Tasu'a () is the ninth day of

Muharram Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after ...

and the day before Ashura. Several events occurred on this day, including: Shemr's entrance to Karbala, the granting of safe conduct for the children of

Umm ul-Banin Fāṭima bint Ḥuzām al-Kilābīyya al-ʿAlawīyya (; died 683/684 or 69 A.H. 688/689), better known as ʾUmm al-Banīn ( ar, أُمّ ٱلْبَنِين, meaning "Mother of the Sons"), was a wife of Ali. She was from the tribe of Banu Kil ...

, preparation for war; and Husayn ibn Ali and his companions were besieged by the enemy (as part of the

Battle of Karbala The Battle of Karbala ( ar, مَعْرَكَة كَرْبَلَاء) was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliph Yazid I and a small army led by Husayn ...

). The day is attributed to Abbas ibn Ali because of his actions as commander in the army of Husayn ibn Ali.

Etymology

Tasu'a literally is a variant from the Arabic word 'ninth' (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: تاسع ''tāsi‘'') and in the Islamic calendar refers to the ninth day of Muharram.

Events of Tasu'a

The following are the main events of Tasu'a:

Shemr's entrance to Karbala

In the forenoon of Tasu'a, Shemr, accompanied by a four thousand-man army, arrived at Karbala. He brought a letter from Ubayd Ullah ibn Ziyad to

Umar ibn Sa'ad ʿUmar ibn Saʿd () (fl. 620–686) was a son of Muhammad's companion, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. He was born in Medina and later moved to Kufa, which was founded by his father and stayed there until his death. He took orders from Ubaydullah ibn Ziya ...

, telling him to take

Bay'ah ''Bayʿah'' ( ar, بَيْعَة, "Pledge of allegiance"), in Islamic terminology, is an oath of allegiance to a leader. It is known to have been practiced by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. ''Bayʿah'' is sometimes taken under a written pact gi ...

from Husayn or fight.

Safe conduct for the children of Umm ul-Banin

Shemr was one of the

tribesman The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

. He was given a guarantee of safe conduct from Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad for children of Umm ul-Banin in Tasu'a. He asked Abbas ibn Ali and his brothers to abandon Husayn ibn Ali and obey Yazid. Abbas didn't accept his safe conduct and answered him: "God curse you and your safe conduct! You give us safe conduct and you do not give safe conduct to the grandson of the

Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

of God? And you are asking us to enter the obedience of the cursed people and those who are children of cursed people?"

Preparing for war

After rejection of the safe conduct by Abbas and his brothers, Umar ibn Sa'ad ordered his army to attack Husayn's camp. When Husayn ibn Ali understood their intent, he asked his brother to go to them and ask about his plan. Abbas ibn Ali, Zuhayr ibn Qayn, Habib ibn Madhahir and a few others went and asked them. They answered that our governor ordered us to ask you to Bay'ah him and his rule or fight. Abbas returned to Husayn and said their message. "Go back to them and ask them to give us this evening as a respite till tomorrow so that we may pray to our Lord, supplicate to Him, and seek His forgiveness, for He knows how much I love prayers, the recitation of His Book, the abundance of invocations, and the seeking of His forgiveness", Husayn said to Abbas. Abbas went back to the army and said them the message. Umar Ibn Sa'ad agreed to delay the war until the next day.

Siege of Karbala

In a

Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...

Ja'far al-Sadiq Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...

it is said: "Ninth of Muharram is the day, when Imam Husayn and his companions were besieged at Karbala by the army of Syria from all sides and offloaded their luggage. The son of Marjanah (Ubaydullah bin Ziyad) and Umar ibn Sa’ad were pleased at the large number of their army and they deemed Imam and his companions to be weak. They knew that Imam Husayn had no helpers or aides in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. May my father be ransom upon the oppressed traveler."

Rituals

In the days of Tesua and Ashura, Shia Muslims go to mosques and Takiehs or go to mourning ceremonies. They recite

Ahadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

and poems in honor of Abbas ibn Ali. In general, the mourning ceremonies consist of processions, chanting and self-flagellation. One of the oldest and most common traditions among Muslims is to wish for something from Allah while also promising to feed people. In

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

this tradition is well-established and reaches its climax on Tasua and Ashura (the 9th and 10th of Muharram) when mourners are fed. Ta'zieh as a religious play is an old traditional practice for mourning in some cities and villages. Participants see the

Ta'zieh Ta'zieh ( ar, تعزية; fa, تعزیه; ur, ) means comfort, condolence, or expression of grief. It comes from roots ''aza'' (عزو and عزى) which means mourning. Depending on the region, time, occasion, religion, etc. the word can sig ...

as a part of ritual mourning and not as a common play where actors have to memorize their scripts. In other words, the actors read from the script.

Relation with Abbas ibn Ali

This day is devoted to Abbas ibn Ali in Shia communities, because of his bravery as the standard-bearer of Husayn's army in the

Gallery

November13,2013 - Muharram 9,1435 Tasu'a - Nishapur 213.JPG Tasu'a Mourning-Shia muslim in qom عزاداری روز تاسوعا در قم 17.jpg November13,2013 - Muharram 9,1435 Tasu'a - Nishapur 218.JPG

References

{{Mourning of Muharram History of Islam Ismailism Family of Muhammad Mourning of Muharram Islamic holy days Islamic terminology Karbala