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 1,218,732 people (2018).
Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad's daughter Fatima, as well as a younger brother of Hasan ibn Ali. He is claimed to be the third Imam of Shia Islam after his brother, Hasan, and before his son, Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin. Being a grandson of the prophet, he is a member of the Ahl al-Bayt. He is also considered to be a member of the Ahl al-Kisa, and a participant in the event of Mubahala. Muhammad described him and his brother, Hasan, as "the leaders of the youth of Paradise."
Muḥarram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after Ramadan.
Ashura is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Among Shia Muslims, Ashura is observed through large demonstrations of high-scale mourning as it marks the death of Husayn ibn Ali, who was beheaded during the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. Among Sunni Muslims, Ashura is observed through celebratory fasting as it marks the day of salvation for Moses and the Israelites, who successfully escaped from Biblical Egypt after Moses called upon God's power to part the Red Sea. While Husayn's death is also regarded as a great tragedy by Sunnis, open displays of mourning are either discouraged or outright prohibited, depending on the specific act.
Arbaeen, Chehellom is a Shia religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the martyrdom of Al-Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, who was martyred on the 10th day of the month of Muharram. Imam Hussain ibn Ali and 71 of his companions were martyred by Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad's army under the governance of Yazid I in the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH.
Al-Abbas ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, also known as Abu al-Fadl, was a son of the Muslim caliph and Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was the cousin, son-in-law, and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. His mother was Fatima bint Hizam, commonly known as Umm al-Banin, not to be confused with Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet.
Zaynab bint Ali, was the eldest daughter of Ali, the fourth Rashidun caliph and the first Shia Imam, and Fatima, the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Zaynab is best known for her role in the aftermath of the Battle of Karbala (680), in which her brother Husayn and his family and companions were massacred by the forces of Yazid I. The women and children were taken captive after the battle and marched to Kufa and then Damascus, where Zaynab gave impassioned speeches, condemning Yazid and spreading the news of Karbala. She was later freed and died shortly afterward in 682, though her burial site is uncertain.
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 Al-Husayn ibn Ali, the third Imam, and Umm Layla. He was martyred at the age of 18 on the day of Ashura, in the Battle of Karbala. According to Jean Calmard writing in Iranica, ‘Ali al-Akbar's reputation as a valiant warrior of the Household of Muhammad might have preceded that of Al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Ali.
Sakina bint Husayn with original name Amina ) was the daughter of Husayn ibn Ali and Rubab bint Imra al-Qais.
The 2005 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 ḥosayniya or hussainiya, also known as an ashurkhana, imambargah, or imambara, is a congregation hall for Twelver Shia Muslim commemoration ceremonies, especially those associated with the Mourning of Muharram. Hussainiya is a multitude hall for the mourning of Muharram and other commemoration rituals of Shia that its name gets 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.
The Mourning of Muharram is a set of commemoration rituals observed primarily by Shia people. The commemoration falls in Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Many of the events associated with the ritual take place in congregation halls known as Hussainia or Imambargah.
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.
Tatbir, also known as Talwar zani and Qama Zani in South Asia, is a form of ritual bloodletting, practiced as an act of mourning by some Shia Muslims, for the younger grandson of Muhammad, Husayn ibn Ali, who was killed along with his children, companions and near relatives at the Battle of Karbala by the Umayyad Caliph Yazid I.
The 2004 Quetta Ashura massacre is the sectarian terrorist attack on Tuesday 2 March 2004 during an Ashura procession in the southwestern city of Quetta, in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. At least 42 persons were killed and more than 100 wounded in the attack. The attack took place in Liaqat Bazaar Quetta, almost all of the victims were from the Hazara ethnic minority of Balochistan. The incident occurred just after the incident of the Karbala Ashura bombings in Iraq.
The Arba'een Pilgrimage, or the Arba'een Walk or Karbala Walk, is the world's largest annual public gathering. It is held at Karbala, Iraq at the end of the 40-day mourning period following Ashura, the religious ritual for the commemoration of martyrdom of the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia Muslim Imam, Husayn ibn Ali's in 61 AH. He is believed to transcend all cultural boundaries and be a symbol of universal freedom, compassion and social justice. Anticipating Arbaʽeen, or the fortieth day of the martyrdom, the pilgrims make their journey to Karbala on foot, where Husayn and his companions were betrayed by the very people who invited him to Kufa, Iraq, and then subsequently martyred and beheaded by the army of Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad in the Battle of Karbala.
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.
A bomb explosion occurred at the shrine of Ali al-Ridha, the eighth Imam of Shia, on 20 June 1994 in a crowded prayer hall in Mashhad, Iran. To maximize the number of casualties, the explosion took place on Ashura, one of the holiest days for Shia muslims, when hundreds of pilgrims had gathered to commemorate the death of their third Imam, Husayn ibn Ali.
