Muharram

Muharram is the first month of the Muslim lunar calendar and the month in which Shia Muslims remember the death of the third imam of Shia Islam, Husayn ibn Ali, who was killed in Karbala on the tenth day of Muharram 680 CE.  

For the first ten days of Muharram, predominantly (albeit not exclusively) Shia Muslims around the world commemorate the battle of Karbala, with the climax coming on the Ashura, a holy festival observed on the tenth day of the month. [1]

 Many Sunni Muslims also mark the martyrdom of Husayn during the month of Muharram. 

 The events of Karbala are commemorated in the form of Ta’ziyah and Ma`tam, where individuals may symbolically (or with varying degrees of force) hit their chest to commemorate this sacrifice. [2] While not compulsory, the practice of Ma`tam is widespread among Shia Muslims who perform the act in order to connect themselves to the suffering of Husayn ibn Ali and his supporters.  

 A tiny minority of Shia Muslims in certain parts of the world may engage in a variety of rituals (e.g. zanjeer) where items such as chains are used to hit themselves and even to draw blood. Whilst there is unanimity that causing long-term physical harm to one’s body is not allowed, there are differences of opinion as to whether commemorating the death of Imam Husayn in this way is prohibited (inherently or due to the reputational damage it creates), prohibited in certain circumstances, prohibited for some and not others, or allowed in certain circumstances.