AhlulBayt News Agency

source : Iran press
Thursday

7 September 2023

12:57:20 PM
1391833

Thousands of Shia Muslims in Nigeria have marched on Wednesday to commemorate the Arbaeen of the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) like other parts of the world.

Thousands of Shia Muslims in Nigeria have marched on Wednesday to commemorate the Arbaeen of the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) like other parts of the world.

In Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, mourners took to the streets from different axes of the outskirts of Abuja, such as Maraba Suleja to the city, most of them in black attire, chanting mourning slogans and revealing the plights of the Karbala massacre.

"We will never forget Karbala massacre, we will never forget you Hussain, Oh Allah! Have your blessings upon Hussain, the martyr of Karbala," the mourners chanted. 

Some were chanting the famous sayings of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini, who said, "Every day is Ashura, and every place is Karbala," which means every time there is injustice by ruthless leaders, and also there are good people who stand and resist against them.

Some of the mourners were also carrying banners that contained paintings and photos that reveal how Imam Husain was killed during the biggest tragedy in the history of the world, where the grandson of the holy Prophet, his family, and his companions were mercilessly murdered by the then Umayyad ruler Yazid ibn Muawiyah in the year 61 AH. 

Sayyeda Zainab (SA), younger sister of Imam Husain, and his son, Imam Ali Zainul Abidin, were alongside women and children who were captured as prisoners of war and forced to trek from Karbala of Iraq to the palace of Yazid in Damascus in Syria. 

They were later released and returned to Madinah but stopped at Karbala, where they conducted the first Arbaeen Ziyarat (pilgrimage) and prayers to the holy soul of Imam Husain (AS).

The great Companion of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari, became the first person, aged and blind, who trekked barefoot with the help of a guide to where the body of Imam Husain (AS) was buried in Karbala.  

Since then, the Arbaeen symbolic march has started. The 2023 Arbaeen rituals in Nigeria were held peacefully in many cities and towns without attack from the country's security forces.

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