Ashura - The Day Imam Hussain (a. s.) and some of his companions were brutally massacred

Many Muslims have been practicing Islam for ages without knowing the significance of the day of Ashura.

Muharram is the 1st month of the Islamic calendar, and 1st of Muharram is obviously the Islamic New Year. Ashura falls on the 10th of every Muharram.

Ashura is the day when the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Imam Hussain (a. s), was brutally murdered together with his companions by some malicious Muslims.

Shia Muslims around the world commemorate Ashura annually to bemoan this dastardly act. But Sunni Muslims rather observe a fasting on this same day, to mark the day of victory for Prophet Moses (a. s) over Pharaoh's tyrannical rule of the Israelites.

It is so pathetic to notice that until the mid eighties, before Shi'as spread Islam in Ghana, Muslims were rarely informed about these heinous killings of Imam Hussain and his followers.

Sunnis were then in full control of Islamic religious affairs in the country. What their scholars highly recommended and widely propagated among Muslims was fasting on the very day the Imam was killed.

Why was the information on the killing of Imam Hussain very common among the Shi'as, but it was rare among the Sunnis? Was the fasting introduced to undermine the awareness being given of the killings? Further deliberations on the above topic may give us some clues.

The killing of Imam Hussain has never been disputed by any Muslims. In fact, both Shi'as and Sunnis have narratives of how the Imam was atrociously killed in Karbala (in Iraq).

But unlike this killing which every Muslim has acknowledged, the authenticity of the Ashura fasting is doubtful. There are some controversies surrounding the fasting, because it conflicts with the Qur'anic injunction below.

God has warned Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and, by extension, every Muslim against imitating the practices of the Jews and Christians, "if you were to follow their desires after what has come to you of knowledge, you would have against Allah no protector or helper" (Qur'an chapter 2 verse 120).

Contrary to this admonition, the Sunnis rely on the hadith in which the Prophet is said to have endorsed a Jewish fasting which he slightly altered and intended to observe before his demise. The hadith actually generates doubt relative to the above Qur'anic directive. Again, searches made from reliable sources to ascertain the truth or otherwise of this Jewish fasting have indicated that the Jews do not observe such a fast.

There are other negative aspects of this fasting which we cannot bring to the fore because of lack of space and time.

However, we shall have a better picture of the tragic event of Ashura when we begin to look at it from its genesis. We shall concisely delve into the pre-Islamic history of some Arab tribes - the emergence of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as the messenger of God - as well as looking at some of the events which occurred after the Prophet had passed on.

The cultural and moral values of the Arabs in pre-Islamic era were despicable and deplorable. It was the time the Arabs used to bury their girl child alive for some nonsensical reasons. They also waged unjust wars and engaged in debauchery. The Arabs themselves refer to their primitive culture then as "Jahiliya", ("The Days of Ignorance").

Long before Prophet Muhammad was born, there was antagonism between his clan of the Bani Hashemi and the Bani Ummayah. The Prophet came from the Bani Hashemi group. The Bani Ummayah hate for the Bani Hashemi was enormous and they extended it to the Prophet.

Prophet Muhammad became an orphan at the age of six years. His uncle, Abu Talib, who is the father of Imam Ali (a. s) nurtured him in Mecca.

Apart from the Bani Ummayah, when Muhammad (pbuh) declared that God has made him a Prophet, some non believers hatched plots on several occasions to kill him. All the attempts on his life failed.

In one of the schemes to eliminate the Prophet, God asked him to migrate to Medina. He spent the rest of his life in Medina. He successfully transformed the evil Arab society into a very vibrant one of an Islamic society.

Prophet Muhammad himself trained Ali and taught him the Qur'an. Among all the companions of the Prophet, there is none well versed in the Qur'an more than Ali.

Towards the end of his sojourn on earth, Prophet Muhammad declared to all Muslims about those who would succeed him. In one of such declarations he said, "I am leaving behind among you two precious things; the Book of Allah (the Qur'an) and my Ahlul-Bait (household). As long as you adhere to them you will never go astray after me." (Hadith Al-Thaqalain).

But soon after Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) passed away, some of his companions took on the mantle of leadership contrary to the way the Prophet had arranged it or indicated. Other companions of the Prophet who adhered strictly to his declarations followed Imam Ali (a. s) as the first and true successor to the Prophet.

Imam Ali was assassinated. His son, Imam Hassan (a. s), succeeded him but he was poisoned to death. Imam Hussain (a. s) also has his share of brutal death from the cruelty of wicked people. The succession continued until it reached the twelfth Imam, Muhammad Al-Mahdi (a. s). All the Imams were direct descendants of the Prophet, and none of them was spared any brutalities or death.

Shi'as stick to the above caliphate consisting of the twelve Imams. But the Sunnis follow the caliphate of Abubakar Sadiq, Umar bin Khattab, Osman bin Affan and Ali Ibn Abu Talib.

Between 1st Muharram and 10th Muharram, Shi'as scholars give voluminous lectures on Islam, ranging from the history of the Arabs in pre-Islamic period to the history of Islam during the time of the Prophet and beyond.

Islam was corrupted by tyrants who forcefully considered themselves to be the guardians of Islam and Muslims. However, had it not been Imam Hussain who intervened to safeguard the situation from the misguided Muslims, we wouldn't have had a true Islam today.

Imam Hussain was invited by a group of Muslims to come to Kufa (in Iraq) and address the issues affecting Islam and Muslims. He started the journey with his families and companions. They were ambushed by Ibn Ziyad and his soldiers at Karbala for several days without shelter, food and water. Ibn Ziyad is the head of the army who was assigned the mission by his boss, Yazid. They finally unjustly killed Imam Hussain and 72 of his companions. The women and children who survived the atrocities were taken captives.

Next week would be 10th of Muharram. Shia communities across the country and around the world, including some concerned Muslims who are not Shias and non Muslims too, would be having some processions on some of our principal streets to mark the day of Ashura. Marking the event is purposely to give awareness of what really transpired during that fateful period.

The historic tragedy of Karbala must not be hidden from humanity. The story of Karbala must reach Muslims and non Muslims alike.

Imam Hussain's intervention to help save the true Islam which his sibling (Hassan), father (Ali), mother (Fatima), and grandfather (the Prophet) protected earlier, must not go in vain.

Allhumma Salli Allaa-Muhammad Wa-ahli-Muhammad, (may Allah bless Muhammad and his household).