Mawkib

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Imam Rida (a) Mawkib, hosts thousands of pilgrims by providing various services.

Mawkibs (Arabic: المَوکِب) are service stations located in Shiite religious sites or during Shiite religious occasions where pilgrims and people can receive food, tea, and sharbat (sweet drinks). Along the path of the Arba'in procession, mawkibs have been established to provide lodging, health services, body and foot massages, and tool repairs. This term has been commonly used in the culture of Iraqi Shias. After the spread of the Arba'in procession, it has also become common in other countries.

Before this, in Iran, a similar term, "salawati station," was used with a similar meaning. In the culture of Arab Shias, the term "mawkib" refers to Hay'at of Mourning and mourning procession. In Iraq, two different terms are used: "mawkib al-'aza'" (mawkib for mourning) and "mawkib khidmi" (mawkib for service). Mawkibs are also set up in India and Pakistan. The costs of organizing mawkibs are often borne by people and charity organizations.

Notion and History

Hosting pilgrims on the way to Karbala

Mawkibs are service stations[1] that provide people and pilgrims with free services on Shiite religious sites[2] or during Shiite religious occasions[3]. Such stations can be found in tents, fabric structures, or buildings.[4]

Background

In Arab Shia culture, the term "mawkib" refers to Hay'at[5] or mourning processions[6] held for religious purposes.[7] According to the book Adab al-taff, written around 1968,[8] there were mawkibs (mourning congregations) that traveled from various areas of Iraq to Karbala before the day of Arba'in. They would set up tents and provide services to the pilgrims.[9]

According to the book Farhang-i sug-i Shi'i (The Culture of Shiite Mourning), which was published in 2016, Iraqi people also use the term "mawkib" to refer to the tents or locations where pilgrims are served during the Arba'in ceremony.[10] In this country, there is a distinction between the mawkib for mourning processions and gatherings, which is referred to as "mawkib al-'aza'" (mawkib for mourning), and the mawkib for services, which is known as "mawkib khidmi" (mawkib for service).[11]

The practice of building mawkibs became popular in Iran during the 2010s.[12] Before this, the term "Salawati station" was used in Iran with a similar meaning.[13] Nowadays, the terms "mawkib" and "Salawati station" are used interchangeably among Farsi speakers in Iran.[14]

Services

The services provided at mawkibs are free of charge and include food, tea, sharbat (sweet drinks)[15], and shoe polishing.[16] Additionally, mawkibs on the route of the Arba'in procession offer lodging, health services, body and foot massages, and tool repairs.[17]

Certain mawkibs provide essential items like food, tents, blankets, and water in response to unexpected events like floods and earthquakes.[18] The funding for mawkibs and their services primarily comes from people's donations,[19] and occasionally from government budgets.[20]

Times and Places of Mawkibs

Mawkibs in Procession of Arba'in, in Iraq.

Mawkibs are set up in Shiite cities during Shiite religious occasions, including Arba'in processions,[21] the Muharram month,[22] Sha'ban 15th,[23] and anniversaries of the martyrdoms and births of the Infallibles (a).[24] Moreover, mawkibs are set up in Shiite religious sites such as shrines of the Imams (a) to offer services to pilgrims.[25]

Mawkibs are also established during the Sha'ban 15th processions from Najaf to Karbala.[26] Moreover, during the religious festival known as the "ten-kilometer festivity" on Eid al-Ghadir (2022), approximately 350 mawkibs provided services to people in Tehran.[27]

Mawkibs in Arba'in processions

Main article: Procession of Arba'in

The mawkibs that are set up during the Arba'in processions are established by various Iraqi religious communities, local nomadic groups, and village inhabitants along the route.[28] They are organized independently of the Iraqi government by the people themselves.[29]

According to a report from the Office of Rituals, Mawkibs, and Husayniyyas in Iraq, which operates under the supervision of Imam al-Husayn’s Holy Shrine and the Holy Shrine of al-'Abbas (a), there were 32 thousand active mawkibs throughout Iraq during the Arba'in processions in 2020.[30] Another report from the Holy Shrine of 'Abbas (a) stated that during the Arba'in of 2022, there were 14,500 mawkibs in Karbala and along the routes leading to the city. Of these, 300 were set up by other countries, including Iran.[31]

The Holy Shrine of 'Abbas (a) has estimated that in 2022, more than four million meals were distributed in Karbala and along the routes leading to it.[32]

Mawkibs in Shiite Countries

In addition to Iraq and Iran, places are set up with a function similar to mawkibs.[33] In Pakistan and India, such places are called “sabil”[34] when they distribute drinks, and “niyaz-i Husayn”[35] when they distribute meals.[36] Even Sunni Muslims in Pakistan also establish “sabils” and “niyazes” during the days of the Muharram month.[37] Halim and biryani are among the foods that are distributed in Pakistan during this period.[38]

