Ashurah
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- For the Canaanite and Ugaritic mother-goddess, please see Asherah.
The Day of Āshūrāh, sometimes spelled Aashurah, ‘Ashurah or Aashoorah (Arabic عاشوراء, ʿĀšūrāʾ), falls on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar and marks the climax of the Festival of Muharram. It commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (AD 680).
Ashurah is also commemorated by Muslims as the traditional date on which Noah's ark came to rest, the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim) was born and the Ka'ba was built in Mecca. Ashurah corresponds to the Jewish Yom Kippur, which was also held by the Jews of Medina, in remembrance of their salvation from the Pharaoh of Egypt. It was adopted by the Muslims as a recommended fast to demonstrate their claim over Musa (Moses).
The word ashurah means simply tenth in Arabic; hence the festival's name, literally translated, means "the tenth day".
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Shi'a commemoration
This day is of particular significance to Shi'a Muslims, who consider Husayn the third Imam and a rightful successor of Muhammad. Many Shi'a make pilgrimages on Ashurah to the Mashhad al-Husayn, the shrine in Karbala, Iraq that is traditionally held to be Husayn's tomb. Shi'as also express mourning by thumping their chests. This is intended to connect them with Husayn's suffering and death. Husayn's martyrdom is widely interpreted by Shi'a as a symbol of the struggle against injustice, tyranny, and oppression. The regime of Saddam Hussein saw this as a potential threat and banned Ashurah commemorations for many years. In neighboring Iran, the festival became a major political symbol during the Islamic Revolution, as also occurred in Lebanon during that country's civil war, and in Bahrain during the anti-government uprising of the 1990s.
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The 2004 (1425 AH) Shi'a pilgrimage to Karbala, the first since Saddam Hussein was removed from power in Iraq, was marred by bomb attacks, which killed and wounded hundreds despite tight security.
Some Shia celebrate Ashurah with a traditional flagellation ritual called zanjeer zani or zanjeer matam, involving the use of a zanjeer (a chain with a set of curved knives at the end). The practice is not universal - many Shia enact the ritual by beating their chests symbolically.[1]
Sunni commemoration
Sunnis also commemorate Ashurah, but for different reasons. According to Sunni tradition, when the Prophet led his followers to Medina, he found the Jews of that area fasting on the day of Ashurah in rememberance of Moses. Asserting that Muslims had a greater claim to Moses than the Jews, the Prophet adopted the practice. Today, Sunnis regard fasting on the 10th of Muharram as a recommended, though not obligatory, act. The day carries considerably less significance for Sunnis than it does for Shi'as.
While Sunnis generally consider the martyrdom of Husayn to be an unfortunate event and one of great historical importance, they do not ascribe religious significance to it as the Shi'a do. Hence, Sunni practices commemorating Ashurah generally do not involve Husayn or his death and consist mainly of fasting and prayers.
Etymology of Ashurah
The word Ashurah is Arabic for tenth. In his book Ghuniyatut Talibin, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani writes that the Islamic scholars have a difference of opinion as to why this day is known as Ashurah. The general consensus is that the day is the tenth day of the month of Muharram. Some scholars, however, suggest that this day is the tenth most important day that God has blessed Muslims with; hence the name Ashurah.
Ashurah in the Western Calendar
While Ashurah is always on the same day of the Islamic calendar, the date on the Western calendar (the Gregorian calendar) varies from year to year due to differences between the two calendars, since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar and the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. Furthermore, the method used to determine when each Islamic month begins varies from country to country. (For details, please see Islamic calendar.) All future dates listed below are only estimates:
- 2003: March 13
- 2004: March 2
- 2005: February 19
- 2006: February 9
- 2007: January 29
- 2008: January 19
- 2009: January 7, then December 27 (See note below.)
- 2010: December 16
NOTE: There are 2 days of Ashurah in the year 2009.
See also
Reference / External links
- Ashura.com – explains the background and significance of the festival
- What is Ashura? (BBC News)
- Date of Islamic Holy Days (moonsighting.com)
- Description of Husayn's martyrdom on the day of Ashurah
- Annual Muharram Procession in New York, the largest Shi'a gathering in North America.
| Muslim holidays and observences | |||||||||||
| Muslim New Year | Festival of Muharram | Aashurah | Imamat Day | Arba'een | Mawlid | |||||||||||
| Imam Musa al Kazim day | Lailat al Miraj | Shab-e-baraat | Ramadan | Laylat al-Qadr | Eid ul-Fitr | Eid ul-Adha | |||||||||||
