Holy City of Karbala on Eve of Ashura
The holy shrines of Imam Hussein (AS) and Hazrat Abbas (AS) and the area between the two, known as Bain-ul-Haramain were teeming with mourning pilgrims on Tuesday night.
Iraq marks Ashura on Wednesday, July 17, after Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali al-Sistani declared July 8 as the first day of Muharram.
In many other countries, Shia Muslims commemorated Ashura on Tuesday.
The pilgrims congregating in Karbala to visit the holy shrines on the sad occasion are from different parts of Iraq as well as other countries, including Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Bahrain.
The Astans (custodianships) of the two holy shrines have mobilized all their capacities to serve the pilgrims.
Special preparations have also been made for the ritual of Rakdha Tuwairaj on Ashura.
During Rakdha Tuwairaj, 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
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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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.
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