Exactly 48 days after the anniversary of the tragic events of Ashura, on the death anniversary of the Holy Prophet of Islam and the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hasan ibn Ali, a great ritual known as the 48th ritual is performed in Badroud, attended by a large population of mourners coming from different parts of the country.
The mourning population and the religious groups begin travelling to this place from 10 days before the 28th day of Safar, the second month of the Islamic calendar, until the number of travellers finally reaches its peak on Safar 28th itself.
The religious groups, who reside in Imamzadeh Aqa Ali Abbas’s Shrine for several days, give nazri or charity food to the groups’ members as well as other people and pilgrims, who come to visit the shrine.
Nazri food is usually beef and beans, qeimeh (a stew of lamb, yellow split peas, tomatoes, and dried lemons), or adas-polo (rice and lentils), which are cooked in the large kitchen of the shrine.
The ritual begins by reciting Ziyarat Ashura (a Shiite prayer, recommended for the mourning of Muharram) and some other special Islamic prayers in the courtyard of the holy shrine, after the adhan (the Islamic call to prayer) and the fajr or dawn prayer (one of the five mandatory daily prayers in Islam).
Then, the ritual of sineh-zani (regularly tapping and beating on your chest with your hand as a sign of mourning) is performed.
After the sunrise, groups of people performing sineh-zani and zanjir-zani (a special kind of self-flagellation with chains) and several other mourning groups from different parts of the country enter the courtyard of the shrine in a harmonious way and mourn according to the traditional and indigenous styles of mourning peculiar to where they come from, which is an interesting and exclusive characteristic of this ritual. Then, they leave the shrine regularly.
The ritual goes on until late into the night.
On this day, a great number of sheep are sacrificed, and their meat is distributed among people.
Moreover, the indigenous people of Badroud and farmers from nearby villages bring their products to the temporary markets held in the shrine, for sale.
Abounasr Fathollah Khan Sheibani, who was a great literary figure, statesman, and benefactor from Kashan, came to Badroud in 1887–88 AD and repaired and redecorated the Shrine of Imamzadeh Aqa Ali Abbas.
During his 24 years of residence in Badroud, he performed this mourning ritual along with the people of Badroud. Since then the ritual has expanded continuously over time.
