Largest human gathering

The largest human gathering on the Arbaeen Walk

The history of walking dates back to the year 61 AH, according to a narration of the captives of Ashura, on the 20th of Safar in the year 61 AH, returning from the evening, came to Karbala to visit the shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) and Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari, one of the companions of the Prophet (PBUH) On this day, he became known as the first pilgrim of Imam Hussein (AS). This trip is marked by long walks from Najaf or Basra to Karbala. People from different walks of life, ethnicities and sects are participating in this march; including toddlers in wheelchairs and the elderly, and even patients and people with physical disabilities. The Iraqi Ba'ath party banned the Arbaeen march in the late 14th century, the Ba'athist party in Iraq opposed the Arbaeen procession and sometimes used violence against demonstrators, leading to a decline in the number of people. But after the fall of the Iraqi Ba'ath party in 2003, the Arbaeen march was revived in Iraq. From that year onwards, more people attend each year than the previous year. Two to three million people were present at the beginning of the movement; but in the following years, the number of pilgrims participating in this procession reached more than ten million. Among the crowd heading to Karbala, there are also people of this Christianity or Sunni religion. And in 2014 and 2015, up to 22 million pilgrims were reported. There are 1452 columns on the way from Najaf to Karbala Iraqi pilgrims travel from their cities to Karbala, for example, pilgrims traveling from the city of Basra travel a distance of about 520 km (320 miles) to reach Karbala. But most Iranian pilgrims choose the route from Najaf to Karbala for walking. The walking distance between the two cities is about 80 km. There are 1452 columns on the way from Najaf to Karbala, the distance between each column is 50 meters. It takes about 25 to 30 hours to walk the entire route. Many other countries, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, and so on, take the sidewalk known as the Mashaya.

Writer: Marziyeh Kiyan