Mourning of Muharram

Mourning of Al-Muharram (Template:Langx; Template:Langx; Template:Langx) is a set of religious rituals observed by Shia Muslims during the month of Al-Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. These annual rituals commemorate the death of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia imam. Husayn and his small retinue were slaughtered in the Battle of Karbala on 10 Al-Muharram 61 AH (680 CE) against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid I (Template:Reign). The battle followed Husayn's refusal to pledge his allegiance to Yazid, who is often portrayed by Muslim historians as impious and immoral. In Shia Islam, Karbala symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil, the pinnacle of self-sacrifice, and the ultimate sabotage of Muhammad's prophetic mission. Historically, the event served to crystallize the Shia community into a distinct sect and remains an integral part of their religious identity to date.

Mourning for Karbala began with its female survivors, particularly Husayn's sister Zaynab, and evolved over time into distinct rituals that help define the Shia identity. Nowadays, most mourning rituals take place during the first ten days of Al-Muharram, culminating with processions in major Shia cities on the tenth day, known as Ashura. Often held in dedicated buildings, the main component of mourning ceremonies is the recitation of Karbala narratives intended to raise the sympathy of audience and move them to tears. Elegies and dirges are also chanted in such gatherings, as the participants strike their chests to share in the pain of Husayn and benefit from his intercession on the Day of Judgement. Extreme forms of self-flagellation are also sometimes practiced, often involving self-inflicted bloodshed. Such practices are highly controversial among the Shia, condemned by many Shia scholars, and outlawed in some Shia communities. Theatrical reenactment of Karbala narratives is a historically significant ritual found mostly in Iran.

Origins

Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendarTemplate:Sfn and one of the four sacred months in which warfare is prohibited in Islam.Template:Sfn In Shia Islam, the tenth of Muharram, known as Ashura, commemorates the death of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.Template:Sfn Husayn was killed, alongside most of his male relatives and his small retinue, on 10 Muharram 61 AH (10 October 680 CE) in the Battle of Karbala against the much larger army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya (Template:Reign), having been surrounded for some days and deprived of the drinking water of the nearby Euphrates river. After the battle, the women and children in Husayn's camp were taken prisoner and marched to the capital Damascus in Syria. The battle followed failed negotiations and Husayn's refusal to pledge his allegiance to Yazid, who is often portrayed by Muslim historians as impious and immoral.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn The fight took place in the desert land of Karbala, en route to the nearby Kufa, whose residents had earlier invited Husayn to lead them against Yazid.Template:Sfn

Muharram rituals in Shia Islam

In addition to pilgrimage to the shrine of Husayn, located in Karbala, Iraq,Template:Sfn Shia Muslims annually commemorate the events of Karbala throughout the months of Muharram and Safar,Template:Sfn following the precedent of their imams.Template:Sfn Most rituals take place during the first ten days of Muharram, culminating on the tenth with processions in major Shia cities.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The main component of ritual ceremonies (, Template:Singular ) is the narration of the stories of Karbala (, ),Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn and the recitation of elegies and dirges (, , ),Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn all intended to raise the sympathy of audience and move them to tears.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn A often takes place in a dedicated building or structure, known variously as , , , or .Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Self-flagellation

Another component of mourning gatherings is the self-flagellation of participants to the rhythm of Karbala elegies.Template:Sfn Rooted in ancient Arab practices,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn mild forms of self-flagellation, striking one's face and chest in grief (, , ),Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn are common today in mourning rituals,Template:Sfn intended to share in the pain of Husayn.Template:Sfn Striking one's back with special chains () is another harmless practice,Template:Sfn found in Iran and Iraq.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn But there are also extreme forms of self-flagellation (, , ), in which the participants strike themselves, usually on the forehead or back, with knives, swords, or chains to which razor blades are attached.Template:Sfn Banned by Iran and the Shia Hezbollah party of Lebanon since the mid-90s,Template:Sfn instrumental self-flagellation has been condemned by many Shia clerics,Template:Sfn and it remains an often controversial practice among the Shia.Template:Sfn

