The Arbaeen mourning ceremony is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world which marks the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), Imam Hussein (PBUH).
Every year, pilgrims from all over the world in Karbala commemorate the anniversary of the 40th day of the martyrdom of the third Shia Imam Hussein bin Ali (PBUH).
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, on October 13, 2019, touched upon the importance of Arbaeen.
“The significance of the first Arbaeen lay in that it was the powerful voice of Ashura. From Ashura to Arbaeen when the Household of the Prophet (PBUH) returned to Karbala – these forty days were forty days of the command of the logic of truth amidst the dark world of the evil rulers and the Umayyad dynasty,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
“The true voice was the outcry of Zaynab al-Kubra and the outcry of Imam Sajjad. Where? In Kufa and in the Levant where complete darkness existed. These were the strongest voices. These were the voices that preserved Ashura,” he underscored.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has said that today the Arbaeen rallies have turned into a manifestation of the international resistance front.
The president made the remarks in a message to a large crowd of people who are going to go from the holy city of Mashad in northeastern Iran to the holy city of Karbala on their feet.
The president said that the magnificent holding of this huge march has attracted the world's attention to the message of Ashura – the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hossein (AS), the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him), and the third Shia Imam.
President Raeisi added that “this unprecedented march” is a sign of the endeavors made by Shia Imams for promoting Islam across the Muslim world.
On September 3, 2022, the secretary of the Arbaeen headquarters announced the launch of 1,200 Moukebs inside the country and borders.
Over 1,800 Mawkebs are located both inside Iraq and in the pilgrimage cities of Najaf, Karbala, Kadhimiya, and Samarra, Mohammad Taghi Bagheri added.
On July 7, 2022, Iranian deputy Interior Minister for security and law enforcement affairs Majid Mirahmadi, who visited Iraq to take part in the first seminar of the joint security commission and a high joint committee of Arbaeen, held talks with Iraqi Interior Minister Othman al-Ghanimi.
Heading a high-ranking delegation, Mirahmadi expressed gratitude to the Iraqi side for their hospitality, especially in providing Iranian pilgrims with great services.
The Iranian and Iraqi officials followed up on the issue of pilgrimages during Arbaeen and other religious occasions, discussing the infrastructure of border crossings between the two neighboring countries.
On July 10, 2022, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein talked on the phone and discussed ways to facilitate visits by Iranian and Iraqi pilgrims to religious sites in each country on the occasion of Islamic events, especially Arbaeen.
The top Iraqi diplomat announced Iraq’s readiness to hold this year’s Arbaeen ceremonies in the best possible way.
Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Mohammad Kazem Al-e Sadegh in a tweet has thanked the Iraqi people for hosting the pilgrims well.
“We thank” the Iraqi people for their great generosity in welcoming and hosting pilgrims from all over the world, Al-e Sadegh wrote on his Twitter account on Monday.
He added that “we salute” the crowd participating in this gathering, and “we are inspired” by those lessons of unity, brotherhood, and sacrifice in the way of promoting God's religion.
The path of freedom seekers represents the highest levels of solidarity and loyalty to the Ahl al-Bayt, he noted.
Longest Arbaeen trek in Ahvaz, Iran
On September 6, 2022, the longest Arbaeen procession, like in previous years, began starting from Ahvaz's rural and urban areas in Iran towards the Iraqi city of Karbala.
The walk that begins on Safar 9th according to the lunar calendar will be continued until the participants go through various cities in their journey to religious cities of the neighboring country, Iraq.
Reported by Amin Mohammadzadegan Khoyi
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