Carpet-Washing Ceremony (Qali-Shouyan in Persian) of Mashhad-e Ardahal

The carpet-washing ceremony of the Fin region of Kashan county and Khaveh Ardahal village in “Mashhad-e Ardahal” is one of the ancient mourning ceremonies of this region, which is held on the second Friday of autumn every year, commonly known as the “Carpet Friday”, to commemorate the anniversary of the martyrdom of Sultan Ali ibn Imam Mohammad Baqir (as). This is the only Islamic religious ceremony that is organized according to the solar (Iranian) calendar.

The origin of the Carpet-Washing ceremony dates back to the time of the martyrdom of Sultan Ali on the 27th of Jamadi Al-Thani in the year 116 AH/734 AD who had been invited to this region by the people and residents of Kashan.

In this ceremony, a group of people roll up one of the carpets of the Sultan Ali ibn Imam Mohammad Baqir’s shrine and place it on the shoulders of some youths, who - after holding a lamentation and mourning ceremony inside the shrine - deliver it to the people of Fin and they take the carpet to a spring that is about a few hundred meters east of the building. This group is followed by another group of people each of whom carries a long handstick and chant the name of Imam Hussain (as) and move their handsticks as a sign of wanting revenge his martyrdom. The carpet is then placed on the ground next to the spring and is purified with spring water as a metaphorical sign of giving ablution to the body of the Imamzadeh. The arrival of the carpet carriers at the entrance of the shrine and handing it over to the residents of the village of Khaveh Ardahal, who have to take it inside the shrine, is accompanied by a special ceremony.

The ritual is inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.