Karbala or Kerbala is a city in central Iraq, located about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 691,100 people (2024).
Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in Islam. For Sunni Muslims, the day marks the parting of the Red Sea by Moses and the salvation of the Israelites, celebrated through supererogatory fasting and other acceptable expressions of joy. By contrast, Ashura is a day of mourning for Shia Muslims, who annually commemorate the death of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia imam. Husayn was killed, alongside most of his relatives and his small retinue, in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya. The Shia rituals span the first ten days of Muharram, culminating on Ashura with mourning processions in Shia cities. Also in Muharram, the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem was initially set as the direction of prayer for early Muslims.
Ashura is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the tenth of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. For Sunni Muslims, Ashura marks the parting of the Red Sea by Moses and the salvation of the Israelites. Also on this day, Noah disembarked from the Ark, God forgave Adam, and Joseph was released from prison, among various other auspicious events having occurred on Ashura according to Sunni tradition. Ashura is celebrated in Sunni Islam through supererogatory fasting and other acceptable expressions of joy. In some Sunni communities, the annual Ashura festivities include carnivals, bonfires, and special dishes, even though some Sunni scholars have criticized such practices.
In Shia Islam, Arba'in marks forty days after Ashura, which is the martyrdom anniversary of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia imam. Husayn was killed, alongside most of his relatives and his small retinue, in the Battle of Karbala on 10 Muharram 61 AH against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya. The battle followed Husayn's refusal to pledge his allegiance to Yazid, who is often portrayed by Muslim historians as impious and immoral. In Shia Islam, Karbala symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil, the pinnacle of self-sacrifice, and the ultimate sabotage of Muhammad's prophetic mission.
Muslim ibn Aqil al-Hashimi was a relative of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muslim was the son of Aqil ibn Abi Talib and a cousin of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Shia Imam, who dispatched him to Kufa in Iraq to ascertain their support upon the accession of the Umayyad caliph Yazid. The Kufans welcomed Muslim and overwhelmingly pledged to support Husayn against the Umayyad rule, which they considered illegitimate and tyrannical. In response, Yazid replaced the mild governor of the city with his strongman Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, who soon discovered the hideout of Muslim through an informant. When Ibn Ziyad imprisoned or killed Hani ibn Urwa, who was secretly sheltering Muslim, he came out in open revolt and surrounded the governor's palace with his supporters in September 680 CE. With a combination of threats and promises, however, Ibn Ziyad induced Kufan tribal leaders to abandon Muslim and withdraw their men. A deserted Muslim was arrested after a strong resistance and executed. Before this turn of events, he had written to Husayn and urged him to come to Kufa. Husayn thus left Mecca with his family and a few supporters, but his caravan was intercepted and massacred by the Umayyad forces in October 680 in Karbala, near Kufa. Muslim is revered in Shia Islam for his bravery and moral uprightness. His shrine in Kufa is a destination for Shia pilgrims.
Al-Qāsim ibn al-Ḥasan was the son of Hasan ibn Ali. He supported his uncle Husayn ibn Ali in fighting off the Umayyad forces during the Battle of Karbala where he was killed at the age of 13.
Ali al-Akbar ibn al-Husayn, commonly known as simply Ali al-Akbar, was the son of Layla bint Abi Murra and Husayn ibn Ali, the third Shia imam and the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aged between eighteen and twenty-five, Ali was killed at the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE, alongside his father and some seventy-two relatives and supporters, who fought against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya. In Shia Islam, Ali al-Akbar is commemorated as a brave youth martyred before he could marry, and celebrated for his striking resemblance, in appearance and manners, to his great-grandfather, the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Abd-Allah ibn al-Husayn, also known as Ali al-Asghar, was the youngest son of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad and the third Shia Imam. A young child, likely an infant, he was killed in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE, alongside his father, family members, and a small number of supporters, all of whom were massacred by the forces of the Umayyad caliph Yazid, who first surrounded them for some days and cut off their access to the nearby river Euphrates. Abd-Allah is commemorated in Shia Islam as the quintessence symbol of the innocent victim.
The Al-Aimmah Bridge disaster occurred on August 31, 2005 when 953 people died following a panic, and subsequent crowd crush, on the Al-Aimmah Bridge, which crosses the Tigris river in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
A husayniyya is a congregation hall for Twelver Shia Muslim commemoration ceremonies, especially those associated with the Mourning of Muharram. Husayniyya is a multipurpose hall for the mourning of Muharram and other commemoration rituals of Shia that gets its name from Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad.
