Muharram Muharram (Arabic: المحرّم) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year. Since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, Muharram moves from year to year when compared with the Gregorian calendar. The word Muharram means Forbidden and is derived from the word harām, meaning sinful. It is held to be the most sacred of all the months, excluding Ramadan. Some Muslims fast during these days. The tenth day of Muharram is the Day of Ashura, which to Shia Muslims is part of the Mourning of Muharram. Some Muslims fast during this day, because it is recorded in the hadith that Musa (Moses) and his people obtained a victory over the Egyptian Pharaoh on the 10th day of Muharram; accordingly Muhammad asked Muslims to pray on this day that is Ashura and on a day before that is 9th (called Tasu`a). Fasting differs among the Muslim groupings; many Shia Muslims stop eating and drinking during sunlight hours and do not eat until late afternoon. Sunni Muslims also fast during Muharram for the first ten days of Muharram, or just the tenth day, or on both the ninth and tenth days; the exact term depends on the individual. Shia Muslims do so to commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali on the Day of Ashura. Muharram and Ashura Muharram is a month of remembrance and modern Shia meditation that is often considered synonymous with Ashura. Ashura, which literally means the Tenth in Arabic, refers to the tenth day of Muharram. It is well-known because of historical significance and mourning for the martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad. Shias begin mourning from the first night of Muharram and continue for ten nights, climaxing on the 10th of Muharram, known as the Day of Ashura. The last few days up until and including the Day of Ashura are the most important because these were the days in which Imam Hussein and his family and followers (including women, children and elderly people) were deprived of water from the 7th onward and on the 10th, Imam Hussain and 72 of his followers were killed by the army of Yazid I at the Battle of Karbala on Yazids orders. The surviving members of Imam Husseins family and those of his followers were taken captive, marched to Damascus, and imprisoned there. Muharram is also observed by Dawoodi Bohras as well as it is not a good festival for muslims in the same way as Shias. They practice prayers on the sayings of the present Dai of Bohras, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin. On the tenth day of Muharrum, they pray for Hussein till the magrib . When the pray ends, Hussein is considered martyr by Yazid. With the sighting of the new moon the Islamic New Year is ushered in. The first month, Muharram is one of the four sacred months that [Allah] has mentioned in the Quran. Timing The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, Muharram migrates throughout the solar years. Incidents occurred during this month • 01 Muharram: anniversary of the death of Hazrat Ammasaheb Bibi Habiba Qadri in India • 02 Muharram: Hussein ibn Ali enters Karbala and establishes camp. Yazids forces are present. • 07 Muharram: Access to water was banned to Husayn ibn Ali by Yazids orders. • 10 Muharram: Referred to as the Day of Ashurah (lit. the tenth) was the day on which Hussein ibn Ali was martyred in the Battle of Karbala. Shia Muslims spend the day in mourning, whilst the Sunni Muslims fast on this day commemorating the rescue of the people of Israel by Musa (Moses) from Pharaoh • Many Sufi Muslims fast for the same reason as the sunnis mentioned above, but also for the martyrs, they pray for them and send upon them peace and blessings. • 15 Muharram: Birth of Muhammad Sirajuddin Naqshbandi in 1297 AH (1879-1880 AD) • 25 Muharram: Martyrdom of Zayn al-‘Ābidīn, fourth Shia Imam, day of Shahid (martyrdom: lit. witness, as martyr is Greek for witness) in 95 AH (714 AD). • 27 Muharram, Maytham al-Tammar was killed. • 28 Muharram: Death anniversary Urs of Ashraf Jahangir Semnani in 808 AH (1405 AD) a great Sufi saint in India. • Death anniversary Urs of Baba Farid, a great Sufi saint in Pakistan for six days in Muharram. Day of Ashura The Day of Ashura (Arabic: عاشوراء ʻĀshūrā’ , colloquially: /ʕa(ː)ˈʃuːra/; Urdu: عاشورہ; Persian: عاشورا; Turkish: Aşure Günü) is on the tenth day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar and is commemorated by Shia Muslims as a day when Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad met his death without the promised assistance of the Kufans at the Battle of Karbala on 10 Muharram in the year 61 AH (in AHc: October 9, and in AHt: October 10, 680 CE). The kufans had already wrote to him to come to Kufa and be their Imam. However, before he reached Iraq, the