This article is about the Islamic holy day. For the traditional dessert, seeAshure. For the Indian deities, seeAsura. For other uses, seeAshura (disambiguation).
Ashura (Arabic:عَاشُورَاء,ʿĀshūrāʾ[ʕaːʃuːˈraːʔ]) is a day of commemoration inIslam. It occurs annually on the tenth ofMuharram, the first month of theIslamic calendar. ForSunniMuslims, Ashura marks theparting of the Red Sea byMoses and the salvation of theIsraelites. Also on this day, it is believed thatNoah disembarked from theArk, God forgaveAdam, andJoseph was released from prison, among various other auspicious events having occurred on Ashura according to Sunni tradition. Ashura is celebrated in Sunni Islam throughsupererogatoryfasting and other acceptable expressions of joy. In some Sunni communities, the annual Ashura festivities include carnivals, bonfires, and special dishes, even though some Sunni scholars have criticized such practices.
By contrast, forShia Muslims, Ashura is a day of mourning as they annually commemorate the death ofHusayn ibn Ali, grandson of theIslamic prophetMuhammad and the thirdShia imam. Husayn refused on moral grounds to pledge his allegiance to theUmayyad caliphYazid ibn Mu'awiya (r. 680–683) and was subsequently killed, alongside most of his male relatives and his small retinue, by the Umayyad army in theBattle of Karbala on Ashura 61AH (680CE). AmongShia Muslims, mourning for Husayn is seen as an act of protest against oppression, a spiritual struggle for God, and a means of seeking Husayn’s intercession in the afterlife. Ashura is observed through mourning gatherings, processions, and dramatic reenactments. In such ceremonies, Shia mourners strike their chests to share in the pain of Husayn. Extreme self-flagellation, often involving self-inflicted bloodshed, remains controversial among the Shia, condemned by many Shia clerics, and outlawed in some Shia communities. Ashura has sometimes been an occasion for sectarian violence, particularly against the Shia minority.
Ashura is anAramaic word meaning 'tenth'.[1] It may have also been derived from theSyriac wordsasiroya orasora.[2] It shares the same root as theHebrew word'āsōr.[3] InArabic, Ashura refers to the tenth day ofMuharram, the first month of theIslamic calendar, a month in which fighting has been forbidden since before the advent ofIslam.[2][4]
Fasting on Ashura was likely aJewish practice adopted by theIslamic prophetMuhammad after his arrival in the city ofMedina in 622CE,[3] perhaps signifying Muhammad's sense of a shared prophetic mission withMoses.[5] Although it remained optional, fasting on Ashura ceased to be a religious obligation after about a year when the relations with the MedineseJews deteriorated.[3][6] This transition is often associated with verses 2:183–5 of theQuran, the central religious text inIslam, which explicitly designateRamadan as the month of fasting.[1] It also seems improbable that Ashura initially coincided with the tenth of Muharram.[3][5] Instead, Ashura was probably observed at first on the tenth of the first Jewish month ofTishrei, known asYom Kippur (lit.'day of atonement').[5][7] The association of Ashura with the tenth of Muharram thus happened later, some time after the Jewish andMuslim calendars diverged.[3][5] In turn, the calendars began to diverge when Muhammad forbade Jewish-type calendar adjustments in connection with verse 9:37 of the Quran.[5][8][4]
A similar origin story for Ashura appears in someSunni traditions.[1] Alternatively, there are traditions in canonical Sunni collections that describe fasting on Ashura as a pre-Islamic practice among theQuraysh tribe, in which Muhammad also partook while he was inMecca.[1] Some early Sunni traditions, many classified as unreliable,[9] possibly invented by theUmayyads (r. 661–750),[10] link Ashura to various auspicious events: On this day,Mosesparted the Red Sea,[8][9]Noah disembarked from theArk,[9] God forgaveAdam,Joseph was released from prison,Jesus,Abraham, and Adam were born, Muhammad was conceived,[1] andJonah was freed from the fish that had swallowed him.[11] Fasting on the ninth of Muharram, known asTasu'a, was a later addition, probably to distinguish Muslims from Jews.[3][1]
In Sunni Islam, ninth and tenth of Muharram are days for voluntary fasting, strongly encouraged by Sunni jurists.[1] While not endorsed by all Sunni scholars,[1][12] Ashura is further viewed as a day of thanksgiving (shukr) to God, a joyous occasion, celebrated through pious acts and acceptable expressions of delight.[13] Ashura is thus an important festival for many Sunnis, in contrast to theShia, who mourn on this day the slaughter of Muhammad's grandson,Husayn ibn Ali, and his small retinue in theBattle of Karbala in 680.[1] Such Sunni festivities either developed in response to Shia customs on Ashura or with the influence of pre-Islamic traditions.[14][1] In line with the former view, under the Umayyad caliphAbd al-Malik ibn Marwan (r. 685–705), Ashura was celebrated as a festive public holiday to counter the commemoration of Husayn.[15] TheAbbasid caliphal-Qadir (r. 991–1031) did so too inBaghdad,Iraq.[16] Another instance is the reenactment by a Sunni mob of theBattle of the Camel (656) againstAli ibn Abi Talib, the firstShia imam, in theBuyid-eraBaghdad on Ashura 973.[17][18]
Whatever the case is for their origins, such festivities were firmly established by the time of the Sunni juristIbn Taymiyya (d. 1328), to whom a questioner wrote, observing that people are joyful on Ashura; they bathe, adorn themselves, shake hands with each other, and cook grains.[14] In theMaghreb, for instance, Ashura is celebrated today through fasting, almsgiving, honoring the dead, special dishes, jumping over bonfires, and carnivals.[3] Nevertheless, particularly inSouth Asia, some Sunnis participated in the Shia rituals on Ashura,[1] at least until modern times.[1]Sufis also commonly commemorated the death of Husayn, more so in the earlier times, despite its variance with the views of the Sunni elite.[19] For Sufis, rather than a tragedy, Ashura celebrates the eternal life of Husayn and his companions, who annihilated themselves in the Divine with their martyrdom.[20]
