This short article examines how popular Shi‘ite piety was practised in specific edifices and buildings in pre-modern Iran and India. Ḥusayn’s martyrdom at Karbalā in 680 has undoubtedly dominated popular Shi‘ite piety, and not surprisingly there has been an emergence of scripted and staged commemorations of this event in majority-Shi‘ite communities. In the Iranian context, Chelkowski focuses on the development of the “super dome” ‘Takiye-ye Dowlat’ built by Naṣīr al-Dīn Šāh in late 19th century Qājār Iran. For the Indian comparison, he examines the Bara Imambara built by the Nawabi dynasty of Lucknow in the 18th century. These buildings served different functions – the ḥoseyniyes in Iran are dedicated to the ta‘ziyye passion plays, while the emāmbāres were meant to replicate Ḥusayn’s mausoleum – and as such we see how Shi‘ite communities across the Islamic lands did not subscribe to a uniform interpretation of the ‘Āšūrā and how its representation in popular belief systems could vary substantially.