Hawzah News Agency- Held on Sunday afternoon, the event featured various cultural, promotional, and educational programs.

Hujjat al-Islam Seyyed Mohammad Zolfaghari, an official with the shrine, said that the last group of foreign pilgrims who visited Mashhad after their pilgrimage to Karbala were the 5,000 Urdu-speaking pilgrims from India and Pakistan.

They gathered at Imam Khomeini Hall to mourn, recite elegies, and perform specific rituals.

One of the unique beliefs of Urdu-speaking pilgrims is to visit the shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH) before and after their pilgrimage to the holy sites in Iraq, Zolfaghari said.

During their initial visit, they seek the blessing of Karbala, and upon their return, they seek the approval of their pilgrimage from Imam Reza (PBUH), he added.

Therefore, Imam Reza (AS) shrine sees a significant influx of pilgrims, especially Urdu speakers, during the second half of the lunar month of Safar and the first ten days of Rabi' al-Awwal, said the official.

He noted the gathering is held usually on the 4th of Rabi' al-Awwal at the shrine and marks the end of their mourning rituals.

Shia Muslims mourn the martyrdom of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT) and the demise of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the months of Muharram and Safar.

The processions mainly revolve around the Imam Hussein (PBUH), the third Shia Imam and the son of Imam Ali (PBUH), who sacrificed his life and his family in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE, where he faced the tyrannical army of Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph. His martyrdom is marked on the day of Ashura, the 10th of Muharram.

40 days after Ashura comes Arbaeen, when millions of people from regional countries gather in a special pilgrimage in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala.

Meanwhile, the 28th day of the lunar Hijri month of Safar marks the demise anniversary of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hassan (PBUH).

The 30th day of the lunar month is marked as the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Reza (PBUH), the eighth Shia Imam.