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My Muslim Friends at Muharram

Muharram is the first month in the Islamic calendar, with the first day of Muharram being the Islamic New Year. It is known as the month of mourning, remembering the tragic death of Muhammad’s grandson, Husein, and 72 companions at the battle of Karbala in 680 AD. Shias mourn during Muharram, while Sunnis do so to a much lesser extent. Storytelling, weeping and chest beating, wearing black, partial fasting, street processions, and re-enactments of the Battle of Karbala form the crux of the observances. Self-flagellation has been practiced but is now prohibited by most Shia authorities. Ashura falls on the 10th day of Muharram and marks the anniversary of the battle of Karbala.

Matt, a member of the Mahabba Network, shares his experiences of Muharram:

I have had some fascinating experiences with Shia friends over the last 20 years, mostly in the month of Muharram, during which they commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of Muhammad, which took place in 680 AD.

I once walked through the streets of Lahore with a friend in an Ashura procession, where men and boys were cutting themselves with knives and beating their chests again and again. A few years later in the mountains of North Pakistan, we spent the whole day in a village for such a procession of mourning. There was no blood-letting in that village (their Sheikhs had told them it was not necessary), but the devotion and weeping was just as strong.

Another time, I was in North India and their Ashura commemoration included the men walking through a pit of burning coals. (Joining in with that was not a step of contextualisation I was willing to consider, even though Jesus said: ‘Mourn with those who mourn.’)

Back in the UK context, it was a privilege to be invited into a Shia mosque for one such occasion. To sit quietly and watch how they grieve an event that happened so long ago is certainly pause for thought, as well as an opportunity for a couple of hours of prayer for the hope of Jesus to be revealed in that place. Some of it reminded me of the annual marches in Northern Ireland - a reminder to Shias of how they are different to Sunnis in historical memory, in power dynamics, in theology and practice.

Worldwide, Sunnis make up around 90% of Muslims and Shias only 10%. Shias are only in the majority in Iran (which is 90% Shia) and Iraq, Bahrain and Azerbaijan.  But there are huge numbers of them in South Asia and significant minorities across the Muslim world.

The main points of difference/contention between Sunnis and Shias are based around who should have succeeded Muhammad as the leader of the Muslims after his death. Shias in practice elevate Ali and Hussein to positions of high honour, though Muhammad still holds the most respected position in their faith of all the prophets. There is a common phrase recited and painted on rocks in Shia areas of North Pakistan: “Live like Ali. Die like Hussein.”

Some say that Shias are more open to the gospel. That is hard to judge, but there are certainly commonalities between Christians and Shia Muslims that we can build on, apart from the ones we share with all Muslims. The most significant of these may be their deep sense of respect for martyrdom and suffering, whether historical or current, and God’s will in the midst of that (cf. the cross as well as suffering for Christ now). I certainly think Shias tend to be very open to inviting outsiders into their religious spaces/occasions. We even got to do Bible and Qur’an studies in one Shia mosque in the UK for about 2 years!

So here’s a challenge. Why not pray for the Shias in your area? Why not seek them out? Visit their mosque (sometimes called an Imam Bargah)? There are many Shia families who are devoted to God, but who really need to meet Jesus. Perhaps that could happen through you?

Watch a video of an Ashura day march in Manchester here.

Read the Shi’a Joy blog here.

How do Sunnis Celebrate?

Although it has particular significance for Shia Muslims, many Sunni Muslims will also see this day as special and carry out special worship with prayers, fasting and special food.

The reason this day has significance for Sunni Muslims is because, according to the stories of the prophets, many significant events happened on this day. The stories suggest that Adam was forgiven on this day, that Moses and the Israelites were rescued from Pharaoh at the Red Sea, that Job was healed from his disease, that Jonah was spewed out of the great fish and many other notable events, including, some would say, the birth of Jesus.

The most well-known of these events is that Noah and his family left the ark after the flood on this day. In some countries, particularly Turkey, a special dessert called Ashura or “Noah’s ark pudding” will be made on that day and distributed to friends and neighbours. It is in remembrance that Noah’s wife made a special meal with all the food she had left over from the time in the ark. The dessert is traditionally made of 40 different dried ingredients.

This dessert made of so many ingredients and brought together into one is seen as a symbol of unity, love and community. On this day, many Muslim people would emphasise these things and talk about joining together with love and understanding across our different communities. What a great opportunity to talk about what we believe and to use the story of Noah’s salvation as a picture of God rescuing us from judgment and death.

Why not try making this dessert and taking it to your friends?

A member of the Mahabba Network

More about Muharram

Around the middle of the year, Shia Muslims all around the world will be commemorating Muharram and Ashura, a time of intense and often emotional mourning for the grandson of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam in 680 AD. You may have witnessed or seen photos or video footage of black-clad Shias beating their chests, chanting laments and some even cutting or flagellating themselves. Often there are processions through the streets of cities or towns, re-enacting a funeral wake. What was it that gave rise to this event in the Shia Muslim calendar? 

The division between Sunni and Shia Muslims goes back to the death of Muhammad in 632 AD, and was over the issue of who should succeed Muhammad as leader of the Muslim ummah, or community. The majority Sunni position is that leadership was chosen by consensus of the companions of the Prophet, while the Shia position is that rightful leadership passed to Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law Ali, and then down through Ali’s family. In Shia Islam, Ali was the first of twelve imams; the imam, in Shia use of the term, being a charismatic, infallible leader figure. The majority of Shias are known as Twelvers, referring to the twelve imams. There is also a minority within Shi’ism who hold to seven imams. 

According to Shia tradition, all the imams except the twelfth were martyred, and every year the anniversary of each imam’s martyrdom is commemorated with mourning. By far the biggest and most important martyrdom commemoration is that of Hussayn, the third imam, son of Ali and grandson of Muhammad (Hussayn’s brother Hassan was the second imam). Hussayn’s martyrdom took place on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar (Ashura means 10th). Hussayn, his family and a small band of followers were defeated by the much larger army of Yazid, the caliph who reigned in Damascus, and Hussayn and many others were killed. 

Shias view Hussayn’s martyrdom as saving the pure and true Islam from the corrupt form of Islam of Yazid and his followers. For the first ten days of Muharram, Shias meet together each evening and the story of Hussayn’s martyrdom is recounted, accompanied by much weeping and lament in speaker and hearer alike. On 10th Muharram, the day of Ashura, a procession walks through the streets. The whole event is one of maatam or mourning. Ask your Shia Muslim friend what Muharram and Ashura means to them. 

There are some parallels with the death of Jesus Christ, and some Shias draw a comparison, although the view that Jesus did not die is widespread among Shia Muslims as it is among Sunnis. However, the suffering and martyrdom of a righteous person for a righteous cause is highly esteemed by Shias, and there are sometimes openings to speak about the suffering and martyrdom of the righteous Messiah.

A member of the Mahabba Network