Hello there, my young scholars of religion.

My name is Ms. Marx and I'm going to be your Religious Education teacher today.

Today we're going to be doing about a very important commemoration that happens particularly within Shi'a Islam called Ashura.

And this remembers the martyrdom of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, Imam Hussain.

An important part of the commemorations is the retelling of this story.

And so I will be retelling the story to you today as well.

And in that story, there are depictions of violence and suffering.

So I want you to be aware of that before we start our lesson on Ashura.

So by the end of this lesson today, you'll be able to explain what Ashura is and its importance to Muslim communities today.

So let's start with our key terms. Ashura an important festival in Shi'a Islam, to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain.

Commemoration, a ceremony or an occasion which honours someone's memory.

Karbala, a city in modern day Iraq where Imam Hussain was martyred.

Marty, a person who suffers death rather than give up the religion, belief or other important cause.

So look out for those in today's lesson.

So our lesson today will have three sections.

The martyrdom of Imam Hussain.

Ashura as a commemoration.

And Ashura today.

So let's start with our first section, the martyrdom of Imam Hussain.

What things do we commemorate in society? Other things that we regularly have a collective memory of together.

Can you think of anything? Pause the video and have a think and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, we could have things like November the 11th, Remembrance Day, remembering the end of World War I.

We could remember June the 22nd as Windrush Day, which is in memory of those people who came migrated to Great Britain after World War II and they came on the Empire Windrush.

We could also remember LGBT History Month.

Each February this is celebrated and commemorated in the UK.

So these are times that we can collectively remember things that are significant for us.

Shi'a Muslims commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain each year in the month of Muharram with Ashura.

Let's unpack this word commemorate a bit because I've used it quite a bit already so far and it comes from Latin.

And it has these sections, com and memor.

Com means together.

So if you think of communities, people being together.

And memor meaning mindful or memory, even linked to the word memoir perhaps.

So to commemorate means to remember together or have an act of remembering with each other.

So it's more accurate to call Ashura a commemoration rather than a celebration.

So it may be kind of held within the idea of festivals and sort of yearly events that happen, but really it's better to call it a commemoration than a celebration.

And let's understand why.

Well, first of all, we need to think about who Imam Hussain is and why he's connected to the story of Islam.

Hussain was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the third Imam in Shi'a Islam.

So here I've got a family tree showing the Prophet Muhammad who's married to Khadija.

And Mohammad and Khadija had a daughter called Fatima.

So we've got Fatima as the daughter of Muhammad and Khadija here.

Fatima married Ali and he is later known as Imam Ali.

So we could see here that Imam Ali is the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law because he's married to Fatima, his daughter.

And then Ali and Fatima had children and two of those were Imam Hussain and Imam Hassan.

So Hussain and Hassan were brothers and there were different Hadith or stories about Hassan and Hussain spending time with his grandfather being very close to him when they were little.

And so we can see here this family connection from the Prophet Muhammad, then Imam Ali and Fatima down to Hassan and Hussain.

And Hussain is the third Imam.

It goes Imam Ali is the first Imam, and then Imam Hassan, and then Imam Hussain.

And it's Imam Hussain who we're talking about today.

So I said there are Hadith about the prophet Muhammad spending time with his grandsons and here's one example.

It says, they had gone out with the Prophet to a meal which they had been invited, and Hussain was there.

The Prophet came in front of the people, stretched out his hands, and the child started to run here and there.

And he made him laugh until he caught him.

They put one hand under his chin and the other in his head and kissed him and said, "Hussain is part of me and I'm part of him.

May Allah love those who love Hussain." And I think this is a really beautiful Hadith showing that connection between the Prophet Muhammad and his grandson.

And you can see that side of the Prophet Muhammad is a family man and here he is as sort of grandfather dotting over his grandson here.

And this quote here is really important for Shi'a Muslims in particular.

"Hussain is part of me and I'm part of him.

May Allah love those who love Hussain." So what does this show us about the Prophet Muhammad and Hussain then? Pause the video and have a think.

You can have a reread and talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, we have this idea of him stretching out his hands, and sort of trying to gather him, and making him laugh, and kissing his head.

And then this phrase here, "Hussain is part of me and I'm part of him.

May Allah love those who love Hussain." Muhammad was a loving grandfather and Muhammad encourages Muslims to also love Hussain.

Let's do a quick check before we move on.

Is it true or false? Hussain was the son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad and the first Imam of Shi'a Islam.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a go.

We'll see you done in a moment.

Well done.

