Ashura fasting and soup?

Qizilbash · Post by **Qizilbash** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 9:24 am

Until December 28th 2009, 08:33 (edited by 202.75.200.19), the Wikipedia article about "Day of Ashura" contained the following paragraph:

Oddly, Sunnis in Egypt customarily eat a pudding (also known as Ashura) after dinner on the Day of Ashura; it is a rice pudding with nuts, raisins, and rose water, and it is also known in Turkish as Ashure. Given that Egypt was ruled by the Shi'ite Fatimid Caliphate and subsequently conquered by the Sunni Ayyubid dynasty, it may be that the (bitter) fast of Ashura was turned on its head after the Fatimid regime was toppled.

I am an Alevi from Turkey, and I can confirm that we in fact do observe a a fast during the first 10-12 days of Muharram, and we finish the fasting by making the mentioned Ashura soup, which we distribute to friends and family as a gratitude for the survival of Imam Zayn al-Abideen.

Can anybody confirm the above mentioned information of the possible connection to the Fatimid Caliphate? Was there a bitter fasting during the Fatimid Dynasty? And do Ismailis or the historical Ismails have any customs regarding this kind of soup?

kmaherali · Post by **kmaherali** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 3:31 pm

There is a related thread in this forum at:

Rites and Ceremonies --> Rites and Ceremonies

http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... ht=karbala

Qizilbash · Post by **Qizilbash** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 4:26 pm

Dear kmaherali.

The mentioned link doesn't seem to say anything about Ashura during the Fatimid period, nor about a soup.

Do you have knowledge about this subject? I am very interested in the historical practices of Ismailis. Especially during the middle ages.