Mohsin Jamil Photography
Arbaeen London 2013 Zaree.jpg
Arba'een or Chehelom (Persian: چهلم, Urdu: چہلم, "the fortieth [day]"), is a Shia Muslim religious observance that occurs 40 days after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the martyrdom of Hussein bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad which falls on the 20th day of the month of Safar. Imam Husayn and 72 companions were martyred in the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (680 CE), killed by Yazid I's army. Arba'een, or Chehlom, is one of the largest pilgrimage gatherings on Earth, in which over 15 million people go to the city of Karbala in Iraq.
The occasion reminds the faithful of the core message behind Husayn's martyrdom: establishing justice and fighting injustice, no matter what its incarnation—a message that strongly influenced subsequent Shi'a uprisings against the Umayyad and Abbasid rule.
Arbaeen London 2013 Zaree.jpg
Arba'een or Chehelom (Persian: چهلم, Urdu: چہلم, "the fortieth [day]"), is a Shia Muslim religious observance that occurs 40 days after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the martyrdom of Hussein bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad which falls on the 20th day of the month of Safar. Imam Husayn and 72 companions were martyred in the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (680 CE), killed by Yazid I's army. Arba'een, or Chehlom, is one of the largest pilgrimage gatherings on Earth, in which over 15 million people go to the city of Karbala in Iraq.
The occasion reminds the faithful of the core message behind Husayn's martyrdom: establishing justice and fighting injustice, no matter what its incarnation—a message that strongly influenced subsequent Shi'a uprisings against the Umayyad and Abbasid rule.