Abdul-Ilah As-Saadi in Al-Jazeera:
Ashura is marked on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, by all Muslims. It marks the day Nuh (Noah) left the Ark and the day Musa (Moses) was saved from the Pharaoh of Egypt by God. The Prophet Muhammad used to fast on Ashura in Mecca, where it became a common tradition for the early Muslims. Ashura this year will be marked in most places on August 29. But for the Shia, it is also a major religious event to commemorate the martyrdom of Husayn Ibn Ali al-Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who died at the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD.
…The death of Imam al-Hussein is considered by the Shia community to be a symbol of humanity’s struggle against injustice, tyranny and oppression. The primary rituals and observances on Ashura consist of public expressions of mourning. Some in the Shia community resort to self-flagellation with chains and the blunt ends of swords. This is intended to exemplify the suffering Imam al-Hussein experienced shortly before his beheading.
More here.
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