Arba'in: Difference between revisions

Arba'in
Arba'in
	Congregation of worshippers on Arba'in in the shrine of Husayn ibn Ali, Karbala, Iraq
Also called	Other languages Azerbaijani: İmamın Qırxı; Bengali: চল্লিশা, romanized: Chollishā; Kurdish: Çilroj; Persian: چهلم, romanized: Chehelom; Sindhi: چاليهو, romanized: Chālīho; Turkish: Erbain; Urdu: چالیسواں, romanized: Chālīsvān; ;
Observed by	Shia Muslims
Type	Islamic
Significance	Forty days after Ashura
Observances	Pilgrimage to the shrine of Husayn in Karbala
Date	20 Safar
Frequency	annual (Islamic year)

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In Shia Islam, Arba'in (Arabic: الأربعين, lit. 'fortieth') marks forty days after Ashura, which is the death 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 (680 CE) against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya (r. 680–683). 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.

Arba'in corresponds to the twentieth of Safar, the second month of the Islamic calendar, and is rooted in the early Islamic funerary traditions. Shia Muslims annually observe the day through mourning gatherings, dramatic reenactments of Karbala narratives, and charitable acts. Arba'in is also a day of pilgrimage to the shrine of Husayn in Karbala, Iraq. Pilgrims arrive there in large numbers, often on foot, and many from the city of Najaf, some eighty kilometers away, home to the shrine of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia imam. The Arba'in pilgrimage, banned under the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, has grown after his deposal in 2003 from two million participants in that year to around twenty million in 2014. As with Ashura, Arba'in can be an occasion for Sunni violence against the Shia minority.

Significance in Shia Islam

In the Islamic calendar, twentieth of Safar, known as Arba'in,^[1]^[2] marks forty days after Ashura, tenth of Muharram.^[3] In turn, Ashura is the death anniversary of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia imam.^[4] Husayn, alongside most of his male relatives and his small retinue, were killed on 10 Muharram 61 AH (10 October 680 CE) in the Battle of Karbala against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya (r. 680–683), having been surrounded for some days and deprived of the drinking water of the nearby Euphrates river. After the battle, the women and children in Husayn's camp were taken prisoner and marched to the Umayyad capital Damascus in Syria. The battle followed failed negotiations and Husayn's refusal to pledge his allegiance to Yazid, who is often portrayed by Muslim historians as impious and immoral.^[5]^[6]^[7] The fight took place in the desert land of Karbala, en route to the nearby Kufa, whose residents had invited Husayn to lead them against Yazid.^[8]

In Shia Islam, Karbala symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil,^[9]^[10] the pinnacle of self-sacrifice,^[11] and the ultimate sabotage of Muhammad's prophetic mission.^[12] Historically, the event served to crystallize the Shia community into a distinct sect and remains an integral part of their religious identity to date.^[13]^[14] Ashura to Arba'in is thus a period of mourning for Shia Muslims,^[15] particularly the first ten days of Muharram and Arba'in.^[16]^[3]^[17] On the one hand, Shia mourners share in the pain of Husayn to benefit from his intercession on the Day of Judgement.^[18]^[19] On the other, the Shia minority views mourning for Husayn as an act of protest against oppression, and as such a struggle for God (jihad).^[20]^[21]

Arba'in in Shia tradition

Forty is a sacred number in Islam,^[3] and commemorating the dead forty days after their death is a long-standing Islamic tradition,^[22]^[23]^[3] dating back to the early Islamic period.^[22] On the one hand, the fortieth (arba'in, chehellom) signifies the maturation of the soul of a deceased believer.^[22] It is thus said that Cain learned on the fortieth of Abel to dispose of his body by burying him, that the ascension of Jesus took place on his fortieth, and that the gates of heaven open for a righteous person forty days after their death.^[22] On the other hand, the fortieth marks the end of the period of grief in Islamic tradition. It is thus said that Heaven grieves the death of a righteous person for forty days, that Fatima mourned for forty days the death of her father, the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and that son wept for forty days for John the Baptist, whose head was cut off and placed on a dish.^[22]

In Shia Islam, similar traditions are linked to Arba'in, the fortieth of Husayn. Thus the earth and skies are said to have wept for Husayn for forty days after his death, and the sun became unusually red in that period at dawn and dusk.^[22] By some accounts, the body of Husayn, who was decapitated, was reunited with his head and buried in Karbala on Arba'in.^[24]^[22] Yet it is commonly thought that Husayn and his companions were buried by residents of nearby al-Ghadiriyya village when the Umayyad army left Karbala.^[25]^[26]^[27] The Shia scholar Ibn Tawus (d. 1266) reports another Karbala narrative, according to which the relatives of Husayn chose to return via Karbala to their hometown of Medina when they were freed from captivity in Damascus. Upon arrival in Karbala on Arba'in,^[27]^[28] they met Jabir ibn Abd Allah (d. 697), a companion of Muhammad,^[22] who had learned about the death of Husayn through a divine sign.^[3] This story was repeated by many authors after Ibn Tawus, even though several scholars before Ibn Tawus report only the Arba'in pilgrimage of Jabir.^[22] The veracity of Ibn Tawus' account has therefore been questioned by some, including the Shia scholar Husain Noori Tabarsi (d. 1902) and the Islamicist Mahmoud M. Ayoub (d. 2021).^[22]^[3] Ayoub adds that Arba'in is not mentioned in Kamil al-ziyarat, an early and authoritative hadith collection by the Shia traditionist Ibn Qulawayh (d. c. 978).^[3] Whatever the case, such narratives may have helped establish Arba'in in Shia culture.^[22]

Risking the Umayyads' wrath, the commemoration of Karbala was initially small and private.^[29]^[30] Soon after the Umayyads fell, however, Shia imams worked to institutionalize the Ashura and Arba'in pilgrimages to the tomb of Husayn. This attempt is reflected in some of the traditions ascribed to the imams. For instance, the Shia imam Hasan al-Askari (d. c. 874) is reported to have listed the Arba'in pilgrimage among the five signs of a true believer.^[22]

Arba'in rituals

Arba'in is a day of pilgrimage to the shrine of Husayn in Karbala, Iraq. Pilgrims arrive there in large numbers, often on foot. The most popular route is Najaf to Karbala, as many pilgrims first travel to Najaf and then walk from there to Karbala, some eighty kilometers away, which usually takes three days on foot. Along the way, volunteers provide the pilgrims with free meals and services. Indeed, some have considered generosity and hospitality to be the main features of the Arba'in pilgrimage. When they finally reach the shrine of Husayn in Karbala, pilgrims recite the ziyara of Arba'in, a supplication for this occasion.^[31] As with other Shia rituals of Karbala,^[32] the Arba'in pilgrimage was banned by the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein (r. 1979–2003),^[33] who favored the Sunni community there,^[32] and viewed large Shia rituals as a political threat.^[33] The pilgrimage was revived soon after the deposal of Saddam in 2003,^[33] with numbers growing from two million participants in that year to around twenty million in 2014.^[33]^[34] Arba'in is also commemorated through mourning gatherings, dramatic reenactments of Karbala narratives, and charitable acts.^[22] As with Ashura,^[35] Arba'in can be an occasion for Sunni violence against the Shia minority.^[36]^[37]^[38]

Arba'in in the Gregorian calendar

Arba'in, twentieth of Safar in the Islamic calendar, corresponds to a different day every year in the Gregorian calendar.^[39]

Islamic calendar	1444	1445	1446
Gregorian calendar	16 September 2022^[40]	5 September 2023^[40]	24 August 2024^[40]

