Who Was Hussein and Why Does His Sacrifice Matter in 2016?
An arrow through the eyes. Three spears in the center of an infant’s chest. Women in chains. A final, lone solider beheaded for his stand against injustice.
This is the story of Karbala, the story you were never taught, the story your children will never learn.
History books will never teach you of a man named Hussein or a land named Karbala. You have never learned of the day 72 stood against an army of 30,000 and won. No one has ever told you the story that the great British historian Edward Gibbons said will “awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.”
You have never truly heard of Hussein, Karbala, or Ashura, and you probably didn’t need to. No, this time in Islamic and global history never meant anything, until now.
More than 1300 years ago, Hussein (as), the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (as), rode with his family and army to Kufa, Iraq after the people of the city pleaded with him to save them from the oppression of their caliph, Yazid I. During the journey, his caravan was intercepted and diverted to Karbala, Iraq. There, he and his family were denied access to water (in the scorching hot desert) for three days. After a long stalemate, orders from Yazid arrived to kill Hussein and his people. Yazid’s army did just that, murdering 72 of them and taking the women and children they hadn’t killed as prisoners.
No, this isn’t a history lesson, a parable, or a cruel bedtime story. Yes, there have been battles throughout all of history that have been just as evil and dark. No, none of them have been as overlooked and ignored, as this battle.
Currently, in 2016, the story of Karbala means more to Islam and the world than anyone can imagine.
This is why you need to know about the Battle of Karbala -
More....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/walaa-cha ... 29072.html
Month of Mohaaram and battle of Karbala
20 million Muslims march against ISIS
Tens of millions of Shia Muslims have taken part in one of the biggest marches in the world, risking their lives to travel through Iraq in celebration of a famous Muslim martyr and in defiance of ISIS attacks.
The marchers made their way to the city of Karbala, 62 miles south west of Baghdad, on Sunday and Monday for the holy day of Arbaeen, which marks the end of a 40-day mourning period following Ashura, the religious ritual that commemorates the death of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson Imam Hussein in 680 AD.
Large crowds visit the shrines of Imam Hussein and his half-brother Abbas in Karbala, where they were killed in a revolt against the Umayyad ruler Yazeed in the seventh century AD when they refused to pledge allegiance to Yazeed's Umayyad caliphate.
Nusayyef al-Khattabi, who heads the Karbala provincial council, said he expected the total number of visitors over several days to range “between 17 million and 20 million.” Among them are an estimated three million foreigners, the majority Iranians who started crossing the border days ago.
Many choose to make the journey on foot, despite travelling near ISIS-controlled areas in the country and the extremist group having made frequent deadly attacks on the pilgrimage.
ISIS has declared Shia Muslims apostates and targeted them in its bloody campaign to establish a hardline caliphate across Iraq and Syria.
Large-scale security operations, involving 24,000 soldiers and police, were put in place during this year's march due to fears ISIS forces in and around its last major stronghold of Mosul may seek to strike Baghdad or Karbala during Arbaeen.
© Provided by Independent Print Limited shia-muslim-march-5.jpg Karbala, around 50 miles, southwest of Baghdad, faces the desert of Anbar, a vast province that was until recently an ISIS bastion and where jihadists still carry out frequent attacks.
Last week, a suicide bomber killed six people near Karbala in an attack claimed by the so-called Islamic State.
The pilgrimage has taken on additional meaning in response to this threat, becoming a protest in recent years against ISIS terrorists.
Pilgrim Jaber Kadhem Khalif said: "I came walking from Basra with my wife and three sons ... This is the third time. We started walking 13 days ago and reached Karbala on Sunday night."
The 40-year-old said his prayers would go to the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary group that has tens of thousands of men deployed on the front lines to fight ISIS.
Umm Ali came without her husband, who is with the security forces on the front lines.
“I came with my son and two daughters. I came from Samawa to Najaf by car, then from Najaf to Karbala on foot, to make a plea for my husband's safety.
"We ask God to support us against Daesh [ISIS] members, to help us liberate Mosul and urge our politicians to remember the people who have sacrificed so much," the 45-year-old said.
Despite the pilgrimage being one of the world's largest - it is far larger than the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in which around 1.5 million people take part - it remains largely unknown in the West.
Organizers of the annual Arbaeen procession in U.K. have previously spoken of their frustration over the lack of mainstream media coverage of the event.
Mohammed Al-Sharifi, a volunteer at last year's event, previously told the Independent: "I think the reason the mainstream media hasn’t covered the [march] is because I don’t think it's juicy enough to sell papers. It's simply not interesting enough."
"Unfortunately [some] media outlets have gone for stories that to some extent can be divisive. If a group of Muslims do something good, it's not mentioned or the religion is not mentioned. But if someone does something [negative], it is on the front page and their religion is mentioned."
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/20- ... ailsignout
Tens of millions of Shia Muslims have taken part in one of the biggest marches in the world, risking their lives to travel through Iraq in celebration of a famous Muslim martyr and in defiance of ISIS attacks.
The marchers made their way to the city of Karbala, 62 miles south west of Baghdad, on Sunday and Monday for the holy day of Arbaeen, which marks the end of a 40-day mourning period following Ashura, the religious ritual that commemorates the death of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson Imam Hussein in 680 AD.
Large crowds visit the shrines of Imam Hussein and his half-brother Abbas in Karbala, where they were killed in a revolt against the Umayyad ruler Yazeed in the seventh century AD when they refused to pledge allegiance to Yazeed's Umayyad caliphate.
Nusayyef al-Khattabi, who heads the Karbala provincial council, said he expected the total number of visitors over several days to range “between 17 million and 20 million.” Among them are an estimated three million foreigners, the majority Iranians who started crossing the border days ago.
Many choose to make the journey on foot, despite travelling near ISIS-controlled areas in the country and the extremist group having made frequent deadly attacks on the pilgrimage.
ISIS has declared Shia Muslims apostates and targeted them in its bloody campaign to establish a hardline caliphate across Iraq and Syria.
Large-scale security operations, involving 24,000 soldiers and police, were put in place during this year's march due to fears ISIS forces in and around its last major stronghold of Mosul may seek to strike Baghdad or Karbala during Arbaeen.
© Provided by Independent Print Limited shia-muslim-march-5.jpg Karbala, around 50 miles, southwest of Baghdad, faces the desert of Anbar, a vast province that was until recently an ISIS bastion and where jihadists still carry out frequent attacks.
Last week, a suicide bomber killed six people near Karbala in an attack claimed by the so-called Islamic State.
The pilgrimage has taken on additional meaning in response to this threat, becoming a protest in recent years against ISIS terrorists.
Pilgrim Jaber Kadhem Khalif said: "I came walking from Basra with my wife and three sons ... This is the third time. We started walking 13 days ago and reached Karbala on Sunday night."
The 40-year-old said his prayers would go to the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary group that has tens of thousands of men deployed on the front lines to fight ISIS.
Umm Ali came without her husband, who is with the security forces on the front lines.
“I came with my son and two daughters. I came from Samawa to Najaf by car, then from Najaf to Karbala on foot, to make a plea for my husband's safety.
"We ask God to support us against Daesh [ISIS] members, to help us liberate Mosul and urge our politicians to remember the people who have sacrificed so much," the 45-year-old said.
Despite the pilgrimage being one of the world's largest - it is far larger than the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in which around 1.5 million people take part - it remains largely unknown in the West.
Organizers of the annual Arbaeen procession in U.K. have previously spoken of their frustration over the lack of mainstream media coverage of the event.
Mohammed Al-Sharifi, a volunteer at last year's event, previously told the Independent: "I think the reason the mainstream media hasn’t covered the [march] is because I don’t think it's juicy enough to sell papers. It's simply not interesting enough."
"Unfortunately [some] media outlets have gone for stories that to some extent can be divisive. If a group of Muslims do something good, it's not mentioned or the religion is not mentioned. But if someone does something [negative], it is on the front page and their religion is mentioned."
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/20- ... ailsignout
This is truth"Unfortunately [some] media outlets have gone for stories that to some extent can be divisive. If a group of Muslims do something good, it's not mentioned or the religion is not mentioned. But if someone does something [negative], it is on the front page and their religion is mentioned."
Media is not interested in ordinary stuff it has to be juicy
Invoking Bibi Zainab (RA)
During my visit to Bibi Zainab’s (RA) shrine in Damascus several years ago, I could not help but notice the presence of women of diverse ethnicities, ages and nationalities. We were all different but united in our reverence for Bibi Zainab (RA). In our own ways and languages, we recounted her experiences, recited elegies and called for her intercession. Some of us prayed on our tasbeehs while others read from prayer books, unable to control their tears.
While Bibi Zainab (RA) is a salient figure for Muslim women worldwide and has given life to myriad devotional practices, her life and narratives also offer searing commentary on political oppression and the gendered nature of violence, which are a lesson for us all.
Bibi Zainab (RA), Prophet Muhammad’s (Peace be upon Him) granddaughter, Imam Ali (RA) and Bibi Fatima’s (RA) daughter, and Imam Hussain’s (RA) sister, accompanied her brother to Karbala to stand up against the atrocities of Yazid. She had left her husband behind and according to historian Syed Akbar Hyder, is often viewed as a co-hero of Karbala in Shia narratives.
Indeed, Bibi Zainab (RA) played a crucial role on the plains of Karbala. She not only cared for the wounded but also protected her nephew, the Prophet’s (PBUH) great-grandson, Imam Ali ibn Hussain Zayn al-Abidin (RA).
After the massacre of Karbala, Bibi Zainab (RA), along with other women and children of the Imam Hussain’s (RA) household, was taken prisoner and marched to Yazid’s court in Damascus. The severed heads of those who were martyred at Karbala, including Imam Hussain’s (RA), were paraded before her. It was at that moment that Bibi Zainab (RA) confronted Yazid, delivering a defiant speech that is instructive for Muslims even today. On the eve of the death of her brother and two sons, standing up to their killer on whose mercy her life depended, she showed that speaking truth to power, even in the direst of circumstances, is incumbent upon Muslims.
“O Yazid, do you believe that you have succeeded in closing the sky and the earth for us and that we have become your captives just because we have been brought before you in a row and that you have secured control over us?… You think that you have achieved worldly good that your affairs have become stabilised and our rule has fallen into your hands. Wait for a while. Do not be so joyful. Have you forgotten Allah’s saying: ‘The unbelievers should not carry the impression that the time allowed to them by us is good for them. Surely we give them time so that they may increase their evil deeds, and eventually they will be given insulting chastisement [3:178].”
Historian al-Tabari narrates a particular moment that sheds further light on Bibi Zainab’s (RA) courage. While in Yazid’s court, a Syrian man asked Yazid to give him Bibi Fatima bint Ali (RA), Bibi Zainab’s younger sister. Bibi Fatima (RA) shuddered thinking about the fate that awaited her and held onto her older sister’s skirt. Bibi Zainab (RA) fearlessly resisted the Syrian’s claim, noting that Yazid did not have the authority to give away the young girl. When Yazid disagreed, she retorted: “You, a commander who has authority, are vilifying unjustly and oppress with your authority.”
Bibi Zainab’s (RA) sermon also highlights the gendered nature of violence as she narrates the ways in which Yazid and his armies humiliated the women of the Prophet’s (pbuh) family:
“O progeny of the freedman of the Prophet (pbuh)! Is this your justice? Your daughters, your slave girls, your dear women are all sitting behind the curtain and the daughters of the Prophet (pbuh), in shackles, unveiled, stand before you. Your men take us from town to town where all sorts of people, whether they be residents of the hills or of riversides have been looking at us.”
Gender Studies scholar Fadwa El Guindi has noted that veiling in that historical moment communicated the status of the individual and the group’s identity; it had less to do with notions of modesty or shame. By unveiling the women of Prophet’s (PBUH) household, Yazid took away their privacy and deprived them of their elite status.
This particular form of violence against Bibi Zainab (RA) and other womenfolk signals how women have always functioned as symbols in and through which rulers exercise power. It was through the dishonouring of these women that the ruler established his complete victory. That even the Prophet’s (pbuh) family was not spared this treatment should give us pause as we reflect on modern-day patriarchy.
Today, violence against women is codified not only through law but also familial practices. Religion is deployed to further the surveillance and policing of women, and tired tropes about women’s weakness and emotional states keep women away from positions of authority. Tragedies such as the shooting of innocent civilians by the state machinery in Model Town, Lahore, or the burning of poor workers in a factory in Baldia Town, Karachi, occur without society shedding a tear. Years pass by without justice being served. The ‘mafia’, to quote the honourable Supreme Court, rules with prejudice and we citizens remain quiet.
During this month of Muharram, let us recount the life of Bibi Zainab (RA). Let us reflect on her words and deeds, and take courage from her to reform our own societies.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2017.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1520319/in ... zainab-ra/
During my visit to Bibi Zainab’s (RA) shrine in Damascus several years ago, I could not help but notice the presence of women of diverse ethnicities, ages and nationalities. We were all different but united in our reverence for Bibi Zainab (RA). In our own ways and languages, we recounted her experiences, recited elegies and called for her intercession. Some of us prayed on our tasbeehs while others read from prayer books, unable to control their tears.
While Bibi Zainab (RA) is a salient figure for Muslim women worldwide and has given life to myriad devotional practices, her life and narratives also offer searing commentary on political oppression and the gendered nature of violence, which are a lesson for us all.
Bibi Zainab (RA), Prophet Muhammad’s (Peace be upon Him) granddaughter, Imam Ali (RA) and Bibi Fatima’s (RA) daughter, and Imam Hussain’s (RA) sister, accompanied her brother to Karbala to stand up against the atrocities of Yazid. She had left her husband behind and according to historian Syed Akbar Hyder, is often viewed as a co-hero of Karbala in Shia narratives.
Indeed, Bibi Zainab (RA) played a crucial role on the plains of Karbala. She not only cared for the wounded but also protected her nephew, the Prophet’s (PBUH) great-grandson, Imam Ali ibn Hussain Zayn al-Abidin (RA).
After the massacre of Karbala, Bibi Zainab (RA), along with other women and children of the Imam Hussain’s (RA) household, was taken prisoner and marched to Yazid’s court in Damascus. The severed heads of those who were martyred at Karbala, including Imam Hussain’s (RA), were paraded before her. It was at that moment that Bibi Zainab (RA) confronted Yazid, delivering a defiant speech that is instructive for Muslims even today. On the eve of the death of her brother and two sons, standing up to their killer on whose mercy her life depended, she showed that speaking truth to power, even in the direst of circumstances, is incumbent upon Muslims.
“O Yazid, do you believe that you have succeeded in closing the sky and the earth for us and that we have become your captives just because we have been brought before you in a row and that you have secured control over us?… You think that you have achieved worldly good that your affairs have become stabilised and our rule has fallen into your hands. Wait for a while. Do not be so joyful. Have you forgotten Allah’s saying: ‘The unbelievers should not carry the impression that the time allowed to them by us is good for them. Surely we give them time so that they may increase their evil deeds, and eventually they will be given insulting chastisement [3:178].”
Historian al-Tabari narrates a particular moment that sheds further light on Bibi Zainab’s (RA) courage. While in Yazid’s court, a Syrian man asked Yazid to give him Bibi Fatima bint Ali (RA), Bibi Zainab’s younger sister. Bibi Fatima (RA) shuddered thinking about the fate that awaited her and held onto her older sister’s skirt. Bibi Zainab (RA) fearlessly resisted the Syrian’s claim, noting that Yazid did not have the authority to give away the young girl. When Yazid disagreed, she retorted: “You, a commander who has authority, are vilifying unjustly and oppress with your authority.”
Bibi Zainab’s (RA) sermon also highlights the gendered nature of violence as she narrates the ways in which Yazid and his armies humiliated the women of the Prophet’s (pbuh) family:
“O progeny of the freedman of the Prophet (pbuh)! Is this your justice? Your daughters, your slave girls, your dear women are all sitting behind the curtain and the daughters of the Prophet (pbuh), in shackles, unveiled, stand before you. Your men take us from town to town where all sorts of people, whether they be residents of the hills or of riversides have been looking at us.”
