what is ashura
What is Ashura
Ashura
(transliteration: ‘Āshūrā’, Ashura, Ashoura, and other spellings) It is
on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar and marks the climax
of the Remembrance of Muharram but not the Islamic month. It is also
called Yaumu-l ‘Ashurah, or simply Ashura meaning, ‘the tenth day’.
It is well-known because of historical significance and mourning for the
martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad 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 Husain, his family, and his followers. Speeches
emphasize the importance of the values for which Husain sacrificed
himself, his family, and his followers.
ashura
Ayatollah KhameneiWhile imam Hussain (as) was asking the enemy for water to nourish his thirsty 6 month-old infant , the enemy struck the baby’s throat , such barbaric creatures had risen in animosity against the grandson of the prophet.
Ayatollah Khamenei
Karbala
The Shiite Muslims commemorate the Battle of Karbala and consider this a month of sadness and mourning
Ashura
If a homes electricity goes out for
2-3 hours during the summer time, parents won’t be concerned about
themselves getting heat-sick; they won’t be distraught by their own
sweat and frustration with the heat. But when a mother sees her child
restless, finding it difficult to sleep due to the extreme heat, her
heart burns in despair.
Now imagine the events on the afternoon of
Ashura (tenth day of Muharram) in the camps of Imam Hussain (as), his
family and companions, under the scorching heat, all so thirsty. For
this little infant some abstained from drinking out of the remaining
water supply, in that scorching heat. Certainly they weren’t thinking
about themselves when they watched little Ali Asghar.
I assume the main reason Imam Hussain
(as) brought Ali Asghar to the enemy’s army, to ask for water in order
to nourish the infant—while there was very little hope that these lupine
enemies would have sympathy and give the baby water– was that Imam
Hussain (as) had no other option and there was nothing he could do to
help. When the Imam (as) moved about the tents, he noticed the air was
filled with anguish and much commotion, this small infant’s thirst,
hunger and distress had moved everyone. Hussain Ibn Ali (as) had to take
the baby in his arms—although there was very little chance the enemy
would give the baby a cup of water to sooth his thirst.
Nevertheless,
Hussain Ibn Ali (as) held the infant, then lifted him up for all to
see. The baby’s conditions were so heart-rending that he would certainly
move anyone—no matter how cold hearted—to feel sadness for him.
Imam
Hussain (as) sought mercy purposely. It has been narrated correctly
that he said, “even if you don’t have mercy towards me, have mercy
towards this little baby.” A father would do so for his little baby at a
time of distress. Hussain Ibn Ali’s (as) fatherly instincts allowed him
to ask the enemy for water in order to save the life of this little
infant. At that moment Hussain Ibn Ali (as)—probably in agony, gloom,
and distress—raised the baby in his hands and was talking to the enemy
when he felt something strange! He noticed his baby, who was drooping
and still, due to thirst and hunger, could no longer hold his head, his
head hung to one side. Suddenly he started floundering in his father’s
hands.
Imam Hussain (as) looked at him; he saw the enemy’s arrow had
stricken the baby in the throat and blood was flowing from Ali Asghar’s
throat. May God curse the oppressors!
Ayatollah Khamenei; September 12, 1986