International newspaper talks about Great Arbaeen Pilgrimage

The international newspaper “Middle East Eye” praised the number of people and effectiveness of public participation in the annual Arbaeen Pilgrimage of Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, despite all security and health obstacles.

The newspaper said in a video report, “For Muslims of the Ahlulbayt, peace be upon them, the Arbaeen is an important religious event that attracts millions of believers to the streets of the holy city of Karbala in Iraq,” noting that “this event marks the end of a period of forty days of the continuous mourning in honor of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his pure family.

Imam Hussein ibn Ali, peace be upon him, was martyred by the army of the Umayyad ruler Yazid I during the Battle of Karbala in the seventh century AD after the Umayyads usurped the sovereignty of the Islamic community from the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his pure family.

The report indicates that “the Arbaeen anniversary witnesses the provision of food and drink to visitors coming to Karbala in the kiosks set up along the road by their brothers in religion, while the Iraqi official authorities close hundreds of miles of roads to ensure the safety of these visitors”.

Regarding the origins of this visit, the British newspaper indicated that the Arbaeen visit has been held annually and continuously since the martyrdom of Al-Hussein, peace be upon him, in the year 680 AD, when the companion Jaber bin Abdullah was the first to perform the ceremonies of this visit to the place where the Imam was buried. Forty days after the outbreak of the Battle of Karbala, the annual tradition of the Arbaeen began.