Historic funeral procession of the martyred Leader in Karbala

After nearly seven decades of longing and separation, the pure body of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei, was finally united with Imam Hussain (pbuh), Aba al-Fadl al-Abbas (pbuh), and the martyrs of Karbala, as millions of mourners and Iraqi scholars bade him farewell.

The funeral procession of the martyred mujahid Imam in the city of Karbala, which was scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, July 8, from the holy shrines of Imam Hussain (pbuh) and Aba al-Fadl al-Abbas (pbuh), was delayed by more than four hours due to the overwhelming presence of millions of mourners and devotees. After approximately 12 hours of procession, the body of the martyred Imam finally entered the holy shrine of Imam Hussain (pbuh) around 3:00 AM on Thursday, Tehran time.

Following the funeral procession of the pure body of the Master of the Martyrs of Iran at the shrine of Imam Hussain (pbuh), Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Sheikh Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalai led the funeral prayer over the martyred mujahid Imam, and the mourners then circumambulated the body around the holy tomb of Imam Hussain (pbuh).

The pure body of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, after being bidden farewell and prayed over at the shrine of Imam Hussain (pbuh), was carried on the hands of mourners through Bayn al-Haramayn toward the shrine of Hazrat Abbas (pbuh). At the shrine of Aba al-Fadl al-Abbas (pbuh), following the funeral procession by the vast crowd of pilgrims, Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Sayyid Ahmad al-Safi led the funeral prayer over the pure body. In the final ceremony in Iraq, the servants of the shrine of Aba al-Fadl al-Abbas (pbuh) placed the pure body of the martyred Grand Ayatollah Khamenei before the noble tomb of Hazrat Abbas  (pbuh), recited a visitation prayer, offered another prayer, and then held a elegy recitation, offering condolences for the martyrdom of the eminent Marja' of the Shia world to Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance).

It is worth noting that before the start of the funeral ceremony in Karbala, participants in the Mashaya — the Arbaeen walking route from Najaf to Karbala — accompanied the vehicle carrying the pure body of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution to the city's entrance. The routes leading to the holy shrines in Karbala were also filled with mourners hours before the ceremony began.