Gender Studies scholar Fadwa El Guindi has noted that veiling in that historical moment communicated the status of the individual and the group’s identity; it had less to do with notions of modesty or shame. By unveiling the women of Prophet’s (PBUH) household, Yazid took away their privacy and deprived them of their elite status.
This particular form of violence against Bibi Zainab (RA) and other womenfolk signals how women have always functioned as symbols in and through which rulers exercise power. It was through the dishonouring of these women that the ruler established his complete victory. That even the Prophet’s (pbuh) family was not spared this treatment should give us pause as we reflect on modern-day patriarchy.
Today, violence against women is codified not only through law but also familial practices. Religion is deployed to further the surveillance and policing of women, and tired tropes about women’s weakness and emotional states keep women away from positions of authority. Tragedies such as the shooting of innocent civilians by the state machinery in Model Town, Lahore, or the burning of poor workers in a factory in Baldia Town, Karachi, occur without society shedding a tear. Years pass by without justice being served. The ‘mafia’, to quote the honourable Supreme Court, rules with prejudice and we citizens remain quiet.
During this month of Muharram, let us recount the life of Bibi Zainab (RA). Let us reflect on her words and deeds, and take courage from her to reform our own societies.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2017.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1520319/in ... zainab-ra/
Muharram
Muharram is a month of remembrance in the Islamic calendar.
Muharram is a month of remembrance, as it was on the tenth day of this month – known as Ashura – that Hazrat Imam Husayn, the beloved grandson of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), was martyred at Karbala in 680 CE. The sad memory of this event is particularly poignant for Shia Muslims.
At Karbala, Imam Husayn was accompanied by many other members of Prophet Muhammad's family – including women and children – who together with his loyal followers were brutally killed. While the hereditary line of Imams continues through Hazrat Imam Husayn's son, Imam Zayn al-Abidin, the massacre of the Prophet's beloved grandson and family reverberated throughout the Muslim ummah.
The tragedy at Karbala has become a focal point of devotional tradition that upholds themes of justice, ethics and remembrance. For Shia Muslims, Muharram is a period during which celebratory events are avoided out of respect, particularly during the first ten days of the month.
However, the more enduring aspects of Imam Husayn's life continue to inspire Muslims in their daily lives – his example of commitment, selfless leadership, steadfastness in the face of oppression and, above all, his devotion to Allah and the cause of Islam.
https://the.ismaili/our-culture/muharra ... rce=Direct
Muharram is a month of remembrance in the Islamic calendar.
Muharram is a month of remembrance, as it was on the tenth day of this month – known as Ashura – that Hazrat Imam Husayn, the beloved grandson of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), was martyred at Karbala in 680 CE. The sad memory of this event is particularly poignant for Shia Muslims.
At Karbala, Imam Husayn was accompanied by many other members of Prophet Muhammad's family – including women and children – who together with his loyal followers were brutally killed. While the hereditary line of Imams continues through Hazrat Imam Husayn's son, Imam Zayn al-Abidin, the massacre of the Prophet's beloved grandson and family reverberated throughout the Muslim ummah.
The tragedy at Karbala has become a focal point of devotional tradition that upholds themes of justice, ethics and remembrance. For Shia Muslims, Muharram is a period during which celebratory events are avoided out of respect, particularly during the first ten days of the month.
However, the more enduring aspects of Imam Husayn's life continue to inspire Muslims in their daily lives – his example of commitment, selfless leadership, steadfastness in the face of oppression and, above all, his devotion to Allah and the cause of Islam.
https://the.ismaili/our-culture/muharra ... rce=Direct
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swamidada_2
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AS RECEIVED
an article on the Battle of Karbala written by Mumtaz Ali Tajddin. (Reading: 8 pages)
http://ismaili.net/source/books/karbala.pdf
BATTLE OF KARBALA
(Historical Review)
By: Mumtaz Ali Tajddin S. Ali
an article on the Battle of Karbala written by Mumtaz Ali Tajddin. (Reading: 8 pages)
http://ismaili.net/source/books/karbala.pdf
BATTLE OF KARBALA
(Historical Review)
By: Mumtaz Ali Tajddin S. Ali
-
swamidada_2
- Posts: 297
- Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:18 pm
AY KARBALA KI KHAAK ISS AHSAAN KO NA BHUUL
TARRPI HAI TUJH PAR NA'SH E JIGAR GOSHA E BATUUL
ISLAM KAY LAHU SE TERI PIYAAS BHUJH GAI
SERAAB KAR GAYA TUJHEY KHUUN E RUGG E RASUL
KARTI RAHEY GI PESH SHAHADAT HUSSAUN KI
AZADI E HAYYAT KA YEH SARMADI USUUL
CHARRH JAAE KUTT KAY SIR TERA NEZEY KI NOUK PAR
LEKIN YAZIDIYU(N) KI ITA'AT NA KAR QUBUUL
TARRPI HAI TUJH PAR NA'SH E JIGAR GOSHA E BATUUL
ISLAM KAY LAHU SE TERI PIYAAS BHUJH GAI
SERAAB KAR GAYA TUJHEY KHUUN E RUGG E RASUL
KARTI RAHEY GI PESH SHAHADAT HUSSAUN KI
AZADI E HAYYAT KA YEH SARMADI USUUL
CHARRH JAAE KUTT KAY SIR TERA NEZEY KI NOUK PAR
LEKIN YAZIDIYU(N) KI ITA'AT NA KAR QUBUUL
An interesting anecdote quoted from Mumtaz Tajdin's 225 anecdotes at: http://ismaili.net/source/books/225anecdotes.pdf :
(24) The old persons relate that once in Hasanabad, Bombay, the Imam was clad in black suit during the 10th Moharram. On one side of the Imam stood Chief Missionary Hussaini Pir Mohammad and on other side was Bawa Safdar Ali. In those days, the procession of the Moharram was arranged by Lady Aly Shah in Hasanabad. The people were beating their breasts, calling Ya Hussain, Ya Hussain. The Imam also slowly was patting his breast like others. Looking it, Chief Missionary Hussaini was filled with surprise and asked, “Mawla, why you are doing so?” The Imam said, “Look below the compound, where the people are chanting ‘Ya Hussain, ‘Ya Hussain’ I also pat my hand on my breast by exhorting them, I am Hussain, I am Hussain.” Then the Imam said, “Hussain is alive and shall remain alive.”
(24) The old persons relate that once in Hasanabad, Bombay, the Imam was clad in black suit during the 10th Moharram. On one side of the Imam stood Chief Missionary Hussaini Pir Mohammad and on other side was Bawa Safdar Ali. In those days, the procession of the Moharram was arranged by Lady Aly Shah in Hasanabad. The people were beating their breasts, calling Ya Hussain, Ya Hussain. The Imam also slowly was patting his breast like others. Looking it, Chief Missionary Hussaini was filled with surprise and asked, “Mawla, why you are doing so?” The Imam said, “Look below the compound, where the people are chanting ‘Ya Hussain, ‘Ya Hussain’ I also pat my hand on my breast by exhorting them, I am Hussain, I am Hussain.” Then the Imam said, “Hussain is alive and shall remain alive.”
Lessons from Imam Husayn and Hazrat Bibi Zaynab
In the Islamic calendar, the month of Muharram is of particular significance for Shia Muslims. Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.s.) grandson, Imam Husayn (a.s.), and many family members and supporters gave their lives during the first ten days of this month on the fields of Karbala in Iraq, in 680 CE. It is a month during which we engage in self-reflection and refrain from celebrating any festivities during the first ten days out of respect for their sacrifice. What other lessons can we derive from their bravery and perseverance?
The inhabitants of Kufa had asked Imam Husayn to help them fend off the Umayyad Caliph Yazid’s tyranny and oppression. On his way to Kufa, however, he was forced to turn towards Karbala when he was confronted by a contingent of Yazid’s forces that would not let him proceed on his intended path. There, the Imam’s family and supporters learned that their supporters in Kufa had abandoned them. Trapped in the desert and cut off from water, the Imam gave his people the opportunity to escape in the darkness of the night. They chose instead to remain by his side, probably aware that they were massively outnumbered and had little chance of survival. 1
Imam Husayn and his followers fought courageously, sacrificing their lives for their cause.
After the battle, Imam Husayn’s sister, Hazrat Bibi Zaynab (a.s.), and other women and children of his household were taken prisoner and marched to Yazid’s court. In that moment, Bibi Zaynab chose to confront her oppressor, delivering a defiant speech:
O Yazid, do you believe that you have succeeded in closing the sky and the earth for us and that we have become your captives just because we have been brought before you in a row and that you have secured control over us?… Wait for a while. Do not be so joyful. Have you forgotten Allah’s saying: “The unbelievers should not carry the impression that the time allowed to them by us is good for them. Surely we give them time so that they may increase their evil deeds, and eventually they will be given insulting chastisement” [Qur’an 3:178]. 2
In Yazid’s court a Syrian man asked Yazid to give him Bibi Fatima bint Husayn (a.s.) as loot won in battle. 3 Bibi Fatima shuddered thinking about the fate that awaited her. With her niece holding on tight to her skirt, Bibi Zainab did not hesitate to intervene. She argued that Yazid did not have the authority to give away the young girl. When Yazid disagreed, she retorted: “You, a commander who has authority, are vilifying unjustly and oppress with your authority.” 4 Yazid went silent, and eventually asked the Syrian man to go away.
The actions of Imam Husayn, Bibi Zaynab, and those who fought alongside them carry significant lessons for us today. Even in extremely vulnerable positions—on the battlefield, outnumbered against a mighty enemy force, or in the case of Bibi Zaynab, as a prisoner facing a tyrant ruler—they continued to stand firm on their principles. They displayed the courage to protect those in need, regardless of the consequences they might have to face themselves.
As Bibi Zaynab’s speech reminds us, we always have a path to move forward, however dire the circumstances appear. Allah has made a promise that He will hold everyone accountable for their actions, and even though oppression and unjust practices might seem rampant, they will not go unchecked. It is incumbent upon us to follow our ethics and intervene through actions, words, or even prayers. As Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah An-Nisa, Ayat 135:
O you who believe! Be steadfast maintainers of justice, witnesses for God, though it be against yourselves, or your parents and kinsfolk, and whether it be someone rich or poor, for God is nearer unto both. 5
In this month of Muharram, let us reflect on our responsibility to uphold our values. Let us ask ourselves: how can we embody the ethics exhibited by Imam Husayn and Bibi Zaynab in our everyday lives?
1 Juan E. Campo, ed., Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd edition (New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009).
2 Muna Haeri Bilgrami, ed., The Victory of Truth: The Life of Zaynab Bint Ali (Karachi: Zahra Publications, 1986).
3 For more see Diane D'Souza, Partners of Zaynab: A Gendered Perspective of Shia Muslim Faith. (Columbia, SC: University of South Caroline Press, 2014).
4 I.K.A. Howard, The History of al-Tabari, Vol. 19: The Caliphate of Yazid b. Mu'awiyah (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1990), 378.
5 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, ed., The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary (New York: Harper One, 2015), 252.
https://the.ismaili/usa/our-community/l ... ibi-zaynab
In the Islamic calendar, the month of Muharram is of particular significance for Shia Muslims. Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.s.) grandson, Imam Husayn (a.s.), and many family members and supporters gave their lives during the first ten days of this month on the fields of Karbala in Iraq, in 680 CE. It is a month during which we engage in self-reflection and refrain from celebrating any festivities during the first ten days out of respect for their sacrifice. What other lessons can we derive from their bravery and perseverance?
The inhabitants of Kufa had asked Imam Husayn to help them fend off the Umayyad Caliph Yazid’s tyranny and oppression. On his way to Kufa, however, he was forced to turn towards Karbala when he was confronted by a contingent of Yazid’s forces that would not let him proceed on his intended path. There, the Imam’s family and supporters learned that their supporters in Kufa had abandoned them. Trapped in the desert and cut off from water, the Imam gave his people the opportunity to escape in the darkness of the night. They chose instead to remain by his side, probably aware that they were massively outnumbered and had little chance of survival. 1
Imam Husayn and his followers fought courageously, sacrificing their lives for their cause.
After the battle, Imam Husayn’s sister, Hazrat Bibi Zaynab (a.s.), and other women and children of his household were taken prisoner and marched to Yazid’s court. In that moment, Bibi Zaynab chose to confront her oppressor, delivering a defiant speech:
O Yazid, do you believe that you have succeeded in closing the sky and the earth for us and that we have become your captives just because we have been brought before you in a row and that you have secured control over us?… Wait for a while. Do not be so joyful. Have you forgotten Allah’s saying: “The unbelievers should not carry the impression that the time allowed to them by us is good for them. Surely we give them time so that they may increase their evil deeds, and eventually they will be given insulting chastisement” [Qur’an 3:178]. 2
In Yazid’s court a Syrian man asked Yazid to give him Bibi Fatima bint Husayn (a.s.) as loot won in battle. 3 Bibi Fatima shuddered thinking about the fate that awaited her. With her niece holding on tight to her skirt, Bibi Zainab did not hesitate to intervene. She argued that Yazid did not have the authority to give away the young girl. When Yazid disagreed, she retorted: “You, a commander who has authority, are vilifying unjustly and oppress with your authority.” 4 Yazid went silent, and eventually asked the Syrian man to go away.
The actions of Imam Husayn, Bibi Zaynab, and those who fought alongside them carry significant lessons for us today. Even in extremely vulnerable positions—on the battlefield, outnumbered against a mighty enemy force, or in the case of Bibi Zaynab, as a prisoner facing a tyrant ruler—they continued to stand firm on their principles. They displayed the courage to protect those in need, regardless of the consequences they might have to face themselves.
As Bibi Zaynab’s speech reminds us, we always have a path to move forward, however dire the circumstances appear. Allah has made a promise that He will hold everyone accountable for their actions, and even though oppression and unjust practices might seem rampant, they will not go unchecked. It is incumbent upon us to follow our ethics and intervene through actions, words, or even prayers. As Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah An-Nisa, Ayat 135:
O you who believe! Be steadfast maintainers of justice, witnesses for God, though it be against yourselves, or your parents and kinsfolk, and whether it be someone rich or poor, for God is nearer unto both. 5
In this month of Muharram, let us reflect on our responsibility to uphold our values. Let us ask ourselves: how can we embody the ethics exhibited by Imam Husayn and Bibi Zaynab in our everyday lives?
1 Juan E. Campo, ed., Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd edition (New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009).
2 Muna Haeri Bilgrami, ed., The Victory of Truth: The Life of Zaynab Bint Ali (Karachi: Zahra Publications, 1986).
3 For more see Diane D'Souza, Partners of Zaynab: A Gendered Perspective of Shia Muslim Faith. (Columbia, SC: University of South Caroline Press, 2014).
4 I.K.A. Howard, The History of al-Tabari, Vol. 19: The Caliphate of Yazid b. Mu'awiyah (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1990), 378.
5 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, ed., The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary (New York: Harper One, 2015), 252.
https://the.ismaili/usa/our-community/l ... ibi-zaynab
SHAH AST HUSSAIN, BADSHAH AST HUSSAIN
DEEN AST HUSSAIN, DEEN PANAH AST HUSSAIN
SAR DAAD NA DAAD DAST, DAR DAST E YAZID
HAQQA KA BINAEY LA ILLA AST HUSSAIN
Ruler is Hussain, King is Hussain
Faith is Hussain, Guardian of faith is Hussain
Offered his head but did not give his hand in hand of Yazid(refused his baiyat)
Indeed the foundation of La Illa (faith ) is Hussain
Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti Ajmeri
DEEN AST HUSSAIN, DEEN PANAH AST HUSSAIN
SAR DAAD NA DAAD DAST, DAR DAST E YAZID
HAQQA KA BINAEY LA ILLA AST HUSSAIN
Ruler is Hussain, King is Hussain
Faith is Hussain, Guardian of faith is Hussain
Offered his head but did not give his hand in hand of Yazid(refused his baiyat)
Indeed the foundation of La Illa (faith ) is Hussain
Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti Ajmeri
DAWN.COM
TODAY'S PAPER | AUGUST 31, 2020
Witness to Karbala
Qasim A. Moini 30 Aug 2020
ON the burning sands of Karbala 14 centuries ago, mankind’s noblest characters — represented by Imam Hussain, his family members and loyal companions — and its absolute worst, in the shape of the Umayyad imperial horde, were on display.