Passion plays

File:Mourning of Muharram in cities and villages of Iran-342 16 (136).jpg

Shia passion play () in Iran

or is the dramatic reenactment of Karbala narratives, practiced today in Iran, in Shia communities of the western Gulf shore, and in Lebanon.Template:Sfn The Arabic word itself is the verbal noun of (Template:Lit).Template:Sfn Such plays may be performed in public spaces or dedicated buildings, like s.Template:Sfn While Karbala is its focus, the repertoire also includes plays about early prophets and contemporary figures.Template:Sfn On Ashura, however, always the "martyrdom of Husayn" is reenacted in such performances.Template:Sfn Since the Islamic Revolution in 1978Template:Ndash1979, some performances are televised and sponsored by the Iranian government to preserve this fading tradition.Template:Sfn In Iraq, there are no widespread rituals today,Template:Sfn although an annual performance on Ashura in Karbala reenacts the burning of Husayn's tents after the battle by the Umayyads and the captivity of the women and children.Template:Sfn

Processions

File:عزاداری شیعیان در ماه محرم 07.jpg

Procession of mourners in Iran

Processions of mourners (, ) annually march the streets in Muharram,Template:Sfn especially on Ashura,Template:Sfn chanting dirges and elegies,Template:Sfn sometimes accompanied by self-flagellation.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn These processions typically start and end at the local ,Template:Sfn and occasionally represent various local guilds.Template:Sfn In Najaf, Iraq, mourners march on the eve of Ashura toward the shrine of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia imam, carrying decorative torches ().Template:Sfn In the march in Karbala, male and then female mourners walk barefoot to the shrine of Husayn in the afternoon of Ashura.Template:Sfn In such processions, often certain symbolic objects are carried by the mourners, particularly (Template:Lit), which signifies the ensign of Husayn at Karbala carried by his brother Abbas ibn Ali.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn (Template:Lit) is another such symbol—carried in a procession—signifying the bier of Husayn in Karbala, which was made of date palms, according to a legend.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Indian processions carry replicas of Husayn's bier or tomb, called , which shares the same name with the theatrical reenactments of Karbala in Iran.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The is finally buried or submerged, submersion probably being a Hindu influence.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Similar processions take place in Trinidad as part of the annual Hosay commemoration, in which tadjah is the local equivalent of .Template:Sfn

Non-Shia rituals

The slaughter of Muhammad's grandson and his relatives shocked the whole Muslim community at the time,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and Karbala has been commemorated by some Sunni Muslims ever since, for instance in South Asia,Template:Sfn albeit these Sunni rituals may differ from their Shia counterparts. The Sunni remembrance of Karbala, however, has declined in recent times.Template:Sfn Indeed, for many other Sunnis, Ashura is instead an important festival in commemoration of the parting of the Red Sea by Moses.Template:Sfn It is viewed as a day of thanksgiving (), a joyous occasion, celebrated through pious acts and acceptable expressions of delight.Template:Sfn In the Maghreb, for instance, Ashura is celebrated today through fasting, almsgiving, honoring the dead, special dishes, jumping over bonfires, and carnivals.Template:Sfn Muharram rituals also appear in Sufism, but therein Karbala is less of a tragedy, but rather the celebration of the eternal life of Husayn and his companions, who annihilated themselves in the Divine with their voluntary deaths.Template:Sfn

Significance

Karbala paradigm

File:Tehran Ashura Demonstration, 11 December 1978 (12).jpg

Ashura demonstrations against the Pahlavids in Iran, 1978

File:A Muharram procession (6125143148).jpg

Some have criticized the pageantry of mourning processions. The one painted above is dated circa 1850.

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Distribution of free meals during Muharram, often to fulfil religious vows

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Self-flagellation with swords in Turkey, dated Ashura 1909

File:Ashura in Bahrain 04.JPG

Donating blood in Bahrain as an alternative to extreme self-flagellation

In Shia Islam, the Battle of Karbala symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil, where Husayn is viewed as the exemplar of piety, sacrifice, and perseverance, while Yazid represents injustice, tyranny, and corruption.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The fate of Husayn, the third Shia imam, is regarded in Shi'ism as the acme of human suffering and self-sacrifice,Template:Sfn the wrong committed against him so grievous that its repercussions continue, generation after generation, until the eschatological uprising of Muhammad al-Mahdi, the last imam in Twelver Shi'ism, who is thought to be in occultation since 874.Template:Sfn Indeed, the victory of Yazid in Karbala is regarded in Shi'ism as the ultimate sabotage of Muhammad's prophetic mission, the sabotage that began much earlier with the appointment of Abu Bakr, instead of Ali ibn Abi Talib, to succeed Muhammad,Template:Sfn hence the saying, "Husayn was killed on the day of the Saqifa."Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In Shia view, the preordained but voluntary uprising and sacrifice of Husayn thus preserved the true Islam for future generations,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn as it awakened the Muslim community to its moral depravity under the Umayyads.Template:Sfn In return for his suffering, according to the Shia, Husayn was rewarded the divine prerogative of intercession on Day of Judgement for those followers who share in his pain.Template:Sfn

