From the archive record
Muharram - The film `A single tear shed for Husayn washes away a hundred sins'- The entire concept of Muharram revolves around this simple Shia quote. "Muharram", the term gets its origin from the Arabian term haraam, meaning 'sinful'. Muharram is observed on the first month of Islamic calendar. In the Shia regions of countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain and Pakistan Muharram is a national Holiday. Ashura, the tenth day of Muharram is observed by the Shia Muslims as the day of mourning for the grandson of Muhammad, Hussein Ibn Ali. The last few days of Muharram until the day of Ashura is very crucial as this was the time when Hussein and his family were killed in the Battle of Karbala by the rival army of Umayyad caliph Yazid I. In this historical ba