Gallery

Arba'in pilgrims

Footnotes

^ Chelkowski 1988.
^ Momen 1985, p. 239.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Ayoub 1986.
^ Aghaie 2013.
^ Momen 1985, p. 28.
^ Pinault 2000, p. 70.
^ Aghaie 2007, p. 117.
^ Madelung 2004.
^ Aghaie 2004, p. 9.
^ Aghaie 2007, p. 112.
^ Chelkowski 1985, p. 19.
^ Crow 2016.
^ Kennedy 2016, p. 77.
^ Hyder 2006, p. 9.
^ Pinault 1992, p. 188.
^ Osman 2014, p. 133.
^ Pakatchi 2021.
^ Blank 2001, p. 84.
^ Munson 1988, p. 24.
^ Ayoub 1978, pp. 142–143.
^ Nakash 1993, p. 165.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Haj Manouchehri 2008.
^ Calmard 1987.
^ Rahimi 2012, p. 203.
^ Veccia Vaglieri 2012.
^ Momen 1985, p. 33.
^ ^a ^b Ayoub 1978, p. 152.
^ Calmard 2004.
^ Hussain 2005, p. 81.
^ Hyder 2006, p. 20.
^ Szanto 2018, p. 14.
^ ^a ^b Gordon Melton 2010, pp. 211–212.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Nasr 2007, pp. 18–19.
^ Piggott, Mark. "20 Million Shia Muslims Brave Isis by Making Pilgrimage to Karbala for Arbaeen". IBtimes. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
^ Gordon Melton 2010.
^ uberVU – social comments (5 February 2010). "Friday: 46 Iraqis, 1 Syrian Killed; 169 Iraqis Wounded - Antiwar.com". Original.antiwar.com. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
^ "Powerful Explosions Kill More Than 40 Shi'ite Pilgrims in Karbala | Middle East | English". .voanews.com. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
^ Hanun, Abdelamir (5 February 2010). "Blast in crowd kills 41 Shiite pilgrims in Iraq". News.smh.com.au. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
^ Gent, R.H. van. "The Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia". webspace.science.uu.nl.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Hijri to Gregorian Date Converter - Islamic Date Converter". IslamicFinder. Retrieved 28 August 2023.

References

Aghaie, K.S. (2004). The Martyrs of Karbala: Shi'i Symbols and Rituals in Modern Iran. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0295984554.
Aghaie, K.S. (2007). "The Passion of 'Ashura in Shiite Islam". In Cornell, V.J. (ed.). Voices of Islam. Vol. 2. Praeger. pp. 111–124. ISBN 0275987345.
Aghaie, K.S. (2013). "'Āshūrā' (Shī'ism)". In Fleet, K.; Krämer, G.; Matringe, D.; Nawas, J.; Stewart, D.J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (Third ed.). ISBN 9789004252684.
Ayoub, M.M. (1978). Redemptive Suffering in Islam: A Study of the Devotional Aspects of Ashura in Twelver Shi'ism. De Gruyter. ISBN 9789027979438.
Ayoub, M.M. (1986). "Arba'in". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. II/3. pp. 275–276.
Blank, J. (2001). Mullahs on the Mainframe: Islam and Modernity Among the Daudi Bohras. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226056760.
Calmard, J. (1987). "'Azādārī". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. III/2. pp. 174–177.
Calmard, J. (2004). "Ḥosayn b. 'Ali ii. In Popular Shi'ism". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XII/5. pp. 498–502.
Campo, J.E., ed. (2009). "Funerary Rituals". Encyclopedia of Islam. Facts on File. pp. 250–252. ISBN 9780816054541.
Chelkowski, P. (1985). "Shia Muslim Processional Performances". The Drama Review: TDR. 29/3: 18–30.
Chelkowski, P. (1988). "Diverse Religious Practices". In Nasr, S.H.; Dabashi, H.; Nasr, S.V.R (eds.). Shi'ism: Doctrines, Thought, and Spirituality. State University of New York Press, Albany. pp. 262–268. ISBN 0887066909.
Crow, D.K. (2016). "The Death of al-Ḥusayn b. 'Ali and Early Shī'ī Views of the Imamate". In Kohlberg, E. (ed.). Shi'ism. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351900287.
Gordon Melton, J. (2010). "Ashura". In Gordon Melton, J.; Baumann, M. (eds.). Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices (Second ed.). ABC-CLIO. pp. 210–212. ISBN 9781598842043.
Haj Manouchehri, F. (2008). "Arba'īn". In Daftary, F. (ed.). Encyclopaedia Islamica. Translated by Negahban, F.
Hussain, A.J. (2005). "The Mourning of History and the History of Mourning: The Evolution of Ritual Commemoration of the Battle of Karbala". Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 25 (1): 78–88.
Hyder, S.A. (2006). Reliving Karbala: Martyrdom in South Asian Memory. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195373028.
Kennedy, H. (2016). The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century (Third ed.). Routledge. ISBN 9781138787612.
Kurzman, C. (2009). The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674039834.
Madelung, W. (2004). "Ḥosayn b. 'Ali i. Life and Significance in Shi'ism". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XII/5. pp. 493–498.
Momen, M. (1985). An Introduction to Shi'i Islam. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300035315.
Munson, H. (1988). Islam and Revolution in the Middle East. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300046049.
Nakash, Y. (1993). "An Attempt to Trace the Origin of the Rituals of 'Āshūrā'". Die Welt des Islams: 161–181.
Nasr, S.V.R. (2007). Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam will Shape the Future. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393329681.
Pakatchi, A. (2021). "Events of Festivity and Mourning". In Daftary, F. (ed.). Calendar. Encyclopaedia Islamica. Translated by Mohammad Poor, D.
Pinault, D. (1992). The Shiites: Ritual and Popular Piety in a Muslim Community. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312079532.
Pinault, D. (2000). "Zaynab bin 'Ali and the Place of the Women of the Households of the First Imāms in Shī'īte Devotional Literature". In Hambly, G. (ed.). Women in the Medieval Islamic World: Power, Patronage, and Piety. Macmillan. ISBN 9780333800355.
Rahimi, B. (2012). "A History of (Safavid) Muharram Rituals". Theater State and the Formation of Early Modern Public Sphere in Iran: Studies on Safavid Muharram Rituals, 1590–1641 CE. Brill. ISBN 9789004209794.
Szanto, E. (2018). "Shi'a Islam in Practice". In Woodward, M.; Lukens-Bull, R. (eds.). Handbook of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Lives. Springer.
Osman, R. (2014). Female Personalities in the Qur'an and Sunna: Examining the Major Sources of Imami Shi'i Islam. Routledge. ISBN 9781315770147.
Veccia Vaglieri, L. (2012). "(al-)Ḥusayn b. 'Alī b. Abī Ṭālib". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (Second ed.). ISBN 9789004161214.

[FOOTNOTEChelkowski1988-1] Chelkowski 1988.

[FOOTNOTEMomen1985239-2] Momen 1985, p. 239.

[FOOTNOTEAyoub1986-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Ayoub 1986.

[FOOTNOTEAghaie2013-4] Aghaie 2013.

[FOOTNOTEMomen198528-5] Momen 1985, p. 28.

[FOOTNOTEPinault200070-6] Pinault 2000, p. 70.

[FOOTNOTEAghaie2007117-7] Aghaie 2007, p. 117.

[FOOTNOTEMadelung2004-8] Madelung 2004.

[FOOTNOTEAghaie20049-9] Aghaie 2004, p. 9.

[FOOTNOTEAghaie2007112-10] Aghaie 2007, p. 112.

