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The first mourning for al-Husayn in Baghdad

أول مأتم ببغداد على الحسين

c. 28 January 963 CE · 10 Muharram 352 AH

On 'Ashura 352 Mu'izz al-Dawla obliged Baghdad to mourn al-Husayn: markets closed, sackcloth on the shops, cooks forbidden food, and the Rafida's women processing bare-haired and beating their faces — the first such mourning held at Baghdad per al-Dhahabi's 'Ibar; on 18 Dhu l-Hijja that year the Rafida also made Ghadir Khumm a festival with kettle-drums and an 'id prayer in the open 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
Abbasid Fragmentation
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

950960970980 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era

Overview

On the day of Ashura in 352 AH, Mu'izz al-Dawla required the people of Baghdad to wail and hold mourning over al-Husayn. The book quotes al-Dhahabi that this was the first time he was mourned in Baghdad. 2

What happened

He ordered the markets closed and sackcloth hung on them, and forbade the cooks from making food. Women went out with loosened hair, striking themselves. 2

The festival of Ghadir

The same report says that on the eighteenth of Dhu al-Hijja that year the Shi'a observed the festival of Ghadir. They beat the drums and prayed the festival prayer in the desert. 2

The date of the event in the Gregorian calendar is converted. 2

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
أحمد بن بويه معز الدولة

People and things also explored

Curses Inscribed on the Mosques of Baghdad· Mu'izz al-Dawla builds the Dar al-Saltana in Baghdad· The Buyids enter Baghdad and receive their titles, 334 AH· Death of Mu'izz al-Dawla ibn Buwayh· The first 'Ashura mourning and Ghadir festival in Baghdad· Mu'izz al-Dawla deposes and blinds al-Mustakfi· Nasir al-Dawla's march on Baghdad and his defeat· أبو عبد الله ابن البهلول القارئ

Sources

  1. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 17
  2. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p.17
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The first mourning for al-Husayn in Baghdad”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/first-ashura-matam-baghdad-352/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Time

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Curses Inscribed on the Mosques of Baghdad

In Rabi II 351, by Mu'izz al-Dawla's order, the Shi'a of Baghdad wrote on the mosques the formula 'May God curse Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan' — his name alone singled out.