Murtaza Rizvi is just 17 years old and comes from a well to do family in Mumbai. Every year he makes it a point to be in Iraq’s Najaf, so that he can take the 80 km spiritual walk to Karbala on the occasion of Arbaeen.

Arbaeen, also known as Chehelum, commemorates the end of the 40-day mourning period after the martyrdom of Shiite Imam Hussain ibn Ali, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed, at the hands of forces of Ummayad Caliph Yazid in the battle of Karbala.

Like Murtaza, there are millions of people from all over the world who participate in the holy walk. The journey begins from Najaf and ends at the shrine of Hussain in Karbala.

It is not just the youngsters, but the elderly too who partake in the walk. And there are disabled pilgrims too. One should not be surprised to see a pilgrim crawl between the two cities to be there at the holy shrine in Karbala, reported DNA.

Today, the world commemorates the day of Arbaeen, and this year too, millions of people have gone to Iraq to pay respect to Imam Hussain. “I love going to Karbala whenever I get the opportunity and especially during Arbaeen,” says Murtaza. “It is during this period that you can see the love. People of different colours come together during Chehelum for the love of Prophet’s grandson and his 71 companions,” he adds. “It is not just Muslims, but people from different religions follow it as well. I have seen Christian priests take the spiritual walk to Karbala,” says the youngster.

Despite Iraq being one of the oil rich countries, the poverty rate is high. But that doesn’t deter the locals from serving the pilgrims with whatever they can afford. “The gesture and love of the people is amazing. Love is the only language spoken there. Hence communication is not a barrier. The poor and the rich go out of their way to treat you as kings. They sit on the roads, serve food, dates, tea, or cold drinks to you. Then they plead to give massages to your sore feet in between the walks. You are left speechless and humbled,” says Murtuza. Like elders, kids too participate in this.

“People are considered lucky if they have participated in Arbaeen. It was banned during dictator Saddam Hussein’s rule. One could not hold mourning sessions then. Once he was out it has resumed,” said Rizvi.

From Saddam Hussein the threat has now shifted to Daesh (Islamic State of Iraq). “People are not scared of them. Even this year they carried out a couple of bomb attacks on pilgrims, but it didn’t stop us,” he added.

Despite millions of people participating in this, it is still not given the coverage it deserves. “Millions of people of other religions visit the shrine of Imam Hussain. They cry, sing the eulogies of him, and beat their chance on their way to Karbala. It is a touching scene,” he added.

BACKGROUND
Arbaeen is commemorated 40 days after Aashoora (10 Muharram, 1st month of Islamic Year). It was on 10th Muharram, Shiites’s Imam Hussain and some of his companions including sons (a six-month-old and an 18-year-old), nephew, brothers, and friends were martyred at the hands of forces of Yazid during the battle of Karbala. The battle took place in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar (680 AD) in Karbala, in present-day Iraq.

Dr Rushaid Rizvi, who holds a PhD in Islamic Studies, says it was on Arbaeen that Hussain’s sister Zainab reached Karbala a year after the battle.

26 million people walked to Karbala on Arbaeen in 2015. Over 20 million will be participating in the pilgrimage this year.