Husayniyya

A husayniyya (Arabic: حسينية) is a building designed specifically for gatherings of Shia Muslims for spiritual practice, religious education and commemoration ceremonies, especially the Mourning of Muharram.^[1] The Husayniyya is a multipurpose hall for the commemoration rituals of Shia and gets its name from Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad.^[2] They are referred to as Takya among Sunni Muslims and have common origen.^[3]

Terminology

Ḥosayniya
Hussainia in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Arabic	حسينية (ḥusayniyya) مأتم (ma'tam)
Hindi	इमामबाड़ा (imāmbāṛā) आशुरख़ाना (āshurkhānā)
Bengali	ইমামবাড়া (imambaṛa)
Persian	حسینیه (ḥoseyniye) تکیه (takyeh) تکیه خانہ (takyaxānā)
Urdu	امام باڑہ (imāmbāṛā) امام بارگاہ (imāmbārgāh) عاشور خانہ (āshurxānā) حسينيہ (huseyniya)

A husayniyya is different from a mosque. The name comes from Husayn ibn Ali, the third of the Twelve Imams and the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Husayn was martyred at the Battle of Karbala on 10 October 680 CE on the orders of Yazid ibn Muawiya. The Shia commemorate his martyrdom every year on Ashura, the 10th day of Muharram.^[4] There are also other ceremonies which are held during the year in husayniyyas, including religious commemorations unrelated to Ashura.^[5] and may not necessarily hold jumu'ah (Friday congregational prayer).

In South Asia, a husayniyya can also be referred to as an imambara, imambargah, or ashurkhana. It is also often called a takyeh in Iran and takyakhana in Afghanistan (see takya). In Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as in other Gulf States it is called a ma'tam (Arabic: مأتم).

History

From the time of the Safavid dynasty was ruling Iran, when Shia tended to hold the religious and mourning ceremonies, not only the passageways or the roofed places were used for the religious communities, even to make the hoseyniyehs and also takyehs became commonplace.^[6] Any hoseyniyeh had some booths (or rooms) and arcades, both in large and small sizes. Also in many alleys and streets, on the days near Ashoura, the religious people blackened the walls and the roofs and illuminated them, by the colorful lights... From the age of Zand dynasty, many bigger and vaster takyeh(s) was made just to hold ta'zieh, where there was a stage by the height of one meter from the floor, to show the different senses of ta'zieh.^[7] Expense of the husayniyya is provided by Charitable donations and endowments.^[8]^[9]

The Asifi Imambara in Lucknow, the capital city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Usage

Hussainiya was used during Muharram, Safar, and Ramadan for mourning, Rawda Khwani, Sineh Zani (a Customary form of mourning ceremony which shows their grief with chest-beating).^[10] Also, Hussainiya is a place for accommodations of passengers^[11] and pilgrims and feeding the poor.^[1] Since husayniyya serves as a focal point for Shi’i gathering, it also plays a very significant role in consolidation of religious identity specially for Shi’i population in diaspora.^[12]

Notable husayniyyas

A historic image from Zanjan azam Hussainiya in Iran

Imambara Wazeer Un Nisa in Amroha, India

Hosseinieh Azam Zanjan Mosque, in Zanjan, Iran
Azakhana Syed Dost Ali, Mohallah Katkoi, Amroha, built in 1766/1767
Hussaini Dalan, in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Prithimpasha Nawab Bari Imambara, in Kulaura, Bangladesh
Bara Imambara, in Lucknow, India
Chhota Imambara, in Lucknow, India
Hooghly Imambara, in Hooghly (W.B.), India
Nizamat Imambara, in Murshidabad, India
Badshahi Ashurkhana, in Hyderabad, India
Dar uz Zehra, Alipur, Karnataka, India.
Hosseiniyeh Ershad, in Tehran, Iran
Hussaini Imambara Asim Raza Abdi, in 100/46, Colonel Ganj Kanpur,
Imambara Ghufran Ma'ab, in Lucknow, India
Imambargah Mir Vilayat Husain, in Karari Allahabad, India
Azakhana Wazeer-un-Nisa, located in Amroha, India. The Azakhana was built in 1802 (1226 Hijri) with one Mosque.
Imambargah Haveli Sa'daat, one of the oldest Imambargahs in Gujranwala, Pakistan. It was built by the Naqvi Sadat family, who migrated from Fatehgarh Churian, Punjab, India.
Imambargah Bait Aal e Imran, in Kotla Arab Ali Khan, Gujrat, Pakistan. The site was donated by Choudhary Ghulam Hassan, a sunni by birth, and his wife in 1979.
Imam Bargah mosque, Afghanistan, targeted in the 2021 Kandahar bombing

