Eid-e-Shuja'

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See also: Piruz Nahavandi, Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam

Eid-e Shuja', also known as Eid al-Zahra and Omar koshan(Persian: عمرکشان‎, Celebration of killing Omar), is the ninth day of the month of Rabi Al-Awwal in the Islamic-Hijri calendar and a ritual celebration observed by most Twelver Shi‘a Muslims and some groups of Sufis. It marks the assassination of Umar ibn Al-Khettab[1] by Baba Shuja el-din (Piruz Nahavandi or Abu Luʼluʼ). The ritual coined and established by Safavids' king Ismail I during the Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam.

Other significances

Death of Imam al-Askari

The two-month period of Azadari (mourning) reaches its conclusion with the assassination of the eleventh Shi’a Imām, Hasan al-Askari on the eight of Rabi al-Awwal 260 AH (approximately 4 January 874). This date signals the closure of a long mourning season during which bright clothes, extravagant purchases and overt celebrations are all considered inappropriate. Pious Shias are now allowed to resume their less restricted lifestyles, following a tradition that holds that the Prophet's family itself shed its mourning garb on the ninth.[2]

Imam Al-Mahdi

Another primary religious event which is celebrated on the eid-e-shuja’ is the believed beginning of the Imamate of the twelfth Shī‘a Imām, Muhammad al-Mahdi. However, this assertion remains highly disputed among several various Shī‘a sects, such as the Ismā'īlī and Zaydī Shī'ī denominations, who each believe in a different number of Imāms and, for the most part, a different path of succession regarding the Imāmate. This is also disputed because there is no consensus on the exact date of martyrdom of Imam Hasan Al-Askari in the Twelver Shia literature.[3] Some scholars believe that 9th Rabi ul Awal is the second day of the Imamat of Imam Al-Mahdi since the eleventh Imam passed away on dawn of the 8th of Rabi ul Awal. Since the succeeding Imam becomes an Imam the moment that the previous Imam dies, Eid e Zahra would be the second day of the Imamate of Imam Al-Mahdi.

References
  1. Culture and customs of Iran. Elton L Daniel, 'Alī Akbar Mahdī, p. 185.
  2. Raj, S., Dempsey, C., Sacred Play: Ritual Levity and Humor in South Asian Religions. 2010 State University of New York
  3. al-Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub. Kafi Volume 1. p. 178.
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