Muharram and Ashura
Muharram in History
Before the Prophet:
The tenth of Muharram marks a significant day in the Muslim calendar; it is the day on which, according to some reports, Allah saved Prophet Moses/Musa from the tyrannical Pharaoh, that prototype despotic authority. The are many pharaoh-like authorities who have appeared through history and there were those incorrigible standard-bearers of justice who opposed them.
In the Time of the Prophet:
- Imams Tirmizi & Haakim have narrated from Anas bin Malik that the following verse: “Allah may forgive thee of thy errors that which is past and that which is to come” [Surah al-Fath (48) verse 1] was revealed on the 10th of Muharram.
- The Muslim forces under Prophet Muhammed defeated Bani Muhaarin and Bani Tha’laba (Tribes of Bani Gatfan) in the year 4 A.H.
After the Prophet:
Imam Husayn took on the corruption of Yazid and laid down his life on Muharram 10th in 61 AH, an event that serves as a milestone in the history of the faithful; the martyrdom of the beloved grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, Imam Husayn, at Karbala, Iraq Imam Husayn was martyred at the hands of those who claimed to act in the name of Islam yet unremorsefully and shamelessly were prepared to obliterate its true exponent; those who (like so many who proclaim faith) are prepared to kill for Islam yet are unable to live by it
Āshūrā’, then and now
The tenth of Muharram is the day on which it is said that Allah saved Prophet Moses/Musa (pbuh) from the tyrannical Pharaoh, that prototype of despotic authority. There are many pharaoh-like authorities who have appeared through history and there were those incorrigible standard-bearers of justice who opposed them. In the post-Prophetic period, one such person was Imam Husayn who took on the corruption of despotic Yazid and laid down his life on tenth Muharram in 61 AH (680 CE); an event that serves as a milestone in the history of the faithful; the martyrdom of the beloved grandson of the Prophet Muhammad at Karbalā’ in Iraq.
وَلاَ تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُواْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ أَمْوَاتًا بَلْ أَحْيَاء عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ
فَرِحِينَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ وَيَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَلْحَقُواْ بِهِم مِّنْ خَلْفِهِمْ أَلاَّ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
Think not of those who are slain in Allah’s way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord; They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah. And with regard to those left behind, who have not yet joined them, they are comforted in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have they (cause to) grieve. [Qur’an 3:169]