Cry of ‘Ya Hussein’ Reverberates in Tuwairaj Procession in Karbala

They began the procession on foot, while the cry of “Ya Hussein” echoed in the holy shrines of Imam Hussein (AS) and Hazrat Abbas (AS), Al-Kafeel reported. Rakdha Tuwairaj is one of the largest human gatherings in the world, which is held annually at noon on the day of Ashura to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) and his companions. It is often held in the form of a procession after the noon prayer. In this ritual, pilgrims run through the streets about 2–3 kilometers to the Imam Hussein (AS) holy shrine in honor of the run that maternal cousins of Hazrat Abbas (AS) did from the village of Tuwairaj (today known as Al-Hindiya) to Karbala after the Battle of Karbala. To participate in this mourning ritual, pilgrims gather in the Qantara al-Salam area in the village of Tuwairaj near Karbala and then jog towards the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS). This path is about 2 kilometers long, and mourners shout ‘Labbayk Ya Hussein’ along the way; a symbolic response to the call of Imam Hussein (AS) on the day of Ashura: “Hal min Nasirin Yansurna (is there anyone there to help me?)” Historians have said that this mourning ceremony was first held in 1855 or 1872 AD, and was organized by a person named Mirza Saleh Qazvini, who held mourning ceremonies in his home in the Hendiyeh or Tuwairaj area during the first ten days of Muharram, and on the day of Ashura, mourners would leave his home and head to the holy shrine. Shia Muslims, and others around the world, commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) every year during the lunar Hijri month of Muharram, which started on June 16 this year. The third Shia Imam (AS) and a group of his family and companions were martyred in Karbala on the 10th of Muharram (Ashura), 680 AD, by the army of Yazid bin Muawiya.