Ashura (AQA GCSE Religious Studies A (8062))

Ashura - Origins & Meanings

Ashura

• Ashura is a Muslim day of sorrow and is most significant in Shi’a Islam although it is important for all Muslims

  • Therefore, for Shi’a Muslims it is not seen as a festival that can be celebrated but more of a somber commemoration

• The ten days leading up to Ashura are a period of mourning for Shi’a Muslims

• Shi’a Muslims commemorate the death of Husayn (Grandson of Muhammad pbuh), Ali’s son, in battle in Karbala in Iraq

  • On one side of the battle were the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate, who were trying to rule the Muslim world. On the other side was a small band led by Husayn, a grandson of Muhammad (pbuh), and a rival claimant to the leadership of Islam

  • Muslims believe that Husayn’s camp was set on fire and their bodies were trampled upon by the horses of their enemy

  • Husayn and the male followers were killed

• Although Ashura is important to both Shia and Sunni Muslims, it is viewed differently due to differences in beliefs

  • Sunni Muslims may mourn the loss of life within the Prophet’s family

  • However, it is observed differently by Shi’a Muslims, owing to the emphasis on the belief in the Imamate

  • This belief in the authority of the spiritual descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) means that imams are leaders appointed by God to be Muhammad’s successors

  • Husayn was part of the imamate and therefore his death has greater significance for Shi’a Muslims

• Ashura is a reminder of the suffering the Shi’a community has experienced, as they have been persecuted as a minority

  • Processions during this time are often used as protests against injustice

• Shi’a and Sunni Muslims also refer to it as the day of atonement, when the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt

  • They remember the fast that Moses made in gratitude for God parting the red sea allowing the Israelites to escape from pharaoh

• Others believe it is the day that Noah left the ark after the flood

Muslim practice during Ashura

• On Ashura, Muslims wear black and plays are often performed to remind Muslims of the events that led to Husayn’s death

• In some countries it is a public holiday

• Shi’a take part in a public expression of grief and mourning

  • Re-enactments of the story take place

  • Reading of poems that retell the story

• Some Shi’a Muslims flagellate to connect with Husayn’s death and suffering

  • In some circumstances men may beat themselves with chains or cut their heads with swords

  • Some religious leaders have condemned self harm and believe that it is wrong to harm the body God gave them

  • UK leaders encourage people to donate blood instead

• Some will go on pilgrimage to the tomb of Husayn

• Some believe that Muhammad (pbuh) nominated it to be a day of fasting

  • Originally this was a time when all Muslims fasted

  • When Muhammad (pbuh) said that Muslims should observe sawm during Ramadan, fasting on Ashura became voluntary

  • Many Sunni Muslims fast during this time but it is not compulsory

  • It is believed that fasting may absolve people of sins from the previous year

• It is a day to show kindness to family and the poor

  • Mosques will often provide free food for people during the ten day mourning period

• It is also a day to recite prayers and learn from Islamic scholars