History of Muharram- The first month of Islamic calender

Shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala, Iraq

During the first 10 days of the month of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar, Shiites attend nightly majlises which recount the horrific events that took place on that same night centuries past. The final and 10th day is known as Ashura, the day when Imam Hussain was killed and the battle won by Yazid and his forces.

Imam Hassan and Imam Hussein were the grandsons of the Prophet Muhammad, the sons of the Prophet’s beloved daughter Bibi Fatima and her husband Imam Ali. Imam Ali had been appointed fourth caliph but was murdered in a mosque in Kufa, Iraq, in 661 CE. Imam Hassan briefly succeeded his father but soon ceded to Muawiyah, who had been the Governor of Syria until Imam Ali had ousted him. Muawiyah was the first of the Umayyad dynasty.

During Imam Ali’s reign Muawiyah had refused to acknowledge him as leader. The two even clashed at the inconclusive Battle of Siffin in what is now Syria in 657 CE. However, wanting peace, Imam Hassan signed an agreement with Muawiyah that accepted his current rule but required that power be transferred to himself upon Muawiyah’s death, or to his younger brother Imam Hussein if he were not alive. Yet following Imam Hassan’s death, Muawiyah violated their agreement and unjustly named his own son Yazid his successor.

The Battle of Karbala

The Battle of Karbala in 680 CE resulted from a power struggle between Imam Hussein and a wary Yazid for control of the calipahte. Yazid demanded Imam Hussein’s endorsement. As a member of the Prophet’s family and holding true spiritual leadership, this would have validated Yazid’s reign. He was outraged when the Imam refused.

The Beginning

While traveling with his family and close companions to Kufa to meet his growing number of supporters, Imam Hussein was intercepted by Yazid’s army and re-routed to Karbala in present-day Iraq. He and his and companions were forced to set up camp at a distance from the river Euphrates, and the Umayyad army had blockaded access to the crucial water supply. In the 10 days that followed the desert of Karbala, which would later become the one of the holiest sites In Shia Islam, was the setting for unimaginable atrocities inflicted upon the members of the Prophet’s family and his loyal companions.

Imam Hussein holding his dying son Ali Akbar.

By the 7th day of Muharram, the camp’s remaining water preserves had depleted. Then, on the 10th of Muharram, or Ashura, while the women and children were still desperate for water, Imam Hussein’s army of 72 male companions and family members faced Yazid’s men numbering in the thousands. One by one his loved ones were murdered, from his teenage son Ali Akbar to his brother Abbas, who was killed while trying to retrieve water from the river for the parched children, thirsty in the sweltering heat.

Perhaps the most tragic and unbelievable event to take place in Karbala was the murder of Imam Hussein’s six-month old son, Ali Asghar. Hearing his youngest son crying from thirst, he took the baby in his arms and appealed to the enemy to, if for no one else, find it in themselves to give water to an innocent child. Instead, an arrow was shot directly at Ali Asghar and he died instantly.

At this point the Imam was alone. He was the only one left to face Yazid’s army. Facing his enemy bravely, he fought through his wounds until he was overpowered and decapitated by Shimr.

The bodies were left unburied. The unveiled women and children of the Imam’s household were ousted from their tents and marched through the streets of Kufa and Shaam. After being held as prisoners in Damascus they were released and returned to Medina.

Credit to Pakistan.com for this article.