References

^ ^a ^b Juan Eduardo Campo (1 January 2009). Encyclopedia of Islam. Infobase Publishing. pp. 318–. ISBN 978-1-4381-2696-8.
^ Marafi, Najebah (29 September 2012). The Intertwined Conflict: The Difference Between Culture and Religion. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1477128367.
^ الكرباسي, محمد صادق محمد (2019-01-31). معجم المشاريع الحسينيّة - الجزء الثالث: دائرة المعارف الحسينية (in Arabic). Hussaini Centre for Research, London. ISBN 978-1-78403-031-5.
^ "Husayniyya" at Encyclopædia Iranica
^ Hussainiahs and Takkiahs mashreghnews.ir
^ Zoka, Yahya. History of Royal Citadel in Tehran and guide to Golestan Palace, (تاریخچه ساختمانهای ارگ سلطنتی تهران و راهنمای کاخ گلستان), vol 1. p. 283.
^ The Iranian social history, (تاریخ اجتماعی ایران) written in Persian, V 5, P 340
^ Ansari Qomi. Iran's endowments in Iraq, ( موقوفات ايرانيان در عراق), vol 2. pp. 74–82.
^ Ebrahimnegad Shirvani, Pourabbas, Mahbubeh-sadat, Ata (12 April 2017). "The Role of Ashura rituals and post-Ashura days in spiritual health through promoting religious-oriented normal behavior: A practical model". Journal of Pizhūhish Dar Dīn Va Salāmat. 3 (2): 115–122.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "Tekyeh & Hussainiya". persiaadvisor.
^ Kaempfer, Engelbert (2018). Exotic Attractions in Persia, 1684-1688: Travels & Observations. Mage Publishers; 1st Hardcover edition (April 3, 2018). ISBN 978-1933823911.
^ Vernon James Schubel (1996). “Karbala as Sacred Space among North American Shi'a” in Making Muslim Space in North America and Europe, edited by Barbara Metcalf, 186-203. Berkeley: University of California Press.

[Campo2009-1] Juan Eduardo Campo (1 January 2009). Encyclopedia of Islam. Infobase Publishing. pp. 318–. ISBN 978-1-4381-2696-8.

[2] Marafi, Najebah (29 September 2012). The Intertwined Conflict: The Difference Between Culture and Religion. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1477128367.

[3] الكرباسي, محمد صادق محمد (2019-01-31). معجم المشاريع الحسينيّة - الجزء الثالث: دائرة المعارف الحسينية (in Arabic). Hussaini Centre for Research, London. ISBN 978-1-78403-031-5.

[4] "Husayniyya" at Encyclopædia Iranica

[5] Hussainiahs and Takkiahs mashreghnews.ir

[6] Zoka, Yahya. History of Royal Citadel in Tehran and guide to Golestan Palace, (تاریخچه ساختمانهای ارگ سلطنتی تهران و راهنمای کاخ گلستان), vol 1. p. 283.

[7] The Iranian social history, (تاریخ اجتماعی ایران) written in Persian, V 5, P 340

[8] Ansari Qomi. Iran's endowments in Iraq, ( موقوفات ايرانيان در عراق), vol 2. pp. 74–82.

[9] Ebrahimnegad Shirvani, Pourabbas, Mahbubeh-sadat, Ata (12 April 2017). "The Role of Ashura rituals and post-Ashura days in spiritual health through promoting religious-oriented normal behavior: A practical model". Journal of Pizhūhish Dar Dīn Va Salāmat. 3 (2): 115–122.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[10] "Tekyeh & Hussainiya". persiaadvisor.

[11] Kaempfer, Engelbert (2018). Exotic Attractions in Persia, 1684-1688: Travels & Observations. Mage Publishers; 1st Hardcover edition (April 3, 2018). ISBN 978-1933823911.

[12] Vernon James Schubel (1996). “Karbala as Sacred Space among North American Shi'a” in Making Muslim Space in North America and Europe, edited by Barbara Metcalf, 186-203. Berkeley: University of California Press.

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