Today 9th of Muharram 1442 Ashura (Arabic: عَاشُورَاء‎, romanized: ʿĀshūrāʾ [ʕaːʃuːˈraːʔ]), also known as Yawm Ashura (Arabic: يَوْم عَاشُورَاء‎) or Tamkharit, is the tenth day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. It marks the day that Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, was martyred in the Battle of Karbala. Ashura is a major holy day and occasion for pilgrimage in Shia Islam, as well as a recommended but non-obligatory day of fasting in Sunni Islam.