Baghdad
\nTwenty million pilgrims have converged on the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala to mark Arba\u2019een, an annual event which marks the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shia Imam.
\nIt is the world\u2019s biggest religious gathering, keenly observed in Iraq, Iran, Bahrain, Lebanon and many other countries.
\nThe black-clad pilgrims gathered at Imam Hussein\u2019s holy shrine in Karbala on Saturday to culminate a week-long procession in commemoration of the martyrdom anniversary of the Prophet Mohammad\u2019s grandson, who was killed along with his companions during the battle of Karbala in 680 AD.
\nMen, women, teens and elders came together in their millions in the Iraqi city to pay tribute and renew their allegiance to Imam Hussein (AS), who is the all-time icon of fighting injustice, oppression and despotism.
\nThe annual event, which is one of the largest religious congregations in the world, brings together a deluge of Imam Hussein\u2019s lovers and devotees from various nationalities who undertake an 80-km walk between the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.
\nTents and special stands called Moukeb in Arabic are set up on the path leading to the shrine to provide pilgrims with food and other services.
\nIn the past two years, attendance estimates were lower than usual due to coronavirus measures that limited the number of foreign pilgrims entering Iraq.
\n\u201cWe are happy to serve as many pilgrims as possible. We all noticed these exceptional numbers of pilgrims that came to Karbala after the coronavirus pandemic,\u201d said Ali al-Badri, an official in charge of Iraq\u2019s media services, adding that the teams covering departments such as cleaning and the provision of services were mobilized to cater for the needs of the pilgrims coming from Iraq and abroad.
\n\u201cWe distribute about 5000-6000 rations per meal, between breakfast, lunch and dinner – and we are continuing, God willing, we are happy,\u201d said Haider al-Kaabi, who heads a group providing pilgrims with shelter and food free of charge.
\nFor the past weeks, pilgrims from countries including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, have been arriving in Karbala, located about 100 kilometers southwest of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
\nIran\u2019s government said on Wednesday that a record number of Iranian pilgrims, more than three million, flocked to Iraq to participate in the Arba\u2019een commemorations.
\nAli Bahadori Jahromi, a spokesman for the Iranian government, said around 1.5 million Iranian pilgrims have already returned from the pilgrimage.
\nThe tradition, which attracts an average of 16 million people from across the world every year, is meant to sympathize with Imam Hussein (AS) on the pains he endured in the event of Karbala, where he and 72 of his companions were brutally slaughtered by Yazid\u2019s army.
\nThe ceremony is also fervently observed by Muslims in their own countries across the world.
\nMillions of Iranians also flock to the holy shrines across the country and to local mosques to commemorate Arba\u2019een.
\nPeople in the Iranian capital of Tehran, under the banner of \u2018Those left behind from Arba\u2019een\u2019, take part in a symbolic march to the holy shrine of Hazrat Abdol Azim Hassani in the southern city of Rey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Baghdad Twenty million pilgrims have converged on the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala to mark Arba\u2019een, an annual event which marks the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shia Imam. It is the world\u2019s biggest religious gathering, keenly observed in Iraq, Iran, Bahrain, Lebanon and many other countries. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-284112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n