PDF Ashura (Islamic Festivals Book 1)

Understanding Islam and Muslim Traditions

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Understanding Islam and Muslim Traditions is an excellent, basic introduction for this audience. A wide-ranging title important to a thorough understanding of the system.

As they say if your house is on fire you have to put it off first before you go to your neighbours house which is also on. Muharam which is a Friday because normally after the Friday prayers, generous friends would give all sorts of food or even treat me to lunches. A series of articles on. Historical and geographical information is also presented to provide a context for further understanding. Imam Bukhari was so strong in collecting Ahaadeeth that he would sometimes classify and remove his own collected Ahaadeeth on mere doubt that it could be da'eef weak hadith on which his student Imam Muslim recorded in his books based on Imam Bukhari's principle. On this day Shia is in remembrance, and mourning attire is worn.

Gulevich's account is concise yet informative, rendering a picture that both students and general readers will understand. This work is recommended for public, school, and undergraduate libraries. Calling from Inside the U. Terms of Use Privacy Policy. Library binding Trim Size: Table of Contents PDF. Reviews "This is an excellent reference work offering a wealth of multifaceted information. Public rites of remembrance for Husayn's martyrdom developed from the early pilgrimages.

The words Azadari Persian: Majalis-e Aza, also known as Aza-e Husayn, includes mourning congregations, lamentations, matam and all such actions which express the emotions of grief and above all, repulsion against what Yazid stood for. These religious customs show solidarity with Husayn and his family. Through them, people mourn Husayn's death and express regret for the fact that they were not present at the battle to fight and save Husayn and his family.

After almost 12 centuries, five types of major rituals were developed around the battle of Karbala. These rituals include the memorial services majalis al-ta'ziya , the visitation of Husayn's tomb in Karbala particularly on the occasion of the tenth day of Ashura and the fortieth day after the battle Ziyarat Ashura and ziyarat al-Arba'in , the public mourning processions al-mawakib al-husayniyya or the representation of the battle of Karbala in the form of a play the shabih , and the flagellation tatbir.

For Shia Muslims, the commemoration of Ashura is not a festival but rather a sad event, while Sunni Muslims view it as a victory God gave to Moses. For Shia Muslims, it is a period of intense grief and mourning. Mourners congregate at a mosque for sorrowful, poetic recitations such as marsiya , noha , latmiya , and soaz performed in memory of the martyrdom of Husayn, lamenting and grieving to the tune of beating drums and chants of " Ya Hussain ".

Also, Ulamas give sermons with themes of Husayn's personality and position in Islam, and the history of his uprising. The Sheikh of the mosque retells the Battle of Karbala to allow his listeners to relive the pain and sorrow endured by Husayn and his family and they read Maqtal Al-Husayn [48] [51]. In some places, such as Iran , Iraq, and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf , passion plays known as Ta'zieh [52] are performed, reenacting the Battle of Karbala and the suffering and martyrdom of Husayn at the hands of Yazid.

In the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica Ahsura, known locally as 'Hussay' or Hosay is commemorated for the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, but its celebration has adopted influence from other religions including Roman Catholic, Hindu, and Baptists, making it a mixture of different cultures and religion.

Islamic Holidays and Festivals

The event is attended by both Muslims and non-Muslims depicting an environment of mutual respect and tolerance. 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. This mourning is considered to be a shameless way for most Shia Muslims and most of them are against this kind of mourning. This day is of particular significance to Twelver Shia and Alawites , who consider Husayn the grandson of Prophet Muhammad Ahl al-Bayt , the third Imam to be the rightful successor of Prophet Muhammad.

According to Kamran Scot Aghaie, "The symbols and rituals of Ashura have evolved over time and have meant different things to different people. However, at the core of the symbolism of Ashura is the moral dichotomy between worldly injustice and corruption on the one hand and God-centered justice, piety, sacrifice and perseverance on the other. Also, Shiite Muslims consider the remembrance of the tragic events of Ashura to be an important way of worshipping God in a spiritual or mystical way.

Shia Muslims make pilgrimages on Ashura, as they do forty days later on Arba'een, to the Mashhad al-Husayn, the shrine in Karbala, Iraq, that is traditionally held to be Husayn's tomb. On this day Shia is in remembrance, and mourning attire is worn. They refrain from listening to or playing music since Arabic culture generally considers music impolite during death rituals.

