Ashura marks the 10th day of the 1st month of Muharram, on the Islamic lunar calendar of 1448. Ashura for 2026 was observed on sundown of June 25th ending at sundown on June 26th. The day commemorates for Shia Muslims the death of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of Prophet Muhammad in the Battle of Karbala of October 10, 680 CE. For Sunni Muslims the day relates to Prophet Moses and the Hebrews who fled Egypt, and God separated the Reed Sea.

Shiite Muslims marked one of the most important days on their calendar with large gatherings in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Yaman to remember the seventh-century killing of Hussein, the grandson of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. The annual commemoration, known as Ashura, is marked on the 10th day of the month of Muharram in the lunar-based Islamic calendar. Ashura is the culmination of a 10-day mourning period and marks the day Hussein was killed alongside members of his family and companions as he fought against the army of Caliph Yazid, to whom Hussein had refused to pledge allegiance.

Hanukah is for Muslims as well as Jews because Hanukah (Hebrew for Dedication) refers both to: The rededication of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem after it was profaned in 168 BCE by an idol installed in it by the Syrian Greek king Antiochus IV; and The dedication and valor of the Maccabees and all those who joined them in their resistance to the attempt by the ruling powers to force the Jews to abandon their God given religion, and conform to Greek forms of worship and culture. Abandoning circumcision was one example. The Jews who resisted were Muslims (Arabic for faithful follows of the one and only God’s will) and their dedication eventually led to religious freedom and national independence for the Jews living in the Land of Israel.

The oppression of Judaism by Antiochus IV, the Syrian Greek king, was the first known attempt at suppressing a minority religion, but unfortunately not the last. Other well known attempts were the three century long Roman persecution of Christianity, and the persecution of Prophet Muhammad and his followers by the majority of pagan Arabs in Makka. All three religions emerged from their varying periods of persecution stronger than ever, and this is the ongoing spiritual lesson of the Hanukah lamp that once lit by faithful believers, filled with hope and trust in God; lasts longer than anyone else thinks possible.

Is this what makes Prophet Abraham so special that his name appears 69 times in the Qur’an, second only to Moses (136 times)? I do not think this alone is why Abraham plays such an important part in all three Abrahamic religions. Abraham is famous for the numerous ways God tested him especially the terrible tests of banishing........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)