The tweet from the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, stirred extensive interaction on social media after he referred to the city of Najaf as "the secure city." Al-Sadr stated in his tweet: "In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, may peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. Now, God Almighty described it in His great Book with a beautiful description and swore by it before His creation and His prophet, His friend, called for it... How great and sacred it is." He added: "Indeed, it is (the secure city) and what would make you know what the secure city is? Commonly, this refers to Mecca, which is beyond doubt, yet this does not mean that other possibilities may not exist that don't contradict this meaning that is widely accepted."
He mentioned: "However, according to my own personal taste and understanding, I say perhaps it refers to (the secure city of God), the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and this does not contradict the fact that Mecca is also the secure city. For the Messenger of God, Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family, and his cousin, the wali of God, Ali ibn Abi Talib, are the fathers of this nation, and their dwelling can be the secure city. Thus, Mecca is the secure city, and also the honored Najaf is the secure city, as the trusted one of God lived there and made it his capital and his burial place, peace be upon him."
Al-Sadr concluded: "Yes, he is the trusted one whom the Messenger of God entrusted with the entire religion and with his nation after him; he was indeed the trustworthy one following the path of the Messenger, peace be upon him and his family... Praise be to God who made us among the loyal to God, His Messenger, and His wali, and among those obedient to them, and praise be to God who honored us with the secure city."
An account named "Sirwan al-Iraqi" on the platform "X" (formerly Twitter) commented on the tweet saying: "Where did the sanctity of Karbala and Najaf come from? They were not mentioned in the Quran or in any authentic prophetic hadith. However, if their sanctity comes because many from the family of the Prophet were killed there, this is a catastrophe, not an honor for them, and their sanctity comes from the fact that they were treacherously killed by the people of those cities at that time."
A user named "The Truth Prevails" responded, saying: "Look for the holy valley in the Quran, and you will find many interpreters from both sides saying that it is the Valley of Peace in Najaf. And Karbala is part of Najaf and is also sacred, as the secure city because it contains the bodies of the righteous friends of God, peace and blessings be upon them."