That was false, wasn't it? It was a bit of a trick question because we know he was an Imam in Shi'a Islam, but he was the third Imam.

Ali was the first Imam, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law.

Hussain was his grandson and the third Imam.

Well done.

So we saw there the Prophet Muhammad with the Hadith about how he spent time with his grandsons but he does pass away and then different people would leave the Muslim community after this.

It is quite important for our story today understanding the martyrdom of Imam Hussain and then also why Ashura is commemorated.

So we can think about the different people who led to the community.

And it all kind of culminates for us with the Battle of Karbala, which takes place in the year 680 CE.

So we can see here that the revelation of the Qur'an starts.

The Prophet Muhammad really starts that prophethood when the revelation of the Qur'an comes to him in the Night of Power in the Cave of Hira.

So that is quite an important moment in the story of Islam that we're telling today, that that's when he gets that first revelation of the Qur'an and that's in around the year 610.

So we could say then for that period, Muhammad is kind of leading the Muslim community as it starts to, people start to become Muslim, and then also as he's leading the community.

He then passes away about 22 years after that.

So he has the revelations of the Qur'an for that period of time and he's leading the Muslim community and then he passes away.

So after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, there are different people who lead the Muslim community and for a period these are known as the Rightly Guided leaders or they're seen as being, you know, good leaders and good examples.

And one of these is Imam Ali, and he was the leader from around the year 656.

So it's about 20 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad, Imam Ali becomes the leader.

He was the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the father of Hussain.

So he's leading at this point.

Now Ali passes away in 661.

So he's the leader for about four or five years of the community.

After he passes away, there's a new set of people who lead the Muslim community who are known as the Umayyads.

And this is important for our story today because these leaders, particularly the one who's in charge in the year 680, are not seen as good examples.

Different to the Rightly Guided leaders who were before, these leaders are not seen as good examples of leading the Muslim community and it kind of ends up with the story that we have the Battle of Karbala, which happens in 680.

So we can see here the kind of, after the death the Prophet Muhammad, we have these different leaders and we end up with this battle happening in 680 within a lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad passing away.

So why did this battle of Karbala happen then? Just 50 years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, a man called Yazid from the Umayyad family was pronounced leader of the Muslim community.

He was not one of the rightly guided leaders that soon Muslims recognised and he was seen as corrupt, unjust, and unfair ruler.

He was known for pressing his people for not following Islam correctly.

Yazid was based in Kufa in Iraq.

Imam Hussain was living in Medina and then Mecca during this time.

As Hussain was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, Yazid was keen to have his allegiance and support to show he was a legitimate ruler of the Muslims, but Hussain refused.

Hussain could have had a comfortable life if he sworn allegiance to Yazid, but he knew this was not right.

Some of the Muslims living in Kufa wrote to Hussain asking him to come and confront Yazid, promised that they would support him.

Hussain left Mecca with his family, which included Hussain's sister and granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad Zainab, and Ali Asghar, Hussain's own six month old son.

He travelled with others who wanted to take a stand against the unjust ruler Yazid and in total the group numbered 72 that journeyed together through the desert.

So then what happened? They're in the desert and they're travelling through, and we can see the map here from Mecca.

We've got a journey going up towards Kufa and then we end up with this battle happening in Karbala.

So let's see what happens in the battle.

Yazid heard of Hussain's plans and intercepted the group in the desert forcing them to stop on the planes of Karbala on the second day of Muharram.

Yazid's army numbered thousands and encircled the camp cutting off access to food and water.

Those Muslims who were promised to support Hussain did not come.

For eight days, the group remained in the desert and although Hussain offered to help those who wanted to leave under the cover of darkness, the members of the group stayed by his side.

One by one the members of the group were martyred.

Even when Hussain presented his six month son, Ali Asghar, the Prophet Mohammad's great grandson to the army to beg for water for him, Yazid army struck the child dead with an arrow.

On the 10th day of Muharram, Ashura, Hussain completed one final sala, prayer, and was struck down as he prayed.

Those companions who survived the battle were taken into captivity by Yazid, including Zainab, Hussain's sister, who ensured the story was told, holding Yazid to account with a powerful speech in his palace.

Let's do a quick check before we move on.

Sunni Muslims genuinely view Yazid as a rightly guided and good example of a Muslim leader.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think, and we'll see what you've got in a moment.

Well done.

That is false, isn't it? Because the view is held that Yazid was not a good example of a Muslim leader.

He was not one of the rightly guided ones because he's killed the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

Let's do a practise task to see what we've learned.

