What Ashara Mubaraka is
Ashara Mubaraka (the Blessed Ten) refers to the first ten days of Moharram al-Haram, the opening month of the Hijri calendar. For the Dawoodi Bohra community, these are the most sacred and intensely observed days of the year — a season of gathering, mourning, learning, and spiritual renewal.
During Ashara, mumineen attend the daily waaz (sermon), refrain from celebration, dress in mourning garb, recite marsiya and nauha, and collectively relive the tragedy of Karbala and the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) — the grandson of Rasulullah (SAW).
“Weep, and if you cannot weep, force yourselves to weep.” — Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (AS), on the remembrance of Imam Husain
The Events Being Remembered
In the year 61 AH (680 CE), Imam Husain ibn Ali (AS) refused to pledge allegiance to the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Muawiya, whose rule he regarded as a corruption of Islam. He traveled from Mecca toward Kufa in Iraq, where tens of thousands had written pledging their support. They abandoned him when Yazid’s forces arrived. Imam Husain found himself with only 72 companions and his family on the plains of Karbala, surrounded by an army of thousands.
Water was cut off on 7th Moharram. On Ashura (10th Moharram), after a morning of battle, Imam Husain — along with his brothers, sons, nephews, and loyal companions — was martyred. His infant son Ali Asghar was killed by an arrow while the Imam held him seeking water. The women and children of the household, including Maulatona Zainab (AS), were taken as captives to Damascus.
For the Bohra community, Karbala is not simply history. It is the defining act of the Ahl al-Bayt — the willingness to sacrifice everything rather than submit to falsehood. Imam Husain’s martyrdom is understood as the act that preserved the soul of Islam.
Day by Day — What Each Day Commemorates
1st Moharram — Islamic New Year / Opening of Ashara
The first day of the Hijri year and the opening of Ashara. The majlis begins. The waaz traces the background of Karbala — the state of the Muslim world under Yazid, the letters sent to Imam Husain from Kufa, and his departure from Mecca.
2nd Moharram — Arrival at Karbala
Imam Husain’s caravan reaches the plains of Karbala. He asks the name of the land; upon hearing it he weeps. “Karb wa bala” — sorrow and affliction. He purchases the land and dismounts, knowing he will not leave it alive.
3rd Moharram — The Siege Begins
Umar ibn Saʿd arrives with 4,000 soldiers. The siege forms. The Imam’s camp is surrounded.
4th Moharram — Imam’s Offer of Peace
Imam Husain offers three peaceful solutions: return to Mecca, travel to a remote frontier, or meet Yazid one-on-one. All are refused. His now-famous words: “Wallāhi lā uʿṭīkum bi-yadī iʿṭāʾadh-dhalīl wa lā afirru firāral-ʿabīd” — “By Allah, I will not give you my hand like a humiliated person, and I will not flee as slaves flee.”
5th Moharram — The Isolation Deepens
Enemy forces multiply. News confirms that Muslim ibn Aqil’s uprising in Kufa has been crushed. Imam Husain faces the reality: no earthly reinforcements are coming. He turns entirely to Allah.
6th Moharram — Sermon to the Enemy
Imam Husain delivers a historic sermon to the enemy army, reciting their own letters back to them. Most are unmoved. He demonstrates that truth must be proclaimed even when it is refused.
7th Moharram — Water Cut Off (Maa Band)
On this day, Shimr receives orders to cut off water from the Euphrates to the Imam’s camp. For three days — including the last night of Tasua and the day of Ashura — the Imam’s family and companions including young children endure thirst in the Iraqi desert heat.
8th Moharram — Laila Husain (Night of Loyalty)
Laila Husain — the Night of Husain — is among the most moving of the ten days. The Imam extinguishes the lamps and in the darkness addresses his companions, releasing them from their pledge: “You owe me nothing — go in peace, under cover of night.”
Every companion refuses. They say: “Wallāhi lā nufāriquka wa lā nukhayyibuka wa lā nazālu maʿak” — “By Allah, we will not leave you, we will not disappoint you, we will remain with you.” The Imam spends the night in prayer. His companions pledge their lives.
