Hyderabad: Hazrat Ali’s birth anniversary celebrations took centre stage on Friday, featuring a grand Sehra procession led by an elephant. The day falls on 13 Rajjab as per the Islamic calendar, and festivities continue throughout the week.
On Friday, 16 Rajjab, devotees gathered at Ashoorkhana in Imlibun, where an elephant carrying the “Sandal” and “Sehra” led a procession that passed through Darulshifa and Noorkhan Bazaar. Thousands of participants thronged the streets to witness the event.
According to Syed Hamid Hussain Jafri, president of the TS Shia Youth Conference, prominent figures attended a religious meeting on the occasion, including Srinagar MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi.
On Thursday, the ‘Juloos-e-Sehra Mubarak’, was taken out after prayers at the Ashoorkhana Baitul Sharaf Sarkar Rizayul Millat and was led by Moulana Syed Waheed Uddin Hyder Jaffery Qibla Akhbari. The procession began in the afternoon, traversing Darulshifa, Purani Haveli, Mandi Mir Alam, and Etebar Chowk, eventually concluding at Panjesha Vilayat.
Earlier, on Tuesday, a separate procession left Bargha Sakina, Alijahkotla, and reached Moula Ali via Mir Alam Mandi, Darulshifa, Chaderghat, Barkatpura, Nallakunta, Tarnaka, and Lalapet.
Organiser Ali Raza said that the occasion marked the 1,467th birth anniversary (Viladath) of Imam Ali Ibne Abu Talib (a.s.), who holds the distinction of being born inside the Holy Kaaba in Macca, Saudi Arabia.