Tehran, December 16: Shia Muslims in Iran and other parts of the world are commemorating the martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein (PBUH).
In Iran, millions of black clad mourners have taken to the streets on the ninth day of Muharram, also known as Tasua.
It comes a day ahead of Ashura, on which Imam Hussein and 72 of his loyal companions were martyred while fighting for justice in Karbala, Iraq, over 1,300 years ago.
During the ceremonies, supplications were recited and sermons delivered in honor of the third holiest figure of Shia Islam and his companions who were brutally slain in the battle of Karbala.
The unfair battle took place in 680 CE after Imam Hussein and his men fought with valor against the much larger army of the Umayyad caliph, Yazid.
Hussein ibn Ali was born in Medina in 626 CE and was martyred in 680 CE during the battle of Karbala. He was the son of Ali-ibn Abi Talib (PBUH), the first Imam of the Shia.
Tasua and Ashura ceremonies symbolize eternal and unwavering stance of truth against falsehood and humanity’s struggle against tyranny realized by Imam Hussein.
—-Agencies