9th Moharram — Tasua (Eve of Ashura)
Tasua — the ninth, the eve of Ashura. The Imam asks the enemy army for this one final night to spend in prayer. He spends it in salah, dhikr, and Quran. He knows tomorrow is his last day in this world.
10th Moharram — Ashura (The Day of Shahadat)
The most sorrowful day. The battle begins in the morning. One by one the companions are martyred. The Imam’s family falls. At the last, Imam Husain himself faces the army alone, crying out: “Hal min nāṣirin yanṣurunī” — “Is there anyone who will help me?”
At the end, the Imam is martyred. His head is separated. The household is taken captive. The tents are burned.
The Structure of Waaz and Majlis
The waaz is the centerpiece of each day’s gathering. A qualified scholar — the Dai or his appointed mukhlis — delivers a multilayered sermon that encompasses:
- Quranic recitation and tawil — verses bearing on the day’s theme
- Historical narration — the day-by-day unfolding of the Karbala story
- Religious guidance — matters of fiqh, aqida, and practice
- Marsiya — elegies in Arabic or Lisan ud-Dawat recited in mourning
The waaz builds across all ten days. Each majlis picks up the story where the previous one left off, so attendance throughout the ten days gives the full arc. The Ashura waaz is the most attended and most emotionally intense, culminating in the moment of the Imam’s shahadat.
How Mumineen Observe Ashara
During the ten days, mumineen typically:
- Attend the daily majlis — from morning gathering through the waaz, often several hours
- Wear simple or dark clothing — white is traditional in some regions; black in others; bright celebratory colors are avoided
- Abstain from celebration — no weddings, no festive gatherings, no music during these days
- Read from the Maqtal — accounts of the martyrdom narrative, privately or in small groups
- Perform matam — rhythmic striking of the chest (or other forms) as an outward expression of grief and solidarity
- Take part in sabeel — the distribution of water and food, especially water, recalling the thirst of Karbala
- Recite the duas of Ashara — specific supplications for each day and occasion (see the Duas section)
- Listen to marsiya and nauha — devotional elegies lamenting the martyrdom
Matam — Its Meaning and Practice
Matam (مَاتَم) is the act of striking the chest in grief. In Bohra practice it is done rhythmically, often in unison, as an act of solidarity with Imam Husain and an expression of the grief that cannot be contained in words.
The theological basis: just as the people of Mecca were told that the disbelievers’ self-harm is their punishment (wa yajʿalūna aṣābiʿahum fī ādhānihim, 2:19), the believers’ grief in Imam Husain is a devotional act. The Prophet (SAW) wept at the death of loved ones; Maulatona Zainab (AS) performed matam at Karbala. It is the body physically expressing what the heart feels.
Maqtal — Reading the Martyrdom Narrative
The Maqtal (مَقْتَل — “place of killing”) is the genre of historical-devotional narrative that recounts the events of Karbala in detail. Reading from the Maqtal — privately, with family, or in groups — is a practice that deepens the identification with the events. Key sources in the tradition include:
- Maqtal al-Husain by Abu Mikhnaf
- Luhuf by Ibn Tawus
- Various Arabic and Lisan ud-Dawat texts used in the Bohra community
The Significance of Crying for Imam Husain
The tradition across the Ahl al-Bayt traditions holds that shedding tears — or even simulating tears — in remembrance of Imam Husain is an act of great reward. The narrations say:
“Whoever weeps at [the mention of] Imam Husain, or forces himself to weep, or makes a face of sadness — they shall find their reward with Allah on the Day of Judgment.”
The waaz is designed not merely to inform but to move — to build grief, to bring forth tears, because that grief is itself a form of worship and a renewal of the covenant with the Ahl al-Bayt.
The duas of each day of Ashara — from 1st to 10th Moharram — are available in the Duas section under “Ashara.” The Mazaraat section contains information on ziyarat to Karbala, Najaf, and related sites.