Walk to Karbala

Walking and visiting the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain (AS)

on the day of Arbaeen has historical roots because Jaber bin Abdullah Ansari and Atiya Awfi left Madinah on foot in 1281 A.D. They reached Karbala.
Arbaeen walk is a religious ceremony and gathering that Shia Muslims walk from around the borders of Iraq to Imam Hussein's shrine in Karbala in order to visit and gather all of them on the 40th day after the death of Hussein bin Ali. The third Imam of Shiites is killed in the battle of Karbala. Since 2014, this event has become the largest annual public gathering and walk in the world.
According to historical evidence, these rites have existed since the time of Al-Boyeh, although not to this extent. This forgotten tradition was revived by Muhaddith Nouri and Seyyed Mahmoud Shahroudi. During Saddam Hussein's rule, this trip was banned and after several attacks on pilgrims, it fell into a period of decline. According to IRNA, Arbaeen in its current form and millions of people started in 2003.
The Iraqi Baath Party fell in 2003. With the fall of the Baath Party, the Arbaeen procession was revived in Iraq. From that year onwards, every year more people than the previous year participate in it. At the beginning of this movement, two to three million people were present; But in the following years, the number of pilgrims participating in this procession reached more than ten million people. And in 2014 and 2015, up to 22 million pilgrims were reported. Although the Hindu Kum Mila ceremony is larger in terms of population, this ceremony is held once every 12 years and thus the Arbaeen ceremony is the largest annual ceremony. Some Sunnis, Christians, Yazidis and people of other religions also participate in this ceremony.
On the way to Karbala, the people of this region read poems that express heroism and courage and are used to motivate men to do hard and great things. After the poet sings, the audience repeats a verse from it and moves in a circle
The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has made extensive planning with the aim of making the Arbaeen walk as prominent as possible and turning it into a million-dollar ceremony, which the critics of the Iranian government have mentioned as a demonstration of the political influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Iraq.
Based on this, the Islamic Republic of Iran encourages and supports the people of Iran and Shiites of other countries to travel to Iraq on the day of Arbaeen and participate in the Arbaeen walk, and uses government funds and facilities to provide for this ceremony. This policy of the Iranian government has been criticized by various political currents in Iraq and Iran.
Arbaeen Remnants Walk is a public event of a procession that is held on Arbaeen day in different cities of Iran. In this program, some people who have not been able to participate in the Arbaeen walk in Iraq will walk along certain routes and usually with the destination of placing a religious place (such as the tomb of one of the Imams) in their cities.
The main walking route of Arbaeen survivors in Tehran is between Imam Hossein square and Abdul Azim shrine in Ray city. In 2015, in addition to the above route, other groups of marchers have marched from two other sources on Qazvin Street and Jumhori Square to Ray city. The number of marchers in the mentioned year was 1 million people.

Compiler and translator:fatemeh abbaszadeh