From the Hussaini camp, there are numerous shining examples that personify courage, magnanimity and steadfastness in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Leading this list is Imam Hussain himself, who bravely took on the tyrant of his day to save the very foundation of Islam. Moreover, Bibi Zainab’s stirring khutbas (sermons) in the courts of Kufa and Damascus shook the throne of Yazid, while Imam Zain al-Abidin’s eloquence and patience in the face of calamity has few parallels in history.
Yet another sublime example emerges from this venerable camp: that of Imam Muhammad bin Ali al-Baqir, grandson of Imam Hussain and son of Imam Zain al-Abidin. While Imam Baqir was a minor on the day of Ashura, he was a key witness to this massacre, and played an instrumental role in preserving and rebuilding the Islamic edifice after the martyrdom of his grandfather and other family members on the plains of Iraq.
As recorded by late Iraqi scholar Shaikh Baqir Sharif al-Qarashi, quoting ninth-century historian Yaqubi, Imam Baqir remembers Karbala thus: “My grandfather was killed while I was four years of age. Indeed, I remember his murder and what hit us during that time.”
From the Husaini camp, there are numerous shining examples.
As a child, Imam Baqir was an eyewitness to events that still shake anyone with a conscience centuries after the fact. Foremost of these was the brutal slaying of Imam Hussain. As mentioned by renowned muhaddith (traditionalist) Shaikh Abbas Qummi in Nafasul Mahmum — one of the most authentic accounts of the Karbala tragedy — Imam Baqir relates that his noble grandfather suffered over 320 wounds from lances, swords and arrows.
But it did not end there. Imam Baqir witnessed Bibi Zainab, his aunts, sisters and other female relatives — members of the household of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) — treated as prisoners of war by the Umayyad army and held in unspeakable conditions. Moreover, his father Imam Zain al-Abidin, also known as Sajjad, was made to march in fetters in the scorching deserts of Iraq and Syria.
Yet what is truly remarkable is that even after experiencing such harrowing circumstances, which would have broken even the hardiest of individuals, when Imam Baqir reached adulthood, he played a vital role in rebuilding the Islamic edifice after it had been severely battered by the Umayyads.
After Karbala there were severe restrictions imposed by the state on members of the Ahlul Bayt. Imam Sajjad started rebuilding the infrastructure of Islamic learning in highly testing times, through his duas and remembering the tragedy that befell his family on Ashura.
After Imam Sajjad, Imam Baqir built on this foundation and using the mosque of the Holy Prophet as his base, restarted the process of propagating Islamic sciences in the manner of his great-grandfather Hazrat Ali. This was all the more important as the Umayyads — preoccupied with the expansion of their empire and tribal politics — were little concerned about matters of learning and spirituality, and there was no one, other than members of the Ahlul Bayt, to fill the void.
The impact of Imam Baqir on Islamic learning can be gauged by the fact that his title means ‘opener’, pointing to the fact that he opened and spread knowledge at a time when Islamic society was slipping back into the ways of ignorance. While Damascus served as a hive of imperial politics and intrigue, Madina al-Munawwara, under Imam Baqir’s guidance, once again became the centre of learning.
Tafsir, hadith and all other branches of knowledge thrived in Madina as men of learning flocked to Imam Baqir in order to quench their thirst. In fact even the Umayyad emirs turned to the Imam when unable to answer the great philosophical questions of the day. After Imam Baqir, his son Imam Jafar al-Sadiq would carry forward this stellar tradition of scholarship and piety, giving shape to modern Islamic theology as we know it.
In these times of adversity, when most of the globe is enveloped in crises of different kinds — political, economic, security and health-related — the inspiring personality of Imam Baqir offers a fine exemplar.
After Karbala Islamic society was at its lowest ebb, while at a tender age Imam Baqir suffered an immense personal loss. However, instead of withdrawing from the world this noble soul used his God-given knowledge and his strength of character to revive the ummah, all the while keeping alive the tragedy his family underwent so that revisionists were unable to twist the facts.
Imam Baqir’s life teaches us that in the face of great adversity, those who rely on Allah and the way of His Prophet stand their ground and illuminate new paths for the benefit of mankind.
The writer is a member of staff.
Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2020
https://www.dawn.com/news/1577122/witness-to-karbala
TODAY'S PAPER | AUGUST 31, 2020
Witness to Karbala
Qasim A. Moini 30 Aug 2020
ON the burning sands of Karbala 14 centuries ago, mankind’s noblest characters — represented by Imam Hussain, his family members and loyal companions — and its absolute worst, in the shape of the Umayyad imperial horde, were on display.
From the Hussaini camp, there are numerous shining examples that personify courage, magnanimity and steadfastness in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Leading this list is Imam Hussain himself, who bravely took on the tyrant of his day to save the very foundation of Islam. Moreover, Bibi Zainab’s stirring khutbas (sermons) in the courts of Kufa and Damascus shook the throne of Yazid, while Imam Zain al-Abidin’s eloquence and patience in the face of calamity has few parallels in history.
Yet another sublime example emerges from this venerable camp: that of Imam Muhammad bin Ali al-Baqir, grandson of Imam Hussain and son of Imam Zain al-Abidin. While Imam Baqir was a minor on the day of Ashura, he was a key witness to this massacre, and played an instrumental role in preserving and rebuilding the Islamic edifice after the martyrdom of his grandfather and other family members on the plains of Iraq.
As recorded by late Iraqi scholar Shaikh Baqir Sharif al-Qarashi, quoting ninth-century historian Yaqubi, Imam Baqir remembers Karbala thus: “My grandfather was killed while I was four years of age. Indeed, I remember his murder and what hit us during that time.”
From the Husaini camp, there are numerous shining examples.
As a child, Imam Baqir was an eyewitness to events that still shake anyone with a conscience centuries after the fact. Foremost of these was the brutal slaying of Imam Hussain. As mentioned by renowned muhaddith (traditionalist) Shaikh Abbas Qummi in Nafasul Mahmum — one of the most authentic accounts of the Karbala tragedy — Imam Baqir relates that his noble grandfather suffered over 320 wounds from lances, swords and arrows.
But it did not end there. Imam Baqir witnessed Bibi Zainab, his aunts, sisters and other female relatives — members of the household of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) — treated as prisoners of war by the Umayyad army and held in unspeakable conditions. Moreover, his father Imam Zain al-Abidin, also known as Sajjad, was made to march in fetters in the scorching deserts of Iraq and Syria.
Yet what is truly remarkable is that even after experiencing such harrowing circumstances, which would have broken even the hardiest of individuals, when Imam Baqir reached adulthood, he played a vital role in rebuilding the Islamic edifice after it had been severely battered by the Umayyads.
After Karbala there were severe restrictions imposed by the state on members of the Ahlul Bayt. Imam Sajjad started rebuilding the infrastructure of Islamic learning in highly testing times, through his duas and remembering the tragedy that befell his family on Ashura.
After Imam Sajjad, Imam Baqir built on this foundation and using the mosque of the Holy Prophet as his base, restarted the process of propagating Islamic sciences in the manner of his great-grandfather Hazrat Ali. This was all the more important as the Umayyads — preoccupied with the expansion of their empire and tribal politics — were little concerned about matters of learning and spirituality, and there was no one, other than members of the Ahlul Bayt, to fill the void.
The impact of Imam Baqir on Islamic learning can be gauged by the fact that his title means ‘opener’, pointing to the fact that he opened and spread knowledge at a time when Islamic society was slipping back into the ways of ignorance. While Damascus served as a hive of imperial politics and intrigue, Madina al-Munawwara, under Imam Baqir’s guidance, once again became the centre of learning.
Tafsir, hadith and all other branches of knowledge thrived in Madina as men of learning flocked to Imam Baqir in order to quench their thirst. In fact even the Umayyad emirs turned to the Imam when unable to answer the great philosophical questions of the day. After Imam Baqir, his son Imam Jafar al-Sadiq would carry forward this stellar tradition of scholarship and piety, giving shape to modern Islamic theology as we know it.
In these times of adversity, when most of the globe is enveloped in crises of different kinds — political, economic, security and health-related — the inspiring personality of Imam Baqir offers a fine exemplar.
After Karbala Islamic society was at its lowest ebb, while at a tender age Imam Baqir suffered an immense personal loss. However, instead of withdrawing from the world this noble soul used his God-given knowledge and his strength of character to revive the ummah, all the while keeping alive the tragedy his family underwent so that revisionists were unable to twist the facts.
Imam Baqir’s life teaches us that in the face of great adversity, those who rely on Allah and the way of His Prophet stand their ground and illuminate new paths for the benefit of mankind.
The writer is a member of staff.
Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2020
https://www.dawn.com/news/1577122/witness-to-karbala
TODAY'S PAPER | AUGUST 31, 2020
LITERATURE: AN ELEGY ON KARBALA
Peerzada Salman 30 Aug 2020
The tragedy of Karbala has brought into being a formidable and impressive body of work in Urdu literature. This is understandable: it’s a rare episode in the history of humankind, where the battle between the righteous and the usurper was unimaginably disproportionate. Imam Husain, grandson of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), went into the battlefield with his 72 companions, including women and children of his family, against the Ummayad ruler Yazid’s much larger army. The bravery displayed by the Imam and those who accompanied him, ever since, has become a veritable symbol of sacrifice in pursuit of a just cause.
Distinguished poets Mir Anees (d 1874) and Mirza Dabeer (d 1875) turned the genre of marsiya (elegy) writing into an art form second to none. The marsiya is a long poem penned to mourn the martyrs of Karbala. Anees and Dabeer, with their exceptional command over the Urdu language, had a matchless ability to create imageries that enable the readers to both read and see what transpired on the battleground, clear as day, filling their hearts with immeasurable sadness. Their narration is a continual revisiting of the incident[?].
In the latter half of the 20th century, with his unsullied diction and a contemporary sensibility, Iftikhar Arif took the metaphor of Karbala to a realm where its universality came to the fore with a tremendous creative force through his poems. The spiritual zeal and cerebral verve with which he has employed the tragedy in his poetry is beyond exemplary. And he is still at it.
Kahan ki jang kahaan ja ke sir hui hai keh ab
Tamaam aalam-i-khair-o-khabar Husain ka hai
[Look, where the battle began, where it ended The entire world of goodness and wisdom is now Husain’s]
This is what Arif has achieved with the metaphor: he has expanded its scope so that the universality of the subject is emphasised without losing its historicity. History is the recording of events that unfolded in the days of yore, but quality poetry imparts a contemporariness to it.
Arif’s looking back at the tragedy is inalienably attached to the condition of man — be it contemporary man or one from the past or even the one who will come in the future. Therefore, the reaction to tyranny in his verses is not confined simply to the days gone by; it is an ongoing act that keeps in mind, and gains strength from, the sacrifice of the Imam.
Of all contemporary Urdu poets, Iftikhar Arif has transformed the historicity of Imam Husain’s sacrifice at the battleground of Karbala into a universal metaphor for all times
The poem Aik Rukh (A Facet) illustrates this point convincingly. Without explicitly underlining the historicity of it all, it expresses the timelessness of the issue with great poetic grace.
Woh Furaat ke saahil par hon ya kisi aur kinaray par Saaray lashkar aik tarha ke hotay hain Saaray khanjar aik tarha ke hotay hain Ghorron ki taapon mein rondi hui roshni Darya se maqtal tak phaili hui roshni Jalay huay khaimon mein sehmi hui roshni Saaray manzar aik tarha ke hotay hain Aisay har manzar ke baad ik sannaata chhaa jata hai Yeh sannaata tabl-o-alam ki dehshat ko khaa jata hai Sannata faryad ki lei hai ehtijaj ka lehja hai Yeh koi aaj ki baat nahin hai bohat purana qissa hai Har qissay mein sabr ke taivar aik tarha ke hotay hain Woh Furaat ke saahil par hon ya kisi aur kinaray par Saaray lashkar aik tarha ke hotay hain
[Be they on the banks of the Euphrates or somewhere else All armies are the same All daggers are the same The light trampled by galloping horses The light spreading from the river to the killing grounds Or the trembling light in burnt out tents All images are the same After every such image silence falls upon everything This silence devours the terror of the powers that be This silence is the rhythm of prayers, the sound of protest And it’s nothing new, it’s an age-old tale The expression of resilience is the same in every tale Be they on the banks of the Euphrates or somewhere else All armies are the same] This universalization (aafaqiat) of the incident is significant to get to know Arif’s oeuvre as a poet. While he uses objects such as mashkeeza (waterskin), khanjar (dagger) and sina (spear) to highlight the period the tragedy of Karbala took place in, he doesn’t stay there; he sees it as a ceaseless struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness, between the pious and the unholy. The constancy is for all times.
Az azal ta ba abad saaray Yazidon ka hisaab Aik hi daftar-i-badnaam mein rakha gaya hai
[From the beginning till the end of time All Yazids will be held accountable with similar disdain]
Aligned with this thought, Arif doesn’t restrict the wisdom gleaned from Karbala as the domain of a particular group of men and women. This means, the poignancy of the experience is not to be felt by a certain sect of people alone or expressed only by a special bunch of creative souls — the experience can be written about, and will always be written, by anyone who understands what the stakes were that resulted in the tragedy at Karbala.
Apnay apnay zaavyay se, apnay apnay dhang se Aik aalam likh raha hai daastaan-i-Karbala
[With distinct perceptions, distinct styles Everyone is summoning the story of Karbala]
Since he is no ordinary versifier — in fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to claim that, among all living Urdu poets, Iftikhar Arif is head and shoulders above the rest — he instinctively knows the importance, in the literary domain, of coming up with the right combination of content and form, of what to say and how to communicate it to the audience. In the following two awe-inspiring lines, he encapsulates the upheaval on the battleground with an allusion to a celebrated event from the war — that of Imam Husain giving his followers the option to save their lives by abandoning him on the eve of the battle, without any remonstration:
Subh savairay rann parrna hai aur ghamsaan ka rann Raaton raat chala jaaey jis jis ko jaana hai
[There will be battle in the morning, and a fierce one at that Whoever wishes to go away, may leave in the darkness of night]
The late German scholar Annemarie Schimmel (d 2003) had much admiration for Arif’s devotional kalaam. Highlighting his recurrent theme of Karbala, she once wrote:
“The theme of suffering — suffering for a noble cause, suffering in the hope that a positive meaning will emerge — has been repeated throughout Islamic poetry for centuries; just as Husain and his family suffered on the waterless battlefield. This theme runs through a large part of recent Urdu poetry, particularly that of Iftikhar Arif. He is modern in his use of language but classical in the way he hides his burning concerns in allusions, symbols and metaphors, an art perfected by classical Persian and Urdu poets. It allows the poet to voice his deepest concerns, hopes and fears in a form that is not time-bound but valid for every time and expresses, as Ghalib once said, what is in everyone’s soul.”
The key phrase here is “everyone’s soul”, which is why many of Arif’s remarkable verses and couplets from his four published collections have now become part of our everyday use of language.
Published in Dawn, EOS, August 30th, 2020
https://www.dawn.com/news/1577083/liter ... on-karbala
LITERATURE: AN ELEGY ON KARBALA
Peerzada Salman 30 Aug 2020
The tragedy of Karbala has brought into being a formidable and impressive body of work in Urdu literature. This is understandable: it’s a rare episode in the history of humankind, where the battle between the righteous and the usurper was unimaginably disproportionate. Imam Husain, grandson of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), went into the battlefield with his 72 companions, including women and children of his family, against the Ummayad ruler Yazid’s much larger army. The bravery displayed by the Imam and those who accompanied him, ever since, has become a veritable symbol of sacrifice in pursuit of a just cause.
Distinguished poets Mir Anees (d 1874) and Mirza Dabeer (d 1875) turned the genre of marsiya (elegy) writing into an art form second to none. The marsiya is a long poem penned to mourn the martyrs of Karbala. Anees and Dabeer, with their exceptional command over the Urdu language, had a matchless ability to create imageries that enable the readers to both read and see what transpired on the battleground, clear as day, filling their hearts with immeasurable sadness. Their narration is a continual revisiting of the incident[?].
