A Structural Analysis of Symbols in the Literature of Ashura

The tragedy of Imam Husain’s martyrdom occurred in Muharram in the year 61 AH. Refusing the allegiance with Yazid was an excuse for the opponents of his family to act outrageously. This traumatic event caused grief in important cities including Mecca, Medina and Kufa and spread into all Islamic countries, so that memorializing this tragedy dominated Muslim culture, specifically the Shiism. Shia people all over the world mourn the martyrdom to keep alive this sorrowful event forever; they have used some symbols in their mourning in the form of special rites during Moharam and Safar. The frequency of the symbols indicates the deep effect of Ashura tragedy in Shia culture. The symbols have different names in different cultures of Islamic countries. The reasons and the methods of the application of mourning symbols in various Islamic countries, and the pathology of these symbols in terms of negative effects on the basic aim of Imam Husain’s upraise are the main objectives of the present study. The symbolic status of worldly and spiritual elements of this movement is mentioned as well. This study is descriptive and library- research.