[FOOTNOTEChelkowski198519-11] Chelkowski 1985, p. 19.

[FOOTNOTECrow2016-12] Crow 2016.

[FOOTNOTEKennedy201677-13] Kennedy 2016, p. 77.

[FOOTNOTEHyder20069-14] Hyder 2006, p. 9.

[FOOTNOTEPinault1992188-15] Pinault 1992, p. 188.

[FOOTNOTEOsman2014133-16] Osman 2014, p. 133.

[FOOTNOTEPakatchi2021-17] Pakatchi 2021.

[FOOTNOTEBlank200184-18] Blank 2001, p. 84.

[FOOTNOTEMunson198824-19] Munson 1988, p. 24.

[FOOTNOTEAyoub1978142–143-20] Ayoub 1978, pp. 142–143.

[FOOTNOTENakash1993165-21] Nakash 1993, p. 165.

[FOOTNOTEHaj_Manouchehri2008-22] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Haj Manouchehri 2008.

[FOOTNOTECalmard1987-23] Calmard 1987.

[FOOTNOTERahimi2012203-24] Rahimi 2012, p. 203.

[FOOTNOTEVeccia_Vaglieri2012-25] Veccia Vaglieri 2012.

[FOOTNOTEMomen198533-26] Momen 1985, p. 33.

[FOOTNOTEAyoub1978152-27] Ayoub 1978, p. 152.

[FOOTNOTECalmard2004-28] Calmard 2004.

[FOOTNOTEHussain200581-29] Hussain 2005, p. 81.

[FOOTNOTEHyder200620-30] Hyder 2006, p. 20.

[FOOTNOTESzanto201814-31] Szanto 2018, p. 14.

[FOOTNOTEGordon_Melton2010211–212-32] Gordon Melton 2010, pp. 211–212.

[FOOTNOTENasr200718–19-33] Nasr 2007, pp. 18–19.

[IBtimes-2-34] Piggott, Mark. "20 Million Shia Muslims Brave Isis by Making Pilgrimage to Karbala for Arbaeen". IBtimes. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.

[FOOTNOTEGordon_Melton2010-35] Gordon Melton 2010.

[36] uberVU – social comments (5 February 2010). "Friday: 46 Iraqis, 1 Syrian Killed; 169 Iraqis Wounded - Antiwar.com". Original.antiwar.com. Retrieved 30 June 2010.

[37] "Powerful Explosions Kill More Than 40 Shi'ite Pilgrims in Karbala | Middle East | English". .voanews.com. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.

[38] Hanun, Abdelamir (5 February 2010). "Blast in crowd kills 41 Shiite pilgrims in Iraq". News.smh.com.au. Retrieved 30 June 2010.

[vangent-39] Gent, R.H. van. "The Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia". webspace.science.uu.nl.

[:0-40] "Hijri to Gregorian Date Converter - Islamic Date Converter". IslamicFinder. Retrieved 28 August 2023.