For Shias, mourning for Husayn is a means of remembering his suffering, an act of protest against oppression, a struggle for God (), and as such an act of worship.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn As an act of worship, mourning for Husayn is viewed as redemptive,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn through which Shias seek atonement for their sins and the sins of all mankind.Template:Sfn By sharing in his pain, they also hope to benefit from the intercession of Husayn on the Day of Judgement.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Indeed, numerous traditions, attributed to Shia imams, count the divine rewards of mourning for Husayn, particularly weeping for him.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn As an act of protest, on the other hand, mourning rituals parallel armed struggle which was often not an option for the Shia minority under oppressive regimes.Template:Sfn In recent times, Muharram rituals have increasingly developed a political dimension, as preachers compare oppressors now to the enemies of Husayn in Karbala.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn However, while Karbala indeed provided the Shia with a model for righteous struggle against injustice and oppression,Template:Sfn this blueprint has not always translated into action,Template:Sfn as most Shia imams were themselves political quietists who lived under oppressive regimes.Template:Sfn Muharram rituals also help define and strengthen the Shia identity,Template:Sfn and the Karbala paradigm remains an integral part of Shia historical memory, theological understanding, and religious identity.Template:Sfn Husayn's martyrdom is often linked to the hagiography of John the Baptist.

Criticism of Muharram rituals

The colorful and emotional Muharram rituals of the Shia are condemned by Sunni scholars, possibly because of the Sunni emphasis on "puritanical piety and sobriety."Template:Sfn A Sunni hadith, attributed to Muhammad, reports that he profusely wept for the death of his infant son Ibrahim but forbade mourners from saying anything that would "irritate the Lord." However, there is also another version of the same hadith in Sunni sources, according to which Muhammad forbade raising one's voice in times of misfortune, or mutilating one's face, or tearing one's clothes.Template:Sfn By contrast, the Shia imam Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (Template:Died in) is known in Shi'ism for the intensity of his life-long grief over Karbala.Template:Sfn The only surviving son of Husayn, Zayn al-Abidin was too sick to fight in the Battle of Karbala.Template:Sfn He justified his many years of mourning by citing the Quranic story of Joseph, which describes how his father Jacob mourned his absence to the point that he lost his eyesight.Template:Sfn Whatever the case, wailing and striking one's face or chest in grief are ancient Arab traditions for mourning the dead.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Others have criticized mourning gatherings, suggesting that their resources should be directed towards the poor. In turn, proponents of Muharram rituals argue that feeding the poor is part of the Karbala culture,Template:Sfn usually to fulfill religious vows () made by devotees.Template:Sfn The supporters add that displays of generosity are more common during the months of mourning.Template:Sfn

Extreme self-flagellation

Forms of self-flagellation that involve bloodshed are often controversial among the Shia,Template:Sfn and have been condemned by many Shia clerics.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Through such practices, participants argue that they experience a fraction of the pain inflicted at Karbala,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn show their willingness to self-sacrifice,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and atone for the sins of those Kufans who deserted Husayn.Template:Sfn Opponents respond that self-harm is forbidden in Islam,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn that the spilt blood renders the body impure () for daily prayers,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and that such practices project a negative image of Shi'ism.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Unlike mild forms of self-flagellation,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn extreme self-mortification has no precedent in early Islam,Template:Sfn neither does it appear in the Quran.Template:Sfn In turn, supporters contend that these acts show their love for the House of Muhammad, made obligatory upon all Muslims in verse 42:23 of the Quran.Template:Sfn Despite the criticism, the Shia populace, at least in South Asia, seems reluctant to prevent such practices, either to defy Sunni criticism,Template:Sfn or to boost popular support for Muharram rituals among the Shia.Template:Sfn Elsewhere, bloody self-flagellation is outlawed in Iran and Lebanon, where donating blood is encouraged as an alternative.Template:Sfn