It is a time for sorrow and for showing respect for the person's passing, and it is also a time for self-reflection when one commits oneself completely to the mourning of Husayn. Shia Muslims do not plan weddings and parties on this date. They mourn by crying and listening to recollections of the tragedy and sermons on how Husayn and his family were martyred.

This is intended to connect them with Husayn's suffering and martyrdom , and the sacrifices he made to keep Islam alive. Husayn's martyrdom is widely interpreted by Shia Muslims a symbol of the struggle against injustice, tyranny, and oppression. Shia Imams strongly insist that the day of Ashura should not be celebrated as a day of joy and festivity. The day of Ashura, according to Eighth Shia Imam Ali al-Rida , must be observed as a day of rest, sorrow, and total disregard of worldly matters.

Husayn RA And Karbala

Some of the events associated with Ashura are held in special congregation halls known as " Imambargah " and Hussainia. Sunnis regard fasting during Ashura as recommended, though not obligatory, having been superseded by the Ramadan fast. Sahih Muslim , Hadith [67] 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.

Prophet Muhammad fasted on the day of Ashura, 10th Muharram, in Makkah. When fasting during the month of Ramadan became obligatory, the fast of Ashura was made non-compulsory. According to Muslim tradition, the Jews also fasted on the tenth day. He asked, "What is this? According to this tradition, Prophet Muhammad continued to observe the veneration of Ashura modeled on its Jewish prototype in late September until shortly before his death, which the verse of Nasi' was revealed and the Jewish-type calendar adjustments of the Muslims became prohibited.

From then on, Ashura became distinct from its Jewish predecessor of Yom Kippur. Commemoration of Ashura has great socio-political value for the Shia, who have been a minority throughout their history. According to the prevailing conditions at the time of the commemoration, such reminiscences may become a framework for implicit dissent or explicit protest.

It was, for instance, used during the Islamic Revolution of Iran , the Lebanese Civil War , the Lebanese resistance against the Israeli military presence and in the s Uprising in Bahrain. Sometimes the Ashura commemorations associate the memory of Al-Husayn's martyrdom with the conditions of Islam and Muslims in reference to Husayn's famous quote on the day of Ashura: From the period of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution — onward, mourning gatherings increasingly assumed a political aspect.

Following an old established tradition, preachers compared the oppressors of the time with Imam Husayn's enemies, the umayyads. The political function of commemoration was very marked in the years leading up to the Islamic Revolution of —79, as well as during the revolution itself. In addition, the implicit self-identification of the Muslim revolutionaries with Imam Husayn led to a blossoming of the cult of the martyr, expressed most vividly, perhaps, in the vast cemetery of Behesht-e Zahra , to the south of Tehran , where the martyrs of the revolution and the war against Iraq are buried.

Fasting the Day of 'Ashura'

On the other hand, some governments have banned this commemoration. In the s Reza Shah forbade it in Iran. The regime of Saddam Hussein saw this as a potential threat and banned Ashura commemorations for many years. Terrorist attacks against Shia Muslims have occurred in several countries, on the day of Ashurra. While Ashura is always on the same day of the Islamic calendar, the date on 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 appearance of the crescent moon that is used to determine when each Islamic month begins varies from country to country due to the different geographic locations. Every year on 10th Muharram hundreds take part in procession downtown for Muslim holiday of mourning. The message of Ashura is universal and It is about standing up for what is right. At the Loop police blocked off streets for the procession of Ashura, which began and ended at the Thompson Center.

Mosque leaders sang poems of mourning, and others carried colorful flags and banners, some bearing the names of those who died alongside Hussein. Many Muslims took off school for the holiday, as did many others marching down Randolph Street. After the yearly procession, many families go to pray at a mosque or gather at houses, where they often pray and reflect.

Over the years, Chicagoans have dealt with all sorts of weather for the procession because the Islamic calendar, based on a lunar system, shifts relative to the standard Julian calendar. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the Islamic holy day. For the traditional dessert, see Ashure. For other uses, see Ashura disambiguation. Ashura mourning in Imam Hossein Square , Tehran , Part of a series on Shia Islam. Muhammad Ali Fatimah Hasan Hussein.

Commemoration of Husayn ibn Ali. Nakhl Gardani and Rawda Khwani.

Ashura (Islamic Festivals Book 1)

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Fasting the Day of 'Ashura'

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