AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A Mawkib for Arbaeen pilgrims who speak English will be launched in Karbala, Iraq, in the coming days.
The Sustainable Development Department of the Astan (custodianship) of Hazrat Abbas (AS) holy shrine will set up the Moukeb as the Day of Arbaeen approaches.
Mawkibs are resting places with special facilities and services for pilgrims set up on roads leading to Karbala and elsewhere during the pilgrimage.
Muhammad Hassan Jabir, head of the department, said the Mawkib for English speaking pilgrims will provide food and accommodation for them.
There will also be special educational programs and cultural events as well as answering questions on religious issues, he stated.
Jabir further said that his department’s staff will be active in cultural stations and Nahj al-Balagha stations on the path of pilgrims.
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.
......................
End/ 257
