A hussainiya is different from a mosque. The name comes from Husayn ibn Ali, the third of the Twelve Imams and the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Husayn was martyred at the Battle of Karbala on 10 October 680 CE during the reign of Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad. The Shia commemorate his martyrdom every year on Ashura, the 10th day of Muharram. There are also other ceremonies which are held during the year in hussainiyas, including religious commemorations unrelated to Ashura. and may not necessarily hold jumu'ah (Friday congregational prayer). In South Asia, a hussainiya can also be referred to as an imambara, imambargah, or ashurkhana. In Afghanistan and Central Asia, it is also called a takyakhana. In Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as in other Gulf States it is called a ma'tam.

A ḥosayniya or hussainiya (Arabic: حسينية husayniyya), also known as an ashurkhana, imambargah, or imambara, is a congregation hall for Twelver Shia Muslim commemoration ceremonies, especially those associated with the Mourning of Muharram.[1] Hussainiya is a multitude hall for the mourning of Muharram and other commemoration rituals of Shia that its name gets from Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad