Arbaʽeen Pilgrimage

Jabir ibn Abd Allah alongside Atiyah ibn Sa'd were the first pilgrims of Husayn ibn Ali in the Arbaʽeen of 61 AH (AD 680). According to narrations, the custom of performing the pilgrimage on foot was forgotten during a time period after Morteza Ansari and it was revived by Mirza Husain Noori Tabarsi in an Eid al-Adha who repeated this action every year performing the last one by 1319 AH (AD 1901). Some other scholars and Marja's kept on the same manner in Arbaʽeen up to the Saddam's time[12] during which the pilgrimage was banned although a small number of people used to perform it secretly. It was revived just after Saddam's overthrow in 2003[4][12] and the number of participants grew year after year reaching 20 million pilgrims by 2016.[7]

Pictographic world map comparing the largest periodic human migration events [13]

"Shia cities, towns and villages all over Iraq empty out" during the 20-day period of the pilgrimage "as their people take to the roads in an elaborately organised and well protected mass movement not seen anywhere else in the world".[8] By 2014, over 19 million people from 40 countries of the world participated in this occasion,[14][15][16] making it the second largest gathering in the world.[15] The figure reached 22 million pilgrims by 2015, according to Iraqi state-run media.[6] By 2016, according to al-Khoei Foundation, almost 22 million pilgrims gathered in Iraq, 10% more than 2014.[17] Even though the Hindu Kumbh Mela is larger in population, it is only held every four years, and hence the Arbaʽeen pilgrimage is the largest gathering held annually.[1]

The pilgrimage is marked by long walks from Najaf or Basra to Karbala. People from different walks of life, ethnicity and sect participate in the march[7] including toddlers in prams and elderly pushed in armchairs.[18]

Husayn ibn Ali, the Muslim saint for whom the pilgrimage is made, is believed to transcend all cultural boundaries and be a symbol of universal freedom and compassion.[7] The mood of the pilgrimage has also been described as "one of intense piety and communal solidarity".[8]

Comparison to Hajj

The Arbaʽeen pilgrimage is non-obligatory compared to Hajj which is obligatory for those who can afford it. But tight regulation of Hajj by Saudis have driven up costs and depriving it of spontaneity seen in Arbaʽeen, making the latter an alternative for Muslims who cannot afford Hajj. Arbaʽeen attracts more pilgrims than Hajj.[21]

A mother and daughter participating in the 2015 Arbaʽeen Pilgrimage

The pilgrims face dangers such as "attacks that have been blamed on Sunni extremists, who have routinely targeted the pilgrims" using car bombs or rockets.[5] The pilgrimage is performed under "tightened security" guarded by tens of thousands of Iraqi police and soldiers backed by armored vehicles and military helicopters to protect the pilgrims.[3] Iranian advisers also help protect the visitors through a joint operation room.[22] On 20 November 2015, a major bombing plot in Hussainiya in Iraq, Baghdad was foiled by the Iraqi police, where 18 booby-trapped dolls were seized by the security forces. Stuffed with bombs, were meant to be scattered on the roads leading to Karbala during Arbaʽeen.[23][24]

Handicapped men participating in the Arbaʽeen Pilgrimage between Najaf and Karbala on foot

The ritual is no longer considered a purely cultural ceremony while ISIL, the group who regards Shia as apostate, had launched a wide offensive in Iraq, and hence the presence of such a large population of Shia is of a political importance.[25][26] According to Ali Mamouri writing in Al-Monitor, the pilgrimage became "a show of force against those hostile to the rise of the Shia in the region". After the fall of Mosul to the ISIL "and the subsequent massacres of Shia soldiers and civilians", the gathering took a political form for the first time for the Shia, who use the mourning rituals as a way to condemn injustice and express their social power. "The second sign of Arbaʽeen's political shift was the regional message conveyed by Shia to their opponents: The Shia Crescent," Mamouri added. As the third sign he pointed to "a message exchanged between regional forces" and "unprecedented Iranian presence" which has led to "a feeling of solidarity between Arab and non-Arab Shia".[26]

Surveys are done to study Shi'a Muslims via both "traditional survey instruments and experimental methods".[20] The survey included topics such as "religion and politics, democracy, women's rights, regional conflict and Iran's nuclear agreement".[27] Experimental methods were employed to investigate the "latent perspectives" of pilgrims towards "sensitive topics", including "Iran's nuclear program, and attitudes toward the West, China and Russia".[20]

Outside of Iraq, the pilgrimage is performed annually around the world in countries such as Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[37]

In reference to 2017 Arbaʽeen pilgrimage, head of Iran's Islamic seminaries Ayatollah Alireza Arafi said "Arbaʽeen pilgrimage has truly become a manifestation of unity and brotherhood within Muslim community so much that even followers of other religions have been drawn to it and attend the ceremony alongside Shia Muslims."[40]

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  A man grilling meat for pilgrims along the path of the Arbaʽeen Pilgrimage
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  Arbaʽeen pilgrims waiting for receiving free food from mawkibs
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  A man holding a plate full of dates on his head for passing Arbaʽeen pilgrims
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  The 2015 Arbaʽeen Pilgrimage

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arba'een Pilgrimage.

• Mourning of Muharram
• Ziyarat Ashura