In the latter half of the 20th century, with his unsullied diction and a contemporary sensibility, Iftikhar Arif took the metaphor of Karbala to a realm where its universality came to the fore with a tremendous creative force through his poems. The spiritual zeal and cerebral verve with which he has employed the tragedy in his poetry is beyond exemplary. And he is still at it.
Kahan ki jang kahaan ja ke sir hui hai keh ab
Tamaam aalam-i-khair-o-khabar Husain ka hai
[Look, where the battle began, where it ended The entire world of goodness and wisdom is now Husain’s]
This is what Arif has achieved with the metaphor: he has expanded its scope so that the universality of the subject is emphasised without losing its historicity. History is the recording of events that unfolded in the days of yore, but quality poetry imparts a contemporariness to it.
Arif’s looking back at the tragedy is inalienably attached to the condition of man — be it contemporary man or one from the past or even the one who will come in the future. Therefore, the reaction to tyranny in his verses is not confined simply to the days gone by; it is an ongoing act that keeps in mind, and gains strength from, the sacrifice of the Imam.
Of all contemporary Urdu poets, Iftikhar Arif has transformed the historicity of Imam Husain’s sacrifice at the battleground of Karbala into a universal metaphor for all times
The poem Aik Rukh (A Facet) illustrates this point convincingly. Without explicitly underlining the historicity of it all, it expresses the timelessness of the issue with great poetic grace.
Woh Furaat ke saahil par hon ya kisi aur kinaray par Saaray lashkar aik tarha ke hotay hain Saaray khanjar aik tarha ke hotay hain Ghorron ki taapon mein rondi hui roshni Darya se maqtal tak phaili hui roshni Jalay huay khaimon mein sehmi hui roshni Saaray manzar aik tarha ke hotay hain Aisay har manzar ke baad ik sannaata chhaa jata hai Yeh sannaata tabl-o-alam ki dehshat ko khaa jata hai Sannata faryad ki lei hai ehtijaj ka lehja hai Yeh koi aaj ki baat nahin hai bohat purana qissa hai Har qissay mein sabr ke taivar aik tarha ke hotay hain Woh Furaat ke saahil par hon ya kisi aur kinaray par Saaray lashkar aik tarha ke hotay hain
[Be they on the banks of the Euphrates or somewhere else All armies are the same All daggers are the same The light trampled by galloping horses The light spreading from the river to the killing grounds Or the trembling light in burnt out tents All images are the same After every such image silence falls upon everything This silence devours the terror of the powers that be This silence is the rhythm of prayers, the sound of protest And it’s nothing new, it’s an age-old tale The expression of resilience is the same in every tale Be they on the banks of the Euphrates or somewhere else All armies are the same] This universalization (aafaqiat) of the incident is significant to get to know Arif’s oeuvre as a poet. While he uses objects such as mashkeeza (waterskin), khanjar (dagger) and sina (spear) to highlight the period the tragedy of Karbala took place in, he doesn’t stay there; he sees it as a ceaseless struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness, between the pious and the unholy. The constancy is for all times.
Az azal ta ba abad saaray Yazidon ka hisaab Aik hi daftar-i-badnaam mein rakha gaya hai
[From the beginning till the end of time All Yazids will be held accountable with similar disdain]
Aligned with this thought, Arif doesn’t restrict the wisdom gleaned from Karbala as the domain of a particular group of men and women. This means, the poignancy of the experience is not to be felt by a certain sect of people alone or expressed only by a special bunch of creative souls — the experience can be written about, and will always be written, by anyone who understands what the stakes were that resulted in the tragedy at Karbala.
Apnay apnay zaavyay se, apnay apnay dhang se Aik aalam likh raha hai daastaan-i-Karbala
[With distinct perceptions, distinct styles Everyone is summoning the story of Karbala]
Since he is no ordinary versifier — in fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to claim that, among all living Urdu poets, Iftikhar Arif is head and shoulders above the rest — he instinctively knows the importance, in the literary domain, of coming up with the right combination of content and form, of what to say and how to communicate it to the audience. In the following two awe-inspiring lines, he encapsulates the upheaval on the battleground with an allusion to a celebrated event from the war — that of Imam Husain giving his followers the option to save their lives by abandoning him on the eve of the battle, without any remonstration:
Subh savairay rann parrna hai aur ghamsaan ka rann Raaton raat chala jaaey jis jis ko jaana hai
[There will be battle in the morning, and a fierce one at that Whoever wishes to go away, may leave in the darkness of night]
The late German scholar Annemarie Schimmel (d 2003) had much admiration for Arif’s devotional kalaam. Highlighting his recurrent theme of Karbala, she once wrote:
“The theme of suffering — suffering for a noble cause, suffering in the hope that a positive meaning will emerge — has been repeated throughout Islamic poetry for centuries; just as Husain and his family suffered on the waterless battlefield. This theme runs through a large part of recent Urdu poetry, particularly that of Iftikhar Arif. He is modern in his use of language but classical in the way he hides his burning concerns in allusions, symbols and metaphors, an art perfected by classical Persian and Urdu poets. It allows the poet to voice his deepest concerns, hopes and fears in a form that is not time-bound but valid for every time and expresses, as Ghalib once said, what is in everyone’s soul.”
The key phrase here is “everyone’s soul”, which is why many of Arif’s remarkable verses and couplets from his four published collections have now become part of our everyday use of language.
Published in Dawn, EOS, August 30th, 2020
https://www.dawn.com/news/1577083/liter ... on-karbala
From Iraq, an Intimate Glimpse of the Religious Holiday of Arbaeen
Every year, millions of pilgrims descend on the central Iraqi city of Karbala to commemorate the Shiite holiday of Arbaeen, one of the largest organized gatherings in the world.
The walls of the Imam Abbas shrine in Iraq’s holy city of Karbala seemed to heave and sway with the boisterous, devoted crowd. By holding onto a rope, ushers partitioned a makeshift runway from one entrance of the mosque to another. This was the stage where a parade of religious men and women would perform latom, or ritual chest-beating, and other forms of ceremonial mourning.
The first group was understated: Dressed in black outfits that were deliberately muddied and torn, the group of Iraqi pilgrims beat their chests in unison. They cried out in grief — “Oh, Hussein!” they shouted, in reference to a 7th-century Islamic leader — so loudly that they cut through the music blaring from the speakers dragged behind them. The next group was younger and rowdier. In an explosion of chaotic energy, these young devotees struck at themselves and at each other with abandon.
This wasn’t a normal day at the Imam Abbas shrine. This was Arbaeen, and the shrine would see some 15 million visitors and thousands of religious performances pass through its red glow before the two-day event concluded.
Every year, millions of pilgrims descend on the central Iraqi city of Karbala, a usually quiet desert city, to commemorate the religious holiday of Arbaeen, one of the largest organized gatherings of people in the world. The events center on two adjacent mosques: the Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas shrines.
The event is a spectacular display of grief, mourning and religious ecstasy. It commemorates the death of one of Shiite Islam’s most important leaders, Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein is said to have died 1340 years ago in the dusty plains of Karbala. A grave was established to commemorate his death, and the city of Karbala, in what is now modern-day Iraq, slowly built around it over time.
In 2019, when a colleague told me the Imam Abbas shrine was inviting a small group of journalists to visit during Arbaeen, I jumped at the chance to go. The shrine was instrumental in organizing my stay in Karbala; they arranged my tourist visa and helped me negotiate travel both within Iraq and among the massive crowds in Karbala. (I paid my own travel expenses but was given a room at a modest hotel owned by the Imam Abbas shrine.)
My only moment of uncertainty came shortly before heading inside the Imam Abbas shrine. A group of clerics at the shrine queried whether it would be appropriate for me, a woman, to rove around and take photographs. After deliberating for 15 minutes, they permitted me to enter. It was hard to tell if I had fallen on the winning side of a religious debate, or if the rightly famous Iraqi sense of hospitality had simply won out.
Tradition holds that, in A.D. 680, Hussein and his followers were on their way to challenge the succession of Caliph Yazid, whom they saw as an illegitimate successor after the death of Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Yazid responded by sending a massive army to intercept Hussein, who continued to refuse allegiances with the Caliph. A battle ensued, and Hussein and all his followers were massacred. To this day, Hussein’s death is a defining drama of the Shiite faith and, in Christ-like fashion, remains powerfully resonant.
Nowhere is this more visible than in Karbala during Arbaeen.
Every year after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 — until 2020 — millions of pilgrims have traveled to Karbala, 60 miles southwest of the capital Baghdad. In the years of relative calm since 2010, the city of Karbala, together with its sister holy city of Najaf, the seat of Iraq’s pre-eminent Shiite clerical establishment, have become major centers of economic power and theological influence. This was unthinkable under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, when Shiite religious events were banned, and clerics were hounded from Iraq.
Last year saw the shrines at their peak. Once inside, pilgrims offered a religious and cultural demonstration to express their love for Imam Hussein, often through choreographed chanting and flag twirling, but sometimes through violent (and less choreographed) flagellation, like the intense display I witnessed on the first day. In either case, nearly everyone was in tears, grieving. An astonishing number of people passed out from the emotional intensity of the experience.
Many of the pilgrims within Iraq and from neighboring Iran make the journey by foot, trekking and camping for hundreds of miles along routes lined with stalls that dispense hot meals and encouragement. In recent years, Iraqis and Iranians have been joined by hundreds of thousands of religious tourists from a growing number of countries outside the Middle East, including the United Kingdom, Bosnia, Pakistan, Malaysia and Australia.
Most foreigners come as groups organized by Iraqi travel agencies specializing in pilgrim tours. Individual visas are by invitation from one of the city’s two shrines. But, in comparison to Hajj, a similarly significant pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, what makes Arbaeen unique is the fact that the shrines actively invite leaders and people of other faiths.
Of course, this year has proved to be anything but ordinary. Iraq’s religious tourism industry — which, until 2020, was the country’s largest non-oil economic sector — has been decimated. And for Arbaeen, which began on Oct. 7 and ended on Oct. 8, the government issued only a few thousand religious tourism visas. Clerical and health authorities are worried that continuing rites at the holy cities might become super-spreader events.
This year, as a result, Arbaeen was once again mostly for Iraqis.
Photos at:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/trav ... 778d3e6de3
Every year, millions of pilgrims descend on the central Iraqi city of Karbala to commemorate the Shiite holiday of Arbaeen, one of the largest organized gatherings in the world.
The walls of the Imam Abbas shrine in Iraq’s holy city of Karbala seemed to heave and sway with the boisterous, devoted crowd. By holding onto a rope, ushers partitioned a makeshift runway from one entrance of the mosque to another. This was the stage where a parade of religious men and women would perform latom, or ritual chest-beating, and other forms of ceremonial mourning.
The first group was understated: Dressed in black outfits that were deliberately muddied and torn, the group of Iraqi pilgrims beat their chests in unison. They cried out in grief — “Oh, Hussein!” they shouted, in reference to a 7th-century Islamic leader — so loudly that they cut through the music blaring from the speakers dragged behind them. The next group was younger and rowdier. In an explosion of chaotic energy, these young devotees struck at themselves and at each other with abandon.
This wasn’t a normal day at the Imam Abbas shrine. This was Arbaeen, and the shrine would see some 15 million visitors and thousands of religious performances pass through its red glow before the two-day event concluded.
Every year, millions of pilgrims descend on the central Iraqi city of Karbala, a usually quiet desert city, to commemorate the religious holiday of Arbaeen, one of the largest organized gatherings of people in the world. The events center on two adjacent mosques: the Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas shrines.
The event is a spectacular display of grief, mourning and religious ecstasy. It commemorates the death of one of Shiite Islam’s most important leaders, Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein is said to have died 1340 years ago in the dusty plains of Karbala. A grave was established to commemorate his death, and the city of Karbala, in what is now modern-day Iraq, slowly built around it over time.
In 2019, when a colleague told me the Imam Abbas shrine was inviting a small group of journalists to visit during Arbaeen, I jumped at the chance to go. The shrine was instrumental in organizing my stay in Karbala; they arranged my tourist visa and helped me negotiate travel both within Iraq and among the massive crowds in Karbala. (I paid my own travel expenses but was given a room at a modest hotel owned by the Imam Abbas shrine.)
My only moment of uncertainty came shortly before heading inside the Imam Abbas shrine. A group of clerics at the shrine queried whether it would be appropriate for me, a woman, to rove around and take photographs. After deliberating for 15 minutes, they permitted me to enter. It was hard to tell if I had fallen on the winning side of a religious debate, or if the rightly famous Iraqi sense of hospitality had simply won out.
Tradition holds that, in A.D. 680, Hussein and his followers were on their way to challenge the succession of Caliph Yazid, whom they saw as an illegitimate successor after the death of Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Yazid responded by sending a massive army to intercept Hussein, who continued to refuse allegiances with the Caliph. A battle ensued, and Hussein and all his followers were massacred. To this day, Hussein’s death is a defining drama of the Shiite faith and, in Christ-like fashion, remains powerfully resonant.
Nowhere is this more visible than in Karbala during Arbaeen.
Every year after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 — until 2020 — millions of pilgrims have traveled to Karbala, 60 miles southwest of the capital Baghdad. In the years of relative calm since 2010, the city of Karbala, together with its sister holy city of Najaf, the seat of Iraq’s pre-eminent Shiite clerical establishment, have become major centers of economic power and theological influence. This was unthinkable under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, when Shiite religious events were banned, and clerics were hounded from Iraq.
Last year saw the shrines at their peak. Once inside, pilgrims offered a religious and cultural demonstration to express their love for Imam Hussein, often through choreographed chanting and flag twirling, but sometimes through violent (and less choreographed) flagellation, like the intense display I witnessed on the first day. In either case, nearly everyone was in tears, grieving. An astonishing number of people passed out from the emotional intensity of the experience.
Many of the pilgrims within Iraq and from neighboring Iran make the journey by foot, trekking and camping for hundreds of miles along routes lined with stalls that dispense hot meals and encouragement. In recent years, Iraqis and Iranians have been joined by hundreds of thousands of religious tourists from a growing number of countries outside the Middle East, including the United Kingdom, Bosnia, Pakistan, Malaysia and Australia.
Most foreigners come as groups organized by Iraqi travel agencies specializing in pilgrim tours. Individual visas are by invitation from one of the city’s two shrines. But, in comparison to Hajj, a similarly significant pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, what makes Arbaeen unique is the fact that the shrines actively invite leaders and people of other faiths.
Of course, this year has proved to be anything but ordinary. Iraq’s religious tourism industry — which, until 2020, was the country’s largest non-oil economic sector — has been decimated. And for Arbaeen, which began on Oct. 7 and ended on Oct. 8, the government issued only a few thousand religious tourism visas. Clerical and health authorities are worried that continuing rites at the holy cities might become super-spreader events.
This year, as a result, Arbaeen was once again mostly for Iraqis.
Photos at:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/trav ... 778d3e6de3
The.Ismaili > USA > Lessons from Imam Husayn (a.s.) and Hazrat Bibi Zaynab (a.s.)
08 August 2021 | USA
Lessons from Imam Husayn (a.s.) and Hazrat Bibi Zaynab (a.s.)
The prayer hall of the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Centre, Khorog. The geometric Kufic script at the wall articulates the names of the Ahl al-Bayt, or House of the Prophet.
THE.ISMAILI
In the Islamic calendar, the month of Muharram is of particular significance for Shia Muslims. Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.s.) grandson, Imam Husayn (a.s.), and many family members and supporters gave their lives during the first ten days of this month on the fields of Karbala in Iraq, in 680 CE. It is a month during which we engage in self-reflection and refrain from celebrating any festivities during the first ten days out of respect for their sacrifice. What other lessons can we derive from their bravery and perseverance?
The inhabitants of Kufa had asked Imam Husayn to help them fend off the Umayyad Caliph Yazid’s tyranny and oppression. On his way to Kufa, however, he was forced to turn towards Karbala when he was confronted by a contingent of Yazid’s forces that would not let him proceed on his intended path. There, the Imam’s family and supporters learned that their supporters in Kufa had abandoned them. Trapped in the desert and cut off from water, the Imam gave his people the opportunity to escape in the darkness of the night. They chose instead to remain by his side, probably aware that they were massively outnumbered and had little chance of survival. 1
Imam Husayn and his followers fought courageously, sacrificing their lives for their cause.
