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India Today
a day ago
- General
- India Today
Muharram 2025: All you need to know about its date, significance, and traditions
Muharram, the first month of the Islamic Hijri calendar, will begin on June 27, 2025, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon. This marks the start of the Islamic New the first month of the Islamic calendar, marks the beginning of the Hijri year and holds profound spiritual and historical significance for Muslims as one of the four sacred months in Islam, Muharram is a period of peace, reflection, and devotion, during which warfare is traditionally The month is especially important for commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala, an event that symbolises the enduring struggle for justice and fasting, prayer, and acts of charity, Muslims honour the values of sacrifice and righteousness during this sacred is one of the four sacred months in Islam, during which warfare is traditionally forbidden. The name 'Muharram' means 'forbidden' in Arabic, reflecting this it marks the Islamic New Year, Muharram is not a festive occasion but a period of mourning and reflection, especially for Shia month centres around the remembrance of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who was killed in the Battle of Karbala in 680 sacrifice is seen as a symbol of resistance, justice, and moral courage, inspiring millions to stand up for truth and AND RITUALSThe first ten days of Muharram are observed with deep mourning, particularly by Shia practices include wearing black, attending nightly religious gatherings (majlis), participating in Ashura processions (often barefoot and chanting lamentations), and avoiding celebrations or worldly 10th day, known as Ashura, is the most significant. It commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussain and his companions. Shia Muslims may engage in rituals such as chest-beating (latmiya) and self-flagellation (tatbir) to express Muslims may observe fasting and special prayers on Ashura, reflecting on the deliverance of Prophet Musa (Moses) and the Children of Israel from Pharaoh, among other historical the Muslim world, Muharram is a time for introspection, increased worship, and recommitment to spiritual values such as sacrifice, justice, and summary, Muharram 2025 will begin on June 27, ushering in a sacred period of mourning, reflection, and remembrance, with Ashura as its spiritual and historical focal point.- Ends
Time of India
4 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Poetry of grief: Dongri's marsiya reciters prepare for Moharram
As the Muslim month of Moharram begins this week (June 26 or 27, depending on the sighting of the new moon), the pulsating Pala Galli aka Hazrat Abbas Street in Dongri prepares to be draped in black. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Rooftops, shopfronts, windowsills and sabeels (water fountains) will be adorned with black flags and banners, signalling the sacred time of mourning. Moharram marks the martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussain, his family members, and companions at the Battle of Karbala (618) in Iraq. Besides the visual symbols of mourning, another deeply emotive tradition unfolds: marsiyakhwani—the act of eulogising the Karbala martyrs through poetry recitation. Perhaps no marsiya reciter in Mumbai evokes the pain and lamentation for the departed souls on the plains of Karbala as powerfully as Haji Mohammed Reza Parekh, fondly known as Haji Bhai among his admirers. At 60, Parekh is a revered presence at many Moharram majlis or congregation venues, including Khoja Shia Jama Masjid, Masjid-E-Iranian or Mughal Masjid, and Kesar Baug Hall in Dongri. In addition, he is often invited to recite at many private Shia homes in the city. Notably, at Kesar Baug Hall, Parekh's family has upheld the humble yet vital tradition of safeguarding the shoes of the mourners during Moharram gatherings for generations. "Nothing gives me more satisfaction than helping fellow mourners connect with the pain and sacrifice at Karbala," says Parekh, who began reciting marsiya when he was five, often carried on his father's shoulders to the Moharram majlis. "I pray to God that I should be doing it till I live on this earth." Tired of too many ads? go ad free now M ourning for the martyrs of Karbala is central to religious expression in Shia faith, and marsiyas are among the most poignant ways that the grief is communicated. "What the zakirs or speakers do through Moharram sermons, marsiya reciters do through poetry. They evoke the feeling of loss and lamentation and Haji Bhai has perfected this art," explains Ali Shroff, president, Khoja Shia Isna Ashari Jamaat in Mumbai. "His poignant recitations transport you to the tragic time when Imam Hussain and his companions were subjected to extreme adversity during the Karbala battle." Haji Sajjad P Shroff, secretary of the century-old Jamaat, has observed and attended Parekh's recitation sessions for decades. "Once while visiting Imam Hussain's mausoleum in Karbala, I persuaded Haji Bhai to recite a marsiya at the holy precinct as part of our homage to the Imam," recalls Haji Sajjad. Marsiya, derived from the Arabic 'marthiya'—meaning lamentation for the departed souls—is believed to have originated in the 16th century. It received a major push during the rule of Shia nawabs of Awadh, including Nawab Asaf-ud-Daulah, who patronised even Hindu poet and marsiya writer Munshi Channulal Dilgir (1780-1848). Many famous marsiyas of Dilgir, including 'Ghabrayegi Zainab'—depicting the trauma the Imam's family suffered—have received widespread popularity and continue to mesmerise mourners to this day. The genre owes much of its literary elevation to two legendary poets: Mir Anis and Mirza Dabeer. They lifting marsiya from majlis to high art in Urdu poetry. "Commentators have long debated who between Anis and Dabeer was a better marsiya writer. They took this genre to dizzying heights and enriched Urdu poetry," says Mira Road-based marsiya reciter Syed Mohammed Akbar Rizvi. Hailing Anis as a pioneer, the famous scholar-critic Shibli Nomani wrote: "The poetic qualities of Anis are not matched by any other poets." Besides reciting at Mehfile Sakkae Sakina in Mira Road, Rizvi travels to Dongri to recite at Mughal Masjid. Kausar Zaidi, who has anchored the Moharram sermons at Mughal Masjid for over three decades, also writes marsiyas. He once anchored the Moharram sermons of the late Maulana Mohammed Athar Mirza, who delivered sermons at Mughal Masjid for over five decades. For the marsiya reciters, the days of mourning are not only sacred but also deeply personal. Each session is a calling—to evoke remembrance, tears and ultimately, reaffirmation of faith.