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@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
 {{Infobox holiday
-| holiday_name  = Arbaeen
+| holiday_name  = Arba'in
 | image         = Kerbela Hussein Moschee.jpg
-| caption       = Millions of Muslims gather around the [[Imam Husayn Shrine|Husayn Mosque]] in [[Karbala]] after making a pilgrimage on foot during Arbaeen.
+| caption       = Congregation of worshippers on Arba'in in the [[Imam Husayn Shrine|shrine]] of [[Husayn ibn Ali]], [[Karbala]], [[Iraq]]
+| official_name =
-| official_name = {{lang|ar|الأربعين}} ''{{transl|ar|ALA|al-Arba‘īn}}'' {{in lang|ar}}
-| nickname      = {{plainlist|
+| nickname      = {{Collapsible list
+|title=Other languages|
 *{{lang-az|İmamın Qırxı}}
 *{{lang-bn|চল্লিশা|Chollishā}}
@@ Line 16: / Line 17: @@
 }}
 | duration      = 1 day
-| frequency     = once every [[Islamic year]]
+| frequency     = annual ([[Islamic year]])
-| observedby    = [[Shia]]
+| observedby    = [[Shia Muslims]]
 | date          = 20 [[Safar]]
+| observances   = Pilgrimage to the shrine of Husayn in Karbala
-| date2018      = 30 October
+| significance  = Forty days after [[Ashura]]
-| date2019      = 19 October<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/10/iraq-protests-arbaeen.html|title=Will Arbaein observance bring peace or protests in Iraq?|last1=Saadoun|first1=Mustafa|website=Al Monitor|date=17 October 2019}}</ref>
-| date2020      = 8 October<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/452337/Iran-Iraq-mulling-to-hold-Arbaeen-rituals-online |work=[[Tehran Times]] |access-date=5 October 2020 |date=12 September 2020 |title=Iran, Iraq mulling to hold Arbaein rituals online}}</ref>
-| date2021      = 28 September
-| date2022      = 17 September
-| observances   = Visiting the [[Imam Husayn Shrine]], [[Karbala]]
-| type          = [[Shia]], [[Alevi]], [[Sufi]]
-| significance  = 40 days after [[Ashura]]
 | alt           =
 | litcolor      =
@@ Line 38: / Line 33: @@
 | startedby     =
 | relatedto     =
+| type          = Islamic
 }}
 {{Husayn}}{{Islamic Culture}}
+In [[Shia Islam]], '''Arba'in''' ({{lang-ar|الأربعين||lit=fortieth}}) marks forty days after [[Day of Ashura|Ashura]], which is the death anniversary of [[Husayn ibn Ali]], grandson of the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]] and the third [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|Shia imam]]. Husayn was killed, alongside most of his relatives and his small retinue, in the [[Battle of Karbala]] on 10 [[Muharram]] 61 [[Islamic calendar|AH]] (680 [[Common Era|CE]]) against the army of the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad caliph]] [[Yazid I|Yazid ibn Mu'awiya]] ({{Reign|680|683}}). The battle followed Husayn's refusal to pledge his allegiance to Yazid, who is often portrayed by [[Muslims|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.
-'''Arbaeen''' ({{lang-ar|الأربعين|al-Arba‘īn|lit=fortieth}}), '''Chehellom''' ({{lang-fa|چهلم}}, "the fortieth day") is a Shia religious observance that occurs [[40 (number)|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&nbsp;AH (680 CE).
+Arba'in corresponds to the twentieth of [[Safar]], the second month of the [[Islamic calendar]], and is rooted in the early Islamic funerary traditions. Shia Muslims annually observe the day through mourning gatherings, dramatic reenactments of Karbala narratives, and charitable acts. Arba'in is also a day of pilgrimage to the [[Imam Husayn Shrine|shrine of Husayn]] in [[Karbala]], [[Iraq]]. Pilgrims arrive there in large numbers, often on foot, and many from the city of [[Najaf]], some eighty kilometers away, home to the shrine of [[Ali|Ali ibn Abi Talib]], the first Shia imam. The Arba'in pilgrimage, banned under the Iraqi president [[Saddam Hussein]], has grown after his deposal in 2003 from two million participants in that year to around twenty million in 2014. As with Ashura, Arba'in can be an occasion for [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] violence against the Shia minority.
-Arbaeen or forty days is also the usual length of mourning after the death of a family member or loved one in many Muslim traditions. Arbaeen is the largest [[Arbaeen Pilgrimage|annual pilgrimage]] in the world, in which millions of people go to the city of [[Karbala]] in [[Iraq]].<ref>{{cite web|author=uberVU – social comments |url=http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/02/05/friday-46-iraqis-1-syrian-killed-168-iraqis-wounded/ |title=Friday: 46 Iraqis, 1 Syrian Killed; 169 Iraqis Wounded - Antiwar.com |publisher=Original.antiwar.com |date=5 February 2010 |access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Blast-Kills-27-in-Iraqi-Shiite-City-of-Karbala-83628687.html |title=Powerful Explosions Kill More Than 40 Shi'ite Pilgrims in Karbala &#124; Middle East &#124; English |publisher=.voanews.com |date=5 February 2010 |access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/blast-in-crowd-kills-41-shiite-pilgrims-in-iraq-20100205-nivg.html |title=Blast in crowd kills 41 Shiite pilgrims in Iraq |publisher=News.smh.com.au |date=5 February 2010 |access-date=30 June 2010 | first=Abdelamir | last=Hanun}}</ref>
+==Significance in Shia Islam==
-==Background==
+{{See also|Battle of Karbala|Mourning of Muharram|Ashura|Muharram}}
-According to tradition, the Arbaʽeen pilgrimage has been observed since the year 61 [[Hijri year|AH]] of the Islamic calendar (10 October 680) after the [[Battle of Karbala]] or the following year. According to tradition, the first such gathering took place when [[Jabir ibn Abd Allah]], a [[sahabah]] and the first Arba'ein pilgrim, made a pilgrimage to the burial site of Husayn.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rch.ac.ir/article/Details/10164 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406000243/http://rch.ac.ir/article/Details/10164 |archive-date=6 April 2016 |title=جابربن عبدالله انصاری}}</ref> He was accompanied by [[Atiyya ibn Sa'd]] because of his infirmity and probable blindness. According to tradition, his visit coincided with that of the surviving female members of Muhammad's family and Husayn's son and heir, Imam [[Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin]] (also spelled Zain-ul-Abideen), who had all been held captive in [[Damascus]] by [[Yazid I]], the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad Caliph]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jafarian|first=Rasul|title=[[Reflection on the Ashura movement]]}}</ref>
+In the [[Islamic calendar]], twentieth of [[Safar]], known as Arba'in,{{Sfn|Chelkowski|1988}}{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=239}} marks forty days after [[Ashura]], tenth of [[Muharram]].{{Sfn|Ayoub|1986}} In turn, Ashura is the death anniversary of [[Husayn ibn Ali]], grandson of the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]] and the third [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|Shia imam]].{{Sfn|Aghaie|2013}} Husayn, alongside most of his male relatives and his small retinue, were killed on 10 Muharram 61 [[Islamic calendar|AH]] (10 October 680 [[Common Era|CE]]) in the [[Battle of Karbala]] against the army of the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad caliph]] [[Yazid I|Yazid ibn Mu'awiya]] ({{Reign|680|683}}), having been surrounded for some days and deprived of the drinking water of the nearby [[Euphrates]] river. After the battle, the women and children in Husayn's camp were taken prisoner and marched to the Umayyad capital [[Damascus]] in [[Syria]]. The battle followed failed negotiations and Husayn's refusal to pledge his allegiance to Yazid, who is often portrayed by [[Muslims|Muslim]] historians as impious and immoral.{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=28}}{{Sfn|Pinault|2000|p=70}}{{Sfn|Aghaie|2007|p=117}} The fight took place in the desert land of [[Karbala]], en route to the nearby [[Kufa]], whose residents had invited Husayn to lead them against Yazid.{{Sfn|Madelung|2004}}
