Tasu'a

Tasu'a (Arabic: تاسوعاء, romanized: Tāsūʿāʾ) is the ninth day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Tasu'a is followed by Ashura, tenth of Muharram, which marks the death of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia Imam. Husayn was brutally killed along with many members of his family and companions by the Umayyad caliph Yazid in the Battle of Karbala on Ashura 61 AH (680 CE). His suffering and martyrdom became a symbol of sacrifice in the struggle for right against wrong, and for justice and truth against injustice and falsehood. He is a universal, borderless, interfaith and meta-religion symbol. Husayn and his companions are widely regarded as martyrs by all Muslims. The battle in Karbala was to take place on Tasu'a but was delayed for a day. Husayn used this window to urge his followers to leave him and save their lives, which nearly all of them refused. The Umayyad army also offered safe passage to some close relatives of Husayn, notably his half-brother Abbas ibn Ali, which they also refused. By most accounts, Husayn and his men spent their last night—the night of Tasu'a—in prayer.