The Imam Husayn Shrine is the mosque and burial site of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Imam of Shia Islam, in the city of Karbala, Iraq. It stands on the site of the Mausoleum of Husayn, who was a grandson of Muhammad, near the place where he embraced martyrdom during the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. The tomb of Husayn is one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, outside of Mecca and Medina, and many make pilgrimages to the site. Every year, millions of pilgrims visit the city to observe Ashura, which marks the commemoration of Husayn's death for all Muslims.
Al-Kadhimiyya Mosque is a Shi'a Islamic mosque and shrine located in the Kādhimiya suburb of Baghdad, Iraq. It contains the tombs of the seventh and ninth Twelver Shī'ī Imāms, respectively Mūsā al-Kādhim and his grandson Muhammad al-Jawad. Also buried within the premises of this mosque are the historical scholars Shaykh Mufīd and Shaykh Naṣīr ad-Dīn aṭ-Ṭūsi. Directly adjacent to the mosque are two smaller shrines, belonging to the brothers Sayyid Raḍī and Sayyid Murtadā and Qadi Abu Yusuf al-Ansari.
The mourning of Muharram is a set of religious rituals observed by Shia Muslims during the month of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. These annual rituals commemorate the death of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia imam. Husayn and his small retinue were slaughtered in the Battle of Karbala on 10 Muharram 61 AH against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid I. The battle followed Husayn's refusal to pledge his allegiance to Yazid, who is often portrayed by Muslim historians as impious and immoral. In Shia Islam, Karbala symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil, the pinnacle of self-sacrifice, and the ultimate sabotage of Muhammad's prophetic mission. Historically, the event served to crystallize the Shia community into a distinct sect and remains an integral part of their religious identity to date.
Rubāb bint Imraʾ al-Qays was the first wife of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Shia Imam. After some years of remaining childless, she bore Husayn two children, named Sakina and Abd-Allah, also known as Ali al-Asghar. Rubab was present at Karbala in 680 CE and witnessed there the massacre of her husband and his supporters by the forces of the Umayyad caliph Yazid. Also killed there was Ali al-Asghar, who was at the time a young child, likely an infant. The women and children, among them Rubab, were marched to Kufa and then the capital Damascus, where they were paraded in the streets and then imprisoned. They were later released and returned to their hometown of Medina. Rubab refused to remarry after Husayn and died about a year later in Medina. Some elegies are ascribed to her in memory of Husayn.
The Al-Abbas Shrine is the mausoleum of Abbas ibn Ali and a mosque, located near the Imam Husayn Mosque in Karbala, Iraq. Abbas was son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and the half-brother of Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn. He was Husayn's flag-bearer in the Battle of Karbala and chief of his caravans. The shrine is revered by the Shia Muslims who visit it every year, especially in the month of Muharram.
The 2004 Quetta Ashura massacre was a terrorist attack on 2 March 2004 during an Ashura procession in the southwestern city of Quetta, Pakistan. At least 42 people were killed and more than 100 wounded.
Throughout January 2012, a series of bombing and shooting attacks took place in multiple locations in Iraq, seemingly targeting Shia Muslims.
The Arba'in pilgrimage is the world's largest annual public gathering. It is a pilgrimage to the shrine of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia imam. Every year, on the twentieth of Safar, also known as Arba'in, millions of pilgrims flock to Karbala, Iraq, often arriving there on foot from the nearby city of Najaf. Arba'in marks forty days after the tenth of Muharram, known as Ashura. On this day in 61 AH, Husayn was killed, alongside most of his relatives and his small retinue, in the Battle of Karbala against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya. The battle followed Husayn's refusal to pledge his allegiance to Yazid, who is often portrayed by Muslim historians as impious and immoral. In Shia Islam, Karbala symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil, the pinnacle of self-sacrifice, and the ultimate sabotage of Muhammad's prophetic mission.
Lohoof is a book by Sayyed Ibn Tawus, a Shia jurist, theologian, and historian. It is kind of Maqtal al-Husayn, narrating the Battle of Karbala, the death of Husayn ibn Ali, and subsequent events.
Ziyarat Arba'een is an annual pilgrimage that takes place in the holy city of Karbala in Iraq. It is the world's largest pilgrimage, reaching an estimated number of over 22 million pilgrims in 2023. The pilgrimage seeks to honour the death of the third Shi'ite Imam, Husayn ibn Ali, who was a grandson of Muhammad. Husayn was killed during the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD. In Arabic, "arba'een" means "forty", reverting to the 40th day after Husayn's death, and "ziyarat" means "visit". While the visitation of Husayn is not considered an Islamic obligation, like the Hajj, it plays an integral role in the religious life of Shia. The culture as stated by a researcher provides ways to express social emotion and from sociological perspective, feelings rules are ″appropriate ways to express internal sensation". So, also the ziyarat is directly or indirectly used to express the mourning of Imams.