History of Muharram rituals

Umayyads (Template:Reign)

Commemoration of Karbala began shortly after the battle with its female survivors, including Husayn's sister Zaynab.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn While in captivity in Damascus,Template:Sfn or later when they visited Karbala on their way back to Medina from Damascus,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn the bereaved women held the earliest mourning gathering (), in which they recounted the tragedy, shed tears, and struck their faces () in grief.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Such instances of self-flagellation, striking one's face or chest, were already ancient Arab traditions for mourning the dead.Template:Sfn For years, Zayn al-Abidin and his sister Sakina (Template:Died in) may have continued to annually organize such mourning gatherings, which also featured Karbala elegies ().Template:Sfn Alternatively, the first annual commemoration and the first pilgrimage may be attributed to Tawwabun,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn that is, those Kufans who regretted deserting Husayn in Karbala: They are said to have gathered at his grave site on the first anniversary of his death, where they mourned his loss and recited elegies.Template:Sfn They also promised to unite and rise against the Umayyads, which they did in what became known as the Tawwabun uprising of 685.Template:Sfn Indeed, Karbala united the nascent Shia community,Template:Sfn the roots of which likely formed in the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.Template:Sfn After Karbala, this community crystallized into a distinct sect that regards Shia imams, that is, Husayn and certain other descendants of Muhammad, as his rightful religious and temporal successors.Template:Sfn

Risking the Umayyads' wrath, the commemoration of Karbala continued in similar small and private gatherings,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn held, for instance, at the houses of the Shia imams,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn who also frequently encouraged the Shia community to follow suit.Template:Sfn Similarly, pilgrimage to Karbala remained limited and precarious in this period.Template:Sfn The imams also saw poetry as a vehicle to preserve and spread the ideals of Karbala.Template:Sfn In particular, the Shia imam Ja'far Sadiq (Template:Died in) is said to have regularly hosted poets who composed and recited Karbala elegies.Template:Sfn Indeed, the Umayyads actively worked to erase the memory of Karbala, as written accounts of the Battle of Karbala are absent from the literary corpus of this period.Template:Sfn Probably in the same vein, the Umayyad general al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf (Template:Died in) declared Ashura a festive public holiday.Template:Sfn Nevertheless, the anger against the Umayyads for Karbala was in part responsible for their fall.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Abbasids (Template:Reign)

The Abbasids, who claimed descent from Muhammad's uncle Abbas,Template:Sfn rallied the Shia support to overthrow the Umayyads, promising them a leader from the House of Muhammad, whom many Shias probably imagined to be an Alid, that is, a descendant of Muhammad through his only surviving daughter Fatima and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia imam.Template:Sfn Karbala was thus heavily featured in the anti-Umayyad polemics of the Abbasids.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn As a result, the commemoration of Karbala surged in the form of literary accounts and pilgrimages.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Such pilgrimages were also highly encouraged by the Shia imams, including al-Sadiq.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In the early Abbasid period, commemorations of Karbala were even held publicly in mosques.Template:Sfn After assuming power, however, the Abbasids gradually turned against the Shia, many of whom were disillusioned with Abbasid, rather than Alid, caliphs.Template:Sfn Insofar as Shia Muharram rituals promoted Alids as the legitimate leaders,Template:Sfn the Abbasids also came to view such practices as a political threat.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn For instance, the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil (Template:Reign) demolished the shrine of Husayn and punished pilgrimage with death.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn To prevent another Karbala, the Abbasids also kept the Shia imams under surveillance, and at times imprisoned, tortured, or killed them.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Buyids (Template:Reign)

The first public Karbala processions happened under Buyids, the Shia dynasty that ruled parts of Iraq and Iran,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn after the collapse of the central Abbasid caliphate.Template:Sfn On Ashura 963, during the reign of the first Buyid ruler Mu'izz al-Dawla (Template:Reign), markets were closed in Baghdad, Iraq,Template:Sfn and processions of black-garbed Shia mourners marched in the streets, weeping, wailing, and striking their faces and chests.Template:Sfn Such processions provoked violent Sunni riots and counter-processions, which involved, for instance, reenactments of the Battle of the Camel in 656 against Ali ibn Abi Talib.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Mourning processions also appeared under the Hamdanids in Syria and the Fatimids in Egypt, two other Shia states.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In Cairo, Egypt, however, deadly Sunni riots apparently discontinued the Shia processions during the reign of the Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (Template:Reign).Template:Sfn Back in Iraq, dedicated buildings for Karbala gatherings can also be traced back to the Buyid period.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Safavids (Template:Reign)