So using this image as a prompt, explain what happened at the Battle of Karbala.

And use these terms in your response.

Hussain, Yazid, Kufa, martyred, Muharram, Ashura and Zainab.

So pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

Some good work there.

So I asked you to explain what happened in the Battle of Karbala and use these terms in the response.

Hussain, Yazid, Kufa, martyred, Muharram, Ashura and Zainab.

And your response might look something like this.

"The Battle of Karbala happened when Imam Hussain and his companions went to take a stand against a corrupt leader of the Muslims, Yazid, who was based in Kufa.

Yazid stopped them in the desert at Karbala and cut off water and supplies from the group.

One by one, many were martyred for this cause and Hussain was killed on the 10th day of Muharram, Ashura.

His sister, Zainab, survived but was taken captive and retell the story of his sacrifice to others." Well done.

So now onto our second section, Ashura as a commemoration.

So we've just told the story of Ashura and what happened with the Battle of Karbala and Hussain's martyrdom.

So why would Shi'a Muslims commemorate this event? Remember that word commemorate means remembering together, an act of remembrance together.

Why might this be significant and important for Shi'a Muslims? Well, it is in the Ten Obligatory Acts to show love to Muhammad and his family.

If you remember that Hadith from Muhammad said, "May Allah love those who love Hussain." So there's this idea about loving Muhammad but also his family is very important and that's in the Ten Obligatory Acts in the Shi'a Islam.

Also Hussain's martyrdom shows how important it is to stand up against injustice in the world.

Yes, he could have had a comfortable life and agreed to, you know, swear allegiance to Yazid and he could have had a lovely comfortable life, but he didn't do that.

He stood up against what was wrong and unjust in the world.

And his example could show Shi'a Muslims how important it's to do that today.

Also, Shi'a Muslims may consider how they would've acted if they were by Hussain's side.

What would they have done? Would they have come and been with him? Would they have stayed? Would they have snuck off under the cover of darkness like Hussain offered to help them? Or would they have stayed by his side? So Shi'a Muslims can consider this when they're commemorating the event as well.

And also Hussain's actions show how he struggled for Allah and jihad is also in the Ten Obligatory Acts, the idea of struggling for the way of Allah.

And this is literally what he was doing there in that battle, wasn't it? Struggling for God and for what was good, and right, and just, and fair.

And so he is therefore showing the Ten Obligatory Acts in action as well.

So Shi'a Muslim may commemorate this event in different ways.

So one way is through a play of the battle.

So actually reenacting it and showing it, and showing what happened to keep that kind of memory alive of what happened in the story, and the different steps, and what happened on the different days.

So retelling the story of Karbala is the first thing really that's really important within commemorating Ashura to keep that memory alive and keep the story alive so people know what happened.

We could have people showing the story of Karbala in place, and different communities might come together to watch it and people would come and watch it who aren't even necessarily Shi'a Muslim or even Muslims at all in some parts of the world.

And the whole community comes to sort of retell this story and remember what he did.

Also, there'll be special prayers and services on the date at the mosque and at home people might say special prayers and retell the story together at home.

Also, many Shi'a Muslims will commemorate the event by taking part in actions against injustice or oppression in the world.

So they might take part in protests or make that special effort to sort of try and do something about things that are unfair in the world because of that inspiration from what Hussain did.

And also some Shi'a Muslims take part in ritual mourning actions, so mourning is when somebody has died and you are kind of remembering this, and some Shi'a take part in physical actions to do this too.

So Laura, Jun and Jacob now are discussing why telling this story and retelling this story each year might be so important to Shi'a Muslims. Laura says, "Well, I remember stories really well, maybe that's why." And Jun says, "Yeah, I remember stories from plays and films even better." And Laura says, "I think that's the best way to keep his story alive." And Jacob says, "And I can see why telling this story can become very emotional." And Jun says, "I think storytelling like this can help Shi'a Muslims think about what they would've done in the same situation." And so we know, don't we, that as humans we learn from stories and we tell stories, and that's part of how we tell our history of what's happened.

And so retelling this story of Ashura can help people today connect with what happened on that Battle of Karbala.

And yes, it can be very emotional, yes it can be quite graphic because of how brutal and bloody that battle was, but that story can be kept alive of just how big a sacrifice Hussain was willing to make through retelling the story of Ashura.

Let's do a quick check.

What story is being retold by this play? Pause the video and have a go.

We'll see what you've got in a moment.

Well done.

The martyrdom of Imam Hussain.

Or you might have said the Battle of Karbala.

Well done.

