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http://moralsandethics.wordpress.com. What is Muharram ?. What is Muharram ?.
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http://moralsandethics.wordpress.com What is Muharram ?
What is Muharram ? • Muharram (Arabic: محرم) It is the first month of the Islamic calendar. Instead of joyous celebration, Muslims mark the beginning of the New Year by taking up the black attire of sorrow and participate in mourning gatherings in which the sacrifices of Imam Husayn (P) and his companions are commemorated. It is one of the four months of the year in which fighting is prohibited. Since the Islamic calendar is lunar, Muharram moves from year to year when compared with the Gregorian calendar.
What is Muharram ? • Muharram is so called because it was unlawful to fight during this month; the word is derived from the word ‘haram’ meaning forbidden. It is held to be the most sacred of all the months, excluding Ramadan.It is the same month when Husein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, was brutally massacred in Karbala alongside his family and friends in the year 680 CE/61 AH. This was the biggest terrorist attack against ISLAM, HUMANITY & JUSTICE
What is Muharram ? • Their martyrdom of all is a sad day for all Muslims, especially the Shi’a, who hold mourning ceremonies to recall the righteous virtues for which the valiant martyrs stood and the grave calamities that they thus had to bear. The commemoration of this brutal massacre (Battle of Karbala) begins on the first day of Muharram and reaches its climax on the 10th of Muharram, the day of the battle, known as Ashurah and continues for 40 days or 69 days.
What is Ashura ? • Ashura (عاشوراء transliteration: ‘Āshūrā’, Ashura, Ashoura, and other spellings). • It is also called Yaumu-l ‘Ashurah (Day of Ashura), or simply Ashura meaning, ‘The Tenth Day’ • Normally a public holiday is declared for this day. • It is the 10th day of Muharramin Islamic calendar and marks the climax of the Remembrance of Muharram as it is on this day, the Battle of Kerbala was fought and I.Husein (P), the grandson of the H.Prophet Muhammad (P), was brutally massacred in Karbala alongside his family and friends
What is Ashura ? • It is well-known because of historical significance and mourning for the martyrdom of Husaynibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophetMuhammad at the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (AD 680). It is a day of speeches, public processions, and great grief. Men and women chant and weep, mourning Husayn, his family, and his followers. Speeches emphasize the importance of the values for which Husayn sacrificed himself, his family, and his followers. For centuries Shi’a pilgrims flocked here during Muharram, a practice which was severely limited under the regime of Saddam Hussein
What is Kerbala ? • Karbala (Arabic: كربلاء; BGN: Al-Karbalā’; also spelled Karbala al-Muqaddasah) is a city in Iraq, located about 100 km (60 mi) southwest of Baghdad at 32.61°N, 44.08°E. • In the time of Husaynibn Ali’s life, the place was also known as al-Ghadiriyah, Naynawa, and Shathi’ul-Furaat.The city’s association with ShīˤaIslām have made it a centre of religious instruction as well as worship; it has more than 100 mosques and 23 religious schools, of which possibly the most famous is that of IbnFahid, constructed some 440 years ago.
What is Kerbala ? • Karbala’s prominence in Shīˤī is the result of the Battle of Karbala, fought on the site of the modern city on October 10, 680.Both Husayn and his half-brother ˤAbbāsibnˤAlī were buried by the local BanīAsad tribe at what later became known as the Mashhad Al-Husayn. Later on city grew up around the tombs. Husayn’s tomb (View Larger Map) is a place of pilgrimage for many Shīˤa Muslims, especially on the anniversary of the battle, the Day of Āshūrā
Why it is called as Battle for Truth? The battle of Karbala finds great similarity with the one at Badr – Islam’s first battle. It was the holy Prophet [PBUH] at Badr who fought with 313 die-hard supporters against a formidable army of some 1000 men. That day against all odds the small group won a decisive victory, and paved the way for a future Muslim empire. 56 years later it was his grandson with just 72 loyal men, who fought against an impossible opposition of several thousands to save Islam from the clutches of tyranny. Karbala was a battle of truth against falsehood, humanity against villainy, righteousness against evil, justice against corruption. The much loved grandson of the Prophet [PBUH] stood in the scorching heat of Karbala along with his companions, devoid of water but determined. His loved ones, including his six month old son, fell martyr one after the other. In spite of this he repeatedly invited the other party towards righteousness and forbade them from evil and immorality, but it all fell on deaf ears. When the time arrived for him to march ahead all alone, he did it in a fashion which was reminiscent of his illustrious father Ali
Why it is called as Battle for Truth? Husain fell in the desert of Karbala on that fateful Friday, the 10th of Moharram 61H. Worse was to follow. The bodies of the martyrs including the Imam were not only refused a proper burial but were trampled under the horses’ hooves and were left for the birds. The Kufan army looted the belongings of Husain. Imam’s family including his women-folk and tender children were humiliated and taken captives after burning down their camps. The women were paraded with uncovered heads. It wasn’t ISLAM!!! “If Hussain fought to quench his worldly desires, then I do not understand why his sisters, wives and children accompanied him. It stands to reason therefore that he sacrificed purely for Islam.” —Charles Dickens The severed heads of the martyrs including Husain were raised on spears. How Yazid played with Husain’s head and the emotions of Imam’s family is a well documented fact. Karbala to this day remains a heart-wrenching story of exemplary courage and bravery to uphold the real principles of Islam. “In a distant age and climate, the tragic scene of the death of Husain will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.” — Edward Gibbon
