The Day of Ashura, (10th day of Muharram), day of mourning in Shi'a Islam, It is religious festival of Islam, celebrated on the 10th day of the Muslim month of Muharram (see more on Muslim Calendar), the first month of the Islamic year (Gregorian date variable). Ashura was originally designated in ad 622 by Muhammad, soon after the Hijrah (Hegira), as a day of fasting from sunset to sunset, probably patterned on the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.