Sha'baniyya Holidays
Shaʿbāniyya holidays are celebrated during the month of Sha'ban and mark the birthdays of several Imams of the Shia and Imamzadas.
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According to sources, Imam al-Husayn (a) was born on the third[1] or fifth of Sha'ban.[2] Imam al-Sajjad (a) was born on either the fifth[3] or |ninth of the same month,[4] while Imam al-Mahdi (a) was born on the 15th.[5] However, some sources suggest that 'Ali al-Akbar (a) was born on the 11th[6] while al-'Abbas (a) was born on the fourth of Sha'ban.[7] It's worth mentioning that different sources record different dates for the births of Imam al-Sajjad (a)[8] and Imam al-Mahdi (a).[9]
Additionally, earlier sources do not mention the exact dates of the births of al-'Abbas (a)[10] and 'Ali al-Akbar (a).[11] Shia Muslims during these days celebrate by adorning the streets, mosques, and shrines of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), reciting hymns and praises to the Imams (a), and holding feasts. The largest of these celebrations in Iran occurs on the eve of the fifteenth of Sha'ban at Jamkaran Mosque.[12] In Iraq, Shia Muslims also observe the festivities of the eve of Sha'ban, often embarking on foot pilgrimages to visit the shrine of Imam al-Husayn (a). Shia communities in Islamic countries such as Bahrain, Egypt, India, and other countries also hold these Sha'ban celebrations.[13]
The Iranian calendar recognizes some of these birthdates as national holidays:
- The 3rd of Sha'ban celebrates Imam al-Husayn's (a) birthday, referred to as Guards Day.
- The 4th of Sha'ban marks Disabled Veterans Day, linked to al-'Abbas' (a) birthday.
- The 5th honors Imam al-Sajjad's (a) birthday as the Day of Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya.
- The 11th observes Youth Day in honor of Ali al-Akbar's (a) birth.
- Lastly, the 15th is celebrated as the World Day of the Impoverished, commemorating Imam Mahdi's (a) birthday.
Notes
- ↑ Ibn al-Mashhadī, al-Mazār, p. 397; Ṭūsī, Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid, p. 826, 828; Ibn Ṭāwūs, Iqbāl al-aʿmāl, p. 689-690.
- ↑ Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 27.
- ↑ Irbilī, Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 73.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Iʿlām al-warā, p. 256; Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib, vol. 4, p. 175.
- ↑ See: Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 514; Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 339; Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, p. 424.
- ↑ Muqarram, Maqtal al-Ḥusayn, p. 267.
- ↑ Urdūbādī, Ḥayāt Abī l-Faḍl al-ʿAbbās, p. 64.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Iʿlām al-warā, p. 256; Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib, vol. 4, p. 175.
- ↑ Irbilī, Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 437.
- ↑ Urdūbādī, Ḥayāt Abī l-Faḍl al-ʿAbbās, p. 64.
- ↑ Mīr, ʿAlī b. Ḥusayn.
- ↑ An overview of Sha'baniyya celebrations across the country (Persian).
- ↑ The tradition of celebrating mid of Sha'ban in the countries of the Islamic world (Persian).
References
- Ibn al-Mashhadī, Muḥammad. Al-Mazār al-kabīr. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i wābasti bi Jāmiʿa-yi Mudarrisīn-i Ḥawza-yi ʿIlmīyya-yi Qom, 1419 AH.
- Ibn Shahrāshūb, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib. Edited by Ḥāshim Rasūlī. Qom: Nashr-i ʿAllāma, 1379 Sh.
- Ibn Ṭāwūs, ʿAlī b. Mūsā. Iqbāl al-aʿmāl. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1367 Sh.
- Irbilī, ʿAlī b. ʿĪsā al-. Kashf al-ghumma fī maʿrifat al-aʾimma. Tabriz: Maktabat Banī Hāshimī, 1381 AH.
- Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī and Muḥammad Ākhūndī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1407 AH.
- Mīr, Muḥammad ʿAlī. ʿAlī b. Ḥusayn. In Dānishnāma-yi Jahān-i Islām. Tehran: Bunyād-i Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif al-Islāmī, [n.d].
- Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Irshād fī maʿrifat ḥujaj Allāh ʿalā l-ʿibād. Qom: Kungira-yi Shaykh al-Mufīd, 1413 AH.
- Muqarram, ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-. Maqtal al-Ḥusayn wa ḥadith Karbalā. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Khirsān li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1426 AH.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Kamāl al-dīn wa itmām al-niʿma. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Tehran: Islāmīyya, 1395 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Iʿlām al-warā bi-aʿlām al-hudā. Tehran: Islāmīyya, 1390 AH.
- Ṭūsī, Muḥamamd b. al-Ḥasan al-. Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid wa silāḥ al-mutaʿabbid. Beirut: Muʾassisat Fiqh al-Shīʿa, 1411 AH.
- Urdūbādī, Muḥammad ʿAlī. Ḥayāt Abī l-Faḍl al-ʿAbbās. Karbala: Dār al-Kafīl, 1436 AH.
- مروری بر جشنهای مردمی اعیاد شعبانیه در سراسر کشور (An overview of Sha'baniyya celebrations across the country (Persian)). Accessed: 2024/07/28.
- سنت جشن نیمه شعبان در کشورهای جهان اسلام (The tradition of celebrating mid of Sha'ban in the countries of the Islamic world (Persian)). Accessed: 2024/07/28.