So now let's think about how Shi'a Muslims might commemorate this.

Jun is asking Rasool, who's a Shi'a Muslim.

"As a Shi'a Muslim, how do you commemorate Ashura, Rasool?" And Rasool says, "The Prophet Muhammad asked us to show love to his relatives and so I showed love to Hussain by remembering his courageous actions at Ashura.

I go to my local mosque each night of Muharram before Ashura where the story is retold.

The story is so powerful to me because it makes me think if I would've stood by Hussain or run away." And Rasool here you can see, has his hand across his chest and that action is quite a common thing that Shi'a Muslims might do as part of the commemoration of Ashura as well.

"Why do you have your hand on your chest like that, Rasool?" Jun asks.

And he says, "When I'm commemorating the story of Ashura, I sometimes tap my chest.

Sometimes many of us together tap our chest and it can be a powerful moment for us.

The tapping reminds me of the pain that Hussain suffered because he stood up against injustice.

The tapping also reminds me of the hooves that trampled Hussain's body after he died." And so now Laura is asking Zainab.

"As a Shi'a Muslim, how do you commemorate Ashura, Zainab?" And Zainab says, "I was named after Zainab, the sister of Hussain.

And the continuing legacy of Imam Hussain is very important to me.

He stood against injustice and oppression.

So I take a stand against that too as a key belief for me is that Allah is just, adalat.

One thing I have done for Ashura is I volunteer a protest we had in my town against terrorism.

I took a stand by helping and raising my own voice against that oppression just as Hussain did at Karbala." So we've seen there are different ways Muslims might commemorate Ashura.

Let's together give the first of two ways that Muslims make commemorate Ashura.

Hmm.

Attending plays that are showing the story, so that retelling of the story is a really important part of commemorating Ashura, isn't it? So over to you.

Give the second of two ways that Muslims may commemorate Ashura.

Pause the video and have a go.

I'll see you've got in a moment.

Well done.

I've got here tapping a chest during the commemoration.

So let's do another practise task to see what we've learned.

Using the images as a prompt, explain two different ways that a Shi'a Muslim may commemorate Ashura.

You might like to use the sentence stems. One way Shi'a Muslims commemorate Ashura is by.

This means that.

And a different way that Shi'a Muslims make commemorate Ashura is by.

And this means that.

And you can think of the example that we had from Zainab and Rasool there as well.

So pause the video and have it go.

We'll see what you've got in a moment.

Well done, some good thinking there.

So I asked you to explain two different ways that Shi'a Muslims may commemorate Ashura.

And your response may look something like this.

"One way that Shi'a Muslims may commemorate Ashura is by holding protest against injustice.

This means that by standing against injustice, they are continuing Hussain's legacy today.

A different way that Shi'a Muslims may commemorate Ashura is by retelling the story of the Battle of Karbala each night.

This means the memory of what Hussain did will live on within communities." Well done.

So onto our third section then, Ashura today.

So Ashura is commemorated around the world today.

Here are three processions in three different countries.

And this shows the kind of influence this story has had across different communities and sometimes Sunni and Shi'a Muslims together form these processions.

Because remember Hussain was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and he's a very important part of the story of Islam.

And sometimes all Muslims would come together to remember the story.

So here in Iran we've got a procession happening.

Here in Bangladesh we have one.

And here in India we have one.

So in different countries there'll be processions as part of the commemorations of what happened at Ashura.

Why might Sunni Muslims join Shi'a Muslims for these processions then? Pause the video and have a think and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

We've also seen that some Shi'a Muslims tap their chest during Ashura.

Other actions may include, sometimes mourners will ritually beat themselves.

So here I've got an image of some young men in Iran sort of ritually beating themselves here.

So the idea isn't to harm themselves, but it is to remember the pain that Imam Hussain went through.

Some mourners will ritually cut themselves as well, and shed blood as Hussain did, and the other martyrs as part of the Battle of Karbala.

There's no overall consensus across all Shi'a scholars on that practise, but it is only a minority of mourners who take part in this.

So a small minority of people may do this, particularly the cutting, but there's no consensus on this.

Different Shi'a scholars have said that it's not allowed to happen.

Others are allowing it as a sign of that love and kind of extreme emotion towards the story of Ashura and for Hussain.

So I said there that some mourners, a minority may cut themselves to shed blood to remember what Imam Hussain did.

And something that's happened in more recent years, is Shi'a Muslims have chosen to donate blood to save lives.

So it could have happened in places where there was conflict happening and blood needed to be used for conflict, or even for blood banks.