+In [[Shia Islam]], Karbala symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil,{{Sfn|Aghaie|2004|p=9}}{{Sfn|Aghaie|2007|pp=|p=112}} the pinnacle of self-sacrifice,{{Sfn|Chelkowski|1985|p=19}} and the ultimate sabotage of Muhammad's prophetic mission.{{Sfn|Crow|2016}} Historically, the event served to crystallize the Shia community into a distinct sect and remains an integral part of their religious identity to date.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2016|p=77}}{{Sfn|Hyder|2006|p=9}} Ashura to Arba'in is thus a period of mourning for Shia Muslims,{{Sfn|Pinault|1992|p=188}} particularly the first ten days of Muharram and Arba'in.{{Sfn|Osman|2014|p=133}}{{Sfn|Ayoub|1986}}{{Sfn|Pakatchi|2021}} On the one hand, Shia mourners share in the pain of Husayn to benefit from his intercession on the [[Judgement Day in Islam|Day of Judgement]].{{Sfn|Blank|2001|p=84}}{{Sfn|Munson|1988|p=24}} On the other, the Shia minority views mourning for Husayn as an act of protest against oppression, and as such a struggle for God ({{Transl|ar|[[jihad]]}}).{{Sfn|Ayoub|1978|p=|pp=142{{ndash}}143}}{{Sfn|Nakash|1993|p=165}}
-Zayn al-Abidin had survived the Battle of Karbala and led a secluded life in deep worship. He lived under pressure and tight surveillance set by Umayyad Caliphate.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://ghbook.ir/index.php?option=com_mtree&task=viewlink&link_id=11952&lang=fa|script-title=fa:حیات فکری و سیاسی امامان شیعه علیهم السلام|last=جعفریان|first=رسول|publisher=موسسه انصاریان|year=2008|edition=11th|location=قم|page=273|language=fa|trans-title=Hayat fekri va siysi aemeh}}</ref>
-According to legend, for twenty years whenever water was placed before him, he would weep. One day a servant said to him, 'O son of Allah's Messenger! Is it not time for your sorrow to come to an end?’ He replied, 'Woe upon you! [[Jacob]] the prophet had twelve sons, and Allah made one of them disappear. His eyes turned white from constant weeping, his head turned grey out of sorrow, and his back became bent in gloom,{{efn|[http://tanzil.net/#12:84 Quran, 12:84]}} though his son was alive in this world. But I watched while my father, my brother, my uncle, and seventeen members of my family were slaughtered all around me. How should my sorrow come to an end?’{{efn|From Shaykh as-Sadooq, al-Khisal; quoted in al-Ameen, A’yan, IV, 195. The same is quoted from Bin Shahraashoob’s Manaqib in Bih’ar al-Anwar, XLVI, 108; Cf. similar accounts, Ibid, pp. 108–10}}<ref name="sharif al-qarashi">{{cite book|last=Sharif al-Qarashi|first= Bāqir|year=2000|title=The Life of Imām Zayn al-Abidin (as)|translator=Jāsim al-Rasheed|location=Iraq|publisher=Ansariyan Publications, n.d. Print}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Imam Ali ibn al-Hussain|title=Al-Saheefah Al-Sajjadiyyah Al-Kaamelah|year=2009|others= Translated with an Introduction and annotation by Willian C. Chittick With a foreword by S. H. M. Jafri|publisher=Ansariyan Publications|location=Qum, The Islamic Republic of Iran}}</ref>
+== Arba'in in Shia tradition ==
-Arbaʽeen's performance has been banned in some periods, the last of which was when [[Saddam Hussein]], (a Sunni who ruled as an Arab nationalist, clashing with Islamic revivalism) was president of Iraq. For nearly 30 years under Saddam's regime, it was forbidden to mark Arbaʽeen publicly in Iraq. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the observance in April 2003 was broadcast worldwide.<ref>Vali Nasr, ''The Shia Revival''. New York: Norton, 2006; pp 18–19.</ref>
+Forty is a sacred number in [[Islam]],{{Sfn|Ayoub|1986}} and commemorating the dead forty days after their death is a long-standing Islamic tradition,{{Sfn|Haj Manouchehri|2008}}{{Sfn|Calmard|1987}}{{Sfn|Ayoub|1986}} dating back to the early Islamic period.{{Sfn|Haj Manouchehri|2008}} On the one hand, the fortieth ({{Transl|ar|arba'in}}, {{Transl|fa|chehellom}}) signifies the maturation of the soul of a deceased believer.{{Sfn|Haj Manouchehri|2008}} It is thus said that [[Cain]] learned on the fortieth of [[Abel]] to dispose of his body by burying him, that the ascension of [[Jesus]] took place on his fortieth, and that the gates of heaven open for a righteous person forty days after their death.{{Sfn|Haj Manouchehri|2008}} On the other hand, the fortieth marks the end of the period of grief in Islamic tradition. It is thus said that Heaven grieves the death of a righteous person for forty days, that [[Fatima]] mourned for forty days the death of her father, the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and that son wept for forty days for [[John the Baptist]], whose head was cut off and placed on a dish.{{Sfn|Haj Manouchehri|2008}}
-==Annual pilgrimage==
-{{main|Arbaʽeen Pilgrimage}}
-The city of Karbala in Iraq is the center of the proceedings which many pilgrims travel miles on foot to reach. As of 2016 "between 17 million and 20 million" pilgrims usually attend Arba'ein there, including about three million foreigners, most of whom are Iranians.<ref name="Sims-2016">{{cite news|last1=Sims|first1=Alexandra|title=Millions of Muslims take part in mass pilgrimage of Arbaeen – in spite of Isis|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/20-million-muslims-march-against-isis-arbaeen-pilgrimage-iraq-karbala-a7436561.html|access-date=21 December 2017|agency=The Independent|date=24 November 2016}}</ref>
+In Shia Islam, similar traditions are linked to Arba'in, the fortieth of Husayn. Thus the earth and skies are said to have wept for Husayn for forty days after his death, and the sun became unusually red in that period at dawn and dusk.{{Sfn|Haj Manouchehri|2008}} By some accounts, the body of Husayn, who was decapitated, was reunited with his head and buried in Karbala on Arba'in.{{Sfn|Rahimi|2012|p=203}}{{Sfn|Haj Manouchehri|2008}} Yet it is commonly thought that Husayn and his companions were buried by residents of nearby al-Ghadiriyya village when the Umayyad army left Karbala.{{Sfn|Veccia Vaglieri|2012}}{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=33}}{{Sfn|Ayoub|1978|p=152}} The Shia scholar [[Sayyed Ibn Tawus|Ibn Tawus]] ({{Died in|1266}}) reports another Karbala narrative, according to which the relatives of Husayn chose to return via Karbala to their hometown of [[Medina]] when they were freed from captivity in Damascus. Upon arrival in Karbala on Arba'in,{{Sfn|Ayoub|1978|p=152}}{{Sfn|Calmard|2004}} they met [[Jabir ibn Abd Allah]] ({{Died in|697}}), a companion of Muhammad,{{Sfn|Haj Manouchehri|2008}} who had learned about the death of Husayn through a divine sign.{{Sfn|Ayoub|1986}} This story was repeated by many authors after Ibn Tawus, even though several scholars before Ibn Tawus report only the Arba'in pilgrimage of Jabir.{{Sfn|Haj Manouchehri|2008}} The veracity of Ibn Tawus' account has therefore been questioned by some, including the Shia scholar [[Mirza Husain Noori Tabarsi|Husain Noori Tabarsi]] ({{Died in|1902}}) and the Islamicist [[Mahmoud M. Ayoub]] ({{Died in|2021}}).{{Sfn|Haj Manouchehri|2008}}{{Sfn|Ayoub|1986}} Ayoub adds that Arba'in is not mentioned in {{Transl|ar|[[Kamil al-Ziyarat|Kamil al-ziyarat]]}}, an early and authoritative hadith collection by the Shia traditionist [[Ibn Qulawayh]] ({{Died in|{{circa|978}}}}).{{Sfn|Ayoub|1986}} Whatever the case, such narratives may have helped establish Arba'in in Shia culture.{{Sfn|Haj Manouchehri|2008}}
-Arbaʽeen is consistently among the [[List of largest peaceful gatherings in history|largest peaceful gatherings in history]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-10-31|title=The biggest march for peace|url=https://www.irna.ir/news/83083843/بزرگ-ترين-راهپيمايي-براي-صلح|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-18|website=irna|language=fa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Magiran {{!}} The world's largest peaceful community|url=https://www.magiran.com/article/3968142|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-18|website=www.magiran.com}}</ref> Every year, huge crowds of pilgrims travel to the city of Karbala in pilgrimage to the Imam Hossein holy shrine in Karbala on Arbaʽeen Day. (For example, it is over 500&nbsp;km from [[Basra]] the largest city in southern Iraq where Shia predominate to Karbala.)<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.distancefromto.net/between/Basra/Karbala|title = Distance Between Basra and Karbala}}</ref> It is traveled annually on foot by [[Iraqi people|Iraqi]] pilgrims, which takes them two weeks, or approximately one month to come from other countries like [[Iran]]. The crowds become so massive that roads are blocked for hundreds of miles.
+Risking the Umayyads' wrath, the commemoration of Karbala was initially small and private.{{Sfn|Hussain|2005|p=81}}{{Sfn|Hyder|2006|p=20}} Soon after the Umayyads fell, however, Shia imams worked to institutionalize the Ashura and Arba'in pilgrimages to the tomb of Husayn. This attempt is reflected in some of the traditions ascribed to the imams. For instance, the Shia imam [[Hasan al-Askari]] ({{Died in|{{circa|874}}}}) is reported to have listed the Arba'in pilgrimage among the five signs of a true believer.{{Sfn|Haj Manouchehri|2008}}
