Day of Ashurah

(For details, please see Islamic calendar.) All future dates listed below are only estimates:. Other weapons that are types of war hammers include:. Furthermore, the method used to determine when each Islamic month begins varies from country to country. The most famous instance of a hammer as a weapon is Mjolnir, the weapon of the Norse god, Thor. While Ashurah is always on the same day of the Islamic calendar, the date on the Western calendar (the Gregorian calendar) varies from year to year due to differences between the two calendars, since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar and the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. Against mounted opponents, the weapon could also be directed at the legs of the horse, toppling the armored foe to the ground where he could be more easily attacked. Some scholars, however, suggest that this day is the tenth most important day that God has blessed Muslims with; hence the name Ashurah. The spike end could be used for grappling the target's armour, reins, or shield, or could be turned in the direction of the blow to pierce even heavy armour.

The general consensus is that the day is the tenth day of the month of Muharram. The war hammer could deal blows of tremendous force to the target, especially when mounted on a pole, and by impact alone do damage without penetrating the armour. In his book Ghuniyatut Talibin, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani writes that the Islamic scholars have a difference of opinion as to why this day is known as Ashurah. War hammers were developed as a consequence of the ever more prevalent metal armours of the medieval battlefields during the 14th and 15th centuries. The word Ashurah is Arabic for tenth. Later war hammers often had a spike on one side of the head, thus making it a more versatile weapon. The 2004 (1425 AH) Shi'a pilgrimage to Karbala, the first since Saddam Hussein was removed from power in Iraq, was marred by bomb attacks, which killed and wounded hundreds despite tight security. Long war hammers were pole weapons (polearms) meant for use against riders, whereas short ones were used in closer quarters and from horseback.

[3]. The handle may be of different lengths, the longest being roughly equivalent to the halberd, and the shortest about the same as a mace. Recently, Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan have all seen suicide Sunni bombers killing Shiite mourners. The war hammer consists of, like the tool it resembles, a handle and a head. In countries that have significant populations of both sects, there is often violence during the holiday. A war hammer is an archaic weapon of war intended for close combat, the design of which resembles the hammer. The Sunni and Shi'a schism is highlighted by the difference in celebrations by Sunni and Shia Muslims. Pollaxe (Bec de Faucon).

Hence, Sunni practices commemorating Ashurah generally do not involve Hussein or his death and consist mainly of fasting and prayers. Maul. While Sunnis generally consider the martyrdom of Hussein to be an unfortunate event and one of great historical importance, they do not ascribe religious significance to it as the Shi'a do. Lucerne hammer. The day carries considerably less significance for Sunnis than it does for Shi'as. Horseman's pick. Today,Sunnis regard fasting on the 10th of Muharram as a recommended, though not obligatory, act. Bec de Corbin.

They remember the day when Children of Israel were liberated from the slavery of Egyptians. According to Sunni tradition, when the Prophet led his followers to Medina, he found the Jews of that area fasting on the day of Ashurah in rememberance of Moses. Sunnis also commemorate Ashurah, but for different reasons. Many of the events associated with Ashurah are held in special congregation halls known as "Hussainia".

[2]. [1] The practice is not universal - many Shia enact the ritual by beating their chests symbolically. Some Shia celebrate Ashurah with a traditional flagellation ritual called zanjeer zani or zanjeer matam, involving the use of a zanjeer (a chain with a set of curved knives at the end). The Iranian Revolution and social and political change and the anti-government uprising of the 1990s.

In neighboring Iran, the festival became a major political symbol during the Islamic Revolution, as also occurred in the Lebanese Civil War, and in Bahrain during the History of Bahrain. The regime of Saddam Hussein saw this as a potential threat and banned Ashurah commemorations for many years. Hussein's martyrdom is widely interpreted by Shi'a as a symbol of the struggle against injustice, tyranny, and oppression. This is intended to connect them with Hussein's suffering and death.

Shi'as also express mourning by thumping their chests. Many Shi'a make pilgrimages on Ashurah to the Mashhad al-Hussein, the shrine in Karbala, Iraq that is traditionally held to be Husayn's tomb. This day is of particular significance to Shi'a Muslims, who consider Hussein the third Imam and a rightful successor of Muhammad. .

The word ashurah means simply tenth in Arabic; hence the festival's name, literally translated, means "the tenth day". It was adopted by Muslims as a recommended fast in respect to the tribulations of Musa (Moses). Ashurah corresponds to the Jewish Yom Kippur, which was held by the Jews of Medina. Ashurah is also commemorated by Muslims as the traditional date on which Noah's ark came to rest, the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) was born and the Ka'ba was built in Mecca.

It is a day for mourning. It commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (AD 680). The Day of Āshūrāh, sometimes spelled Aashurah, ‘Ashurah, Ashoura or Aashoorah (Arabic: عاشوراء, ʿĀšūrāʾ), is on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar and marks the climax of the Festival of Muharram but not the Islamic month. 2010: December 16.

2009: January 7, then December 27. 2008: January 19. 2007: January 29. 2006: February 9.

2005: February 19. 2004: March 2. 2003: March 13.