ABOUT MUHARRAM...

WHAT'S  MUHARRAM??

Muharram (Arabic: المحرّم) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year in which fighting is prohibited.Since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, Muharram moves from year to year when compared with the Gregorian calendar.

Muharram is so called because it is unlawful to fight during this month, the word is derived from the word haraam, meaning "sinful". It is held to be the most sacred of all the months, excluding Ramadan. Some Muslims fast during these days. The tenth day of Muharram is the Day of Ashura, which to Shia Muslims is part of the Mourning of Muharram.

Some Muslims fast during this day, because it is recorded in the hadith(citation needed) that Musa (Moses) and his people obtained a victory over the Egyptian Pharaoh on the 10th day of Muharram; accordingly Islamic prophetMuhammad asked Muslims to fast on this day, and also a day extra either before or after, so that they are not similar to Jews (since, according to him, Jews used to fast for one day due to the same reason, and many practices recorded in the hadith are specifically performed to avoid any apparent similarity to those of contemporary neighbouringJews and Christians). Many Muslims cook something sweet like sweet rice and distribute it throughout their family and circle of friends to eat when breaking their fast.

Fasting differs among the Muslim groupings; mainstream Shia Muslims stop eating and drinking during sunlight hours and do not eat until late afternoon. Sunni Muslims also fast during Muharram for the first ten days of Muharram, or just the tenth day, or on both the ninth and tenth days; the exact term depending on the individual. Shia Muslims do so to replicate the sufferings ofHussein ibn Ali on the Day of Ashura. Shia Muslims, go further in their attempts of replication, including self-flagellation (also see Matam).

**MUHARRAM AND ASHURA**

Muharram is a month of remembrance that is often considered synonymous with the event of Ashura. Ashura, which literally means the "Tenth" in Arabic, refers to the tenth day of Muharram. It is well-known because of historical significance and mourning for the martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad

Shias start the mourning from the 1st night of Muharram and continue for two months and eight days. However the last days are the most important since these were the days where Hussein and his family and followers (consisting of 72 people, including women, children and aged people) were killed by army of Yazid I at the Battle of Karbala on his orders. Surviving members of the family of Hussein and that of his followers were taken captive and marched to Damascus and imprisoned there.

Muharram is also observed by Dawoodi Bohras in the same way as Shias.They practice prayers on the sayings of the present dawah of Bohras, Mohammed Burhanuddin. On the tenth day of Muharrum, they pray for Hussein till the magrib namaz. When the namaz ends, Hussein is considered shahid by Yazid. It is also close to the day of resurrection because it said in a book that this world will one day come to an end on Friday 10th of Muharram

Other Past Events on 10th Muharram: The Prophet Adam was sent to Earth. The Prophet Adam's confession was accepted. The Prophet Adam was sent to Paradise. The sky, Earth, Sun, Moon, stars, planets, and Paradise were created on the 10th Muharram. The Prophet Ibrahim was born. The Prophet Ibrahim escaped from the fire. The Prophet Musa and his followers survived through the river Nile. The Prophet Issa was born. The Prophet Issa was resurrected. The Prophet Nooha's ship survived on top of the mountain. The Prophet Yunus came out of the fish's stomach after 40 days. The Prophet Yakoob got his eyesight back. The Prophet Yusuf was rescued from the deep well. The first rain on Earth was on the 10th day of Muharram.

With the sighting of the new moon the Islamic New Year is ushered in. The first month, Muharram is one of the four sacred months that God has mentioned in the Quran.

**TIMING**

The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, Muharram migrates throughout the solar years. The estimated start and end dates for Muharram are as follows (based on the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia:

AH	First day (CE / AD)	Last day (CE / AD)
1431	18 December 2009	15 January 2010
1432	7 December 2010	4 January 2011
1433	26 November 2011	25 December 2011
1434	15 November 2012	13 December 2012
1435	4 November 2013	3 December 2013
1436	25 October 2014	22 November 2014
1437	14 October 2015	12 November 2015
Muharram dates between 2010 and 2015