Almost 30 Million people from all faiths attended Arbaeen in 2017

The Arba’een Pilgrimage is the world’s largest public gathering that is held every year in Karbala, Iraq.

This Ziyarah (pilgrimage) is held at the end of the 40-day mourning period following Ashura, the religious ritual for the commemoration of the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson Husayn ibn Ali’s martyrdom in 680. Arba’een marks a “pivotal event in history” in which the pilgrims make their journey to Karbala on foot, where Husayn ibn Ali, and his companions were killed and beheaded by the army of Yazid (Amavy Caliph). Some of the pilgrims make their journey from cities as far as Basra-Iraq, about 500 kilometres (310 mi) away by road.

Najaf to Karbala road on the map