KARBALA/TEHRAN -- Dressed in black, 21 million pilgrims from around the world massed in the Iraqi city of Karbala on Saturday for the Arba’een commemoration.
Arbaeen marks the end of the 40-day mourning period for the 7th-century martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) by the forces of the Caliph Yazid.
The annual event sees men and women from across Iraq and beyond travel to Karbala, where the shrines of Imam Hussein (AS) and his brother Abbas are, for one of the world’s largest religious gatherings.
After two years marked by the Covid pandemic and border restrictions, 21.2 million pilgrims have flocked to the city in central Iraq this week, said the organization that manages Abbas’ mausoleum.
Among them are five million foreigners, including a record of more than three million from neighboring Iran, according to authorities in the two countries.
On the esplanade linking the mausoleums of Imam Hussein and Hazrat Abbas, worshippers recited prayers on Saturday.
Groups of men beat their chests to the rhythm of religious chants and the din of loudspeakers, some of them slowly making their way around the two mausoleums.
Since the overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, participation in Arba’een has been steadily increasing.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the Araba’een march is a “miraculous event” that signifies God Almighty’s will to keep the flag of Islam flying, adding it is not driven by any man-made policy or strategy.
“It is the divine power that, through this large-scale manifestation, opens a bright road ahead of all Muslims across the world,” the Leader said.
He said ill-wishers and those distorting realities are making relentless efforts to launch campaigns against key Islamic events such as the Arba’een march, calling on all Muslims to fulfill their responsibilities in this regard.
Ayatollah Khamenei recommended that all Muslims remain patient and steadfast in treading the path of righteousness as among fundamental instructions given by the Holy Qur’an.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi also said the annual Arba’een rituals are among divine miracles, a manifestation of Islamic resistance and coherence among Muslims.
Arba’een, he said, is also a manifestation of the fact that Ashura, which commemorates the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), is “still alive and will always be alive”.

In Beirut, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the attendance of millions of Muslim pilgrims from across the world at the annual Arba’een rituals is a “miracle”.
“Throughout history, there is no gathering like the gathering of lovers of Imam Hussein (AS) in the holy city of Karbala, and this today is like a miracle. Twenty million pilgrims means 20 million hearts beating for the love of Imam Hussein (AS).”
Nasrallah also expressed his gratitude to Iraq’s entire political parties and factions, and appreciated the Iraqi people for their generosity and hospitality.
Elsewhere in his speech, the Hezbollah head pointed to the 1982 massacre of thousands of Palestinian civilians at Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in the southern flank of the Lebanese capital city of Beirut.
“This massacre was not only against the Palestinians, but led to the martyrdom of 1,900 Lebanese and 3,500 Palestinian people,” Nasrallah said. “The killing in Sabra and Shatila is the biggest and most heinous massacre in the history of Arab-Israeli wars, and the perpetrators escaped punishment.”
The massacre took place when Christian Phalangist militias armed by the Zionist regime stormed into the Palestinian refugee camps in southern Beirut and brutally killed civilians, including many women and children.
Nasrallah issued a fresh warning over the offshore Karish gas field, urging the occupying regime of Israel to refrain from extracting its resources.
“The red line to us is that there should not be extraction from Karish,” he said.
He said Hezbollah was “giving a real chance” to the U.S.-brokered negotiations, which are aimed at demarcating a maritime border to allow for offshore drilling in disputed areas.
“We are following up on the negotiations and all our eyes are on Karish and our missiles are locked on Karish,” Nasrallah said. “As long as extraction has not started, there is a chance for solutions.”
“We will not allow that oil and gas be extracted from the disputed Karish field before Lebanon obtains its rightful demands,” he added.
Hezbollah has repeatedly threatened further attacks if the gas extraction goes ahead, after launching four unarmed drones toward Karish in July.