The Arbaeen Hosseini mourning ceremony was held in the presence of the ambassador, the president of the Federation and the delegation of Karate girls and boys of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a group of embassy staff and resident Iranians and devotees of the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) on Saturday 3rd of Shahrivar 1403 (August 24, 2024) in the Cultural Center of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Manila. And articipants engaged in the recitation of the Ziyarat Arbaeen, listened to the speech by Hojjat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen "Mastura," a Filipino scholar from the Qom Seminary, and took part in mourning rituals and chest-beating.

On Friday, 19th of Mordad 1403 (August 9, 2024), Mr. Abdolmajid Abolghasemi, the Cultural Counselor of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Manila, along with his accompanying delegation, visited the Federation of International DroneSoccer Association (FIDA) exhibition held at the grand hall of the SM Mall.

During the visit of the honorable Deputy for Management and Resource Development and the honorable Director General for Human Resources Development to review and follow up on the issues of cultural representations in East Asia and explore avenues of cooperation with Iranian organizations and institutions located at the mission site, Mr. Hossein Pour and Mr. Shakeri met and held discussions with Mr. Yousef Esmaeil Zadeh, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on Friday, 29th of Tir 1403 (July 19, 2024), at our country’s embassy in Manila.

Once again, the devotees of the Ahl al-Bayt gathered on Thursday night, the 28th of Tir 1403, in the hall of cultural center. They commemorated the martyrdom of one of the witnesses of the painful event of Karbala and they listened and recited to the spiritually uplifting Dua-e-Kumayl and the heavenly supplication of Mawla Ali (peace be upon him).

With the oppressed martyrdom of Hossein Ibn Ali (a.s.) and his loyal companions, and the heads of those men being carried on spears, grief and mourning enveloped the entire Islamic world.

With the arrival of the noon of Ashura each year, Muslims and lovers of Imam Hossein (a.s) are reminded of the noon prayer of Ashura led by the Master of Martyrs. This prayer, performed with parched lips under a rain of arrows and spears, allowed the devotees to express their last loving whispers to their Beloved and affirm their stance with the cry of "Hayhat min al-dhilla" (Far be it from us to accept disgrace).

With the arrival of Ashura on Monday night, the grief of the mourners was intensified. It is rare for someone to hear about the events of the night of Ashura and the farewell moments of the noble Imam Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him) with his family and especially with Zainab al-Kubra (peace be upon her) without tears welling up in their eyes.

With the arrival of the days of Tasu'a, mourners of the martyrs of Karbala gathered once again on the night of Tasu'a. This time, they mourned and performed chest-beating (matam) in commemoration of the martyrdom of the standard-bearer of Imam Hossein's (a.s) army and the water-bearer of Karbala, Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas, also known as Bab al-Hawaij and Qamar Bani Hashim.

Once again, the mourners and devotees of the Master and Leader of the Martyrs gathered on the night of the 23rd of Tir 1403 to honor the memory of the heroes of Karbala.