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Ashura: Difference between revisions
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Among the few who escaped the massacre of Karbala was Hussain’s only surviving son, [[‘Ali Zayn-al-ʿabedin]], who was spared on account of sickness; he was soon proclaimed fourth [[Imam]] by a considerable segment of the Shiʿite community. His home in Medina became an important center for the growth of the ‘Ashura cults; no doubt his piety, political quietism, and continuous sorrow for the tragedy provided the religious basis of the ‘Ashura celebration. | Among the few who escaped the massacre of Karbala was Hussain’s only surviving son, [[‘Ali Zayn-al-ʿabedin]], who was spared on account of sickness; he was soon proclaimed fourth [[Imam]] by a considerable segment of the Shiʿite community. His home in Medina became an important center for the growth of the ‘Ashura cults; no doubt his piety, political quietism, and continuous sorrow for the tragedy provided the religious basis of the ‘Ashura celebration. | ||
==History of the Commemoration by Shi’a== | ==History of the Commemoration by Shi’a== | ||
Commemorative services (majales al-taʿzia) first held in the houses of the imams and their followers, originally consisted of recounting the tragedy, reflecting on its meaning, and reciting elegies ([[marthia]]) in memory of the [[martyred Imam]]. From the beginning, these majales were not limited to the ‘Ashura days, but were and still are held at any time of the year. Soon the shrines of the imams in Iraq and Iran became important centers of pilgrimage ([[ziara]]), where the pious held their lamentations. <ref>Ibn Qawluya, Kamel al-ziarat, ed. Mirza ʿAbdallah | Commemorative services (majales al-taʿzia) first held in the houses of the imams and their followers, originally consisted of recounting the tragedy, reflecting on its meaning, and reciting elegies ([[marthia]]) in memory of the [[martyred Imam]]. From the beginning, these majales were not limited to the ‘Ashura days, but were and still are held at any time of the year. Soon the shrines of the imams in Iraq and Iran became important centers of pilgrimage ([[ziara]]), where the pious held their lamentations. <ref>Ibn Qawluya, Kamel al-ziarat, ed. Mirza ʿAbdallah Hussain Amini Tabrizi, Najāf, 1356/1937, pp. 325-26.</ref> | ||
During the [[Umayyad]] period, the ‘Ashura cult and the spirit of revolt it fostered grew in secret under persecution and repression. The [[ʿAbbasid]] rulers, who came to power on the wave of pro-ʿAlid revolt, at first encouraged and patronized large public assemblies in commemoration of the sufferings of the Prophet’s family ([[Ahl Al-Bayt]]) and the tragedy of Karbala. By the end of the 4th/10th century, professional mourners (naʾeh), also known as the reciters or story tellers (qorraʾ) of Hussain, chanted elegies and led the pious in dirges; they normally read martyrdom narratives ([[maqatel]]) relating the story of Hussain in all its details. | During the [[Umayyad]] period, the ‘Ashura cult and the spirit of revolt it fostered grew in secret under persecution and repression. The [[ʿAbbasid]] rulers, who came to power on the wave of pro-ʿAlid revolt, at first encouraged and patronized large public assemblies in commemoration of the sufferings of the Prophet’s family ([[Ahl Al-Bayt]]) and the tragedy of Karbala. By the end of the 4th/10th century, professional mourners (naʾeh), also known as the reciters or story tellers (qorraʾ) of Hussain, chanted elegies and led the pious in dirges; they normally read martyrdom narratives ([[maqatel]]) relating the story of Hussain in all its details. | ||
In 351/962, under [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/buyids Buyid] patronage, ‘Ashura was declared a day of public mourning in Baghdad. Processions were held in the streets of the city, markets closed, and shops draped in black. <ref>ʿAbbas Qomi, Nafas al-mahmum, p. 226, Persian tr. Romuz al-Shahada by M. B. Kamaraʾi, Tehran, 1379/1960; Hebat-al-din Shahrestani, Nahzat al- | In 351/962, under [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/buyids Buyid] patronage, ‘Ashura was declared a day of public mourning in Baghdad. Processions were held in the streets of the city, markets closed, and shops draped in black. <ref>ʿAbbas Qomi, Nafas al-mahmum, p. 226, Persian tr. Romuz al-Shahada by M. B. Kamaraʾi, Tehran, 1379/1960; Hebat-al-din Shahrestani, Nahzat al-Hussain, Karbala, 1969, pp. 149ff.</ref> Special edifices were built for the celebrations of ‘Ashura (called [[Hussainiya]]; also [[tekyeh]] in Iran), and by the end of the 3rd/9th century these were common in Cairo, Aleppo, and many Iranian cities. | ||
As early as the 5th/11th century Iranian poets composed elegies in his memory. One of the most comprehensive works, in poetry and prose, on the subject in Persian is [[Rawzat al-Shuhada]] by a Sunni author, Hussain b. ‘Ali Waʿez Kashefi, (d. 910/1504-05). An outstanding Shiʿite poet was [[Mohtasham Kashani]]. <ref> d. 996/1588; see the translation of his famous haftband in Browne, Lit. Hist. Persia IV, pp. 172-77.</ref> From Iran, the ‘Ashura celebration was carried to the Indian subcontinent and other parts of the Muslim world influenced by Iranian culture. The greatest impetus for the development of the ‘Ashura celebration as a popular religious and artistic phenomenon came with the rise of the [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/safavids Safavids] to power in the early 10th/16th century. It was during their rule that the important dramatic genre known as [[taʿziya]] was highly developed and popularized. | As early as the 5th/11th century Iranian poets composed elegies in his memory. One of the most comprehensive works, in poetry and prose, on the subject in Persian is [[Rawzat al-Shuhada]] by a Sunni author, Hussain b. ‘Ali Waʿez Kashefi, (d. 910/1504-05). An outstanding Shiʿite poet was [[Mohtasham Kashani]]. <ref> d. 996/1588; see the translation of his famous haftband in Browne, Lit. Hist. Persia IV, pp. 172-77.</ref> From Iran, the ‘Ashura celebration was carried to the Indian subcontinent and other parts of the Muslim world influenced by Iranian culture. The greatest impetus for the development of the ‘Ashura celebration as a popular religious and artistic phenomenon came with the rise of the [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/safavids Safavids] to power in the early 10th/16th century. It was during their rule that the important dramatic genre known as [[taʿziya]] was highly developed and popularized. | ||