enthusiasm for taking up arms on his behalf in Kufa had already began to dwindle on account of the severe measures taken by the citys governor. Husayn together with the small group, who accompanied him, was martyred on this day. Day of Ashura is commemorated by Shia Muslims as a day of mourning for the death of Husayn ibn Ali, and in some Shiite regions of Muslim countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Pakistan, the Commemoration of Husayn ibn Ali has become a national holiday and most ethnic and religious communities participate in it. Even in predominantly Hindu majority but secular country like India, Ashura (10th day in the month of Muharram) is a public holiday. It is also commemorated by Sunni Muslims (who refer to it as The Day of Atonement) as the day on which the Israelites were freed from the Pharaoh (called Firaun in Arabic) of Egypt. According to Sunni Muslim tradition, Ibn Abbas narrates that Muhammad came to Madina and saw the Jews fasting on the tenth day of Muharram. He asked, “What is this?” They said, “This is a good day, this is the day when Allah saved the Children of Israel from their enemy and Musa (Moses) fasted on this day.” So he fasted on the day and told the people to fast. Many Sunnis also recognize the importance of the events at Karbala and the martyrdom of Imam Husayn in regards to Ashura. Etymology of Ashura The root for the word Ashura has the meaning of tenth in Semitic languages; hence the name of the remembrance, literally translated, means the tenth day. According to the orientalist A.J. Wensinck, the name is derived from the Hebrew ʿāsōr, with the Aramaic determinative ending. The day is indeed the tenth day of the month, although some Islamic scholars offer up different etymologies. 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 Ashura, with some scholars suggesting that this day is the tenth most important day that God has blessed Muslims with. Commemoration of the death of Husayn ibn Ali History of the commemoration by Shia This day is well-known because of mourning for the death of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad the third Shia Imam, along with members of his family and close friends at the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (680 AD). After Muawiyah death Yazid I was in power and wanted the Bayah (allegiance) of Husayn ibn Ali. Husayn, however, refrained from it believing that Yazid was openly going against the teachings of Islam in public and changing the sunnah of Muhammad. He was accompanied by his household, his sons, brothers, and the sons of Hasan. In Kufa, on the other hand, the leaders of the Shiite, on learning of Muāwiyahs death, sent letters urged Ḥusayn to join them, since they had no imam. Husayn sent his cousin Muslim ibn Aqeel to report to him on the situation. If he found them united as their letters indicated he would speedily join them. The mission of Moslem was initially successful but situation changed radically when Yazid replaced Noʿmān b. Bašir by Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, ordering the latter to deal severely with Moslem. Before news of the adverse turn of events arrived in Mecca, Ḥosayn set out for Kufa. In his path toward Kufa he encountered the army of Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, the governor of Kufa. On October 10, 680 (Muharram 10, 61 AH), he and his small group of companions and family members (in total who were around 72 men and few ladies and children) fought with a large army of perhaps more than 100,000 men under the command of Umar ibn Saad, son of the founder of Kufa. He was informed that the messenger he had sent to Kufa to announce his imminent arrival had been intercepted and killed by Ibn Ziād by having him thrown from the roof of his palace. In a written statement he broke the news to his supporters acknowledging that the Kufan Shiites had deserted him,and encouraged anyone who so wished, to leave freely without guilt. Most of those who had joined him at various stages on the way from Mecca now left him. Husayn addressed the Kufans, reminding them that they had invited him to come because they were without an imam. He told them that he intended to proceed to Kufa with their support, but if they were now opposed to his coming, he would return to where he had come from. When ʿOmar b. Saʿd reported it back to ʿObayd-Allāh, the governor instructed him to offer Ḥusayn and his supporters the opportunity to swear allegiance to Yazid. He also ordered Umar ibn Saad to cut off Ḥusayn and his followers from access to the water of the Euphrates. On the next morning, as ʿOmar b. Saʿd arranged the Kufan army in battle order, Al-Hurr ibn Yazid al Tamimi challenged him and went over to Ḥusayn. He vainly addressed