They used to say: 'This is a great day on which Allah saved Moses and drowned the folk of Pharaoh. When the Prophet (ﷺ) came to Medina, he found (the Jews) fasting on the day of 'Ashura' (i.e. Its beginning is recounted in a sahih hadith recorded through Ibn Abbas by al-Bukhari: Origin Sunni Islam įasting on Ashura, the tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharram was a practice established by Muhammad in the early days of Islam that commemorates the parting of the Red Sea by Moses. Wensinck, the name is derived from the Hebrew ʿāsōr, with the Aramaic determinative ending.

The root of the word Ashura means tenth in Semitic languages hence the name, literally translated, means 'the tenth day'. Additionally, it has also served as a trigger for controversy as well as violent incidents between the two communities in countries such as Iraq and Pakistan. Due to the drastically differing methods of observance between Sunnis and Shias, the day of Ashura has come to acquire a political dimension in some Islamic countries, and particularly in Iran, where Shia Islam is the official state religion. In folk traditions across countries such as Morocco and Algeria, the day of Ashura is variously celebrated with special foods, bonfires, or carnivals, though these practices are not supported by religious authorities. In Sunni communities, there are three rounds of fasting, based on Muhammad's hadith: on the day before Ashura, on the day of Ashura, and on the day after Ashura while fasting for Ashura is not obligatory, it is strongly encouraged. In Shia communities, Ashura observances are typically carried out in group processions and are accompanied by a variety of rituals ranging from weeping and shrine pilgrimages to the more controversial acts of self-flagellation and chest-beating. While Husayn's death is also regarded as a great tragedy by Sunnis, open displays of mourning are either discouraged or outright prohibited, depending on the specific act. Among Sunni Muslims, Ashura is observed through celebratory fasting as it marks the day of salvation for Moses and the Israelites, who successfully escaped from Biblical Egypt (where they were enslaved and persecuted) after Moses called upon God's power to part the Red Sea. Among Shia Muslims, Ashura is observed through large demonstrations of high-scale mourning as it marks the death of Husayn ibn Ali (a grandson of Muhammad), who was beheaded during the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. It occurs annually on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar.

Ashura ( Arabic: عَاشُورَاء, ʿĀshūrāʾ, ) is a day of commemoration in Islam.

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