Here is how Shia Muslims in India mourns on Muharram.
Shia Muslims across the country observed 'Ashura' or the 10th day of Muharram on Friday. This day marks the period of mourning for the community in the first month of the Islamic calendar.
Millions of Shia Muslims across the world mark the climax of the annual ritual of 'Ashura' with expressions of suffering where they mourn the slaying of Imam Hussain, grandson of Prophet Muhammed. Imam Hussain was killed in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD on the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar.
Shia Muslims, followers of Imam Hussain, across the world mourn his death on this day which is called Ashura. They mark Muharram by flagellating themselves with sharp objects, a practice which has discouraged by many Shia clerics. Ashura is the 10th day of the of Muharram when Imam Hussein was killed in battle in 680 AD.
On the first day of Muharram, the first month of Islamic calendar, the army of Caliph Yazid laid siege to Hussain and followers in the desert near Kerbala (in present day Iraq). Hussain was killed in battle 10 days later after he had refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid. Hussain was decapitated and his head was taken to Damascus, the seat of the Ummayad dynasty to which Yazid belonged. Hussain's followers were those who believed that Ali, as Prophet's son in law, was his natural successor and his sons after him. They believed that Allah chose Ali to be the Prophet's successor and the first caliph. After Ali's death, his younger son Hussain led his followers in a battle against Yazid and was martyred on the 10th day of Muharram.
The death of Hussain eventually led to the division of Islam into the two main Sunni and Shia sects. Shias, which literally means followers, mourn his death every year by bloody self-flagellation or cutting themselves by sharp objects such as blades and knives to signify the suffering Imam Hussain experienced shortly before his death. Muharram is a period of intense grief and mourning where people from the community gather to mark the day. 10th Muharram also marks the day when Prophet Musa (Moses, who is believed to be an ancestor of Prophet Muhammad) was saved from the Pharaoh of Egypt by God. Sunni Muslims mark the day by voluntary fasting as a tradition followed by Prophet Muhammad.
1. Muslim devotees flagellate themselves as they mourn
)
Bhopal: Muslim devotees flagellate themselves as they mourn during a Muharram procession, in Bhopal, Friday, September 21, 2018.
Photo Credits:
2. Religious processions
)
A young Indian Shia Muslim flagellates himself during the religious procession on the tenth day of the mourning period of Muharram, which marks the day of the Ashura, in New Delhi on September 21, 2018.
Photo Credits: AFP
3. Muslim women participate in Muharram processions
)
Muslim women participate on the 10th day of Muharram procession, in Chennai, Friday, Sept 21, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
4. Muharram procession to mark Ashura in Mumbai
)
Shia Muslim man flagellates himself during a Muharram procession to mark Ashura, in Mumbai, India, September 21, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
5. Ten-day mourning period starts on the first day of Muharram
)
An Indian Shia Muslim flagellates himself during the religious procession on the tenth day of the mourning period of Muharram, which marks the day of Ashura, in Chennai on September 21, 2018. The religious commemoration of Ashura, which includes a ten-day mourning period starting on the first day of Muharram on the Islamic calendar, commemorates the seventh-century slaying of Prophet Mohammed''s grandson Imam Hussein in Karbala.
Photo Credits: AFP
6. Muslim girl lights candles to mark Ashura
)
A young Sh Muslim girl lights candles to mark Ashura, the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram in the early hours of September 21, 2018, near Masjid-e-Askari in Bangalore. Ashura is a period of mourning in remembrance of the seventh-century martyrdom of Prophet Mohammad''s grandson Imam Hussein, who was killed in the battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq, in 680 AD.
Photo Credits: AFP
7. Muslim men mourners cry during Ashur
)
Sharia Muslim men mourners cry during Ashura, the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram in the early hours of September 21, 2018, near Masjid-e-Askari in Bangalore. Ashura is a period of mourning in remembrance of the seventh-century martyrdom of Prophet Mohammad''s grandson Imam Hussein, who was killed in the battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq, in 680 AD.
Photo Credits: AFP
8. Man walks on charcoal embers in Bengaluru
)
Sharia Muslims watch as a man (R) walks on charcoal embers during a ritual held to mark Ashura, the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram in the early hours of September 21, 2018, near Masjid-e-Askari in Bangalore. Ashura is a period of mourning in remembrance of the seventh-century martyrdom of Prophet Mohammad''s grandson Imam Hussein, who was killed in the battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq, in 680 AD.
Photo Credits: AFP
9. Mourning period of Muharram
)
Indian Sharia Muslim mourners perform a ritual of self-flagellation during a religious procession held on the tenth day of the mourning period of Muharram that marks the day of Ashura in Hyderabad on September 21, 2018. Ashura is a period of mourning in remembrance of the seventh-century martyrdom of Prophet Mohammad''s grandson Imam Hussein, who was killed in the battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq, in 680 AD.
Photo Credits: AFP
10. Muslim man carries his child after his forehead was cut
)
An Indian Shiite Muslim man carries his child after his forehead was cut during a religious procession held on the tenth day of the mourning period of Muharram that marks the day of Ashura in Hyderabad on September 21, 2018. - Ashura is a period of mourning in remembrance of the seventh-century martyrdom of Prophet Mohammad''s grandson Imam Hussein, who was killed in the battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq, in 680 AD.
Photo Credits:
