Ashura or Youm-e-Ashur falls on the 10th of Muharram the first month of the Islamic calendar. This day is a day of grief for all the Muslims as the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, Hussain Ibn Ali was martyred.
The festival of Ashura is celebrated by Muslims all over the world. This day has a big history with Moses getting saved from Egyptian’s’ grip and Noah’s leaving the Ark. This day, the Muslim sect Shi’ite, mourn over the martyrdom of Hussein with the celebration of a big festival.
This day commemorates an event which took place in the 61 AH (680 AD). After the death of Hazrat Ali, the fourth caliph of Islam, evil practices began to creep into Islam. The new caliph Muawwiya appointed his son Yazid as the next caliph.
Yazid was a pleasure loving person and when he succeeded his father, Hussain the grandson of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) refused to pay allegiance to Yazid. This resulted in an encounter between an army of Yazid and less than 100 follower of Hussain on the banks of River Euphrates near Kerbala (present day Iraq).
His followers included women, children and other members of his family. Almost all the male members gave up their lives fighting for their beliefs. The women and children were taken as prisoners. The head of Hussain was removed from his body, taken over a spear and marched through the streets of Kufa and was then presented to Yazid along with the prisoners of war.
In Yazid’s court, Zainab Binte Ali, the sister of Hussain delivered a fiery speech and being the daughter of a dauntless warrior of Islam, protected the honor of her family. Soon after the incident of Kerbala, people began to acknowledge the sacrifices made by the Prophet’s family to uphold the true teachings of Islam.