-In 2008, approximately nine million religious observers converged on Karbala to commemorate Arba'ein.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17397&Itemid=128|title=mnf-iraq.com|access-date=11 January 2009|archive-date=5 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090905185304/http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17397&Itemid=128|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2009, over ten million people were estimated to have reached Karbala, according to [[BBC News]] and [[Press TV]]. In 2013, 20 million pilgrims from 40 countries came for Arba'ein, according to Iranian media.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alalam.ir/news/1433534 |title=زيارة الاربعين: 18 مليون زائر ونجاح امني كبير |publisher=Al-Alam |access-date=4 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://z313.ir/132//%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%8C%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%AF%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%B3%D9%BE%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B9%D8%B5%D8%B1(%D8%B9%D8%AC)-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%87%D9%86%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B8%D9%87%D9%88%D8%B1/|title=Arba'een, an appointment for army of Imam Mahdi (a.s) on the rise|date=December 2014}}</ref><ref name="independent.co.uk">{{cite web|last=Dearden|first=Lizzie|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/one-of-the-worlds-biggest-and-most-dangerous-pilgrimages-is-underway-9882702.html|date=25 November 2014|website=The Independent|title=One of the world's biggest and most dangerous pilgrimages is underway}}</ref> A car bomb targeting worshippers returning from Karbala killed at least 20 Shiite pilgrims in January 2013.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/car-bomb-in-iraq-kills-at-least-20-shiite-pilgrims-8437360.html | title=Car bomb in Iraq kills at least 20 Shiite pilgrims | work=independent | date=3 January 2013}}</ref> In 2014, up to 17 million people made the pilgrimage and many choose to make the 55-mile journey on foot from [[Najaf]], near areas controlled by the militant [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL), which has declared Shia Muslims [[apostate]]s.<ref name="independent">{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/one-of-the-worlds-biggest-and-most-dangerous-pilgrimages-is-underway-9882702.html | title=One of the world's biggest and most dangerous pilgrimages is underway | work=independent | date=25 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="SBS">{{cite news | url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/12/14/arbaeen-pilgrimage-iraq-175-million-defy-threat | title=Arbaeen pilgrimage in Iraq: 17.5 million defy threat | work=SBS | date=14 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="BBC News">{{cite news|title=Shia pilgrims flock to Karbala for Arbaeen climax|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30462820|access-date=21 December 2017|agency=BBC News|date=14 December 2014}}</ref> Up to 17 million pilgrims came in 2015<ref name="BBC News" /> and 2016.
-== Ziyarat of Arba'ein ==
+==Arba'in rituals==
-{{main| Ziyarat of Arbaʽeen}}
+{{See also|Arba'een Pilgrimage|Ziyarat of Arba'een}}
-The Ziyarat Arba'ein is a prayer which is usually recited in Karbala on the day of Arba'ein. It is narrated from Safwan al-Jammaal from Imam [[Ja'far al-Sadiq]], the sixth Shiite Imam, in which the Imam instructed him to visit Imam Husayn's mosque, and to recite a specific visitation prayer on Arba'ein by which the believer should reaffirm their pledge to Husayn's ideals. The Ziarat or prayer is a text which designates Husayn as the "inheritor" of the prophets [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Jesus]] and [[Muhammad]].
+Arba'in is a day of pilgrimage to the [[Imam Husayn Shrine|shrine of Husayn]] in Karbala, [[Iraq]]. Pilgrims arrive there in large numbers, often on foot. The most popular route is [[Najaf]] to Karbala, as many pilgrims first travel to Najaf and then walk from there to Karbala, some eighty kilometers away, which usually takes three days on foot. Along the way, volunteers provide the pilgrims with free meals and services. Indeed, some have considered generosity and hospitality to be the main features of the Arba'in pilgrimage. When they finally reach the shrine of Husayn in Karbala, pilgrims recite the [[Ziyarat of Arba'een|{{Transl|ar|ziyara}} of Arba'in]], a supplication for this occasion.{{Sfn|Szanto|2018|p=14}} As with other Shia rituals of Karbala,{{Sfn|Gordon Melton|2010|pp=211{{ndash}}212}} the Arba'in pilgrimage was banned by the Iraqi president [[Saddam Hussein]] ({{Reign|1979|2003}}),{{Sfn|Nasr|2007|pp=18{{ndash}}19}} who favored the Sunni community there,{{Sfn|Gordon Melton|2010|pp=211{{ndash}}212}} and viewed large Shia rituals as a political threat.{{Sfn|Nasr|2007|pp=18{{ndash}}19}} The pilgrimage was revived soon after the deposal of Saddam in 2003,{{Sfn|Nasr|2007|pp=18{{ndash}}19}} with numbers growing from two million participants in that year to around twenty million in 2014.{{Sfn|Nasr|2007|pp=18{{ndash}}19}}<ref name="IBtimes-2">{{cite news |last1=Piggott |first1=Mark |title=20 Million Shia Muslims Brave Isis by Making Pilgrimage to Karbala for Arbaeen |agency=IBtimes |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/20-million-shia-muslims-brave-isis-by-making-pilgrimage-karbala-arbaeen-1476618 |url-status=live |access-date=6 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924032349/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/20-million-shia-muslims-brave-isis-by-making-pilgrimage-karbala-arbaeen-1476618 |archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> Arba'in is also commemorated through mourning gatherings, dramatic reenactments of Karbala narratives, and charitable acts.{{Sfn|Haj Manouchehri|2008}} As with Ashura,{{Sfn|Gordon Melton|2010}} Arba'in can be an occasion for [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] violence against the Shia minority.<ref>{{cite web |author=uberVU – social comments |date=5 February 2010 |title=Friday: 46 Iraqis, 1 Syrian Killed; 169 Iraqis Wounded - Antiwar.com |url=http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/02/05/friday-46-iraqis-1-syrian-killed-168-iraqis-wounded/ |access-date=30 June 2010 |publisher=Original.antiwar.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=5 February 2010 |title=Powerful Explosions Kill More Than 40 Shi'ite Pilgrims in Karbala &#124; Middle East &#124; English |url=http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Blast-Kills-27-in-Iraqi-Shiite-City-of-Karbala-83628687.html |access-date=30 June 2010 |publisher=.voanews.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hanun |first=Abdelamir |date=5 February 2010 |title=Blast in crowd kills 41 Shiite pilgrims in Iraq |publisher=News.smh.com.au |url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/blast-in-crowd-kills-41-shiite-pilgrims-in-iraq-20100205-nivg.html |access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref>
-<blockquote>''Peace be on the favorite of Allah, Peace be on the beloved friend of Allah, His distinguished hero! Peace be on the choicest confidant of Allah, sincerely attached precisely like his father! Peace be on Hussain, who gave his life in the way of Allah, a martyr, underwent untold hardships Peace be on the hostage surrounded by the tightening circle of sorrow and grief, killed by a horde of savages.''<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.duas.org/safar/arbaeen.htm |title="Ziarat" on the day of Arbae'en |access-date=24 November 2015}}</ref>
-<P>''He met with deadly dangers, acted justly and fairly, made use of everything belonging to him to pay full attention to give sincere advice, took pains, made every effort and put his heart, mind, soul and life at the disposal of Thy mission to liberate the people from the yoke of ignorance and evil of bewilderment, but an evildoer, deceived with empty hopes of mean and worthless worldly gains, had pressed heavily on him, and sold out his share (eternal bliss) for the meanest and lowest bargain, betrayed his "day of judgment" for a vulgar return, took pride in insolence, fell into the fathom- well of silly stupid follies, provoked Thee and Thy Prophet to anger, did as the harsh discordant, the hypocrite, the heavily burdened bearers of sin, condemned to Hellfire, advised to him, however, he (the Holy lmam), steadily, rightly and justly coped With them, till, in Thy obedience, gave his life after which his family was set adrift.''<ref>{{Cite web|title=اربعین|url=https://arbaein.ir/|access-date=2021-04-15|website=اربعین|language=fa-IR}}</ref><ref name="auto"/></blockquote>
