Huge crowds of people attend procession in Tehran on Arba’een

Tens of thousands of people poured into the streets in Iran’s capital of Tehran on Thursday for a religious procession in commemoration of Arba’een, 40 days after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (PBUH), the third infallible successor of Prophet Mohammad (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

According to Tasnim news agency, a main road to southern Tehran leading to the holy shrine of Hazrat Abdol Azim al-Hasani (PBUH) in Rey was blocked to motorists on Thursday to allow a packed crowd to go on the pilgrimage on foot.

Since a couple of years ago, Tehran residents, calling themselves those “left behind” (for not having had the opportunity to take part in the annual Arba’een march in Iraq), walk long distances from different parts of Tehran to Rey on Arba’een.

Security around the sacred shrine of Hazrat Abdol Azim al-Hasani (PBUH) has been tightened for the procession.

Arba’een occurs 40 days after Ashura, the tenth day of the lunar calendar month of Moharram, when Imam Hussein (PBUH), the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny) was martyred at the hands of the tyrant of the time, Yazid I, back in the seventh century.

Last year, around 20 million pilgrims gathered in the holy city of Karbala, Iraq, on Arba’een, making the world’s largest annual pilgrimage in modern history.

ME