So the idea here is that someone is able to shed blood, but it is used to save lives and to sort of fight injustice in the world.

Imam Hussain shed his blood as a sacrifice for Muslims. Shi'a Muslims today may wish to also shed blood as he did, and some Shi'a Muslims choose to donate blood on this day to help save the lives of others.

Let's do a quick check.

Which two of the following points might influence the Shi'a Muslim to donate blood for Ashura? Because Imam Hussain shed his blood on Ashura.

Because it can save lives and do good in the world.

Because Imam Ali shed his blood on Ashura.

And because Ashura was when the Qur'an was first revealed.

Which two of these are correct? Pause the video and have a go and we'll see what you've got in a moment.

Well done, it's the top two, A and B.

Because Imam Hussain shed his blood on Ashura and because it can save lives and do good in the world.

Well done.

Now Ashura is not only a significant date for Shi'a Muslims. So Ashura means ten in Arabic actually.

And Muharram is the month that Ashura is in.

It's the 10th day of Muharram.

So that date is also significant for Sunni Muslims apart from what happened with Imam Hussain and the Battle of Karbala.

Sunni Muslims may also complete an optional fast on this day because it expiates or makes up for sins committed in the last year, and it marks the day when Allah saved Musa and his followers.

So Musa as a key Prophet in Islam.

He's mentioned many times in the Qur'an.

So when he was saved with his people by God, this is marked with the 10th day of Muharram, Ashura.

In the Hadith, it's reported Prophet Muhammad said, "Fast the Day of Ashura, for indeed I anticipate that Allah will forgive the sins of the year before it." And also, "Whoever wishes may fast on the day of Ashura." So there is a fast that Sunni Muslims can do, but it could be an optional fast.

It's not an obligatory fast like the fasting during Ramadan is.

So let's see why Jamila, who's a Sunni Muslim sometimes fast for Ashura.

"As a Sunni Muslim, why do you sometimes fast for Ashura, Jamila?" And Jamila says, "As a Muslim I fast the month of Ramadan each year, but fasting for Ashura is an optional fast for me.

Some years I do this and some years I do not.

Muhammad said that this expiated or made up for sins that people may have committed and then it's optional.

Allah saved Musa and his people when they were fleeing enslavement, so I remember this too when I fast." Thank you, Jamila.

What source of authority could Jamila use to support those reasons then? Pause the video and have a think and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, we have those Hadith, didn't we? Where the Prophet Muhammad said fasting on that day can make up for the sins of the past year, but also it was optional.

Whoever wishes can fast on this day.

Well done.

Let's do a quick check.

The date of Ashura, the 10th day of Muharram is only important to Shi'a Muslims. Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think and we'll see what you've got in a moment.

That is false, isn't it? But why? It's false because the date of Ashura is also important to Sunni Muslims as it can be a non obligatory fast day, as the Prophet Muhammad stated.

So Sunni Muslims take part in those processions for Hussain on Ashura as well.

Well done.

Let's do a practise task to see what we've learned.

You're gonna complete the table by developing each of the following points relating to the commemoration of Ashura today.

You should develop each point with a source, and an explanation.

So your points are, Muslims take part in processions in different parts of the world for Ashura.

And Sunni Muslims may fast for Ashura.

For each of them develop with a source and an explanation.

Pause the video and have a go and we'll see what you've got in a moment.

Well done, some good thinking.

So I asked you to complete the table by developing each of the points relating to the commemoration of Ashura.

And you could have said, "Muslims take part in processions in different parts of the world for Ashura.

This is to remember the sacrifice that Hussain made when he was martyred.

Hussain is important to both Sunni and Shi'a Muslims as the Prophet Muhammad's grandson as Muhammad said, 'Hussain is part of me and I'm part of him.

May Allah love those who love Hussain' meaning all Muslims may want to show Hussain love in this way.

And Sunni Muslims may fast for Ashura.

This is because the Prophet Muhammad took part in fasting for Ashura and said this was an optional fast for Muslims to expiate the sins of the year.

This is supported by the Hadith that says fast the day of Ashura, for indeed, I anticipate that a love will forgive the sins of the year before it." Well done.

So let's summarise everything we've learned today, Ashura.

Imam Hussain was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

He was martyred at the Battle of Karbala and this is commemorated each year by Ashura.

Commemorations can include processions, retelling the story, ritual mourning, and taking a stand against injustice.

Sunni Muslim may also fast on Ashura as the Prophet Muhammad said, it could be an optional fast day.

So well done for your hard work today.

And I hope to see you soon.

Bye-bye.