03/11/2014
Arabic: عاشوراء
Persian: عاشورا
Turkish: Aşure Günü
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". It is observed on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar.
According to Sunni Muslim tradition, Muhammad fasted on this day and asked other people to fast.
It is commemorated by Shi'a Muslims as a day of mourning for the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) at the Battle of Karbala on 10 Muharram in the year 61 AH.
Not related to Ashura and Karbala, some Sunni Muslims fast on this day of Ashura based on narrations attributed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). 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.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)'s tribe, the Quraish, fasted on the 10th of Muharram. Though optional, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) retained this pre-Islamic practice too. Below is details from the Hadith:
Narrated 'Aisha (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 Medina, 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."
A companion of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Ibn Abas (RA) reports Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) went to Medina and found the Jews fasting on the tenth of Muharram.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) 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."
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, " We have more claim over Moses than you."
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) then fasted on that day and ordered Muslims too.
When fasting the month of Ramadan, became obligatory, the fast of Ashura was made non compulsory.
Egyptian Muslims customarily eat a pudding (also known as Ashura) after dinner on the Day of Ashura; it is a wheat pudding with nuts, raisins, and rose water, and it is also known in Turkish as Aşure.
For Shi'a Muslims this day is well-known because of mourning for the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali (RA), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the third Shia Imam, along with members of his family and close friends at the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH. Yazid I was in power then and wanted the Bay'ah (allegiance) of Husayn ibn Ali (RA). Muslims believe Yazid was openly going against the teachings of Islam in public and changing the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Husayn (RA) in his path toward Kufa encountered the army of Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, the governor of Kufa. On 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 Sa'ad, son of the founder of Kufa. Husayn (RA) and all of his men were killed while being thirsty. The nearby river (Forat) was also blocked by Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad men and Husayn (RA) and his companions were not allowed to get any water from it.
Commemoration for Husayn ibn Ali (RA) began after the Battle of Karbala. After the massacre, the Umayyad army looted Husayn's camp and set off with his women and children for the court of Ibn Ziyad. A moving oration delivered by Zaynab in Kufa is recorded in some sources. The prisoners were next sent to the court of Yazid, Umayyad caliph, in Damascus.
The family remained in Yazid's prison for a time. The prison sentence ended when Husayn (RA)'s 3 year old daughter, Rukaiyya (RA), died in captivity, unaware of her father's martyrdom. She often cried in prison to be allowed to see her father. Her death caused an uproar in the city, and Yazid, fearful of a potential resulting revolution, freed the captives.
