Every year, on the 8th, 9th, and 10th nights of the month of Muharram, on the Islamic calendar, Najafi residents of the Iranian shrine city of Qom carry torches as a symbol of mourning for Imam Hussein, the third Shia Imam and the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, who was martyred along with 72 of his companions on the plains of Karbala over 14 centuries ago.
The black-clad mourners, who hail from the Iraqi city of Najaf, gather at Imam Reza Mosque and the mourning procession moves towards the shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh (AS), the sister of Imam Reza, the 8th Shia Imam, to offer their condolences.
They carry the traditional torches that symbolize the fire that burned the tents of Imam Hussein’s loved ones and companions on Ashura, the 10th day of Muharram in Karbala, Iraq, around 1400 years ago by the tyrant and ruler of the time Yazid I.
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