الرَّضَويَّةِ وَ الْجوُدِالتَّقَويَّةِ وَ الْنَّقاوةِالنَّقَويَّةِ وَ الْهِيبَةِ الْعَسْكَريَّةِ وَ الْغِيبَةِ الالهيَّةِ وَ الْقائِمِ الْحَقِ وَ الْمُنْتَظَرِ الْمَهْدي مَوُلانا اَبي الْقاسِمِ مُحَمَّدِ بنِ الْحَسَن الْعَسْكَري صاحَبِ الْاَمْرِ وَ الْعَصْرِ وَ الزَّمان عَلَيهِ وَ عَلي آبائِهِ التَّحيَّةِ وَ الرِّضْوانَ فيِ سِرْ وَ الاَعْلانَ
(“O God, send blessings, peace, increase, and favor upon the bearer of the Prophetic call, the one with the Haydari valor, the Fatimid infallibility, the Hasani forbearance, the Husayni bravery, the Sajjadi devotion, the Baqiri virtues, the Ja‘fari legacy, the Kazimi knowledge, the Ridawi proofs, the Taqawi generosity, the Naqawi purity, the ‘Askari majesty, the Divine Occultation, and the Righteous Awaited One, our master Abul Qasim Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-‘Askari, the Master of the Affair, of the Age and Time. Upon him and his forefathers be greetings and Divine pleasure in both private and public realms.”)
The well-known devotional invocation:
نَادِ عَلِيًّا مَظْهَرَالْعَجائِبِ تَجِدْهُ عَوْنًا لَكَ فِي النَّوائِبِ كُلَّ هَمٍّ وَ غَمٍّ سَيَنْجَلِي ببِوِلايَتِكَ يا عَلِي
("Call upon Ali, the manifestation of wonders; you will find him a helper in hardships. Every worry and sorrow will be alleviated through your guardianship, O Ali.")
is artistically tiled in the form of the detailed ʿAlawiyya prayer.
On the southern wall of the Husayniyya, the Salawat Kabirah ("Great Benediction") is inscribed:
اَللّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَي المُصْطَفي مُحَمَّدٍ وَ الْمُرْتَضي عَليٍّ وَ الْبَتولِ فاطِمَة وَ السِّبْطَيْنِ الاْمامَيْنِ اَلْحَسَنِ وَ اْلحُسَيْنِ وَ صَلِّ عَلي زَيْنِ الْعُبّادِ عَليٍ وَ الْباقِرِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ الصّادِقِ جَعْفَرٍ وَ الْكاظِمِ مُوسي وَ الرِّضا عَلِيٍ وَ التَّقيِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ النَّقِي عَلِيٍ وَ الزَّكِيِّ الْعَسْكَرِيَ الْحَسَنِ وَ صَلِّ عَلي مُحَمَّدِ الْمَهْدي صاحِبِ الاَمْرِ وَ الْعَصْرِ وَ الزَّمان وَ خَليفَةِ الرَّحْمن و اِمامِ الإْنسِ وَ الْجانِ صَلًواتُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِم اَجْمَعين
O Allah, send your blessing upon the chosen one, Prophet Muhammad al-Mustafa, and Imam Ali al-Murtaza, and the chaste woman, Fatima Az-Zahra, and her two grandsons, the two Imams, al-Hasan and al-Husain. And send your blessings upon the Zain-ul-Abideen al-Ali, and Muhammad al-Baqir, and Ja’far Al-Sadiq, and Musa-al Kazim, and Ali Ar-Ridha, and Muhammad At-Taqi, and Ali An-Naqi, and Zakiy al-Askari al-Hasan, And send your blessings upon Muhammad al-Mahdi, The Master of the Order, the Era and the Time, the Most Merciful Imam of mankind and jinn.May the blessings of Allah be upon them all.
In the women's section, the following verse is tiled:
إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْقَانِتَاتِ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالصَّادِقَاتِ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّابِرَاتِ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ وَالْخَاشِعَاتِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقَاتِ وَالصَّائِمِينَ وَالصَّائِمَاتِ وَالْحَافِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمْ وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allāh often and the women who do so - for them Allāh has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.
The vaulted ceilings of the terrace and the detailed stucco work of the hall ceilings exhibit a unique mastery of architectural craftsmanship. From material preparation to manual labor, many brothers from Arak, Hamedan, Tehran, and especially from Khuzestan (displaced due to the Iran-Iraq war and resettled in Arak) contributed to the building process. The brickwork is attributed to master Nabiollah Ghodrati of Hamedan, while the tile inscriptions were penned by the late Mohammad Rokni Vala.