The Month of Muharram

Muharram in the Islamic Calendar

Muharram (مُحَرَّم — “that which is made sacred/forbidden”) is the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar and the first of the four sacred months (al-Ashhur al-Hurum):

إِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُورِ عِندَ اللَّهِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ مِنْهَا أَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌ “Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred.” (Quran 9:36)

The four sacred months are: Dhul Qa’dah, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram, and Rajab — months in which wrongdoing is considered especially grave and virtuous deeds especially weighty.

The name Muharram itself reflects its sacred status: acts of injustice, warfare, and sin were prohibited (haram) in this month by the ancient Arab code of sacred truce.

Muharram and the Islamic New Year

1 Muharram is the first day of the Islamic year. The Islamic calendar (at-taqwim al-Hijri) begins its count from the Hijra of the Prophet (SAW) from Mecca to Madinah in 622 CE — not from the Prophet’s birth or the first revelation.

The choice of the Hijra as the epoch reflects a profound theological insight: the Islamic community (Umma) is defined not just by belief but by hijra — migration, sacrifice, and the willingness to leave what is comfortable for what is commanded. The New Year is a remembrance of this founding sacrifice.

The Prophet (SAW) said about Muharram:

أَفضَلُ الصِّيَامِ بَعدَ رَمَضَانَ شَهرُ اللَّهِ المُحَرَّم “The best fasting after Ramadan is in the month of Allah — Muharram.” (Muslim)

This hadith calls Muharram explicitly “the month of Allah” (Shahr Allah), giving it a unique distinction. The Prophet (SAW) explained that fasting in Muharram is the best voluntary fasting of the year.

The Month’s Spiritual Character

Muharram is a month of:

Sadness and remembrance — Karbala happened in Muharram. The first ten days culminate in Ashura (10 Muharram), the day of Imam Husain’s (AS) martyrdom. For Bohras and the wider Shia world, Muharram is above all a month of matam (mourning) and azadari (lamentation), of tears for the Imam and renewal of the covenant at Karbala.

Sacred restraint — as one of the four sacred months, Muharram calls for increased piety, restraint from sin, and heightened consciousness of Allah’s prohibitions.

Fasting and worship — the Prophet (SAW) emphasized fasting particularly on Ashura and in the wider month. The fast of Ashura has multiple layers of history and significance.

Renewal — as the first month of the Islamic year, Muharram invites muhassabah (self-accounting), tawbah (repentance), and the setting of spiritual intentions for the year ahead.

Day by Day: Key Dates in Muharram

1 Muharram — Islamic New Year

The beginning of the Hijri year. Bohras greet each other with prayers for a blessed year ahead. The Dai al-Mutlaq’s takhir (divine salutation and blessing for the new year) is eagerly awaited. In Bohra communities, the new year begins with gathering, dua, and the anticipation of the approaching Ashara Mubaraka.

2–9 Muharram — Build-up to Ashara

In Bohra practice, Ashara Mubaraka — the ten days of commemoration culminating in Ashura — begins effectively from 1 Muharram. The Dai al-Mutlaq (or his representative) delivers waaz (religious discourse) on each of the ten days, covering the events of Karbala and drawing their ta’wil (spiritual meaning). Mumineen gather from around the world to listen.

7 Muharram — the day water was cut off to the camp of Imam Husain (AS) at Karbala. Water is a particularly charged symbol in Muharram remembrance from this day. Bohras often abstain from drinking cold water on this day in solidarity with the Imam’s thirst.

9 Muharram (Tasu’a) — the day before Ashura. Named from the Arabic for “ninth” (tisa’), Tasu’a is the penultimate day of high grief. The Prophet (SAW) is reported to have distinguished Ashura by also fasting the day before it: “If I live to see next year, I will fast on the 9th [as well as the 10th].”

10 Muharram (Ashura) — the day of the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) at Karbala in 61 AH / 680 CE. For the full significance of this day and the Bohra Ashara tradition, see Ashara Mubaraka.

11–30 Muharram — After Ashura

The days following Ashura are not widely observed with specific rites, but carry the mourning atmosphere of Muharram throughout:

11 Muharram — the morning after Ashura; the women and children of Imam Husain’s (AS) camp were taken captive and the sacred heads were raised on spears. The grief of Zainab (SA) and Imam Zainul Abidin (AS) in captivity is remembered.
25 Muharram — some traditions mark the shahadat of Imam Ali Zainul Abidin (AS) in this period (though other dates are also reported).

