News - Yemen: The Leader of the Revolution, Sayyed Abdulmalik Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi, will deliver a speech on the occasion of Ashura commemoration on Monday afternoon.

Ashura is when Imam Hussein (AS), a grandson of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him), and his 72 companions were martyred in the Battle of Karbala, in southern Iraq, in 680 AD after fighting courageously for justice against the much larger army of the Umayyad caliph, Yazid I.

Muharram is one of the most sacred months in the Islamic calendar because of the sacrifices that were made by the family of Prophet Muhammad to establish the message of humanity. The first ten days of the month hold the most significance during which the battle took place. The rituals around the world during these ten days differ with local traditions and customs, but lamenting over the martyrdom is common everywhere.

The wearing of black clothes and beating the chest to the songs of lamentation to symbolize mourning is practiced among Shia Muslims. They mark the occasion to remember the unimaginable sufferings of the 72 martyrs and their families in the desert battlefield.

The caravan was on its way from Saudi Arabia to Iraq where people had declared allegiance to Imam Hussein. The massive army of the tyrant of the time, Yazid, stopped them in the plains of Karbala where Imam Hussein and his companions chose to fight to their last breath rather than pledge allegiance to caliph Yazid.

Ashura renews in Muslims grief and reminds them of the great affliction, ignites in their hearts enthusiasm to start in the line of Hussein (AS) and to join his faith in rejecting oppression and tyrants.