Why Do Shia Muslims Practise Self-Flagellation On Ashura?

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Ashura 2018 is here. The day of Ashura is of great importance to all the Muslims around the world. Ashura day implies the 10th day of Muharram, according to the Islamic calendar. The tenth day of Muharram falls on September 21, 2018. It falls in the month of Muharram which is the most sacred months of the Islamic calendar. However, the dates vary according to the Gregorian calendar, because of the lunar calendar being followed in Islam.

Ashura marks the final day of mourning in Muharram. On this day, the Shia community of the Muslims observe complete mourning of the martyrdom Hussain ibn Ali in the Battle of Karbala.

Ashura is an ancient observance which is recognised differently in the two major sects of Islam - the Shia and Sunni communities, for different reasons. But nevertheless, the day of Ashura remains of great importance to both the communities.

ALSO READ: SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ASHURA DAY

Sunni Muslims observe the day by fasting. According to the Sunni beliefs, Ashura is a day on which some Mecca residents used to observe a fast. The fasting is to commemorate Moses and his followers who were saved from the wrath of the Pharaoh of Egypt by Allah and who made the Red Sea to part so that people could cross it. It is also believed that Prophet Muhammad observed a fast on this day. So, the majority of Sunni Muslims observe a fast on Ashura.

On the other hand, the Shia observances are entirely different from that of the Sunnis. For the Shias, Ashura is all about the mourning of Imam Hussain's sacrifice. Imam Hussain was the grandson of Prophet Muhammed. Ashura is of utmost importance for the Shia community because it was on this fateful day that one of their greatest figures of Islam, Hussain, was brutally killed in the famous Battle of Karbala.

SEE: WHY IS MUHARRAM OBSERVED?

During the battle, the evil ruler brutally killed Hussain and wiped out his entire family. Since Hussain was killed on the 10th day of Muharram, Ashura is a day of mourning for all Shia Muslims.

On this day, the Shias commemorate the martyrdom of Hussain by re-enacting the events of the Battle of Karbala. They observe a complete day of mourning for the martyr by refraining themselves from listening to music, wearing the mourning attire, refraining from all joyful events like weddings etc.

They also practise self-flagellation and walking over burning coals to remember the sufferings of Imam Hussain. Almost all the members of the Shia Muslim community, including young boys, men and women practise self-flagellation.

To display their devotion to Hussain, ceremonial beating of the chest is done by women as an act of mourning. Majlis is held where Surahs from the Koran is recited (there are 118 Surahs which further have subdivisions). People stay awake the whole night and listen to these recitations on the 9th and the 10th day of Muharram. Some people also flagellate themselves with chains and blades to remember the pain Hussain went through.

Thus, the self-flagellation or the practice of self harm is in remembrance of the pain Imam Hussain went through while on his quest to protect his people from the oppressing rule and inhumanity. Thus, it is an act of great significance.