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Thursday, Safar 14 (November 26, 2015), Muslims across Nigeria embarked on Arba’een symbloc trek to Hussainiyyah Baqiyyatullah, Zaria. Kano, the first axis started the walking on 26th Nov., and spent 7 days to Zaria for the pilgrimage.
Other six axis (Malam Mudi, Malumfashi, Pambegua, Kaduna, Funtua, Gadar Gayan) , started the walking according to the schedule toward Zaria.
The pilgrims from various routes converged at Hussainiyyah Baqiyyatullah, Zaria for the Arba’een lecture by Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sayyed Ibraheem Zakzaky on Safar 21 (December 3, 2015).
The purpose of Arba’een trek is to recall the trials and tribulations of the Household of the Holy Prophet dragged and chained in the scorching desert, barefooted, from Karbala in Iraq, to Damascus in Syria, after the brutal killing of Imam Husain (AS), son of the Holy Prophet’s daughter Fatima, by forces of Yazid son of Mu’awiyyah, 61 AH.
Arba'een (Arabic: الأربعين, "forty"), Chehelom (Persian: چهلم, the fortieth [day]") is a Shia Muslim religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the martyrdom of Hussain ibn Ali, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUT), which falls on the 20th day of the month of Safar. Imam Hussain ibn Ali and 72 companions were martyred by tyrant Yazid I's army in the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH (680 CE). Arbaeen is one of the largest pilgrimage gatherings on Earth, in which up to 30 million people go to the city of Karbala in Iraq.
Arbaeen is the world's largest annual gathering, with the number of pilgrims far exceeding the two million visitors who descend on Mecca for the Hajj. The Kumbh Mela, a mass Hindu pilgrimage, attracts more pilgrims but is held only every three years.