-==Other religions and countries in the Arba'ein==
-While the Arba'ein is a distinctively Shi'a spiritual exercise, Sunni Muslims and even Christians, [[Zoroastrian]]s, and [[Sabians]] partake in both the pilgrimage as well as serving of devotees. Pilgrims from European countries including Sweden, Russia and even a delegation from Vatican City have joined in past observances. Some Iraqi Christian religious leaders also joined the delegation from the Vatican.<ref name="huffingtonpost.co.uk">{{cite web|last=Al-Modarresi|first=Mahdi|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sayed-mahdi-almodarresi/arbaeen-pilgrimage_b_6203756.html|title=World's Biggest Pilgrimage Now Underway, And Why You've Never Heard of it! huffingtonpost|date=24 November 2014|access-date=11 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.alalam.ir/news/1547521  |title=Christians in Karbala in Arbaeen|access-date=11 December 2014}}</ref>
-Many delegations from various African countries including [[Ghana]], [[Nigeria]], [[Tanzania]] and [[Senegal]] have also participated in the Arba'ein.<ref name="independent.co.uk"/>
-== Political significance ==
-Since the first Arbaʽeen, it has influenced subsequent Shi'ite uprisings against [[Umayyad]] and [[Abbasid]] rule. Arba'ein has also been used as a political protest, at least in [[Iran]]. It was first used there to protest the killing of [[Movement of 15 Khordad|supporters]] of [[Ayatollah]] [[Ruhollah Khomeini]] in [[Qom]] on 5 June 1963 when a general strike was announced. A cycle of Arbaʽeen public observance of mourning rituals of martyred protestors – where an Arbaʽeen observance was held to commemorate those killed in the preceding Arba'ein protest demonstration – is often credited as part of the reason for the success of the 1979 [[Iranian Revolution]] that overthrew [[Shah of Iran|Shah]] [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]],<ref>Kurzman, Charles, ''The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran'', [[Harvard University Press]], 2004, p.54-5</ref> although that explanation has also been questioned.<ref>Kurzman,  ''The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran'', (2004), p.57</ref>
-==Arba'ein in the Gregorian calendar==
-While Arba'ein is always on nearly the same day (20 or 21 Safar) of the Islamic calendar, the date on the [[Gregorian calendar]] varies from year to year because of differences between the two calendars, since the Islamic calendar, the Hijri calendar (AH), is a [[lunar calendar]] and the Gregorian calendar is a [[solar calendar]].  Furthermore, the method used to determine when each Islamic month begins varies from country to country (see [[Islamic calendar]]).<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia|url=https://webspace.science.uu.nl/~gent0113/islam/ummalqura.htm|access-date=2021-09-18|website=webspace.science.uu.nl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Islamic Calendar of Turkey|url=https://webspace.science.uu.nl/~gent0113/islam/diyanetcalendar.htm|access-date=2021-09-18|website=webspace.science.uu.nl}}</ref>
-Arba'ein always falls 40 days after the Day of Ashura. The Day of Ashura, in turn, falls nine days after the first day of [[Muḥarram]]. Hence, Arba'ein falls 49 days after the first day of Muḥarram. This date is shown for a selection of years, according to the [[Islamic calendar#Saudi Arabia.27s Umm al-Qura calendar|Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia]], in the table below:{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}
+==Arba'in in the Gregorian calendar==
+Arba'in, twentieth of Safar in the [[Islamic calendar]], corresponds to a different day every year in the [[Gregorian calendar]].<ref name="vangent">{{cite web |last=Gent |first=R.H. van |title=The Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia |url=https://webspace.science.uu.nl/~gent0113/islam/ummalqura.htm |website=webspace.science.uu.nl}}</ref>
 {| class="wikitable"
+!'''Islamic calendar<!--Please only list last year's, this year's and next year's dates-->'''
+|1444
+|1445
+|1446
 |-
+!'''Gregorian calendar'''
-! Islamic year !! Saudi Arabia<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~gent0113/islam/ummalqura.htm|title=The Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia|work=uu.nl}}</ref> || Iraq
+|16 September 2022<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Hijri to Gregorian Date Converter - Islamic Date Converter |url=https://www.islamicfinder.org/islamic-date-converter/ |access-date=2023-08-28 |website=IslamicFinder |language=en}}</ref>
-|-
+|5 September 2023<ref name=":0" />
-| 1441 || 19 October 2019 ||
+|24 August 2024<ref name=":0" />
-|-
-| 1442 || 7 October 2020{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} ||
-|-
-| 1443 || 27 September 2021 || 28 September 2021 <ref>{{cite news|title=Arbaeen draws thousands of Shiites to Iraq's Karbala|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/iraq/2021/09/28/arbaeen-draws-thousands-of-shiites-to-iraqs-karbala/|access-date=29 September 2021|work=The National}}</ref>
-|-
-| 1444 || 16 September 2022 || 17 September 2022
-|-
-| 1445 || || 6 September 2023<ref>{{cite news |title=Pakistanis Can Cross Iran to Go to Iraq for Arbaeen: Interior Minister - Society/Culture news |url=https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2023/05/30/2904006/pakistanis-can-cross-iran-to-go-to-iraq-for-arbaeen-interior-minister |access-date=20 August 2023 |work=Tasnim News Agency |language=en}}</ref>
 |}
-== Photographs ==
+== Gallery ==
-<gallery>
+<gallery mode="packed">
-File:پیاده روی اربعین.jpg|pilgrimage on foot during Arbaʽein
+File:پیاده روی اربعین.jpg|Arba'in pilgrims
-File:پیاده روی اربعین 11.jpg|pilgrimage on foot during Arbaʽein
+File:پیاده روی اربعین 32.jpg|alt=
-File:پیاده روی اربعین 32.jpg|pilgrimage on foot during Arbaʽein
+File:پیاده روی اربعین 46.jpg|alt=
-File:پیاده روی اربعین 46.jpg|pilgrimage on foot during Arbaʽein
+File:پیاده روی اربعین حسینی.jpg|alt=
-File:پیاده روی اربعین حسینی.jpg|pilgrimage on foot during Arbaʽein
+File:The clergymen on the arbane hike روحانیت در پیاده روی اربعین 13.jpg|alt=
-File:The clergymen on the arbane hike روحانیت در پیاده روی اربعین 13.jpg|pilgrimage on foot during Arbaʽein
 </gallery>
 ==See also==
+{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
-{{Portal bar|Iraq|Shia Islam|Islam}}
+* [[Ashura]]
+* [[Tasu'a]]
+* [[List of largest peaceful gatherings in history]]
+}}
+==Footnotes==
-*[[List of largest peaceful gatherings in history]]
+{{reflist|20em}}
-*[[List of casualties in Husayn's army at the Battle of Karbala]]
-==Notes==
+== References ==
-{{notelist}}
+{{refbegin|2}}
+* {{cite book |title=The Martyrs of Karbala: Shi'i Symbols and Rituals in Modern Iran |author-first=K.S. |author-last=Aghaie |url=https://archive.org/details/martyrsofkarbala0000agha/mode/2up |url-access=registration |year=2004 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=0295984554}}
+* {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/voicesofislam0000unse_r7b1/mode/2up |url-access=registration |title=Voices of Islam |volume=2 |editor-first=V.J. |editor-last=Cornell |publisher=Praeger |isbn=0275987345 |year=2007 |chapter=The Passion of 'Ashura in Shiite Islam |author-first=K.S. |author-last=Aghaie |pages=111{{ndash}}124 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/voicesofislam0000unse_r7b1/page/110/mode/2up}}
+* {{cite encyclopedia |year=2013 |title='Āshūrā' (Shī'ism) |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_23855 |editor1-last=Fleet |editor1-first=K. |edition=Third |isbn=9789004252684 |author-last=Aghaie |author-first=K.S. |editor2-first=G. |editor2-last=Krämer |editor3-first=D. |editor3-last=Matringe |editor4-first=J. |editor4-last=Nawas |editor5-first=D.J. |editor5-last=Stewart |url-access=subscription}}
+* {{cite book |title=Redemptive Suffering in Islam: A Study of the Devotional Aspects of Ashura in Twelver Shi'ism |author-first=M.M. |author-last=Ayoub |author-link=Mahmoud M. Ayoub |year=1978 |isbn=9789027979438 |publisher=De Gruyter}}
+* {{cite encyclopedia|volume= II/3|pages= 275{{ndash}}276|year=1986|author-first=M.M.|author-last=Ayoub|title=Arba'in|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arbain-fortieth-day-after-asura-q}}
