Sultan Ali was Imam Sadeq’s brother who came to Kashan, with people’s invitation. But after three years attempting to propound Islam, finally he was killed in an unfair war in 732 CE.

The ritual of the carpet washing in Mashhad Ardehal symbolizes a funeral held for Sultan Ali (AS), in the region of Mashhad Ardehal.

The ritual is held annually on the second Friday of fall.

Hundreds of people holding sticks in their hands, take the sacred carpet reciting Imam Hussain (AS) name to wash it in the Shazde Hussein Spring near the mausoleum. The carpet is symbolizing the disintegrated body of Sultan Ali (AS).

The UNESCO has registered the ritual of the carpet washing in Mashhad Ardehal on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Mashhad Ardehal is located in 45 kilometers Northwest of Kashan.