The remainder of Muharram is a time of continued reflection, prayer, and making use of the spiritual heightening that Ashara Mubaraka has produced.

Ashara Mubaraka — The Heart of Muharram

For Bohras, Ashara Mubaraka (عَاشُورَاء مُبَارَكَة — the Blessed Ten Days) is the centerpiece of the religious year. It is described in more detail in Ashara Mubaraka, but its place in the month is worth noting here:

Ashara Mubaraka is not just a Shia observance — it is the Bohra community at its most concentrated, gathered from across the world in whatever city the Dai al-Mutlaq announces as the venue for that year’s Ashara. The waaz (discourse) of the Dai on each of the ten days is theologically dense, literarily beautiful, and emotionally profound.

The announcement of the Ashara city is made by the Dai al-Mutlaq and is received by mumineen as major news. Hundreds of thousands travel to be present.

Yaum Ashura — The Historical Layers

10 Muharram is one of the most historically layered days in the Islamic calendar. Its significance predates Islam:

In Musa’s (AS) tradition: When the Prophet (SAW) arrived in Madinah and saw the Jews of Madinah fasting on 10 Muharram, he asked why. They said: “This is the day Allah saved Musa (AS) and the Children of Israel from Pharaoh, and Musa (AS) fasted in gratitude.” The Prophet (SAW) said: “We have more right to Musa than you do” and began fasting on Ashura — establishing a connection between the liberation of the Children of Israel and the Islamic commemoration of the day.

In Islamic history: The martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) on 10 Muharram 61 AH created a second, overwhelming layer of significance. For Shia Muslims and Bohras, this later event supersedes and encompasses all earlier meanings — the day of Karbala is the most terrible and most luminous day in Islamic history after the death of the Prophet (SAW).

The fast of Ashura: The Prophet (SAW) established fasting on Ashura as a voluntary Sunnah. The expiation for this fast is extraordinary:

صَومُ يَومِ عَاشُورَاء أَحتَسِبُ عَلَى اللَّهِ أَن يُكَفِّرَ السَّنَةَ الَّتِي قَبلَهُ “Fasting the day of Ashura — I hope that Allah will expiate the [sins of the] year before it.” (Muslim)

The Prophet (SAW) on Muharram

The Prophet (SAW) elevated Muharram in several ways:

أَفضَلُ الصَّلَاةِ بَعدَ الفَرِيضَةِ الصَّلَاةُ فِي جَوفِ اللَّيلِ، وَأَفضَلُ الصِّيَامِ بَعدَ رَمَضَانَ صِيَامُ شَهرِ اللَّهِ المُحَرَّم “The best prayer after the obligatory prayers is prayer in the depths of the night; and the best fasting after Ramadan is fasting in Allah’s month of Muharram.” (Muslim)

Recommended practices for Muharram:

Increasing voluntary prayers — especially the night prayer (Tahajjud)
Fasting — especially on 9 and 10 Muharram (or 10 and 11 Muharram if following the tradition of differing from those who only fast on the 10th)
Sadaqah (charity) — generosity is especially valued in the sacred months
Dhikr and Quran — heightened remembrance of Allah
Gatherings for Imam Husain (AS) — the majaalis al-Husain

Muharram Across the Bohra Year

Muharram occupies a unique position in the Bohra spiritual calendar: it is simultaneously the opening of the new Islamic year and the deepest point of collective grief. The year begins in sadness — a sadness that is not ordinary grief but a purifying, spiritually charged lamentation that connects the mumin to the central tragedy of Islamic history.

This rhythm — beginning the year in tears for Karbala — sets a tone of seriousness and depth that flows through the rest of the Bohra year. The Dai’s waaz during Ashara seeds the community’s spiritual discourse for the months that follow.

The complete Bohra sacred year can be understood as a cycle that begins with the grief of Karbala (Muharram), builds through the sacred months (Rajab, Sha’ban), reaches its peak in Ramadan, and marks its great joys at Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Ghadir — returning again to Muharram, the eternal beginning.

The Month of Muharram — The Sacred Month of Allah