Muharram - The film `A single tear shed for Husayn washes away a hundred sins'- The entire concept of Muharram revolves around this simple Shia quote. "Muharram", the term gets its origin from the Arabian term haraam, meaning 'sinful'. Muharram is observed on the first month of Islamic calendar. In the Shia regions of countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain and Pakistan Muharram is a national Holiday. Ashura, the tenth day of Muharram is observed by the Shia Muslims as the day of mourning for the grandson of Muhammad, Hussein Ibn Ali. The last few days of Muharram until the day of Ashura is very crucial as this was the time when Hussein and his family were killed in the Battle of Karbala by the rival army of Umayyad caliph Yazid I. In this historical battle 72 people from Hussein's family and his followers were killed. The survivors of Hussein's group, including women and children were captivated and imprisoned in Damascus. It is recorded in the Hadith, which is the report of prophet Muhammad's sayings, that Moses along his followers was victorious over the Egyptian Pharaoh on the last day of Muharram. Sunni Muslims also observe Muharram but as a time of remembrance and not as a time of mourning. On the day of Ashura the Shia Muslims make pilgrimages to Mashhad al-Husayn, the tomb of Hussein. On the day of Ashura the Shias wear their mourning attire and they refrain music. Muharram is a time of self-reflection, a time when the Muslims commit themselves entirely to Hussein. Hussein's struggle according to Shia Muslims is interpreted as a sign of standing boldly against injustice, tyranny and oppression. During the 10 days of Muharram a special prayer is arranged called Majalis-e Aza. This gathering or Majalis reviews the teachings of Islam and the sacrifice of Imam Hussein. The various rituals performed during Majalis-e Aza include congregations, lamentations and all those actions, which express the grief of Hussein's death. With the passage of time, some rituals of expressing grief became a vital part of Muharram. Sine-Zani: beating the chest, zangir-zani; beating oneself with chains, Qama Zani; hitting oneself with swords or knives are some of those rituals. The Shia Muslims cut themselves because they mourn to the fact that they were not present in the Battle of Karbala with Hussein to save him and his family. The Shias believe that taking part in the rituals of Ashura washes away all their sins. During Muharram the Shias of India, who are unable to travel all the way to Karbala create replicas of Imam Hussein's Mausoleum and carry it in processions. These replicas are called Taziya. In the three traditional schools of Unsooli, Akhbari and Shaykhi mourners recite sad poems and grieve to the tune of beating drums with sorrowful chants of 'Ya Hasayn'. Some people keep fast on the tenth day of Muharram to commemorate the pain of Imam Hussein during the battle of Karbala, where he was not provided with food and water for many days. This fast is known as 'Faqaa'. The family of Muhammad initiated observing Muharram as a mourning ritual. Zaynab bint Ali, the granddaughter of Muhammad and the sister of Hussein began mourning for him after his assassination. When this news of this mourning reached Yazid he was forced to release the captivated women and children from Damascus to avoid public revolution against his rule. On the demand of Zainab Bint Ali, Yazid even arranged for a house were the people could mourn for Imam Hussein. In this house Zainab Binte Ali organized the first Majlis-e Aza in 608 AD. Even today the starvation of Imam Hussein and the sacrifices of Prophet Muhammad teach us the lesson of humanity and forgiveness. Imam Hussein gave his life fighting to establish victory over evil. The observation of Muharram every year, reminds us of the sacrifices of these leaders and inspires us to make our soul free from the chains of illiteracy, jealousy, hatred and poverty. This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of tens of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM / SR 1080i High Definition, Alexa, SR, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at rupindang @ gmail . com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com.

• published: 02 Dec 2013
• views: 126