+* {{cite book|title=Mullahs on the Mainframe: Islam and Modernity Among the Daudi Bohras|author-first=J.|author-last= Blank|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2001|isbn= 9780226056760}}
+* {{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia= Encyclopaedia Iranica|author-first=J.|author-last=Calmard|year=1987|volume=III/2|pages=174{{ndash}}177|title='Azādārī|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/azadari}}
+* {{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia= Encyclopaedia Iranica|volume= XII/5|pages= 498{{ndash}}502|author-last=Calmard|author-first=J.|year=2004|title=Ḥosayn b. 'Ali ii. In Popular Shi'ism|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/hosayn-b-ali-ii}}
+* {{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam|editor-first=J.E.|editor-last=Campo|year=2009|publisher=Facts on File|isbn=9780816054541|title=Funerary Rituals|pages=250{{ndash}}252|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopedia-of-islam_202006/page/318/mode/2up|url-access=registration}}
+* {{cite journal|author-last=Chelkowski|author-first=P.| title=Shia Muslim Processional Performances|journal= The Drama Review: TDR|volume= 29/3|year= 1985|pages=18–30|url= https://doi.org/10.2307/1145650}}
+* {{cite book|title=Shi'ism: Doctrines, Thought, and Spirituality|editor1-first=S.H.|editor1-last=Nasr|editor2-first=H.|editor2-last=Dabashi|editor3-first=S.V.R|editor3-last=Nasr|editor1-link=Seyyed Hossein Nasr|editor2-link=Hamid Dabashi|editor3-link=Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/shiismdoctrinest0000unse/page/262/mode/2up|url=https://archive.org/details/shiismdoctrinest0000unse/mode/2up|url-access=registration|publisher=State University of New York Press, Albany|year=1988|isbn=0887066909|chapter=Diverse Religious Practices|author1-first=P.|author1-last=Chelkowski|pages=262{{ndash}}268}}
+* {{cite book|title=Shi'ism|year=2016|isbn=9781351900287|publisher=Taylor & Francis|editor-first=E.|editor-last= Kohlberg|chapter=The Death of al-Ḥusayn b. 'Ali and Early Shī'ī Views of the Imamate|author-first=D.K.|author-last=Crow|pages=}}
+* {{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices|edition=Second|isbn= 9781598842043|editor1-first=J.|editor1-last= Gordon Melton|editor2-first= M.|editor2-last= Baumann|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2010|title=Ashura|pages=210{{ndash}}212|author-first=J.|author-last=Gordon Melton|author-link=J. Gordon Melton}}
+* {{cite encyclopedia |author-first=F. |author-last=Haj Manouchehri |translator-first=F. |translator-last=Negahban |title=Arba'īn |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Islamica |year=2008 |editor-first=F. |editor-last=Daftary |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1875-9831_isla_COM_0291 |url-access=subscription}}
+* {{cite journal |year=2005 |title=The Mourning of History and the History of Mourning: The Evolution of Ritual Commemoration of the Battle of Karbala |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/185346 |journal=Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=78{{ndash}}88 |url-access=subscription |author-first=A.J. |author-last=Hussain}}
+* {{cite book|title=Reliving Karbala: Martyrdom in South Asian Memory|author-first=S.A.|author-last= Hyder|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195373028|url=https://archive.org/details/RelivingKarbalaSyedAkbarHyder/mode/2up|url-access=registration|year=2006}}
+* {{cite book|title=The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century|edition=Third|url=https://archive.org/details/the-prophet-and-the-age-of-the-caliphates-the-islamic-near-east-from-the-sixth-t/mode/2up|url-access=registration|author-first=H.|author-last= Kennedy|author-link=Hugh N. Kennedy|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781138787612|year=2016}}
+* {{cite book|title=The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran|author-first=C.|author-last= Kurzman|year=2009|isbn=9780674039834|publisher=Harvard University Press}}
+* {{cite encyclopedia |year=2004 |title=Ḥosayn b. 'Ali i. Life and Significance in Shi'ism |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hosayn-b-ali-i |author-link=Wilferd Madelung |volume=XII/5 |pages=493–498 |author-first=W. |author-last=Madelung}}
+* {{cite book |author-last=Momen |author-first=M. |title=An Introduction to Shi'i Islam |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1985 |isbn=9780300035315 |author-link=Moojan Momen}}
+* {{cite book|title=Islam and Revolution in the Middle East|url=https://archive.org/details/islamrevolutioni00muns/mode/2up|url-access=registration|author-first=H.|author-last=Munson|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1988|isbn= 0300046049}}
+* {{cite journal|author-last=Nakash|author-first= Y.|title= An Attempt to Trace the Origin of the Rituals of 'Āshūrā'|journal= Die Welt des Islams|year=1993|pages= 161{{ndash}}181|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1570949}}
+* {{cite book|title=Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam will Shape the Future|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2007|author-first=S.V.R.|author-last=Nasr|author-link=Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr|isbn= 9780393329681|url=https://archive.org/details/shiarevivalhowco0000nasr/mode/2up|url-access=registration}}
+* {{cite encyclopedia|author-first=A.|author-last= Pakatchi|translator-first= D.|translator-last= Mohammad Poor|title=Calendar |chapter=Events of Festivity and Mourning|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Islamica|year=2021|editor-first=F.|editor-last=Daftary|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1875-9831_isla_COM_05000065|url-access=subscription}}
+* {{cite book |title=The Shiites: Ritual and Popular Piety in a Muslim Community |url=https://archive.org/details/shiitesritualpop0000pina/mode/2up |url-access=registration |author-first=D. |author-last=Pinault |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=0312079532 |year=1992}}
+* {{cite book |author-last=Pinault |author-first=D. |title=Women in the Medieval Islamic World: Power, Patronage, and Piety |publisher=Macmillan |year=2000 |isbn=9780333800355 |editor-last=Hambly |editor-first=G. |chapter=Zaynab bin 'Ali and the Place of the Women of the Households of the First Imāms in Shī'īte Devotional Literature}}
+* {{cite book|title=Theater State and the Formation of Early Modern Public Sphere in Iran: Studies on Safavid Muharram Rituals, 1590{{ndash}}1641 CE|author-first=B.|author-last= Rahimi|year=2012|isbn= 9789004209794|publisher=Brill|chapter=A History of (Safavid) Muharram Rituals|chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004207561_006|url=https://brill.com/display/title/14335|url-access=subscription}}
+*{{cite book |author-last=Szanto |author-first=E. |year=2018 |chapter=Shi'a Islam in Practice |editor1-last=Woodward |editor1-first=M. |editor2-last=Lukens-Bull |editor2-first=R. |title=Handbook of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Lives |publisher=Springer |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73653-2_8-2 |url-access=subscription |url=https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-319-73653-2}}
+* {{cite book|title=Female Personalities in the Qur'an and Sunna: Examining the Major Sources of Imami Shi'i Islam|author-first=R.|author-last= Osman|publisher=Routledge|year= 2014|isbn= 9781315770147}}
+* {{cite encyclopedia |year=2012 |title=(al-)Ḥusayn b. 'Alī b. Abī Ṭālib |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0304 |author-link=Laura Veccia Vaglieri |editor1-last=Bearman |editor1-first=P. |edition=Second |isbn=9789004161214 |author1-last=Veccia Vaglieri |author1-first=L. |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor3-first=C.E. |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor4-first=E. |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor5-first=W.P. |editor5-last=Heinrichs |url-access=subscription}}
+{{refend}}
-==References==
-{{reflist|30em}}
 {{Muslimholidays}}
+{{Portal bar|Iraq|Shia Islam|Islam}}
 [[Category:Shia Islam]]

v t e Islamic holidays and observances
The two Eids	Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Adha
Other holidays and observances	Day of Arafah Day of Ashura Islamic New Year Arbaʽeen¹ Mawlid Laylat al-Raghaib Isra' and Mi'raj Mid-Sha'ban Ramadan Laylat al-Qadr Saviours' Day² Eid al-Ghadir¹ Mubahala¹ Promised Messiah Day³ Promised Reformer Day³ Caliphate Day³
¹ Shia Muslim only ² Nation of Islam only ³ Ahmadi Muslim only