Iranians Commemorate Imam Hussein (PBUH)

EghtesadOnline: Millions of Iranians observed Ashura, which marks the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (PBUH), the third Shia Imam and the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

News ID: ۷۴۸۴۰۸

11 September 2019

Ashura, the 10th day of the lunar month of Muharram, fell on Tuesday in Iran this year, Press TV reported.

Dressed in black, Shia Muslims hold mourning rituals to remember Imam Hussein (PBUH), who was martyred along with his 72 followers in the Battle of Karbala, in southern Iraq, in 680 AD after fighting courageously for justice against thousands of soldiers of the Umayyad caliph, Yazid I.

Iranians hold mourning processions across the country and listen to elegies in commemoration of Ashura, while benefactors distribute votive food, known generically as nazri, Financial Tribune reported.

Ashura is the culmination of 10-day mourning ceremonies observed in Muharram.

On the eve of Ashura, known as Tasua, mourners remember Abbas ibn Ali (PBUH), the Imam’s half-brother, who was martyred shortly before Imam Hussein (PBUH) as he tried to bring water to women and children who had had no water to drink for three days due to the enemy siege.

Shia Muslims across the world also observe the mourning rituals, while hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from Iran and other countries head to the holy Iraqi city of Karbala—where Imam Hussein (PBUH)’s holy shrine is located—to mark Ashura.

The Muharram ceremonies symbolize the eternal and unwavering stance of truth against falsehood and humanity’s struggle against injustice, tyranny and oppression, the cause for which Imam Hussein (PBUH) sacrificed his life, as well as those of his family and followers.