Shia Muslims across Iran are marking Tasua, the eve of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH), by holding mourning rituals. The occasion falls on the ninth day on the lunar month of Muharram, July 27�this year.







Every year for more than a thousand years, in the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar called Muharram, Muslims and liberated humans from around the world, including Iran, commemorate the martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein (AS) and his companions, in the event known as Ashura.

As part of the annual processions during the first ten days of Muharram to remember Imam Hussein, millions of Iranians from all walks of life wear black dresses and attend nationwide mourning events.

The third Shia Imam and his 72 companions were all martyred after fighting thousands of troops of the ruling tyrant of the time, caliph Yazid I, in Iraq's Karbala desert in 680 AD.

During the ceremonies, eulogists recite the events of the Battle of Karbala and Islamic scholars elaborate on the underlying messages of Imam Hussain's stance against tyranny.