What is Ashoora?
In the Islamic calendar, 10th day of the month of Muharram is the day of Ashoora (Ashura), a day of mourning for all feeling Muslims. It is the day on which, in the year of 61 Hijri (approx. 20 October 680 AD), in a place called Karbala (Kerbala) on the bank of the river Euphrates, in Iraq, Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet of Islam, sacrificed his life and the lives of many of his family members and friends, in order to save the teachings of Islam from utter distortion and destruction.
It seemed in those days insignificant from the historical point of view. A large army which had been mobilized by the Umayyad regime besieged a group of persons numbering less than a hundred and put them under pressure to pay allegiance to the Caliph of the time and submit to his authority. The small group resisted and a severe battle took place in which they were all killed.
It appeared at that time that like hundreds of similar events, this battle would be recorded in history and forgotten in time. However, the events that occurred on the 10th day of Muharram (Ashura) in Kerbala were to become a beacon and an inspiration for future generations.