New Indian Express
27-04-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
A Hindu warrior's forgotten sacrifice in Karbala
The barbaric Pahalgam massacre brings this unsung history to mind in response. The Battle of Karbala took place on the tenth day of the Arabic month of Muharram in 680 CE at Karbala in present-day Iraq. On one side were the supporters and clan of the Prophet of Islam's grandson, Hussain, while on the other were the troops of the Umayyad Caliph, Yazid the First. Hussain, the son of Hazrat Ali and the Prophet's daughter Fatima, came to fight the forces of the oppressive Caliphate at the request of the people of Kufa, even though his brother Hassan had already been killed by these rival political forces in Islam. In the Battle of Karbala, the chivalrous Hussain and his followers were surrounded on all sides, just as the Pandava prince Abhimanyu was surrounded by the Kauravas in the Battle of Kurukshetra, in the circular military formation called the chakravyuh . Six thousand enemy soldiers cut off Hussain's water supply from the river Euphrates. Thirty thousand of Yazid's soldiers fell on Hussain's small group of two hundred, which included women and seventy-two of Hussain's relatives. They were butchered mercilessly in their defenceless state on account of their lineage and the values they represented, which threatened the authority of Yazid. By sunset on Ashura day, the tenth of Moharram, Hussain and his companions were all dead, including a four-year-old girl, Sakina, and a six-month-old baby, Ali Asghar. This battle led to the permanent split between the followers of Ali, called the Shias, and their opponents, the Sunnis. Though both were Muslims, the devotees of el-Lah, the one Arab god of many chosen by the Prophet of Islam as the deity of his new religion in the seventh century, they were divided forever within fifty years of the Prophet's death—according to which human being they followed. In the physically unequal Battle of Karbala, remembered ever after as the moral victory of the Shias, a Brahmin of the gotra , or ancestral line, of Rishi Bharadwaja—the father of Dronacharya and grandfather of Ashvatthama in the Mahabharata —fought for Hussain. This was Rahab Siddha Datt, from the furthest Hindu settlement to the north-west of India, who sacrificed his seven sons at Karbala in defence of Hussain, the Prophet's grandson. He had already been entrusted with public funds by Hussain's saintly father, Ali, at the Battle of Jamal, fought earlier at Basra. The Mohyal Brahmins fought for the Prophet's own family—for the early Muslim leaders, Ali and Hussain, whom they revered as good men. This happened a few decades before the first conquest of Hindu land by Muslims in 712 CE in Sindh. Rahab Datt came of old fighting stock from the ancient tradition of Hindu warrior-priests dedicated to fighting on the side of dharma, or righteousness. They cared about character. In every age, they looked for the noblest person of their time to ally with—win or lose—in the spirit of Yatho Dharmastatho Jaya , 'Where there is dharma (righteousness), there is moral victory', as the Bhagavad Gita says in the Mahabharata . The phrase occurs thirteen times in the Mahabharata. Accordingly, Rahab Datt is believed to have been greatly attached to the Prophet's son-in-law, Ali, for his nobility of character. He rallied his troops, although it was too late to save Hussain, and by combining forces with another follower of Ali, captured and razed Kufa. The tyrant Yazid did not rule for longer than forty days. Rahab Datt's family came back to India from Iraq and became known thereafter as 'Hussaini Brahmins' for having spilt their blood in Hussain's cause and helped win a moral victory. They belonged to an endogamous sect of Brahmins called 'Mohyal', which had seven clan names—Bali, Bhimwal, Chibber, Datt, Lau, Mohan and Vaid. Centuries after the Battle of Karbala, Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Sati Das, two Chibber brothers who were devoted to the Sikh Gurus as the noblest men of their era, were tortured and executed in Delhi in November 1675. They were killed with their spiritual leader, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, by order of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, for steadfastly refusing to forsake their faith. Generations of Mohyals became Sikhs in medieval times, for it was the custom of the Hindus of the north-west to give their eldest sons to the Sikh Gurus in order to steadily build civil resistance and, inevitably, military resistance against successive Mughal rulers. Respect for individual nobility of character ran like a red thread through their affiliations. Earlier, it was Jehangir who ordered the torture of Guru Arjan Dev at Lahore, which the Guru bore with immense moral strength and stoic endurance. He died on 30 May 1606, and the Sikhs commemorated his passing ever after with Chabeel . Chabeel means a place where you can get water. Even today, the Sikhs, wherever they may be, courteously offer all passers-by a cool, sweet drink in summer in remembrance of Guru Arjan Dev—repaying the brutality done to him with public service in a magnificent message about how not to be. Today, 'Drona's descendants', the Mohyal Brahmins, are dedicated to the cause of the Indian republic. This clan's military tradition continues, with any number of Mohyals serving in the Indian armed forces, particularly the Air Force. Along with this old clan, the ideal it chose to live by lives on too—in the emblem of the Supreme Court, which says Yatho Dharmastatho Jaya . Renuka Narayanan | Senior journalist (Views are personal) (shebaba09@