File:Feest van Hussein´s dood in Perzië, RP-P-OB-44.137.jpg

Mourning rituals in Iran, dated 1682

Muharram rituals had reached Iran as early as the twelfth century,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn but a new era began with the Safavid dynasty,Template:Sfn whose founder Ismai'l I (Template:Reign) is responsible for the wholesale conversion of Iran to Twelver Shi'ism. This transition was met with relatively little resistance locally, perhaps due to the popularity of Sufi orders in Iran.Template:Sfn Muharram rituals also helped spread Shia Islam inside Iran.Template:Sfn Over time, these rituals grew more elaborate artistically, where Shias freely expressed their identity without the threat of a Sunni majority. For instance, participants openly condemned () the first three caliphsTemplate:NdashAbu Bakr, Umar, and UthmanTemplate:Ndashwho are viewed in Shi'ism as the usurpers of the right of Ali ibn Abi Talib to succeed Muhammad.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

In the Safavid era, annual mourning gatherings () were held on the first ten days of Muharram in s, a term coined in this period for buildings dedicated to ritual mourning.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In such gatherings, narratives of Karbala were emotionally recounted in the ritual of , which owes its name to the 1502Template:Ndash1503 book ,Template:Sfn perhaps the most famous collection of Karbala narratives to date.Template:Sfn The recitation of the book was later abandoned as trained story-tellers relied on their creative skills to conjure up the narratives.Template:Sfn Other notable Safavid rituals were Muharram processions and self-flagellation,Template:Sfn such as (striking the chest), (striking the back with chains), and or (mortifying oneself with swords or knives).Template:Sfn The extreme acts of self-flagellation were new practices, as there is no evidence of self-inflicted bloodshed in early historical sources.Template:Sfn Such rituals likely originated in Turkish-speaking regions of Caucasus and Azerbayjan in Northern Iran,Template:Sfn introduced into Shi'ism by the Qizilbash, who formed the backbone of the Safavid military and were regarded as Ghulat because of their exaggerated veneration for the Shia imams.Template:Sfn In turn, extreme self-flagellation had perhaps reached these regions from Europe, where it was practiced by some Christians as a form of atonement.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

A major development in this period was the appearance of theatrical representations of Karbala narratives, known as or .Template:Sfn Such theatrical reenactments were likely a natural outgrowth of the verbal reenactments in ,Template:Sfn and were rooted in pre-Islamic Iranian heritage, such as the epic poem Ayadgar-i Zariran and the legend of Siyavash,Template:Sfn or perhaps the dramatic reenactments of Karbala were inspired by the Christian Corpus Christi processions.Template:Sfn At any rate, these performances were popular,Template:Sfn often sponsored by the Safavid royals and other elites,Template:Sfn and even attended by the Safavid monarchs.Template:Sfn The new ritual was also approved by some Safavid scholars, such as the prominent Twelver jurist Majlisi (Template:Died in),Template:Sfn while independent Shia clerics were initially critical of the performances, partly for their personification of a Shia imam.Template:Sfn From Iran, later reached Iraq and then Lebanon, but had limited success in the former.Template:Sfn

Modern times

File:Tekiyeh Dowlat by Kamalolmolk.jpg

Takia Dawlat in a painting by Kamal-ol-molk, dated 1892

In Iran, the ritual condemnation of the first three caliphs was discontinued after the Safavids.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn As early as the Qajar period (Template:Reign), Iranian rituals also extended to the month of Safar, due to the commemoration of Arbai'n, which marks forty days after the death of Husayn.Template:Sfn Also in the Qajar era, the theatrical reenactment of Karbala () reached its peak.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In the Qajar capital Tehran, the most elaborate shows took place in Takia Dawlat, built by the Qajar monarch Naser al-Din Shah (Template:Reign).Template:Sfn

