Arba’in Visitation is a social practice of providing services and hospitality across the central and southern regions of Iraq, where visitors and pilgrims converge towards the Holy City of Karbala. Every year, around the time of the Islamic month of Safar, the Iraqi city of Karbala receives millions of pilgrims in one of the most popular religious pilgrimages in the world.
The practice is deeply rooted in Iraqi and Arab traditions of hospitality and is a form of charity, including volunteering and social mobilization which is seen as a central element of Iraq’s culture. These pilgrims come from different parts of Iraq and from overseas and walk to the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussein.
Many of the people providing services along the pilgrims' route contribute their time and resources. Starting at least two weeks before Arba'in, associations will create temporary facilities or reopen more permanent ones along the pilgrimage routes, including guest houses, prayer halls, and service stands. Residents will also open their homes to accommodate pilgrims for free, providing free overnight accommodation.
Among the practitioners and bearers are cooks, hospitality-bearing families, the administration at the two Holy Shrines in Karbala, guides and volunteers who provide medical assistance, and benefactors who provide generous donations. Care of pilgrims is considered a religious duty.
There are different flags carried by the pilgrims, but the black flag of mourning for Imam Hussein is the most common. They also decorate the permanent brick buildings of Kerbala as well as temporary tents, which they use for praying, eating, and sleeping. Seven thousand of these mawakebs were built in 2014 in the city of Karbala. Besides Iraqi mawakibs, which are unofficially organized, there are also some Ian mawakibs that are less "specifically targeted," but pilgrims come from all over.
Though the Arbaeein is a distinct Shi'a spiritual exercise, Sunni Muslims and even Christians, Zoroastrians, and Sabians also participate. Pilgrims from Europe, including Sweden, Russia, and even a delegation from the Vatican have joined Arbaeein pilgrimages in the past.
Though the Arbaeen is a distinct Shi'a spiritual exercise, Sunni Muslims and even Christians, Zoroastrians, and Sabians also participate. Pilgrims from Europe, including Sweden, Russia, and even a delegation from the Vatican have joined Arba*ein pilgrimages in the past. Iraqi Christian religious leaders have also been part of the delegation from the Vatican. Several African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Senegal.