Shafaq News-Karbala
More than fourmillion joined the funeral procession of Iran's late Supreme Leader AliKhamenei in Iraq this week as his body passed through the Iraqi holy cities ofNajaf and Karbala, a journey that reflects a centuries-old Shiite tradition ofseeking proximity to sacred shrines in both life and death.
For ShiiteMuslims, burial near the shrines of the Imams is among the most profound acts ofdevotion a believer can undertake. The tradition holds that resting near thesesacred sites carries spiritual merit and intercession on the Day of Judgment, abelief that has drawn the devout, the learned, and the powerful to these citiesfor more than a thousand years.
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Karbala holds asingular place in Shiite consciousness. The city is home to the shrines of ImamHussein bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the third Imam ofShia Islam, and his brother Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas, both killed in the Battle ofKarbala in 680 CE, an event that defines Shiite identity and is commemoratedannually during Muharram, culminating in Ashura on the tenth day of the monthand the Arbaeen pilgrimage forty days later, which draws tens of millions ofvisitors and constitutes the largest annual human gathering on earth.
"Funeralsand burials in holy places are among the religious traditions inherited overlong centuries," historian and Karbala researcher Saeed Rashid Zumaizimtold Shafaq News. The city's exceptional status, he said, stems from its roleas the final resting place of Imam Hussein and al-Abbas, making it adestination for those who wish to be buried near the sacred shrines.
Over itshistory, Karbala has received the bodies of hundreds of religious, scholarly,and literary figures from across the Islamic world, Zumaizim said. Among themost prominent were Sheikh Yusuf al-Bahrani, al-Wahid al-Bihbahani, andMohammed Taqi, a leader of Iraq's 1920 Revolution against British rule. Manyothers left instructions to be buried in Karbala, and some were transferredfrom other cities specifically for that purpose, including al-Sharif al-Radiand al-Sharif al-Murtada, whose remains were brought to the city in differenthistorical periods.
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The shrines ofHussein and al-Abbas and their surroundings have also served as burial groundsfor royalty, according to Zumaizim. Around 17 kings, princes, and rulers from India, Kashmir, Pakistan, and Iranare buried in Karbala, drawn by the city's spiritual weight.
Beyond its roleas a pilgrimage destination, Karbala has evolved over the centuries into aspiritual, scholarly, and cultural center that attracted clerics, students ofreligious sciences, and visitors from across the Muslim world, “Thousands offuneral processions arrive in the city each year from inside and outside Iraq,continuing a religious, social, and historical legacy rooted in the collectivememory of Muslims across generations.”
Khamenei'sfuneral procession in Karbala and Najaf on Wednesday was attended by Iraqiofficials and political, religious, and tribal figures. His burial is scheduledfor Thursday, July 9, at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace innortheastern Iran, another of Shiite Islam's holiest sites, in accordance withhis will.
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