Aza-e-Hussain : Muslims, and more particularly the Shiahs, have answered this call with the unique institution of aza-e-Hussain. With every tear that we shed for him we pledge to resist the oppression of injustice, immorality, inequity and falsehood. Every time we raise our hand and bring it down on our chest in matam, we are saying: "Labbaik, Labbaik Ya Mawla!" to our Imam, Hussain Ibne Ali, the grandson of the Holy Prophet (SAWA).
For long the word aza-e-Hussain has been exclusively used in connection with the remembrance ceremonies for the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. Aza-e-Hussain includes mourning congregations, lamentations, matam and all such actions which express the emotions of grief, anger and, above all, repulsion against what Yezid stood for. These emotions, however, remain futile and hypocritical unless accompanied by a will to reform both at the individual level and the community level.
The term majlis has both a grammatical meaning and a meaning which relates to aza-e-Hussain. In its technical sense, a majlis is a meeting, a session or a gathering. In reference to aza-e-Hussain, it means a gathering to mourn Imam Hussain.