Majlis, processions mark Muharram

Mumbai: Huge processions and public mourning on Wednesday marked Ashura, the commemoration of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Hussain’s martyrdom at Karbala. With this, the mourning on first 10 days of the month of Muharram ended, but Shias will shun all kinds of celebrations, including weddings and birthdays, for next 40 days.
Clad in black and holding alams (flags), Shia mourners in south Mumbai took out processions from Zainabia Imamwada at Bhendi Bazar and Mughal Masjid in Dongri.Walking barefoot for several kilometres, beating chests and many self-flagellating with knives and blade-fitted chains, they reached Rahmatabad, the Shia cemetery at Mazgaon. Volunteers distributed sherbet and water among commuters and even bus drivers.
As dusk fell, Ashura got over and observance of Shaam-e-Ghariban (the night following Ashura) began. Commemorating the loneliness, pain and exhaustion the families of Imam Hussain and his companions had felt on the night, following the massacre in the day on the burning plains of Karbala (Iraq), mourners sobbed and cried. Senior preacher Mualana Yasoob Abbas narrated the trials and tribulations of family members of Imam Hussain even as mourners wept. Yasoob Abbas said, “Shaam-e-Gharibaan is to commemorate those terrifying hours suffered by the bereaved families at Karbala.” He added that Shaam-e-Ghariban at Rahmatabad is biggest in the country.