Muharram

For use as a given name, see Muharrem.

Islamic calendar

  1. Muharram
  2. Safar
  3. Rabi' al-awwal
  4. Rabi' al-thani
  5. Jumada al-awwal
  6. Jumada al-thani
  7. Rajab
  8. Sha`ban
  9. Ramadan
  10. Shawwal
  11. Dhu al-Qi'dah
  12. Dhu al-Hijjah
Muharram in Ardabil.

Muḥarram (Arabic: مُحَرَّم‎ muḥarram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year.[1] Since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, Muharram moves from year to year when compared with the Gregorian calendar.

The word "Muharram" means "forbidden". It is held to be the second holiest month, following Ramadan. Some Muslims fast during these days. The tenth day of Muharram is the Day of Ashura, which to Shia Muslims is part of the Mourning of Muharram.

Sunni Muslims fast during this day, because it is recorded in the hadith[2] that Musa (Moses) and his people obtained a victory over the Egyptian Pharaoh on the 10th day of Muharram; accordingly Muhammad asked Muslims to fast on this day that is Ashura and on a day before that is 9th (called Tasu'a).

Shia Muslims during Muharram do different things and with different intentions. They observe and respect Muharram as the month that martyred Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad and son of Ali, in the Battle of Karbala. They mourn for Hussein ibn Ali and refrain from all joyous events. Unlike Sunni Muslims, Shiites do not fast in this month, especially on the 9th and 10th days of Muharram.[3] In addition there is an important Ziyarat book, the Ziyarat Ashura about Hussein ibn Ali. In the Shia sect it is popular to read this ziyarat on the "Day of Ashura", although most of the Shias try to read Ziyarat Ashura every day and they send salutations to Husayn ibn Ali.[4]

Muharram and Ashura

With the sighting of the new moon the Islamic New Year is ushered in. The first month, Muharram is one of the four sacred months that Allah has mentioned in the Quran: Muharram, Rajab, Dhu al-Qi'dah, and Dhu al-Hijjah. Even before Islam came, Quraish and Arabs as a whole knew the sanctity of the months and were forbidden to wage wars on those months.

Muharram and Ashura to the Sunnis

Without any relation whatsoever to the event of Battle of Karbala, Muslims are encouraged to observe fasting on the tenth day (Ashura). The ninth day (Tasu'a) is also advised. No other special annual celebrations or commemmorations in Muharram are prescribed by the Prophet.

Muharram and Ashura to the Shia

Main article: Mourning of Muharram
Shia Muslims in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in a Hussainia as part of the commemoration of Muharram
Shia Muslim children in Amroha, India on camels in front of Azakhana as part of the procession commemorating events on & after Day of Ashura

Muharram is a month of remembrance and modern Shia meditation that is often considered synonymous with Ashura. 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 murder of Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad.[5]

Shiite 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 Imam Hussein and his family and followers (including women, children and elderly people) were deprived of water from the 7th onward and on the 10th, Imam Hussain and 72 of his followers were killed by the army of Yazid I at the Battle of Karbala on Yazid's orders. The surviving members of Imam Hussein's family and those of his followers were taken captive, marched to Damascus, and imprisoned there.

Timing

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 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, Muharram migrates throughout the solar years. The estimated start and end dates for Muharram are as follows (based on the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia:[6])

AH First day (CE / AD) Last day (CE / AD)
1431 18 December 2009 15 January 2010
1432   7 December 2010   4 January 2011
1433 26 November 2011 25 December 2011
1434 15 November 2012 13 December 2012
1435   4 November 2013   3 December 2013
1436 25 October 2014 22 November 2014
1437 14 October 2015 12 November 2015
Muharram dates between 2009 and 2015

Incidents occurred during this month

Scenes in the procession at the Mohurrum festival

Many Sufi Muslims fast for the same reason as the Sunnis mentioned above, but also for the martyred people in Karbala, they pray for them and send upon them peace and blessings.

See also

References

  1. ↑ The others are Dhu al-Qi'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah and Rajab, The Islamic Calendar
  2. ↑ Volume 3, Book 31, Number 223: Narrated Abu Musa: The day of 'Ashura' was considered as 'Id day by the Jews. So the Prophet ordered, "I recommend you (Muslims) to fast on this day."
  3. ↑ "Ashura of Muharram – A Shia and Sunni Muslim Observance". http://www.iqrasense.com. Retrieved 10 October 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  4. ↑ Ziyarat Ashoora - Importance, Rewards and Effects
  5. ↑ "Muharram". 2010-12-08. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  6. ↑ Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia
  7. ↑ Sahih Bukhari 003.031.222-225 Archived November 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ Allama Majlisi. Bihar al-Anwar 46. pp. 152–154.

External links

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