AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Ten field hospitals will be set up in Iran’s border areas with Iraq for the Arbaeen season, an official said.
Head of the National Medical Emergency Organization Jafar Miadfar made the remark at a ceremony held in Tehran on Wednesday to see off a number of ambulances being dispatched to Iraq for the annual pilgrimage.
He said 271 ambulances, 44 ambulance buses, and 14 helicopters have also been deployed to the border areas to serve the pilgrims.
Miadfar noted that proper planning has been made to ensure the health of the pilgrims, especially given the importance of preventing the spread of infectious diseases and heatstroke in this year’s Arbaeen procession.
Officials predict that some 4.5 million Iranians will particpate in the Arbaeen pilgrimage in Iraq this year.
Arbaeen is a religious event that is observed by Shia Muslims on the fortieth day after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the 40th day of martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the third Shia imam, who was killed by the army of Yazid I in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE.
Arbaeen is also known as the Ziyarat of Arbaeen, which means the visitation of Imam Hussein’s (AS) shrine in Karbala, Iraq, where his body is buried. Ziyarat is an act of pilgrimage and devotion in Shia Islam.
Arbaeen is one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world, with millions of Shia Muslims from different countries walking to Karbala from various cities in Iraq and neighboring countries. The distance can range from 80 km to 500 km or more, depending on the starting point.
This year’s Arbaeen falls on August 25.
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