In response to an inquiry about their legal basis,Ibn Taymiyya rejects both mourning and celebrating on Ashura because, he contends, neither was practiced by Muhammad. Ibn Taymiyya does, however, encourage fasting on Ashura to emulate Muhammad. The Islamicist M. Katz questions the judgment of Ibn Taymiyya for not taking into account the Sunni reports that Muhammad fasted to celebrate Ashura, suggesting that Ibn Taymiyya has stripped fasting of its higher meaning.[21]
In Shia Islam, Ashura commemorates the death of Husayn ibn Ali, Muhammad's grandson and the third Shia imam.[19] Husayn was killed, alongside most of his male relatives and his small retinue, on 10 Muharram 61AH (10 October 680) in the Battle of Karbala against the army of the Umayyad caliphYazid ibn Mu'awiya (r. 680–683), having been surrounded for some days and deprived of the drinking water of the nearbyEuphrates river. After the battle, the women and children in Husayn's camp were taken prisoner and marched to the capitalDamascus inSyria. The battle followed failed negotiations and Husayn's refusal to pledge his allegiance to Yazid, who is often portrayed by Muslim historians as impious and immoral.[22][23][24] The fight took place in the desert land of Karbala, en route to the nearbyKufa, whose residents had invited Husayn to lead them against Yazid.[25]
Ashura demonstrations against thePahlavids inIran, 1978
Ashura is a day of mourning and grief for Shia Muslims.[19][26] It was observed as such by their imams,[27][28][29] who also frequently encouraged the Shia community to follow suit.[30] For instance, a tradition attributed to the Shia imamAli al-Rida (d. 818) describes Ashura as a day of grieving and somber resignation from material affairs.[31] Shia tradition also dismisses as fabricated those Sunnihadiths that mark Ashura as a joyful occasion.[32] Indeed, traditions attributed to the Shia imams forbid fasting on this day,[33] and promise eternal punishment for those who celebrate Ashura as a day of blessing.[33][34]
In Shia Islam, Karbala symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil,[35][36] the pinnacle of self-sacrifice,[37] and the ultimate sabotage of Muhammad's prophetic mission.[10] Historically, the event served to crystallize the Shia community into a distinct sect and remains an integral part of their religious identity to date.[38][39] On the one hand, mourners share in the pain of Husayn and hope to benefit from his intercession on theDay of Judgement.[40][41] On the other, they view mourning for Husayn as an act of protest against oppression, a struggle for God (jihad), and as such an act of worship.[42][43]
In addition to pilgrimage to theshrine of Husayn, located in Karbala,Iraq,[44] Shia Muslims annually commemorate the events of Karbala throughout the months of Muharram andSafar.[39] Most rituals take place during the first ten days of Muharram, culminating on Ashura with processions in major Shia cities.[29][45] The main component of ritual ceremonies (majalis,sg.majlis) is the narration of the stories of Karbala (rawza-khwani,qiraya),[46][29][26] and the recitation of elegies and dirges (nawha,niyaha,marsia-khwani),[47][48] all intended to raise the sympathy of audience and move them to tears.[49][50] Amajlis often takes place in a dedicated building or structure, known variously asHusayniya,takiya,imambarah, orazakhana.[47][51] Another component of mourning gatherings is the self-flagellation of participants to the rhythm of Karbala elegies.[48] Rooted in ancientArab practices,[27][52] mild forms of self-flagellation, that is, striking one's face and chest in grief (latm,sina-zani,matam),[48][47][53] are common today in Shia communities.[54] But there are also extreme forms of self-flagellation (tatbir,tiq-zani,qama-zani), in which the participants strike themselves, usually on the forehead or back, with knives, swords, or chains to which razor blades are attached.[54] Banned in Iran and the Shia communities ofLebanon since the mid-90s,[55] instrumental self-flagellation has been condemned by many Shia clerics,[56] and it remains an often controversial practice among the Shia.[47]
Another mourning ritual is the dramatic reenactment of Karbala narratives (ta'ziya,shabih-khwani), practiced today in Iran, in the westernGulf shore, and in Lebanon.[57] On Ashura, always the "martyrdom of Husayn" is reenacted in such performances.[57] In Karbala, an annual performance on Ashura reenacts the burning of Husayn's tents after the battle by the Umayyads and the captivity of the women and children.[58] During Muharram, especially on Ashura,[48] processions of mourners (dasta,mawkib) march the streets,[59] chanting dirges and elegies,[60] sometimes accompanied by self-flagellation.[48][58] For instance, in thetawarij march in Karbala, male and then female mourners walk barefoot to the shrine of Husayn in the afternoon of Ashura.[58] Depending on the region, processions carry symbolic objects, such asalam (lit.'flag'),[61]nakhl (lit.'date palm'),[62]ta'ziya,[62] andtadjah.[63]Alam represents the ensign of Husayn in Karbala,[62] while the last three objects symbolize his bier or tomb.[62][64]
Ashura has sometimes been an occasion for Sunni violence against Shia Muslims, who are often a minority in Muslim communities.[65] In India, for instance, the Sunni activistAhmad Barelvi (d. 1831) preached against Ashura rituals and, probably with some exaggeration, boasted of destroying thousands ofimambargahs, which are buildings dedicated to ritual mourning.[66] Some terrorist attacks against Ashura services are listed below.
1940: Bomb thrown at an Ashura procession,Delhi, India, 21 February.[67]
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