Notes

  1. ↑ Everything about Arba'in Mawkibs. (Persian)
  2. ↑ Mawkibs from all over the country host pilgrims near the holy shrine of Imam Rida (a). (Persian); Arba'in Mawkibs serve in the month of Ramadan. (Arabic).
  3. ↑ Muharram and Safar programs in district 14. (Persian); 200 people's Mawkibs serve pilgrims in Qom during the Mid-Sha'ban(Persian).
  4. ↑ Isḥāqī, Pīyāda rawī Arbaʿīn, p.100.
  5. ↑ Isḥāqī, Mawkib, p. 481.
  6. ↑ (With the participation of more than 200 mourning Mawkibs (mawkib al-'aza'). (Arabic).
  7. ↑ Muḥaddithī, Farhang-i ʿĀshūrā, p. 175.
  8. ↑ Isfandīyārī, Kitābshināsī-i tārīkhī-yi Imām Ḥusayn (a), p. 178.
  9. ↑ Shubbar, Adāb al-ṭaf, vol. 1, p. 42.
  10. ↑ Isḥāqī, Pīyāda-rawī-yi Arbaʿīn, p.100.
  11. ↑ At least 2,200 Mawkibs of Ashura' Ziyara. (Arabic)
  12. ↑ Launching 100 Mawkibs of religious Hay'ats of Ilam in Arba'in 2017. (Persian); Khuzestan Mawkibs spent 600 billion Rials in Arba'in of Imam al-Husayn (a). (Persian)
  13. ↑ "Dar sālrūz-i riḥlat-i Imām", p. 199.
  14. ↑ This Mawkib hosts the homeless for 60 days(Persian); The list of Salawati stations in Hamedan. (Persian)
  15. ↑ Food serving Mawkibs on Procession of Arba'in. (Persian)
  16. ↑ The shoemakers of the Mawkib are waiting for the shoes of Imam Mahdi (a). (Persian)
  17. ↑ Isḥāqī, Pīyāda-rawī-yi Arbaʿīn, p.100.
  18. ↑ Mawkibs of the Markazi province were activated in the flooded areas. (Persian); Setting up a Mawkib of 1000 people in the earthquake-affected areas of the west of the country. (Persian); Establishment of six Arba'in Mawkibs in the earthquake affected areas of Andika County (Persian)
  19. ↑ Where do Mawkibs get their money from? (Arabic)
  20. ↑ Establishment of provincial Mawkibs at Mirjaveh border for Arba'in pilgrims (Persian); Providing services to pilgrims of Imam al-Husayn (a) in 43 Iranian and non-Iranian Mawkibs in Kurdistan (Persian)
  21. ↑ Isḥāqī, Pīyāda-rawī-yi Arbaʿīn, p.100.
  22. ↑ Muharram and Safar programs in district 14. (Persian)
  23. ↑ 200 people's Mawkibs serve pilgrims in Qom during the Mid-Sha'ban (Persian)
  24. ↑ Reception of more than 20 thousand people during the martyrdom of Imam Sadiq (a). (Persian); Setting up the Mawkibs of Imam Risa (a) in the Decade of Kirāma (Dignity). (Persian)
  25. ↑ Mawkibs from all over the country host pilgrims near the holy shrine of Imam Rida (a). (Persian); Arba'in Mawkibs serve in the month of Ramadan. (Arabic)
  26. ↑ Hosting the Iranian Mawkib-Khuddam al-Husayn of pilgrims of Procession of Mid-Sha'ban. (Persian)
  27. ↑ What happened at the 10 km party on Valiasr street? (Persian)
  28. ↑ Isḥāqī, Pīyāda-rawī-yi Arbaʿīn, p. 100.
  29. ↑ Isḥāqī, Pīyāda-rawī-yi Arbaʿīn, p. 100.
  30. ↑ Statistics on the number of service Mawkibs (mawkib khidmi) and mourning Mawkibs (mawkib al-'aza'), meals, medical services, and the number of people in the Arba'in (Arabic)
  31. ↑ Details of the services provided by the al-Abbas's (a) Holy Shrine in Arba'in of Imam al-Husayn (a). (Persian)
  32. ↑ Details of the services provided by the al-Abbas's (a) Holy Shrine in Arba'in of Imam al-Husayn (a). (Persian)
  33. ↑ Holding on to the tradition of setting up sabeels.
  34. ↑ Holding on to the tradition of setting up sabeels; On the birthday of Imam Hussain, sabils were organized in various places in the city. (Urdu)
  35. ↑ Trend of ‘Niaz’ distribution on Ashura still alive across country; Ashura observed peacefully in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  36. ↑ In Pakistan, places, where food is distributed, are also called "Langar -i Husayn". (https://www.dawn.com/news/1704150/ashura-observed-peacefully-in-khyber-pakhtunkhwa)
  37. ↑ SWAT organized a Sabeel on the 10th of Muharram
  38. ↑ Trend of ‘Niaz’ distribution on Ashura still alive across country

References


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