Muharram 2021: What is Ashura? Know its history, date and importance

Muharram 2021: According to the Islamic calendar, Muharram is the first month of the year. Ashura is celebrated on the 10th day after the start of Muharram. There is also a significance of observing voluntary fasting on that day.

Muharram 2021:  Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. The modern Islamic calendar began in the year 622, when the Prophet Muhammad and his companions moved from Mecca to Medina. The Muslim community was established for the first time upon arrival in Medina, an event which is celebrated as Hijri i.e. migration. Thus, the first day of the new year is known as Alhijri.

What is the significance of the festival?

Muharram in Arabic means the month of sorrow. Muslims consider it the second holy month after Ramadan. It is one of the four holy months of the year when fighting is forbidden. According to the English calendar of the year 2021, the new Islamic year can start from August 9 when the moon is sighted. This Islamic year will be 1443 Hijri.

What is Youme Ashura? 

The tenth day of Muharram is known as Yaume Ashura, which is celebrated by Sunni and Shia sects. In 2021, it is expected that it will fall on August 19, but it will depend on when the first date of the month is announced. The new month is announced on the sighting of the moon. If the moon is not visible due to bad weather, then the month is considered to be of 30 days. Muslims look for the moon on the 29th day of the current month. 

In Asia, both Sunni and Shia communities organize special programs during Muharram. In the first ten days of the month of Muharram, Muslims remember the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, and celebrate his sorrow and mourning. Some people also fast on this day.

This is history
Shia Muslims refresh the memory of Imam Hussain by performing majlis and mourning on this occasion. During Muharram, Muslims spread the message of humanity of Imam Hussain. Let us tell you that on the tenth day of Muharram i.e. on the day of Ashura, Imam Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, along with his family and 72 companions, was martyred for three days hungry in Karbala, Iraq. Since then the tradition of celebrating Muharram started. Shia Muslims formally observe mourning during this time. In some places, from the 9th to the 11th of the new month, free food is distributed to the people, which is called Tabarruk. Apart from that, some Muslims go to Karbala to remember the martyrdom of Imam Hussain.