What is Ashura, and why does it still move people 1,400 years on?

ArbaeenArbaeenArabic for “forty”: the 40th day after Ashura, when up to twenty million people walk to Karbala — the world’s largest annual gathering. is the fortieth day. To understand it, you have to understand the day it counts from: AshuraAshuraThe 10th day of the month of Muharram — the day in 680 CE when Imam Hussain (as) and his companions were killed at Karbala..

The day itself

Ashura falls on the tenth day of MuharramMuharramThe first month of the Islamic calendar, and the month of Ashura — a time of mourning for Imam Hussain (as)., the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is the day, in 680 CE, on which Imam HussainImam HussainThe grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), killed at Karbala in 680 CE for refusing to endorse a tyrant. Honoured as a symbol of standing for justice. and his companions were killed at KarbalaKarbalaA city in modern Iraq, and the site of the events of 680 CE. Today it is home to the shrines of Imam Hussain (as) and al-Abbas (as).. It is the emotional centre of the whole story.

How it is marked

Ashura is a day of mourning. Communities gather in majlismajlisA gathering where the story of Karbala is retold and mourned, often through sermon and elegy. — assemblies where the story of Karbala is retold, often through sermon and elegy. This tradition of remembrance is known as azadariazadariThe tradition of mourning and remembering Imam Hussain (as) through gatherings, poetry and processions.. There are processions, black clothing, and tears. It is grief, but grief with a purpose: to keep a conscience awake.

Why grief is honoured

To an outsider, mourning a death from fourteen centuries ago might seem strange. But the mourning is not really about the past. It is a yearly refusal to grow numb to injustice — a way of saying that some things should never be accepted, no matter how long ago they happened.

From Ashura to Arbaeen

Forty days after Ashura comes Arbaeen, when the mourning turns into the great walk to Karbala. Read what happened at Karbala, or find out when Arbaeen falls this year.