Mätam

Mourning of Muharram
Pilgrims gather for the Ashura mourning in Karbala, Iraq, 2016. About 6.5 million people are estimated to have gathered in Karbala this year.
Type	Islamic
Significance	Marks the death of Hussein ibn Ali (Shi'a Islam, Sunni Islam)
Observances	Mourn and derive messages from Hussein's Sacrifice (Shi'a Islam); Fasting (Sunni Islam)
2016 date	October 2
2017 date	September 21
2018 date	September 11
2019 date	August 31

The Mourning of Muharram (or Remembrance of Muharram or Muharram Observances) is a set of rituals associated with both Shia and Sunni Islam. The commemoration falls in Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Many of the events associated with the ritual take place in congregation halls known as Hussainia.

The event marks the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala, when Imam Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, was killed by the forces of the second Umayyad caliph. Family members accompanying him were killed or subjected to humiliation. The commemoration of this event during the yearly mourning season, with the Day of Ashura as the focal date, serves to define Shia communal identity. Muharram observances are carried out in countries with a sizable Shia population.

The words Azadari (Persian: عزاداری) which mean mourning and lamentation; and Majalis-e Aza have been exclusively used in connection with the remembrance ceremonies for the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. Majalis-e Aza, also known as Aza-e Husayn, includes mourning congregations, lamentations, matam and all such actions which express the emotions of grief and above all, repulsion against what Yazid stood for.

Expression of grief with thumping of the chest by Shia Muslims is known as Latmya, Latmaya or latmia in Arabic-Persian countries. In India and Pakistan it is called Matam or Matam-Dari/Sina Zannee (chest beating).

Muharram rituals was often called by European observers "the Feast of Hasan and Hosayn," as the participants shout "Hasan! Hosayn!."

The term majalis has both a grammatical meaning and a meaning which relates to Aza-e-Husayn. In its technical sense, a majalis is a meeting, a session or a gathering.

According to Shia sources, The mourning of Muharram was started by the family, especially womenfolk, of Muhammad (the Ahl-ul-Bayt) immediately after the death of his grandson and even before entering Damascus. Following the battle of Karbala, Muhammad's granddaughter Zaynab bint Ali and sister of Imam Husayn, began mourning for the fallen and making speeches against Imam Husayn ibn Ali's opponents: Ibn Ziyad and Yazid I. News of Imam Husayn ibn Ali's death was spread by Imam Zain-ul-Abideen, who succeeded Imam Husayn as the Shia Imam, via sermons and speeches throughout Iraq, Syria and Hejaz.