After the battle, Imam Husayn’s sister, Hazrat Bibi Zaynab (a.s.), and other women and children of his household were taken prisoner and marched to Yazid’s court. In that moment, Bibi Zaynab chose to confront her oppressor, delivering a defiant speech:
O Yazid, do you believe that you have succeeded in closing the sky and the earth for us and that we have become your captives just because we have been brought before you in a row and that you have secured control over us?… Wait for a while. Do not be so joyful. Have you forgotten Allah’s saying: “The unbelievers should not carry the impression that the time allowed to them by us is good for them. Surely we give them time so that they may increase their evil deeds, and eventually they will be given insulting chastisement” [Qur’an 3:178]. 2
In Yazid’s court a Syrian man asked Yazid to give him Bibi Fatima bint Husayn (a.s.) as loot won in battle. 3 Bibi Fatima shuddered thinking about the fate that awaited her. With her niece holding on tight to her skirt, Bibi Zainab did not hesitate to intervene. She argued that Yazid did not have the authority to give away the young girl. When Yazid disagreed, she retorted: “You, a commander who has authority, are vilifying unjustly and oppress with your authority.” 4 Yazid went silent, and eventually asked the Syrian man to go away.
The actions of Imam Husayn, Bibi Zaynab, and those who fought alongside them carry significant lessons for us today. Even in extremely vulnerable positions—on the battlefield, outnumbered against a mighty enemy force, or in the case of Bibi Zaynab, as a prisoner facing a tyrant ruler—they continued to stand firm on their principles. They displayed the courage to protect those in need, regardless of the consequences they might have to face themselves.
As Bibi Zaynab’s speech reminds us, we always have a path to move forward, however dire the circumstances appear. Allah has made a promise that He will hold everyone accountable for their actions, and even though oppression and unjust practices might seem rampant, they will not go unchecked. It is incumbent upon us to follow our ethics and intervene through actions, words, or even prayers. As Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah An-Nisa, Ayat 135:
O you who believe! Be steadfast maintainers of justice, witnesses for God, though it be against yourselves, or your parents and kinsfolk, and whether it be someone rich or poor, for God is nearer unto both. 5
In this month of Muharram, let us reflect on our responsibility to uphold our values. Let us ask ourselves: how can we embody the ethics exhibited by Imam Husayn and Bibi Zaynab in our everyday lives?
1 Juan E. Campo, ed., Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd edition (New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009).
2 Muna Haeri Bilgrami, ed., The Victory of Truth: The Life of Zaynab Bint Ali (Karachi: Zahra Publications, 1986).
3 For more see Diane D'Souza, Partners of Zaynab: A Gendered Perspective of Shia Muslim Faith. (Columbia, SC: University of South Caroline Press, 2014).
4 I.K.A. Howard, The History of al-Tabari, Vol. 19: The Caliphate of Yazid b. Mu'awiyah (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1990), 378.
5 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, ed., The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary (New York: Harper One, 2015), 252.
https://the.ismaili/usa/our-community/l ... i-zaynab-0
08 August 2021 | USA
Lessons from Imam Husayn (a.s.) and Hazrat Bibi Zaynab (a.s.)
The prayer hall of the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Centre, Khorog. The geometric Kufic script at the wall articulates the names of the Ahl al-Bayt, or House of the Prophet.
THE.ISMAILI
In the Islamic calendar, the month of Muharram is of particular significance for Shia Muslims. Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.s.) grandson, Imam Husayn (a.s.), and many family members and supporters gave their lives during the first ten days of this month on the fields of Karbala in Iraq, in 680 CE. It is a month during which we engage in self-reflection and refrain from celebrating any festivities during the first ten days out of respect for their sacrifice. What other lessons can we derive from their bravery and perseverance?
The inhabitants of Kufa had asked Imam Husayn to help them fend off the Umayyad Caliph Yazid’s tyranny and oppression. On his way to Kufa, however, he was forced to turn towards Karbala when he was confronted by a contingent of Yazid’s forces that would not let him proceed on his intended path. There, the Imam’s family and supporters learned that their supporters in Kufa had abandoned them. Trapped in the desert and cut off from water, the Imam gave his people the opportunity to escape in the darkness of the night. They chose instead to remain by his side, probably aware that they were massively outnumbered and had little chance of survival. 1
Imam Husayn and his followers fought courageously, sacrificing their lives for their cause.
After the battle, Imam Husayn’s sister, Hazrat Bibi Zaynab (a.s.), and other women and children of his household were taken prisoner and marched to Yazid’s court. In that moment, Bibi Zaynab chose to confront her oppressor, delivering a defiant speech:
O Yazid, do you believe that you have succeeded in closing the sky and the earth for us and that we have become your captives just because we have been brought before you in a row and that you have secured control over us?… Wait for a while. Do not be so joyful. Have you forgotten Allah’s saying: “The unbelievers should not carry the impression that the time allowed to them by us is good for them. Surely we give them time so that they may increase their evil deeds, and eventually they will be given insulting chastisement” [Qur’an 3:178]. 2
In Yazid’s court a Syrian man asked Yazid to give him Bibi Fatima bint Husayn (a.s.) as loot won in battle. 3 Bibi Fatima shuddered thinking about the fate that awaited her. With her niece holding on tight to her skirt, Bibi Zainab did not hesitate to intervene. She argued that Yazid did not have the authority to give away the young girl. When Yazid disagreed, she retorted: “You, a commander who has authority, are vilifying unjustly and oppress with your authority.” 4 Yazid went silent, and eventually asked the Syrian man to go away.
The actions of Imam Husayn, Bibi Zaynab, and those who fought alongside them carry significant lessons for us today. Even in extremely vulnerable positions—on the battlefield, outnumbered against a mighty enemy force, or in the case of Bibi Zaynab, as a prisoner facing a tyrant ruler—they continued to stand firm on their principles. They displayed the courage to protect those in need, regardless of the consequences they might have to face themselves.
As Bibi Zaynab’s speech reminds us, we always have a path to move forward, however dire the circumstances appear. Allah has made a promise that He will hold everyone accountable for their actions, and even though oppression and unjust practices might seem rampant, they will not go unchecked. It is incumbent upon us to follow our ethics and intervene through actions, words, or even prayers. As Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah An-Nisa, Ayat 135:
O you who believe! Be steadfast maintainers of justice, witnesses for God, though it be against yourselves, or your parents and kinsfolk, and whether it be someone rich or poor, for God is nearer unto both. 5
In this month of Muharram, let us reflect on our responsibility to uphold our values. Let us ask ourselves: how can we embody the ethics exhibited by Imam Husayn and Bibi Zaynab in our everyday lives?
1 Juan E. Campo, ed., Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd edition (New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009).
2 Muna Haeri Bilgrami, ed., The Victory of Truth: The Life of Zaynab Bint Ali (Karachi: Zahra Publications, 1986).
3 For more see Diane D'Souza, Partners of Zaynab: A Gendered Perspective of Shia Muslim Faith. (Columbia, SC: University of South Caroline Press, 2014).
4 I.K.A. Howard, The History of al-Tabari, Vol. 19: The Caliphate of Yazid b. Mu'awiyah (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1990), 378.
5 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, ed., The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary (New York: Harper One, 2015), 252.
https://the.ismaili/usa/our-community/l ... i-zaynab-0
Inspiring Quotes of Imam Hussain
1. Aim of Imam Hussain Revolution
The aim of my revolution is to reform the society and revive the true teachings of Islam
(Tuhaf al-Uqul, p.243)
2. Being Free-spirited
If you don’t believe in any religion, at least be free-spirited and honest in your actions
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 45, P. 51)
3. Revolt against Tyranny
I never revolted in vain, as a rebel or as a tyrant; rather, I rose seeking reformation for the nation of Islam
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 44, P. 329)
4. Patience in the Journey toward What Is Right
On the Day of Ashura, he addressed his companions:
“Be patient, you noble ones. Death is only a bridge which takes you from misery and loss to the vast Paradise and the eternal graces”.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 44, P. 297)
5. Peacemaking and Preventing from War
O’ people! Listen to my words and don’t hasten to start a war, so that I clarify the reason behind my revolution
(al-Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Irshad, p.253)
6. Being a Just Leader
On the night of Ashura, he gathered his followers in his tent, put out the light and said:
“Beware that I give you permission to leave this place; there is no obligation on you anymore, and you can all leave.”
However, not even one of them left his side….
(al-Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Irshad, p. 250)
7. Being a Steadfast Seeker
Be steadfast and firm in the way toward what is right, even if your journey is full of pain and challenges.
(Usul al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 28
8. Preserving Human Dignity
Death with dignity is better than a life of abasement.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 44, P. 192)
9. Being Courageous
By God, I will never surrender to my enemies like a humiliated person and never pledge allegiance to them like slaves
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 45, P. 7)
10. Martyrdom for What is Right
To me, death for the sake of what is right, is nothing but happiness, and living under tyrants nothing but living in a hell
(Tuhaf-al- Uqoul, P. 245)
11. Importance of Praying
The most incapable person is the one who can’t pray.
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol.81, p.257)
12. Generosity
The most generous person is the one who gives to those who do not expect his help.
(Kashf al-ghumma, vol.2, p.30)
13. Competing in Good Deeds
Try to compete with one another in good deeds and hurry to seize the opportunities, and forget the good deeds that you haven’t hastened to do.
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol.57, p.121)
14. Being Religious
People are slaves of this world. Religion is just what they say. They use it as long as it provides them with their living. When they are tested, there remain only a few true religious ones.
(Tuhaf al-Uqul, p.245)
15. Worshiping Allah
If you worship Allah the way He deserves to be worshipped, He will fulfill all your wishes, and bless you much more than what you deserve.
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 68, p.184)
16. Helping Others
God will help the person who cares about other people’s needs, both in this world and the hereafter.
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol.75, p.121)
17. Having Faith in Allah
O’ Allah! What has gained the one who has not found You, and what has lost the one who has found You?
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol.95, p.226)
18. Don’t be an Oppressor
Avoid oppressing the one who does not have any supporter against you, other than the Almighty God.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 78, P. 118)
19. Allah’s Bounties
When Allah chooses to favor someone, makes him/her the source of satisfying other people's needs.
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol.74, p.205.)
20. Beware of Your Own Sins
Beware! Do not be among those who are concerned about the sins of others while neglectful of their own sins.
(al-Kafi, vol.8, p.49, Hadith #9)
21. A True Friend
One who reveals your faults to you like a mirror is your true friend, and one who flatters you and covers up your faults is your enemy.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 78, P. 128)
22. Satisfying People, while Disobeying Allah
Whoever seeks the satisfaction of people through disobedience of Allah; Then Allah subjects him to people.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 78, P. 126)
23. Follow the Truth
Wisdom will not be gained, unless through following the right path.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 78, P. 127)
24. Say Good Things
Say what you like to be said about you, in the absence of your fellow believer.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 75, P. 127)
25. Don’t Commit What is Wrong
Avoid doing things that would make you apologize; since a believer won’t commit a wrong action that would make him/her sorry.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 75, P. 120)
26. Actions should be done for Allah
If you lead your actions through committing sins and disobeying Allah, your intentions won’t be fulfilled and will be caught in what you fear most.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 75, P. 120)
27. Kindness and Faithfulness
Kindness elevates human beings, and faithfulness is the sign of decency.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 75, P. 122)
28. Extremism and Abject People
Extremism is like going down in a swamp, and keeping company with abject and corrupt ones will bring evil and misery for you.
(Kashf al-ghumma, vol.2, p.30)
29. Knowledge
Seeking knowledge will lead you toward wisdom and elevation.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 75, P. 128)
30. Visiting Relatives
Visiting relatives and keeping in touch with them will bring you a longer and more substantial life.
(Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Oyoun Akhbar Al-Ridha, vol.2, p.44)
31. The Most Generous
The most generous person is the one who forgives while in power.
(Kashf al-ghumma, vol.2, p.29)
32. Maintaining Family Ties
The best way of maintaining family ties is through visiting the ones who have cut ties with you and haven’t visited you for a while.
(Kashf al-ghumma, vol.2, p.29)
33. Helping Your Fellow in Religion
Whoever helps his/her fellow in religion for the sake of Allah, He will compensate for him/her and eliminate the hardships from his/her life. Also, whoever relieves a believer’s grief, Allah will free him/her of his/her pains and sufferings in this world and the other world.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 75, P. 121)
34. Trusting Others
Only trust those who believe in Allah and are afraid of His questioning on the Day of Judgement.
(Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Jameh al- Akhbar, p.97)
35. Paying the Debts
While on his way to Karbala, Imam Hussain (AS) said: “I cannot have whoever owes a debt in my company. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) used to say: ‘whoever dies while owing to other people, his/her good deeds will be void in the hereafter.’”
(Kalimat al-Imam al-Hussain (AS) (Words of Imam Hussain), p.417)
36. People’s Praise and Blame
Gain people’s praise with your efforts and successes, and do not expose yourself to people’s blames through laziness and lethargy.
(Kashf al-ghumma, vol.2, p.29)
1. Aim of Imam Hussain Revolution
The aim of my revolution is to reform the society and revive the true teachings of Islam
(Tuhaf al-Uqul, p.243)
2. Being Free-spirited
If you don’t believe in any religion, at least be free-spirited and honest in your actions
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 45, P. 51)
3. Revolt against Tyranny
I never revolted in vain, as a rebel or as a tyrant; rather, I rose seeking reformation for the nation of Islam
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 44, P. 329)
4. Patience in the Journey toward What Is Right
On the Day of Ashura, he addressed his companions:
“Be patient, you noble ones. Death is only a bridge which takes you from misery and loss to the vast Paradise and the eternal graces”.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 44, P. 297)
5. Peacemaking and Preventing from War
O’ people! Listen to my words and don’t hasten to start a war, so that I clarify the reason behind my revolution
(al-Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Irshad, p.253)
6. Being a Just Leader
On the night of Ashura, he gathered his followers in his tent, put out the light and said:
“Beware that I give you permission to leave this place; there is no obligation on you anymore, and you can all leave.”
However, not even one of them left his side….
(al-Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Irshad, p. 250)
7. Being a Steadfast Seeker
Be steadfast and firm in the way toward what is right, even if your journey is full of pain and challenges.
(Usul al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 28
8. Preserving Human Dignity
Death with dignity is better than a life of abasement.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 44, P. 192)
9. Being Courageous
By God, I will never surrender to my enemies like a humiliated person and never pledge allegiance to them like slaves
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 45, P. 7)
10. Martyrdom for What is Right
To me, death for the sake of what is right, is nothing but happiness, and living under tyrants nothing but living in a hell
(Tuhaf-al- Uqoul, P. 245)
11. Importance of Praying
The most incapable person is the one who can’t pray.
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol.81, p.257)
12. Generosity
The most generous person is the one who gives to those who do not expect his help.
(Kashf al-ghumma, vol.2, p.30)
13. Competing in Good Deeds
Try to compete with one another in good deeds and hurry to seize the opportunities, and forget the good deeds that you haven’t hastened to do.
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol.57, p.121)
14. Being Religious
People are slaves of this world. Religion is just what they say. They use it as long as it provides them with their living. When they are tested, there remain only a few true religious ones.
(Tuhaf al-Uqul, p.245)
15. Worshiping Allah
If you worship Allah the way He deserves to be worshipped, He will fulfill all your wishes, and bless you much more than what you deserve.
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 68, p.184)
16. Helping Others
God will help the person who cares about other people’s needs, both in this world and the hereafter.
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol.75, p.121)
17. Having Faith in Allah
O’ Allah! What has gained the one who has not found You, and what has lost the one who has found You?
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol.95, p.226)
18. Don’t be an Oppressor
Avoid oppressing the one who does not have any supporter against you, other than the Almighty God.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 78, P. 118)
19. Allah’s Bounties
When Allah chooses to favor someone, makes him/her the source of satisfying other people's needs.
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol.74, p.205.)
20. Beware of Your Own Sins
Beware! Do not be among those who are concerned about the sins of others while neglectful of their own sins.
