It is one of the four sacred
months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second
holiest month, after Ramadan. The Tenth day of Muharram is known as the Day of
Ashura. Better known as part of the Mourning of Muharram, Shia Muslims practice
partial fasting, and Sunni Muslims practice fasting on Ashura.
Muslims mourn the martyrdom of Husayn
ibn Ali and his family, honouring the martyrs by prayer and abstinence from
joyous events. Shia Muslims fast on the 10th of Muharram but some (children,
elderly or sick) don't eat or drink until Zawal
(afternoon) as a part of their mourning for Husayn. In addition there is an
important Ziyarat book, the Ziyarat Ashura about Husayn ibn Ali. In
the Shia sect, it is popular to read this Ziyarat
on this date.
Muharram and Ashura
The sighting of the new moon
ushers in the Islamic New Year. The first month, Muharram, is one of the four
sacred months mentioned in the Quran, along with the seventh month of Rajab.
During these sacred months, warfare is forbidden. Before the advent of Islam,
the Quraish and Arabs also forbade warfare during those months.
Muharram is a month of
remembrance. 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 Shahadat of Ḥusayn ibn Ali, the grandson of
Muhammad.
Muslims 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
Hussain and his family and followers (including women, children and elderly
people) were deprived of water. The surviving members of Husayn’s family and
those of his followers were taken captive, marched to Damascus, and imprisoned
there.
Timing for Muharram
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 10 to 11 days shorter than the solar year, Muharram migrates throughout the solar years.