the Kufans, rebuking them for their treachery to the grandson of the Prophet, and was killed in the battle. The Battle of Karbala lasted from morning till sunset and all of Husays men were killed near the river (Euphrates) where Husayn and his companions were not allowed to get any water from. Before being killed, Husayn said If the religion of Muhammad was not going to live on except with me dead, let the swords tear me to pieces. Some of the bodies of the dead, including that of Husayn, were then mutilated. Once the Umayyad troops had mass murdered Husayn and his male followers, they looted the tents, stripped the women of their jewelry, and took the skin upon which Zain al-Abidin was prostrate. It is said that Shemr was about to kill Zain al-Abidin, but Husayn’s sister Zaynab was available to make Umar ibn Saad, the Umayyad commander to let al Abidin alive. The family remained in Yazids prison for a while and the first assembly (majlis) of Commemoration of Husayn ibn Ali is said to have been held by Zaynab in prison. In Damascus, too, she is reported to have delivered a poignant oration. The prison sentence ended when Husayns 3 year old daughter, Sukayna, died in captivity. She would often cry in prison to be allowed to see her father. She is believed to have died when she saw her fathers mutilated head. Her death caused an uproar in the city, and Yazid, fearful of a potential resulting revolution, freed the captives. Husayns grave became a pilgrimage site among Shia only a few years after his death. A tradition of pilgrimage to the Imam Husayn Shrine and the other Karbala martyrs quickly developed, which is known as Ziarat Ashura. The Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs tried to prevent construction of the shrines and discouraged pilgrimage to the sites. The tomb and its annexes were destroyed by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil in 850–851 and Shia pilgrimage was prohibited, but shrines in Karbala and Najaf were built by the Buwayhid emir Adud al-Daula in 979-80. Public rites of remembrance for Husayns martyrdom developed from the early pilgrimages Under the Buyid dynasty, Muizz ad-Dawla officiated at public commemoration of Ashura in Baghdad. These commemorations were also encouraged in Egypt by the Fatimid caliph al-Aziz. From Seljuq times, Ashura rituals began to attract participants from a variety of backgrounds, including Sunnis, With the recognition of Twelvers as the official religion by the Safavids, Mourning of Muharram extended throughout the first ten days of Muharram. Significance of Ashura for Shia Muslims This day is of particular significance to Twelver Shia Muslims and Alawites, who consider Husayn (the grandson of Muhammad) Ahl al-Bayt the third Imam to be the rightful successor of Muhammad. Shias make pilgrimages on Ashura, as they do forty days later on Arbaeen, to the Mashhad al-Husayn, the shrine in Karbala, Iraq that is traditionally held to be Husayns tomb. On this day Shia are in remembrance, and mourning attire is worn. They refrain from music, since Arabic culture generally considers music impolite during death rituals. It is a time for sorrow and respect of the persons passing, and it is also a time for self-reflection, when one commits oneself to the mourning of the Husayn completely. Weddings and parties are also not planned on this date by Shias. Shias also express mourning by crying and listening to recollections about the tragedy and sermons on how Husayn and his family were martyred. This is intended to connect them with Husayns suffering and martyrdom, and the sacrifices he made to keep Islam alive. Husayns martyrdom is widely interpreted by Shia as a symbol of the struggle against injustice, tyranny, and oppression. Shias believe the Battle of Karbala was between the forces of good and evil with Husayn representing good while Yazid represented evil. Shias also believe the Battle of Karbala was fought to keep the Muslim religion untainted of any corruptions and they believed the path that Yazid was directing Islam was definitely for his own personal greed. Shia Imams strongly insist that the day of Ashura should not be taken as a day of joy and festivity. According to a hadith which is reported from Ali claiming it was on that day the God forgave Adam, Noahs Ark rested on dry land, the Israelites were saved from Pharaohs army, etc.[clarification needed] The day of Ashura, according to Eighth Shia Imam, Ali al-Rida, must be observed as a day of inactivity, sorrow and total disregard of worldly cares. Some of the events associated with Ashura are held in special congregation halls known as Imambargah and Hussainia Cutting with knives or chains Suffering and cutting the body with knives or chains (matam) was banned by the Shia marja Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran and by Hezbollah in Lebanon. Other marjas like Mohammad al-Husayni al-Shirazi promote hemic flagellation rituals as a way of preserving the revolution of Imam al-Husayn.