Yā Hussain (Arabic: يَا حُسَيْن, romanized: Yā Ḥusayn) is an Arabic phrase used by Shia to invoke the memory or intervention of Hussain ibn Ali. It is especially used in the context of the Mourning of Muharram.
The British in colonial India heard Shia chanting "Yā Hussain! Yā Hassan!" (a reference to Hussain ibn Ali, brother of Hasan ibn Ali) during the Mourning of Muharram, and approximated it as "Hobson-Jobson", which became a term referring to the similar derivation of an English equivalent for a foreign-language word by adapting English words or names that have a superficial resemblance in sound.
See also
- Descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib
- Day of Ashura
- Day of Tasu'a
- Sermon of Ali ibn Husayn in Damascus
- Ziyarat Ashura
References