(al-Kafi, vol.8, p.49, Hadith #9)
21. A True Friend
One who reveals your faults to you like a mirror is your true friend, and one who flatters you and covers up your faults is your enemy.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 78, P. 128)
22. Satisfying People, while Disobeying Allah
Whoever seeks the satisfaction of people through disobedience of Allah; Then Allah subjects him to people.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 78, P. 126)
23. Follow the Truth
Wisdom will not be gained, unless through following the right path.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 78, P. 127)
24. Say Good Things
Say what you like to be said about you, in the absence of your fellow believer.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 75, P. 127)
25. Don’t Commit What is Wrong
Avoid doing things that would make you apologize; since a believer won’t commit a wrong action that would make him/her sorry.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 75, P. 120)
26. Actions should be done for Allah
If you lead your actions through committing sins and disobeying Allah, your intentions won’t be fulfilled and will be caught in what you fear most.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 75, P. 120)
27. Kindness and Faithfulness
Kindness elevates human beings, and faithfulness is the sign of decency.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 75, P. 122)
28. Extremism and Abject People
Extremism is like going down in a swamp, and keeping company with abject and corrupt ones will bring evil and misery for you.
(Kashf al-ghumma, vol.2, p.30)
29. Knowledge
Seeking knowledge will lead you toward wisdom and elevation.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 75, P. 128)
30. Visiting Relatives
Visiting relatives and keeping in touch with them will bring you a longer and more substantial life.
(Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Oyoun Akhbar Al-Ridha, vol.2, p.44)
31. The Most Generous
The most generous person is the one who forgives while in power.
(Kashf al-ghumma, vol.2, p.29)
32. Maintaining Family Ties
The best way of maintaining family ties is through visiting the ones who have cut ties with you and haven’t visited you for a while.
(Kashf al-ghumma, vol.2, p.29)
33. Helping Your Fellow in Religion
Whoever helps his/her fellow in religion for the sake of Allah, He will compensate for him/her and eliminate the hardships from his/her life. Also, whoever relieves a believer’s grief, Allah will free him/her of his/her pains and sufferings in this world and the other world.
(Bihar-al- Anwar, Vol. 75, P. 121)
34. Trusting Others
Only trust those who believe in Allah and are afraid of His questioning on the Day of Judgement.
(Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Jameh al- Akhbar, p.97)
35. Paying the Debts
While on his way to Karbala, Imam Hussain (AS) said: “I cannot have whoever owes a debt in my company. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) used to say: ‘whoever dies while owing to other people, his/her good deeds will be void in the hereafter.’”
(Kalimat al-Imam al-Hussain (AS) (Words of Imam Hussain), p.417)
36. People’s Praise and Blame
Gain people’s praise with your efforts and successes, and do not expose yourself to people’s blames through laziness and lethargy.
(Kashf al-ghumma, vol.2, p.29)
The perfect man
Qasim A. Moini Published August 19, 2021
IN Islamic mysticism, Insan al-Kamil, or the perfect man, is a term used to denote the best of Allah’s creation, to be emulated by one and all in order to achieve spiritual growth, lift the veils of materialism and gain closeness to the Almighty.
The term — made famous by the Andalusian mystic of the classical age Ibn al-Arabi — applies most perfectly to the Holy Prophet (PBUH), while it has also been used to describe Hazrat Ali and Imam Husain. The Holy Quran testifies to the loftiness of the Noble Prophet’s character when it declares him the “best example” (Surah Ahzab).
On the other hand in his book Insan-i-Kamil, late Iranian philosopher and scholar Ustad Murtaza Muttahari, while describing Hazrat Ali, says that “he is a man in whom all human values have developed harmoniously”.
And just like the attributes of human perfection that manifested themselves so brightly in his grandfather, father, and brother Imam Hasan, Imam Husain also created a venerable example to emulate when he displayed the highest and loftiest of characteristics on the burning plains of Karbala on the day of Ashura in 61AH.
Imam Husain exemplified perfection in every sense of the word.
In Karbala, and indeed throughout his blessed life, Imam Husain demonstrated how, in the face of incredible adversity, the ‘perfect man’ rises to the occasion. Whether it was on the battlefield, on the prayer mat or on the pulpit, Imam Husain exemplified perfection in every sense of the word, battling the harshest of conditions with courage, valour and wisdom.
On the battlefield he was relentless, much the facsimile of his father Hazrat Ali, Asadollah al-Ghalib (the conquering lion of Allah). But with his family, especially with his children, Imam Husain was a tender, caring man who had a special bond with his young daughter Bibi Sukaina. These facets of his personality illustrate that while the ‘perfect man’ meets the challenges of the day with great courage, in his personal life he is a person of warmth and compassion.
Hadith literature is full of praise for Imam Husain, with the Holy Prophet saying “Husain is from me and I am from Husain”. Scholars have explained this hadith by saying that it is clear that Imam Husain is from the Prophet — being the younger son of his daughter Bibi Fatima Zehra. But the fact that the Prophet is ‘from’ Imam Husain is said to mean that had the Imam not taken his valiant stand at Karbala, the religion of the Prophet may have faced grave danger.
Regarding his steadfastness and bravery, the acclaimed traditionalist Shaikh Abbas Qummi writes in Nafasal Mahmum — one of the authentic accounts of the event of Karbala — that a witness to the battle says: “By Allah! I have seen none like him [Imam Husain], who having lost his sons, relatives and dear friends, and in spite of this, his heart [remains] powerful and serene, and feet firm upon the ground.”
At another place the Holy Prophet is quoted as saying that Husain “will inherit my generosity and valour” while another tradition terms the Imam “the lamp of guidance, the ark of salvation”. Suffice it to say, countless such examples from the Quran and hadith testify to the perfection of the Imam’s character.
And it is also a testimony to Imam Husain’s lofty character that throughout the ages, people, Muslim and non-Muslim, have been inspired by his matchless example. Even in the current age, when despondency and depression are common due to the prevailing global Covid-19 pandemic and its associated problems — economic fragility, isolation, social distancing — Imam Husain’s struggle lights the way forward.
When one ponders over the tragedies that befell Imam Husain, his family members and friends on the day of Ashura, our sufferings seem miniscule. Here was the grandson of the Holy Prophet facing a bloodthirsty Umayyad horde that showed no mercy to either the women or children of the Hussaini camp. According to a tradition in Nafasal Mahmum, there were over 300 wounds on Imam Husain’s body by the time the battle of Karbala was over. But still at the time of his martyrdom this remarkable man bowed his head in submission to the Almighty.
The poet; the mystic; the revolutionary; the jurisprudent and the scholar all bear witness that Imam Husain is the ‘perfect man’. Moreover, it is the common man — inspired by the Imam’s brave stand and courage in the face of unspeakable adversity — that continues to mourn and praise Husain century after century.
Heroes are lionised by all cultures. But it takes the ‘perfect man’ to be remembered by nations across the world. That is why millions, in their own way, mourn Imam Husain across national and linguistic boundaries, with his sacrifice remembered by communities in Africa, Asia and wherever else Muslims have settled. Husain is beyond Arab and Ajam, Shia and Sunni, Muslim and non-Muslim. Husain is a hero for humanity.
The writer is a member of staff.
Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2021
https://www.dawn.com/news/1641485/the-perfect-
Qasim A. Moini Published August 19, 2021
IN Islamic mysticism, Insan al-Kamil, or the perfect man, is a term used to denote the best of Allah’s creation, to be emulated by one and all in order to achieve spiritual growth, lift the veils of materialism and gain closeness to the Almighty.
The term — made famous by the Andalusian mystic of the classical age Ibn al-Arabi — applies most perfectly to the Holy Prophet (PBUH), while it has also been used to describe Hazrat Ali and Imam Husain. The Holy Quran testifies to the loftiness of the Noble Prophet’s character when it declares him the “best example” (Surah Ahzab).
On the other hand in his book Insan-i-Kamil, late Iranian philosopher and scholar Ustad Murtaza Muttahari, while describing Hazrat Ali, says that “he is a man in whom all human values have developed harmoniously”.
And just like the attributes of human perfection that manifested themselves so brightly in his grandfather, father, and brother Imam Hasan, Imam Husain also created a venerable example to emulate when he displayed the highest and loftiest of characteristics on the burning plains of Karbala on the day of Ashura in 61AH.
Imam Husain exemplified perfection in every sense of the word.
In Karbala, and indeed throughout his blessed life, Imam Husain demonstrated how, in the face of incredible adversity, the ‘perfect man’ rises to the occasion. Whether it was on the battlefield, on the prayer mat or on the pulpit, Imam Husain exemplified perfection in every sense of the word, battling the harshest of conditions with courage, valour and wisdom.
On the battlefield he was relentless, much the facsimile of his father Hazrat Ali, Asadollah al-Ghalib (the conquering lion of Allah). But with his family, especially with his children, Imam Husain was a tender, caring man who had a special bond with his young daughter Bibi Sukaina. These facets of his personality illustrate that while the ‘perfect man’ meets the challenges of the day with great courage, in his personal life he is a person of warmth and compassion.
Hadith literature is full of praise for Imam Husain, with the Holy Prophet saying “Husain is from me and I am from Husain”. Scholars have explained this hadith by saying that it is clear that Imam Husain is from the Prophet — being the younger son of his daughter Bibi Fatima Zehra. But the fact that the Prophet is ‘from’ Imam Husain is said to mean that had the Imam not taken his valiant stand at Karbala, the religion of the Prophet may have faced grave danger.
Regarding his steadfastness and bravery, the acclaimed traditionalist Shaikh Abbas Qummi writes in Nafasal Mahmum — one of the authentic accounts of the event of Karbala — that a witness to the battle says: “By Allah! I have seen none like him [Imam Husain], who having lost his sons, relatives and dear friends, and in spite of this, his heart [remains] powerful and serene, and feet firm upon the ground.”
At another place the Holy Prophet is quoted as saying that Husain “will inherit my generosity and valour” while another tradition terms the Imam “the lamp of guidance, the ark of salvation”. Suffice it to say, countless such examples from the Quran and hadith testify to the perfection of the Imam’s character.
And it is also a testimony to Imam Husain’s lofty character that throughout the ages, people, Muslim and non-Muslim, have been inspired by his matchless example. Even in the current age, when despondency and depression are common due to the prevailing global Covid-19 pandemic and its associated problems — economic fragility, isolation, social distancing — Imam Husain’s struggle lights the way forward.
When one ponders over the tragedies that befell Imam Husain, his family members and friends on the day of Ashura, our sufferings seem miniscule. Here was the grandson of the Holy Prophet facing a bloodthirsty Umayyad horde that showed no mercy to either the women or children of the Hussaini camp. According to a tradition in Nafasal Mahmum, there were over 300 wounds on Imam Husain’s body by the time the battle of Karbala was over. But still at the time of his martyrdom this remarkable man bowed his head in submission to the Almighty.
The poet; the mystic; the revolutionary; the jurisprudent and the scholar all bear witness that Imam Husain is the ‘perfect man’. Moreover, it is the common man — inspired by the Imam’s brave stand and courage in the face of unspeakable adversity — that continues to mourn and praise Husain century after century.
Heroes are lionised by all cultures. But it takes the ‘perfect man’ to be remembered by nations across the world. That is why millions, in their own way, mourn Imam Husain across national and linguistic boundaries, with his sacrifice remembered by communities in Africa, Asia and wherever else Muslims have settled. Husain is beyond Arab and Ajam, Shia and Sunni, Muslim and non-Muslim. Husain is a hero for humanity.
The writer is a member of staff.
Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2021
https://www.dawn.com/news/1641485/the-perfect-
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mahebubchatur
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The battle of Karbala
An update and edited article with references by institute of Ismaili studies. https://www.iis.ac.uk/media/2vwhanum/hu ... 848748.pdf
“ Husayn cannot be viewed as simply a reckless rebel risking his & his family’s lives for his personal ambition…Like his father, he was firmly convinced that the family of the Prophet was divinely chosen to lead the community founded by Muhammad. (Madelung) ” Khalil Andhani https://twitter.com/khalilandani/status ... GNFn2o22_g
About Institute of Ismaili studies http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... 1818#71818
“ Husayn cannot be viewed as simply a reckless rebel risking his & his family’s lives for his personal ambition…Like his father, he was firmly convinced that the family of the Prophet was divinely chosen to lead the community founded by Muhammad. (Madelung) ” Khalil Andhani https://twitter.com/khalilandani/status ... GNFn2o22_g
About Institute of Ismaili studies http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... 1818#71818
Re: Month of Mohaaram and battle of Karbala
شاہ است حسین ؓ، بادشاہ است حسین ؓ
دین است حسین ؓ، دین پناہ است حسین
سرداد نداد، دست در دست یزید!
حقا کہ بنائے لا الہٰ است حسین
دین است حسین ؓ، دین پناہ است حسین
سرداد نداد، دست در دست یزید!
حقا کہ بنائے لا الہٰ است حسین
Re: Month of Mohaaram and battle of Karbala
It is a TRIBUTE TO IMAM HUSSAIN in Farsi by Khwaja Mueinuddin Chisti Ajmeeri in poetical form of RUBBAI (stanza of four lines).
Re: Month of Mohaaram and battle of Karbala
شاہ است حسین ؓ، بادشاہ است حسین ؓ
دین است حسین ؓ، دین پناہ است حسین
سرداد نداد، دست در دست یزید
حقا کہ بنائے لا الہٰ است حسین
SHAH AST HUSSAIN, BADSHAH AST HUSSAIN
DEEN AST HUSSAIN, DEEN PANAH AST HUSSAIN
SAR DAAD NA DAAD DAST, DAR DAST E YAZID
HAQQA KA BINAEY LA ILLAH AST HUSSAIN
Ruler is Hussain, King is Hussain
Faith is Hussain, Guardian of faith is Hussain
Offered his head but did not give his hand in hand of Yazid(refused his baiyat)
Indeed the foundation of La Illah (faith ) is Hussain
Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti Ajmeeri
دین است حسین ؓ، دین پناہ است حسین
سرداد نداد، دست در دست یزید
حقا کہ بنائے لا الہٰ است حسین
SHAH AST HUSSAIN, BADSHAH AST HUSSAIN
DEEN AST HUSSAIN, DEEN PANAH AST HUSSAIN
SAR DAAD NA DAAD DAST, DAR DAST E YAZID
HAQQA KA BINAEY LA ILLAH AST HUSSAIN
Ruler is Hussain, King is Hussain
Faith is Hussain, Guardian of faith is Hussain
Offered his head but did not give his hand in hand of Yazid(refused his baiyat)
Indeed the foundation of La Illah (faith ) is Hussain
Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti Ajmeeri
Devout Shiite Muslims are left covered in blood as they flagellate themselves and gash their heads with swords to mark h
Devout Shiite Muslims are left covered in blood as they flagellate themselves and gash their heads with swords to mark holy day of Ashura in Iraq and India
- GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: Shiite Muslims cut and whipped themselves as part of Ashura bloodletting
- Blood drenched their white robes and soaked the streets as part of the important religious festival
- The holy day commemorates the seventh century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein
Devout Shiite Muslims in the Middle East have flagellated themselves with chains and swords, leaving the streets soaked in blood as part of the holy day of Ashura.
In major cities across the region, believers commemorated the seventh century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein by drawing blood from their own bodies.
The ritual bloodletting carried out by men and boys is said to wash away sins and act as a symbol of mourning for Hussein who was killed along with his children at the battle of Karbala, south of Baghdad, in 680AD.
IRAQ: Shiite Muslims take part in the 'Tatbir' bloodletting ritual as an act of mourning marking Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein
INDIA: A man's back is torn to shreds as he repeatedly whips himself as part of the annual religious celebration for Shiite Muslims
LEBANON: Shiite Muslims bleed after gashing their foreheads during a religious procession to mark Ashura in Nabatieh
PAKISTAN: Shiite Muslims flagellate themselves during Ashura Day procession in Peshawar during the holy month of Muharram
Today, revellers paraded and beat their chests on one of the most important dates on the religious calendar, as symbols of Shiite piety and penitence blanketed cities.
Across India, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Afghanistan and other countries with Shiite populations, devotees saw their pristine white robes turn red as blood poured from their heads after cutting themselves with ceremonial knives.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people converge on Karbala, some 50 miles south of Baghdad, to observe the solemn holy day.
Shiites see Hussein and his descendants as the rightful heirs to the prophet.
