IQNA – The annual ritual of Rakdha Tuwairaj was held in the holy city of Karbala, Iraq, on Wednesday, attended by a large number of pilgrims.
The annual event took place after the noon prayers of Ashura amid tight security, Furat News reported.
The ritual symbolizes people’s enthusiasm to help Imam Hussein (AS).
Iraq marks Ashura on Wednesday, July 17, after Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali al-Sistani declared July 8 as the first day of Muharram.
In many other countries, Shia Muslims commemorated Ashura on Tuesday.
Rakdha Tuwairaj is a ritual on Ashura in which mourners walk barefoot from the town of Hindya (formerly known as Tuwairaj) near Karbala to the holy shrines of Imam Hussein (AS) and Hazrat Abbas (AS) while beating their head and chest and then leave the shrines within a short time.
It is a way of renewing allegiance with the aspirations of the Ashura uprising.
Initiated by a renowned figure in Karbala’s Hindiya Distict, named Mirza Salih Qazvini, the ritual has been held every year for some 150 years, with the exception of the time the Ba’athist regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq.
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