fell into a slow decline in Iran afterward, to the point that it became a rarity in large cities by the 1940s under the Pahlavis (Template:Reign).Template:Sfn Besides the emergence of new art mediums,Template:Sfn the decline in can be partly explained by Pahlavi bans and restrictions,Template:Sfn as part of their program to modernize Iran.Template:Sfn The modernization was likely a guise, however, for the Pahlavis probably saw Muharram rituals as a political threat.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Indeed, as early as the 1909 constitutional revolution in Iran, mourning gatherings had assumed a political dimension as preachers compared Iranian oppressors to the enemies of Husayn in Karbala.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Eventually, the Pahlavis were toppled in the Iranian Revolution (1978Template:Ndash1979) through the continued efforts of dissidents, such as Ali Shariati (Template:Died in),Template:Sfn who effectively used Karbala symbols and rituals against the regime.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Favoring the Sunni community, the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein (Template:Died in) also banned Muharram rituals, but they resumed shortly after he was deposed in 2003.Template:Sfn In Saudi Arabia, such rituals have been banned since Ibn Saud reimposed Wahhabi rule over the country, although the ban has been defied at times by the discontented Shia minority, protesting what they perceive as Saudi discrimination.Template:Sfn In Lebanon, Muharram rituals show Iranian roots and were restrained until about the mid nineteenth century.Template:Sfn Later, Karbala symbolism was used there effectively against the Israeli occupation (1985–2000).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Extreme forms of self-flagellation have also been banned in Iran and the Hezbollah party of Lebanon since the mid-90s.Template:Sfn

South Asia

File:Asif muharram 1795 1.jpg

Mourning gathering in Awadh, India, circa 1795

From Iraq and Iran, Muharram rituals, such as ,Template:Sfn eventually reached parts of South Asia. The rituals were perhaps introduced there by Timur (Template:Died in), the founder of the Timurid Empire (Template:Reign),Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn or perhaps through the migration of some Iranian elites to South Asia.Template:Sfn Muharram rituals were later suppressed by the Mughals (Template:Reign) from the sixteenth century onward,Template:Sfn but reemerged when the Mughals weakened in the eighteenth century, for instance, in Awadh under the patronage of its Shia ruler Saadat Ali Khan I (Template:Died in).Template:Sfn In particular, the Shia rulers of Awadh sponsored Mirza Dabeer (Template:Died in) and Mir Anees (Template:Died in), two prominent Karbala elegy composers in Urdu literature.Template:Sfn Perhaps also influenced by Iraq and Iran,Template:Sfn there were dedicated buildings for Muharram rituals in South Asia by the end of the sixteenth century,Template:Sfn known variously as , , , , and .Template:Sfn These rituals even found their way to Trinidad when Indian immigrants settled there in the nineteenth century.Template:Sfn Influenced by local carnivals, however, Muharram rituals lost their mourning tone there.Template:Sfn This annual Hosay commemoration has survived to this day.Template:Sfn

Gallery

• Muharram mourning gathering (Script error: No such module "lang".) in Iran
  Muharram mourning gathering () in Iran
• Script error: No such module "lang". in Iran
  in Iran
• Script error: No such module "lang". in Tanzania
  in Tanzania
• Muharram mourning procession in Iran
  Muharram mourning procession in Iran
• Muharram procession in India, with an Script error: No such module "lang". in the background
  Muharram procession in India, with an in the background
• Muharram procession in India carrying Script error: No such module "lang".s that symbolize the ensign of Husayn
  Muharram procession in India carrying s that symbolize the ensign of Husayn
• Muharram procession in India
  Muharram procession in India
• Muharram procession in Syria
  Muharram procession in Syria
• Submerging Script error: No such module "lang".s in Indonesia in a mock funeral of Husayn
  Submerging s in Indonesia in a mock funeral of Husayn
• A symbolic bier of Husayn (Script error: No such module "lang".) in a mock funeral (Script error: No such module "lang".) in Iran
  A symbolic bier of Husayn () in a mock funeral () in Iran
• Script error: No such module "lang". in Iran
  in Iran
• Moving in a circle, mourners strike their chests (Script error: No such module "lang".) in Iran
  Moving in a circle, mourners strike their chests () in Iran
• Script error: No such module "lang". in Iran
  in Iran
• Chains used in self-flagellation
  Chains used in self-flagellation ()
• Extreme self-flagellation in a Muharram procession in India
  Extreme self-flagellation in a Muharram procession in India
• Night of Ashura in Iran
  Night of Ashura in Iran