Al-Muharram (Arabic: ٱلْمُحَرَّم, romanized: al-Muḥarram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in Islam. For Sunni Muslims, the day commemorates the parting of the Red Sea by Moses and the salvation of the Israelites, observed through voluntary fasting and other permissible expressions of gratitude. By contrast, Ashura is a day of mourning for Shia Muslims, who annually commemorate the death of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia imam. Husayn was killed, alongside most of his relatives and his small retinue, in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya (r. 680–683). The Shia rituals span the first ten days of Muharram, culminating on Ashura with mourning processions in Shia cities. Also in Muharram, the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem was initially set as the direction of prayer for early Muslims.
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👉 Muharram in the context of Battle of Karbala
The Battle of Karbala (Arabic: مَعْرَكَة كَرْبَلَاء, romanized: Maʿrakat Karbalāʾ) was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad caliph Yazid I (r. 680–683) and a small army led by Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, at Karbala, Sawad (modern-day southern Iraq).
Prior to his death, the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680) had nominated his son Yazid as his successor. Yazid's nomination was contested by the sons of a few prominent companions of Muhammad, including Husayn, son of the fourth caliph Ali, and Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, son of Zubayr ibn al-Awwam. Upon Mu'awiya's death in 680, Yazid demanded allegiance from Husayn and other dissidents. Husayn did not give allegiance and traveled to Mecca. The people of Kufa, an Iraqi garrison town and the center of Ali's caliphate, were averse to the Syria-based Umayyad caliphs and had a long-standing attachment to the house of Ali. They proposed Husayn overthrow the Umayyads. On Husayn's way to Kufa with a retinue of about 70 men, his caravan was intercepted by a 1,000-strong army of the caliph at some distance from Kufa. He was forced to head north and encamp in the plain of Karbala on 2 October, where a larger Umayyad army of 4,000 arrived soon afterwards. Negotiations failed after the Umayyad governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad refused Husayn safe passage without submitting to his authority, a condition declined by Husayn. Battle ensued on 10 October during which Husayn was killed along with most of his relatives and companions, while his surviving family members were taken prisoner. The battle was the start of the Second Fitna, during which the Iraqis organized two separate campaigns to avenge the death of Husayn; the first one by the Tawwabin and the other one by Mukhtar al-Thaqafi and his supporters.
- ⭐ Core Definition: Muharram
- 👉 Muharram in the context of Battle of Karbala
- Muharram in the context of Islamic New Year
- Muharram in the context of List of Islamic years
- Muharram in the context of Sacred months
- Muharram in the context of Day of Ashura
- Muharram in the context of Al Abbas Mosque
- Muharram in the context of Satu Suro
- Muharram in the context of Al-Lawatia
Muharram in the context of Islamic New Year
The Islamic New Year (Arabic: رأس السنة الهجرية, Raʿs as-Sanah al-Hijrīyah), also called the Hijri New Year, is the day that marks the beginning of a new lunar Hijri year, and is the day on which the year count is incremented. The first day of the Islamic year is observed by most Muslims on the first day of the month of Muharram. The epoch (reference date) of the Islamic era was set as the year of the emigration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina, known as the Hijrah, which equates to 622 CE in the Gregorian calendar. All religious duties, such as prayer, fasting in the month of Ramadan, and pilgrimage, and the dates of significant events, such as celebration of holy nights and festivals, are calculated according to the Islamic calendar. Hijri New Year is observed by 24 countries as a public holiday.
While some Islamic organizations prefer determining the new month (and hence the new year) by local sightings of the moon, most Islamic institutions and countries, including Saudi Arabia, follow astronomical calculations to determine future dates of the Islamic calendar. There are various schemas for calculating the tabular Islamic calendar (i.e. not based on observation), which results in differences of typically one or even two days between countries using such schema and those that use actual lunar sightings. For example, the Umm al-Qura calendar used in Saudi Arabia was reformed several times in recent years. The current scheme was introduced in 1423 AH (15 March 2002).
Muharram in the context of List of Islamic years
This is a list of years in the Hijri era (Latin: anno Hegirae or AH) with the corresponding common era (CE) years where applicable. Years in this list are lunar years since the Hijrah, counted according to the lunar Hijri calendar (known in the West as "the Islamic calendar"). For Hijri years since 1297 AH (1879/1881 CE), the Gregorian date of 1 Muharram, the first day of the year is given.
The first Hijri year (AH 1, the epoch of the era) was retrospectively considered to have begun on the Julian calendar date 15 July 622 CE),in the Julian calendar. denoted as "1 Muharram, AH 1". Years prior to this are reckoned in English as BH ("Before the Hijra").
Muharram in the context of Sacred months
In the Islamic religion, the sacred months or inviolable months include Dhu al-Qadah, Dhu'l-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab, the four months of the Islamic calendar during which war is considered forbidden except in response to aggression. Al-Shafi'i and many of scholars went to the fatwa of the deceased during the sacred months. The purpose of that tradition was to enable pilgrims, merchants, and others to go to markets or places of worship and return home safely.
Muharram in the context of Day of Ashura
Ashura (Arabic: عَاشُورَاء, ʿĀshūrāʾ [ʕaːʃuːˈraːʔ]) is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the tenth of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. For Sunni Muslims, Ashura marks the parting of the Red Sea by Moses and the salvation of the Israelites. Also on this day, it is believed that Noah disembarked from the Ark, God forgave Adam, and Joseph was released from prison, among various other auspicious events having occurred on Ashura according to Sunni tradition. Ashura is celebrated in Sunni Islam through supererogatory fasting 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, for Shia Muslims, Ashura is a day of mourning as they annually commemorate the death of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia imam. Husayn refused on moral grounds to pledge his allegiance to the Umayyad caliph Yazid 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 the Battle of Karbala on Ashura 61 AH (680 CE). Among Shia 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.
Muharram in the context of Al Abbas Mosque
The Al-Abbas Shrine (Arabic: حَرَم أَبا الْفَضْل الْعَبَّاس, romanized: Ḥaram ʿAba al-Faḍl al-ʿAbbās) is the mausoleum of Abbas ibn Ali and a Shi'ite mosque, situated near the Imam Husayn shrine, located in Karbala, in the Karbala Governorate of Iraq. Abbas was son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and the half-brother of both Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn. Abbas ibn Ali was Husayn's flag-bearer in the Battle of Karbala and chief of his caravans. One of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, the shrine is revered by Shia Muslims who visit it every year, especially in the month of Muharram.
Environmental effects over the years have caused the Euphrates river to change course. Nearly 1,400 years after the Battle of Karbala, the river flows across the grave of Abbas and encircles it. It is said that the Euphrates has come to ‘Abbās now.
Muharram in the context of Satu Suro
Satu Suro (Javanese: ꦱꦶꦗꦶꦱꦸꦫ, romanized: Siji Suro) is the first day of the Javanese calendar year in the month of Suro (also transcribed as Sura), corresponding with the first Islamic month of Muharram. It is mainly celebrated in Java, Indonesia, and by Javanese people living elsewhere.
Satu Suro has numerous associations in Javanese folk tales and superstitions in Java that vary considerably through regional variation in cultural practices. The prevalent theme of most Satu Suro superstitions is the danger of going out from home, similar to the Balinese holiday of silence, Nyepi.
Muharram in the context of Al-Lawatia
Al-Lawatia (English: The Lawatis; Arabic: اللواتية; Sindhi: لاواتي, sing. Lawati) are a prominent Gulf Arab merchant tribe based in the province of Muscat, Oman. They are known globally as Khojas but in the Gulf are more commonly referred to as Lawatis due to them being speakers of Lawati, a Sindhi based language. There are around 30,000 Luwatis (or 1% of Omanis) in Oman.
Many Lawati families of successful merchants of the past are now involved in large multi-faceted corporations participating in the development of the region. Some Lawati Khowaja can also be found in Gwadar who settled there during 1800-1958 during the period it was part of Oman, they are known by the surname Azim and Al Azim.