[27] On Ashura, some Shia observe mourning with blood donation which is called Qame Zani and flailing. Certain traditional flagellation rituals such as Talwar zani (talwar ka matam or sometimes tatbir) use a sword. Other rituals such as zanjeer zani or zanjeer matam involve the use of a zanjeer (a chain with blades). These religious customs show solidarity with Husayn and his family. Through them, people mourn Husayns death and regret the fact that they were not present at the battle to fight and save Husayn and his family. In some areas, such as in the Shia suburb of Beirut, Shia communities organize blood donation drives with organizations like the Red Cross or the Red Crescent on Ashura as a replacement for self-flagellation rituals like tatbir and qame zani. Some Shia believe that taking part in Ashura washes away their sins. A popular Shia saying has it that, a single tear shed for Husayn washes away a hundred sins. Significance of Ashura for Sunni Muslims Not related to Ashura and Karbala, some Sunni Muslims fast on this day of Ashura based on narrations attributed to Muhammad. Some other Sunnis accept Ashura as a significant day due to the martyrdom of Imam Husayn and the significance of the events at Karbala. The fasting is to commemorate the day when Moses and his followers were saved from Pharaoh by Allah by creating a path in the Red Sea. According to Muslim tradition, the Jews used to fast on the tenth day. So Muhammad recommended to be different from the Jews and recommended fasting two days instead of one. 9th and 10th or the 10th and 11th day of Muharram. In some countries other religious communities commemorate this event. According to Hadith record in Sahih Bukhari, Ashura was already known as a commemorative day during which some Makkah residents used to observe customary fasting. Muhammad used to fast on the day of Ashura, 10th Muharram, in Makkah. When fasting the month of Ramadan became obligatory, the fast of Ashura was made non compulsory. This has been narrated by Ayesha RA, Sahih Muslim, (Hadith-2499). In hijrah event when Muhammad led his followers to Madina, he found the Jews of that area likewise observing fasts on the day of Ashura. At this, Muhammad affirmed the Islamic claim to the fast, and from then the Muslims have fasted on combinations of two or three consecutive days including the 10th of Muharram (e.g. 9th and 10th or 10th and 11th). A companion of Muhammad, Ibn Abbas reports Muhammad went to Madina and found the Jews fasting on the tenth of Muharram. Muhammad inquired of them, What is the significance of this day on which you fast? They replied, This is a good day, the day on which God rescued the children of Israel from their enemy. So, Moses fasted this day. Muhammad said, We have more claim over Moses than you. Muhammad then fasted on that day and ordered Muslims too. The narrations of Muhammad mentioning the Children of Israel being saved from Pharaoh are indeed confirmed by authentic hadith in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Sunnis regard fasting during Ashura as recommended, though not obligatory, having been superseded by the Ramadan fast.Sahih Muslim, (Hadith-2499) Muhammads tribe, the Quraish, fasted on the 10th of Muharram. Though optional, Muhammad retained this pre-Islamic practice too. Below is details from the Hadith: Narrated Ayesha RA: Ashura (i.e. the tenth day of Muharram) was a day on which the tribe of Quraish used to fast in the pre-lslamic period of ignorance. The Prophet also used to fast on this day. So when he migrated to Madina, he fasted on it and ordered (the Muslims) to fast on it. When the fasting of Ramadan was enjoined, it became optional for the people to fast or not to fast on the day of Ashura. Egyptian Muslims customarily eat a pudding (also known as Ashura) after dinner on the Day of Ashura. Similar to the Turkish Aşure, it is a wheat pudding with nuts, raisins, and rose water. Jameel Ahmed Khan, Vice President - AURANGABAD CITY DISTRICT CONGRESS COMMITTEE, Incharge - Media And Social Media for Congress, Aurangabad. District Incharge - TIMES OF CONGRESS (E-NEWSPAPER), AURANGABAD, President - Aurangabad City District Congress Committee, (Higher & Technical Education Cell), Aurangabad. Cell No. : 9325208887, 9764418887. Whatsapp No. : 9325208887. E-mail : [email protected] / jameelak07@gmail facebook/jameelahmed.khan.921 twitter/Ak07Khan
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 08:13:34 +0000
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