Imam Hussein Holy Shrine Being Prepared for Rakdha Tuwairaj Ritual
Ali Fuad, an official with the Astan, said the courtyards of the holy mausoleum are being covered with sand to facilitate the movement of pilgrims during the ritual.
Given the guidelines of Iraq’s top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali al-Sistani, the Astan has mobilized all its staff and equipment to serve pilgrims during mourning ceremonies of Muharram.
Muharram is the first month in the lunar Hijri calendar.
Shia Muslims, and others in different parts of the world, hold ceremonies every year in the month of Muharram to mourn the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS) and his companions.
The third Shia Imam (AS) and a small group of his followers and family members were martyred by the tyrant of his time - Yazid Bin Muawiya, in the battle of Karbala on the tenth day of Muharram (known as Ashura) in the year 680 AD.
Rakdha Tuwairaj is a ritual on Ashura in which mourners walk barefoot from the town of Hindya (formerly known as Tuwairaj) near Karbala to the holy shrines of Imam Hussein (AS) and Hazrat Abbas (AS) while beating their head and chest and then leave the shrines within a short time.
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It is a way of renewing allegiance with the aspirations of the Ashura uprising.
The ritual has been held every year for some 140 years, with the exception of the time the Ba’athist regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq.
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