Rawda Khwani

Rawda khwani as public lamentation is held to commemorating the death of Husayn ibn Ali and his follower, suffering of his family during the Battle of Karbala especially by Iranian Shia Muslims.

[2][3] During this ritual mourning, the Rawda khwan (story teller) recites loudly chapters of the Garden of the Martyrs with innovative skills to mourners.

The ritual of Rawda khwani can be held anywhere, such as public squares of cities and villages, yards of mosque or privet house, Hussainiya and the Tekyeh that were built from the eighteenth century for performing the Mourning of Muharram.

[2] The name Rawda khwani (Persian: روضه خوانی) initially referred to the reading of Rawḍat al-s̲h̲uhadāʾ (English: The Garden of the Martyrs), a book composed by Hussain Wa'ez Kashefi in 1502 in Herat.

Tufan al-Buka (tempest of tear) of Muhammad Ibrahim Jawhari, Asrar al-shahada (Mysteries of Martyrdom) of Ali Asghar Tabatabai are the most popular books that are replaced as Rawḍat al-s̲h̲uhadā.