The Day of Ashura (also Aashoora and other spellings), which simply means 'tenth' in Arabic, marks the climax of the Remembrance of Muharram. For Shi'a Muslims, it commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (AD 680), and is a day for mourning.

Ashura is also commemorated by Muslims as the traditional date on which Noah's ark came to rest, the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) was born and the Ka'ba was built in Mecca.