Devotees saw their pristine white robes turn red as blood poured from their heads after cutting themselves with ceremonial knives
A boy slashes his back using blades attached to chains as onlookers wearing black stand around during the ritual
Shiite Muslims watch mourners flagellating themselves during a procession on the tenth day of Ashura during the Islamic month of Muharram in New Delhi
In the holy city of Najaf in Iraq, a man's head is bandaged after he drew blood with a sharp knife. Najaf is one of the spiritual capitals of Shiite Muslims
A supporter of Iraqi populist leader Moqtada al-Sadr gashes his head during a ceremony marking Ashura, the holiest day on the Shi'ite Muslim calendar
The ritual bloodletting carried out by men and boys is said to wash away sins and act as a symbol of mourning for Hussein
His killing at the hands of a rival Muslim faction embodies the rift between the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam and continues to shape the identity of the minority branch of Islam today.
The public rituals of Ashura often fuel sectarian tensions in places like Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan where Islam's two main sects both reside.
Security forces were on high alert for any violence, as Sunni extremist groups that consider the Shiites heretics have seized on the occasion to mount attacks in years past.
In Iraq, the powerful cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has used the emotional religious occasion to stir up support for his movement, deepening the country's inter-Shiite divisions.
Unable to form a government, Iraq descended further into political chaos last week when thousands of al-Sadr's supporters stormed and occupied the parliament building.
Hussein's killing at the hands of a rival Muslim faction embodies the rift between the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam and continues to shape the identity of the minority branch of Islam today
The public rituals of Ashura often fuel sectarian tensions in places like Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan where Islam's two main sects both reside
In Iraq (pictured), the powerful cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has used the emotional religious occasion to stir up support for his movement, deepening the country's inter-Shiite divisions
Hezbollah supporters shout slogans as they march during Ashura Day procession in the southern suburb of Beirut today
A young supporter of Shiite Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr takes part in the 'Tatbir' bloodletting ritual as an act of mourning
Thousands of Iraqi Shia Muslims gather to attend mourning procession marking the day of Ashura in Karbala
Their sit-in continues outside the assembly, making it impossible for lawmakers to convene and raising the spectre of civil strife.
In the Shiite-dominated Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, al-Sadr's portrait hangs from nearly every door.
'We inherited this from our fathers and grandfathers,' said participant Hamza Abdul-Jalil. 'God willing, we will continue on this path.'
In Lebanon, where Shiites make up about a third of the Mediterranean nation's 5 million people, processions shut down areas across the country and Beirut's biggest suburb in the south, the stronghold of the militant Hezbollah group.
Tens of thousands of men, women and children shrouded in black marched through the streets, waving yellow Hezbollah flags. The chants of mourners and thunder of men beating their chests echoed in the air.
'At your service, oh Hussein,' they cried.
A man dripping in blood applies a cut to another's head as religious believers gathered as part of the holy day
An Iraqi Shiite worshipper carries torches during a procession of Ashura day at Kifah district in central Baghdad
In major cities across the region, believers commemorated the seventh-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein by drawing blood from their own bodies
The celebration commemorates the seventh century killing of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... houra.html
- GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: Shiite Muslims cut and whipped themselves as part of Ashura bloodletting
- Blood drenched their white robes and soaked the streets as part of the important religious festival
- The holy day commemorates the seventh century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein
Devout Shiite Muslims in the Middle East have flagellated themselves with chains and swords, leaving the streets soaked in blood as part of the holy day of Ashura.
In major cities across the region, believers commemorated the seventh century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein by drawing blood from their own bodies.
The ritual bloodletting carried out by men and boys is said to wash away sins and act as a symbol of mourning for Hussein who was killed along with his children at the battle of Karbala, south of Baghdad, in 680AD.
IRAQ: Shiite Muslims take part in the 'Tatbir' bloodletting ritual as an act of mourning marking Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein
INDIA: A man's back is torn to shreds as he repeatedly whips himself as part of the annual religious celebration for Shiite Muslims
LEBANON: Shiite Muslims bleed after gashing their foreheads during a religious procession to mark Ashura in Nabatieh
PAKISTAN: Shiite Muslims flagellate themselves during Ashura Day procession in Peshawar during the holy month of Muharram
Today, revellers paraded and beat their chests on one of the most important dates on the religious calendar, as symbols of Shiite piety and penitence blanketed cities.
Across India, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Afghanistan and other countries with Shiite populations, devotees saw their pristine white robes turn red as blood poured from their heads after cutting themselves with ceremonial knives.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people converge on Karbala, some 50 miles south of Baghdad, to observe the solemn holy day.
Shiites see Hussein and his descendants as the rightful heirs to the prophet.
Devotees saw their pristine white robes turn red as blood poured from their heads after cutting themselves with ceremonial knives
A boy slashes his back using blades attached to chains as onlookers wearing black stand around during the ritual
Shiite Muslims watch mourners flagellating themselves during a procession on the tenth day of Ashura during the Islamic month of Muharram in New Delhi
In the holy city of Najaf in Iraq, a man's head is bandaged after he drew blood with a sharp knife. Najaf is one of the spiritual capitals of Shiite Muslims
A supporter of Iraqi populist leader Moqtada al-Sadr gashes his head during a ceremony marking Ashura, the holiest day on the Shi'ite Muslim calendar
The ritual bloodletting carried out by men and boys is said to wash away sins and act as a symbol of mourning for Hussein
His killing at the hands of a rival Muslim faction embodies the rift between the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam and continues to shape the identity of the minority branch of Islam today.
The public rituals of Ashura often fuel sectarian tensions in places like Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan where Islam's two main sects both reside.
Security forces were on high alert for any violence, as Sunni extremist groups that consider the Shiites heretics have seized on the occasion to mount attacks in years past.
In Iraq, the powerful cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has used the emotional religious occasion to stir up support for his movement, deepening the country's inter-Shiite divisions.
Unable to form a government, Iraq descended further into political chaos last week when thousands of al-Sadr's supporters stormed and occupied the parliament building.
Hussein's killing at the hands of a rival Muslim faction embodies the rift between the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam and continues to shape the identity of the minority branch of Islam today
The public rituals of Ashura often fuel sectarian tensions in places like Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan where Islam's two main sects both reside
In Iraq (pictured), the powerful cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has used the emotional religious occasion to stir up support for his movement, deepening the country's inter-Shiite divisions
Hezbollah supporters shout slogans as they march during Ashura Day procession in the southern suburb of Beirut today
A young supporter of Shiite Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr takes part in the 'Tatbir' bloodletting ritual as an act of mourning
Thousands of Iraqi Shia Muslims gather to attend mourning procession marking the day of Ashura in Karbala
Their sit-in continues outside the assembly, making it impossible for lawmakers to convene and raising the spectre of civil strife.
In the Shiite-dominated Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, al-Sadr's portrait hangs from nearly every door.
'We inherited this from our fathers and grandfathers,' said participant Hamza Abdul-Jalil. 'God willing, we will continue on this path.'
In Lebanon, where Shiites make up about a third of the Mediterranean nation's 5 million people, processions shut down areas across the country and Beirut's biggest suburb in the south, the stronghold of the militant Hezbollah group.
Tens of thousands of men, women and children shrouded in black marched through the streets, waving yellow Hezbollah flags. The chants of mourners and thunder of men beating their chests echoed in the air.
'At your service, oh Hussein,' they cried.
A man dripping in blood applies a cut to another's head as religious believers gathered as part of the holy day
An Iraqi Shiite worshipper carries torches during a procession of Ashura day at Kifah district in central Baghdad
In major cities across the region, believers commemorated the seventh-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein by drawing blood from their own bodies
The celebration commemorates the seventh century killing of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... houra.html
Re: Month of Mohaaram and battle of Karbala
"Devout Shiite Muslims in the Middle East have flagellated themselves with chains and swords, leaving the streets soaked in blood as part of the holy day of Ashura".
"In major cities across the region, believers commemorated the seventh century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein by drawing blood from their own bodies".
In my opinion instead of wasting precious blood by flagellating, better to donate blood in hospitals to save lives in the name of Imam Hussain.
"In major cities across the region, believers commemorated the seventh century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein by drawing blood from their own bodies".
In my opinion instead of wasting precious blood by flagellating, better to donate blood in hospitals to save lives in the name of Imam Hussain.
Re: Month of Mohaaram and battle of Karbala
AFP
Syria blast kills six ahead of Ashura: ministry
Thu, July 27, 2023 at 2:21 PM CDT
A bomb killed six people and wounded scores on Thursday when it exploded near the Sayeda Zeinab mausoleum in Damascus, Syria's most visited Shiite pilgrimage site, the authorities said.
The deadly blast south of the capital came ahead of the annual commemoration of Ashura, when Shiites remember the death of the Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, in a seventh century battle.
The interior ministry gave a death toll of six, state news agency SANA reported, revising an earlier death toll of five.
More than 20 people were wounded in the attack which the interior ministry said was caused when a motorcycle exploded near a taxi, calling it a "terrorist bombing".
Health Minister Hassan al-Ghobash visited the wounded in hospital, the ministry said.
A source at the nearby Al-Sadr hospital told AFP earlier that the facility had received 10 wounded after a car bombing near the shrine.
State television reported that the explosion was caused by a "bomb placed in a taxi by unidentified people".
"We heard a huge blast and people began to run," 39-year-old civil servant Ibrahim told AFP.
"Then ambulances arrived and security forces cordoned off the area."
He said the explosion took place "near a security building around 600 metres (yards) from the mausoleum of Sayeda Zeinab", granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed and the daughter of Imam Ali, a founding figure of Shiite Islam.
The authorities had tightened security measures around the mausoleum for the 10-day Ashura commemoration, the most important in Shiite Islam.
On Tuesday, an explosion in a car in the same area wounded two civilians, official media cited a security official as saying.
- Frequent targets -
Shiite shrines are a frequent target of attacks by Sunni Muslim extremists of the Islamic State group (IS), not only in Syria but also in neighbouring Iraq.
There has been no claim of responsibility for Thursday's Damascus attack.
The Sayeda Zeinab mausoleum was hit by several deadly bombings during the country's civil war that erupted in 2011.
Since then, the mosque complex with its turquoise ceramics and gold dome in the Iranian style has been defended by Shiite militiamen, mostly Lebanese and Iraqi, as well as by the army.
Attacks have nonetheless declined in recent years, with some of the security measures relaxed.
IS said it was behind a double suicide attack in February 2016, 400 meters from the mausoleum, that killed 134 people, including more than 90 civilians.
The group had also claimed a triple blast near the sanctuary several weeks earlier that took the lives of at least 70 people.
The war in Syria has claimed more than half a million lives and displaced millions.
It began with the brutal repression of protesters demonstrating against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Later it evolved into a complex conflict involving jihadists and foreign powers.
Ashura, on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharram, commemorates the shahadat of Imam Hussein at the battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq.
Shiite Muslims the world over view Hussein's death as a symbol of the struggle against injustice.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/sy ... 05392.html
Syria blast kills six ahead of Ashura: ministry
Thu, July 27, 2023 at 2:21 PM CDT
A bomb killed six people and wounded scores on Thursday when it exploded near the Sayeda Zeinab mausoleum in Damascus, Syria's most visited Shiite pilgrimage site, the authorities said.
The deadly blast south of the capital came ahead of the annual commemoration of Ashura, when Shiites remember the death of the Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, in a seventh century battle.
The interior ministry gave a death toll of six, state news agency SANA reported, revising an earlier death toll of five.
More than 20 people were wounded in the attack which the interior ministry said was caused when a motorcycle exploded near a taxi, calling it a "terrorist bombing".
Health Minister Hassan al-Ghobash visited the wounded in hospital, the ministry said.
A source at the nearby Al-Sadr hospital told AFP earlier that the facility had received 10 wounded after a car bombing near the shrine.
State television reported that the explosion was caused by a "bomb placed in a taxi by unidentified people".
"We heard a huge blast and people began to run," 39-year-old civil servant Ibrahim told AFP.
"Then ambulances arrived and security forces cordoned off the area."
He said the explosion took place "near a security building around 600 metres (yards) from the mausoleum of Sayeda Zeinab", granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed and the daughter of Imam Ali, a founding figure of Shiite Islam.
The authorities had tightened security measures around the mausoleum for the 10-day Ashura commemoration, the most important in Shiite Islam.
On Tuesday, an explosion in a car in the same area wounded two civilians, official media cited a security official as saying.
- Frequent targets -
Shiite shrines are a frequent target of attacks by Sunni Muslim extremists of the Islamic State group (IS), not only in Syria but also in neighbouring Iraq.
There has been no claim of responsibility for Thursday's Damascus attack.
The Sayeda Zeinab mausoleum was hit by several deadly bombings during the country's civil war that erupted in 2011.
Since then, the mosque complex with its turquoise ceramics and gold dome in the Iranian style has been defended by Shiite militiamen, mostly Lebanese and Iraqi, as well as by the army.
Attacks have nonetheless declined in recent years, with some of the security measures relaxed.
IS said it was behind a double suicide attack in February 2016, 400 meters from the mausoleum, that killed 134 people, including more than 90 civilians.
The group had also claimed a triple blast near the sanctuary several weeks earlier that took the lives of at least 70 people.
The war in Syria has claimed more than half a million lives and displaced millions.
It began with the brutal repression of protesters demonstrating against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Later it evolved into a complex conflict involving jihadists and foreign powers.
Ashura, on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharram, commemorates the shahadat of Imam Hussein at the battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq.
Shiite Muslims the world over view Hussein's death as a symbol of the struggle against injustice.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/sy ... 05392.html
Re: Month of Mohaaram and battle of Karbala
" I am Ya Ali, I am Imam Hussein. Whatever you want to ask, ask Us”
Aga Ali Shah (Aga Khan II) Farman on the day of his enthronement.
Aga Ali Shah (Aga Khan II) Farman on the day of his enthronement.
Re: Month of Mohaaram and battle of Karbala
AFP
Kashmir Shiites march to mourn martyr after 33-year ban lifted
Thu, July 27, 2023 at 4:27 AM CDT
Shiite Muslims march through Kashmir's largest city for a major Muharram religious festival allowed to proceed for the first time in 33 years (TAUSEEF MUSTAFA)
Thousands of Shiite Muslims marched through Indian-administered Kashmir's largest city Thursday for a major religious procession permitted in the restive territory for the first time since a ban was imposed decades ago.
The Islamic calendar is currently in the month of Muharram, the holiest time for Shiites across the world when large processions mark the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein in the seventh century.
But authorities in Kashmir had banned the traditional ceremony in 1990, the year after an armed revolt against Indian rule erupted in the disputed region that is also claimed by Pakistan.
Since imposing direct rule on the territory four years ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been eager to claim improved security in the territory after decades of unrest.
Top police officers and administrators walked alongside mourners who marched through the streets of Srinagar beating their chests and waving flags, following several rounds of negotiations between officials and clerics to allow the march to proceed.
"This is a dividend of peace," the city's top administrator Mohammad Aijaz told reporters after the procession concluded without incident.
Some small Muharram processions have been permitted in Kashmir since the 1990 ban but often ended violently, with mourners shouting slogans demanding independence and government forces dispersing crowds with tear gas and pellet-gun fire.
Shiite Muslims are a minority in mostly Sunni Kashmir but authorities believe they account for at least 10 percent of the region's population of nearly 14 million.
This year's procession was by far the largest in a generation and the first time many of those who joined were allowed to participate.
Authorities allowed the procession on condition that mourners would not use "anti-national slogans or propaganda" or display any references to rebel groups and "banned organizations".
- Decades of unrest -
Tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels have been killed in Kashmir since the outbreak of an insurgency against Indian rule in 1989.
Insurgent groups demand independence or a merger with Pakistan, which controls part of the region, and India has at least half a million troops permanently stationed around Kashmir to keep order.
Modi's government revoked the territory's constitutional guarantees of limited authority in 2019.
Indian tourists have since flocked to the region, cinema halls reopened in Srinagar last year after being shuttered for decades, and in May the city hosted a G20 meeting ahead of a September summit of world leaders in New Delhi.
But critics say that authorities have dramatically curtailed civil liberties in a clampdown on unrest, with ongoing restrictions on journalists, public protests and religious worship.
