Al-Karbalaei was born in
Karbala, to Ismail al-Karbalaei, and Siddiqa al-Tukmachi. He is the fourth of seven children. Whilst in Karbala, he was inspired by senior eulogy reciter
Hamza al-Zighayir, and participated in his
majalis (plu. mourning gatherings), until he died in 1976. In 1980, al-Karbalaei and his family emigrated to
Iran, fleeing
Bathist persecution. He lived in
Isfahan, near his mother's family, and it was his uncle Rasool al-Tukmachi, who discovered al-Karbalaei's talent and began to encourage him to recite praises and lamentations in memory of the
Ahl al-Bayt. He was then taken under the wing of a Mulla Taqi, who began taking him to the
Husayniya; established by the people of Karbala who resided in Isfahan, to participate in. The first ever eulogy he recited was ''Taj al-Sa'ada Lel Yiwali Haidar'' (), by renowned late poet, Kadhim Manthoor. Al-Karbalaei, then began to recite in different cities across Iran, at
Husayniyya established by the
Iraqi community. In Isfahan, he learns the Quran and its sounds well for five years. Then he goes to a person named Mullah Taghi Karbalaei to ask him for help. Bassem learns some poems from Mullah Taghi Karbalaei. His name quickly spread between the congregations, and began to attract the youth to his majalis, and through listening to him, they would cultivate pious sensibilities. Al-Karbalaei began reciting eulogies mainly written by Muhammad-Ridha Fatthallah. However, after the death of Fatthallah, he was introduced to Jaber al-Kadhimi. al-Karbalaei and al-Kadhimi got on very well, and whilst the former was considered to be a talented reciter, the latter was considered one of the best poets of that time. It was here that a long relationship began, where they would produce modern melodies and lyrics, straying away from the traditional tunes and poetry that were recited before them. The first ten nights of
Muharram (that are spent retelling the story of the murder of
Hussain, his family and his companions on
Ashura) are considered second only to
Ramadan in its significance, and its considered the largest in congregation compared to other mourning seasons, and every Shia eulogy reciter dreams of hosting these ten nights, and al-Karbalaei's first ten night function was in 1988, in Qom. That year witnessed the beginning of al-Karbalaei's recognition as a capable reciter. In 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, he was infected with the virus and he could not read for the first ten nights of Muharram because of the pandemic, but in
Muharram 2021, he started reading again after he recovered and the COVID-19 crisis receded. == Career ==