The region's chief cleric has been confined to house arrest since 2019 and prayers at Srinagar's main mosque remain subject to restrictions on congregation size.
Mansoor Abbas Ansari, a Shiite leader and one of the organizers of Thursday's procession, demanded the release of detained religious leaders and called for an end to the capping of congregations at prayer services.
"Only then will the government's claims of peace be proved," he told reporters.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/ka ... rn-martyr-
Kashmir Shiites march to mourn martyr after 33-year ban lifted
Thu, July 27, 2023 at 4:27 AM CDT
Shiite Muslims march through Kashmir's largest city for a major Muharram religious festival allowed to proceed for the first time in 33 years (TAUSEEF MUSTAFA)
Thousands of Shiite Muslims marched through Indian-administered Kashmir's largest city Thursday for a major religious procession permitted in the restive territory for the first time since a ban was imposed decades ago.
The Islamic calendar is currently in the month of Muharram, the holiest time for Shiites across the world when large processions mark the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein in the seventh century.
But authorities in Kashmir had banned the traditional ceremony in 1990, the year after an armed revolt against Indian rule erupted in the disputed region that is also claimed by Pakistan.
Since imposing direct rule on the territory four years ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been eager to claim improved security in the territory after decades of unrest.
Top police officers and administrators walked alongside mourners who marched through the streets of Srinagar beating their chests and waving flags, following several rounds of negotiations between officials and clerics to allow the march to proceed.
"This is a dividend of peace," the city's top administrator Mohammad Aijaz told reporters after the procession concluded without incident.
Some small Muharram processions have been permitted in Kashmir since the 1990 ban but often ended violently, with mourners shouting slogans demanding independence and government forces dispersing crowds with tear gas and pellet-gun fire.
Shiite Muslims are a minority in mostly Sunni Kashmir but authorities believe they account for at least 10 percent of the region's population of nearly 14 million.
This year's procession was by far the largest in a generation and the first time many of those who joined were allowed to participate.
Authorities allowed the procession on condition that mourners would not use "anti-national slogans or propaganda" or display any references to rebel groups and "banned organizations".
- Decades of unrest -
Tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels have been killed in Kashmir since the outbreak of an insurgency against Indian rule in 1989.
Insurgent groups demand independence or a merger with Pakistan, which controls part of the region, and India has at least half a million troops permanently stationed around Kashmir to keep order.
Modi's government revoked the territory's constitutional guarantees of limited authority in 2019.
Indian tourists have since flocked to the region, cinema halls reopened in Srinagar last year after being shuttered for decades, and in May the city hosted a G20 meeting ahead of a September summit of world leaders in New Delhi.
But critics say that authorities have dramatically curtailed civil liberties in a clampdown on unrest, with ongoing restrictions on journalists, public protests and religious worship.
The region's chief cleric has been confined to house arrest since 2019 and prayers at Srinagar's main mosque remain subject to restrictions on congregation size.
Mansoor Abbas Ansari, a Shiite leader and one of the organizers of Thursday's procession, demanded the release of detained religious leaders and called for an end to the capping of congregations at prayer services.
"Only then will the government's claims of peace be proved," he told reporters.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/ka ... rn-martyr-
A Religious Ritual in Iran Becomes a New Form of Protest
Ashura, which mourns the killing of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson and celebrates Shiite identity, has long symbolized the fight against oppression. This year, its chants have been turned against the government.
Last month in Tehran a group of men commemorated Ashura, Shiite Islam’s most sacred ritual, showcased annually with great fanfare.
The large crowd of men congregated at the center of a mosque in the central city of Yazd, clad in black and beating their chests rhythmically in unison. They were commemorating Ashura, Shiite Islam’s most sacred ritual, showcased annually with great fanfare in Iran as a testament to the Shiite theocracy’s power and strength.
But this year Ashura looked different. The mourners who gathered in Yazd last month and in many other cities across Iran diverged unexpectedly from the script to target the clerical rulers of Iran, turning religious ballads into protest songs about the suffering of Iranians.
“For a city in ruins, for all of us held hostage, for the grieving mothers, for the tears of the marginalized,” the men sang, according to videos. “We are mourning thousands of innocent lives, we are ashamed of this raging fire. Oh rain, oh storm, come. They have set fire to our tent.”
In Kermanshah, a Kurdish city in western Iran, a religious vocalist known as a maddah stood on the street, microphone in hand, singing about officials “stealing and devouring” resources away from desolate people.
And in Dezful, a small conservative city in the southwest, a similar vocalist delivered a scathing sermon against the government as the crowd marched in a ritual procession.
“Oh, my country, do you know why I’m grieving? Their only concern is hijab. They don’t see the blood, the poverty. They are stealing the public’s money,” serenaded the vocalist, Ibrahim Nassrollahi. “Fathers are ashamed, mothers are suffering. I wish they would see our poverty.”
Instead of the traditional chant that describes an ancient tale of grief, the crowd shouted back: “Iran, Iran, Iran!”
A crowd of people, some dressed in black and others in gren. One man in a colorful turban in the cetner carries a dagger.
A re-enactment of the battle of Karbala in the seventh century was part of Ashura rituals in Tehran last month.
Men and women hold up their phones to record something they are watching out of frame.
Mourners dressed in black to watch the Ashura ritual in Tehran last month.
It was a surprising tone for the period of religious mourning known as Muharram, which lasts for a little over a month in Iran. This year it will end on Sept. 6, with another big public ritual called Arbaeen that is expected to also become a platform for protest.
Ashura, which marks the 10th day of the mourning period, grieves for Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who was beheaded in the year 680 in the battle of Karbala. Imam Hussein led an uprising against the succession of Islam’s new caliph, Yazid, on the basis that his rule was corruption and unjust, and in Karbala his small force was confronted by Yazid’s massive army and slaughtered.
For centuries Ashura has been more than just a religious ritual. From Iran, to Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and beyond, it has served as a celebration of Shiite Muslim identity. Even some secular people participate in its stylized rituals, ranging from street processions to theatrical re-enactments and food handouts organized by neighborhood committees.
Social and political movements in the Muslim world have long been fueled and inspired by the narrative of Ashura, of the oppressed rising up against an oppressor. In Iran during the 1979 revolution that toppled the monarchy, a huge protest on Ashura became a turning point against the Shah. During the country’s Green Movement in 2009, protesters, mostly young and upper middle class, took to the streets on Ashura to contest presidential election results.
Under Saddam Hussein’s rule, Iraqi Shiites were banned from publicly commemorating their mourning holidays. The Taliban government in Afghanistan recently announced a similar ban.
In previous years, maddahs in Iran occasionally delivered sermons with mild and indirect criticism of the government. This year, some of the ceremonies were the traditional grand spectacles and religious processions.
But the widespread and remarkable politicization of Ashura directly targeting the leaders of the Islamic Republic rattled the authorities, who warned that the protest tone was “making our enemies happy.” There were reports on social media of the brief detention of some of the leading vocalists and demands from the government that they tone down their rhetoric.
“The enemy had unpleasant dreams for Muharram this year,” Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili, Iran’s minister of Islamic guidance and culture, said on Monday. “They wanted to turn Muharram into the latest battlefield, but our people did not listen at all.”
But analysts said that instead of issuing fanciful denials, the government must reckon with the stark reality that opposition to it has now spread to some devoutly religious Iranians, who were once considered a loyal power base. The rebellion on display presents yet another challenge to the legitimacy of a theocracy that views itself as the global spiritual leader of Shiite Muslims.
A crowd of people in a large courtyard circle an ornate tomb. Some men are shirtless.
Shiite Muslims gathered around a replica of the tomb of Imam Hussain while beating their heads and chests in Tehran last month.
A large tent engulfed in flames in the middle of a street.
A tent was burned in Tehran last month as part of the re-enactment of the battle of Karbala.
Mohamad Ali Ahangaran, a conservative analyst of religion and the son of a prominent maddah who performs at government events, said in an interview from Tehran that many Iranians were using every opportunity, including Ashura, to voice their opposition to the status quo.
“This year we saw the religious sermons and songs become more protest-driven than previous years, targeting the way the leaders are governing Iran, the widespread corruption in the Islamic Republic, the political obstacles we face,” Mr. Ahangaran said.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly encouraged Muharram ceremonies to be more political and take sides, but he never envisioned that in doing so it would one day turn “against the entire leadership” of Iran, including himself, said Mr. Ahangaran.
Nearly a year ago, Iranians took to the streets in nationwide protests demanding an end to the clerical government. The uprising was set off by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, who had detained her on allegations of violating the mandatory hijab law. The government responded with violence, killing over 500 people, including children, arresting tens of thousands and executing seven protesters.
“We saw the story of Ashura unfold in the streets with our own eyes as they slaughtered our youth last year,” said Maryam, 55, a mother of two in Tehran, who asked that her last name not be used, fearing retribution. “As a religious person, I want to completely separate myself from any ceremony connected to the regime.”
Maryam said her mother hosted a mourning ceremony at home early this month for nearly 200 guests. She adorned the salon with black Ashura flags with Imam Hussein’s name and placed a picture of a killed protester next to each flag. “They are our new martyrs,” she said.
The 33-year-old son of a senior cleric in the religious city of Qom said that he was boycotting the Muharram ceremonies because of his opposition to the government and its violence. His relatives, he said, searched for ceremonies that either were not political or took on the regime. He also requested anonymity, fearing for his safety.
Some Iranians wore white, in defiance of the customary black attire, and trekked to cemeteries to pay homage to killed protesters. In the northern city of Amol, a religious marching band dressed in white went to the home of Ghazalleh Chelavi, 33, a female athlete shot in the head during protests last September, videos showed. Her mother wailed by the door.
In Yazd, the maddah led the crowd in singing a famous poem that honors protesters killed by governments: “From the blood of our country’s youth, tulips grow.”
Then, comparing the authorities in power to wheels, they continued, “Oh, wheel, how you have derailed, how you misbehave, how you take revenge. Oh, wheel, you have no religion and no principles.”
Ms. Amini’s mother posted a video on Instagram of her daughter’s grave illuminated by candlelight at night on Ashura. A woman’s voice could be heard singing the same poem.
People standing behind a police barricade. Two men in camouflage stand in front of it.
Police officers watched over the crowd gathered in Tehran last month during an Ashura ritual. Nearly a year ago, Iranians took to the streets in nationwide protests demanding an end to the clerical government.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/13/worl ... tests.html
Last month in Tehran a group of men commemorated Ashura, Shiite Islam’s most sacred ritual, showcased annually with great fanfare.
The large crowd of men congregated at the center of a mosque in the central city of Yazd, clad in black and beating their chests rhythmically in unison. They were commemorating Ashura, Shiite Islam’s most sacred ritual, showcased annually with great fanfare in Iran as a testament to the Shiite theocracy’s power and strength.
But this year Ashura looked different. The mourners who gathered in Yazd last month and in many other cities across Iran diverged unexpectedly from the script to target the clerical rulers of Iran, turning religious ballads into protest songs about the suffering of Iranians.
“For a city in ruins, for all of us held hostage, for the grieving mothers, for the tears of the marginalized,” the men sang, according to videos. “We are mourning thousands of innocent lives, we are ashamed of this raging fire. Oh rain, oh storm, come. They have set fire to our tent.”
In Kermanshah, a Kurdish city in western Iran, a religious vocalist known as a maddah stood on the street, microphone in hand, singing about officials “stealing and devouring” resources away from desolate people.
And in Dezful, a small conservative city in the southwest, a similar vocalist delivered a scathing sermon against the government as the crowd marched in a ritual procession.
“Oh, my country, do you know why I’m grieving? Their only concern is hijab. They don’t see the blood, the poverty. They are stealing the public’s money,” serenaded the vocalist, Ibrahim Nassrollahi. “Fathers are ashamed, mothers are suffering. I wish they would see our poverty.”
Instead of the traditional chant that describes an ancient tale of grief, the crowd shouted back: “Iran, Iran, Iran!”
A crowd of people, some dressed in black and others in gren. One man in a colorful turban in the cetner carries a dagger.
A re-enactment of the battle of Karbala in the seventh century was part of Ashura rituals in Tehran last month.
Men and women hold up their phones to record something they are watching out of frame.
Mourners dressed in black to watch the Ashura ritual in Tehran last month.
It was a surprising tone for the period of religious mourning known as Muharram, which lasts for a little over a month in Iran. This year it will end on Sept. 6, with another big public ritual called Arbaeen that is expected to also become a platform for protest.
Ashura, which marks the 10th day of the mourning period, grieves for Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who was beheaded in the year 680 in the battle of Karbala. Imam Hussein led an uprising against the succession of Islam’s new caliph, Yazid, on the basis that his rule was corruption and unjust, and in Karbala his small force was confronted by Yazid’s massive army and slaughtered.
For centuries Ashura has been more than just a religious ritual. From Iran, to Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and beyond, it has served as a celebration of Shiite Muslim identity. Even some secular people participate in its stylized rituals, ranging from street processions to theatrical re-enactments and food handouts organized by neighborhood committees.
Social and political movements in the Muslim world have long been fueled and inspired by the narrative of Ashura, of the oppressed rising up against an oppressor. In Iran during the 1979 revolution that toppled the monarchy, a huge protest on Ashura became a turning point against the Shah. During the country’s Green Movement in 2009, protesters, mostly young and upper middle class, took to the streets on Ashura to contest presidential election results.
Under Saddam Hussein’s rule, Iraqi Shiites were banned from publicly commemorating their mourning holidays. The Taliban government in Afghanistan recently announced a similar ban.
In previous years, maddahs in Iran occasionally delivered sermons with mild and indirect criticism of the government. This year, some of the ceremonies were the traditional grand spectacles and religious processions.
But the widespread and remarkable politicization of Ashura directly targeting the leaders of the Islamic Republic rattled the authorities, who warned that the protest tone was “making our enemies happy.” There were reports on social media of the brief detention of some of the leading vocalists and demands from the government that they tone down their rhetoric.
“The enemy had unpleasant dreams for Muharram this year,” Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili, Iran’s minister of Islamic guidance and culture, said on Monday. “They wanted to turn Muharram into the latest battlefield, but our people did not listen at all.”
But analysts said that instead of issuing fanciful denials, the government must reckon with the stark reality that opposition to it has now spread to some devoutly religious Iranians, who were once considered a loyal power base. The rebellion on display presents yet another challenge to the legitimacy of a theocracy that views itself as the global spiritual leader of Shiite Muslims.
A crowd of people in a large courtyard circle an ornate tomb. Some men are shirtless.
Shiite Muslims gathered around a replica of the tomb of Imam Hussain while beating their heads and chests in Tehran last month.
A large tent engulfed in flames in the middle of a street.
A tent was burned in Tehran last month as part of the re-enactment of the battle of Karbala.
Mohamad Ali Ahangaran, a conservative analyst of religion and the son of a prominent maddah who performs at government events, said in an interview from Tehran that many Iranians were using every opportunity, including Ashura, to voice their opposition to the status quo.
“This year we saw the religious sermons and songs become more protest-driven than previous years, targeting the way the leaders are governing Iran, the widespread corruption in the Islamic Republic, the political obstacles we face,” Mr. Ahangaran said.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly encouraged Muharram ceremonies to be more political and take sides, but he never envisioned that in doing so it would one day turn “against the entire leadership” of Iran, including himself, said Mr. Ahangaran.
Nearly a year ago, Iranians took to the streets in nationwide protests demanding an end to the clerical government. The uprising was set off by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, who had detained her on allegations of violating the mandatory hijab law. The government responded with violence, killing over 500 people, including children, arresting tens of thousands and executing seven protesters.
“We saw the story of Ashura unfold in the streets with our own eyes as they slaughtered our youth last year,” said Maryam, 55, a mother of two in Tehran, who asked that her last name not be used, fearing retribution. “As a religious person, I want to completely separate myself from any ceremony connected to the regime.”
Maryam said her mother hosted a mourning ceremony at home early this month for nearly 200 guests. She adorned the salon with black Ashura flags with Imam Hussein’s name and placed a picture of a killed protester next to each flag. “They are our new martyrs,” she said.
The 33-year-old son of a senior cleric in the religious city of Qom said that he was boycotting the Muharram ceremonies because of his opposition to the government and its violence. His relatives, he said, searched for ceremonies that either were not political or took on the regime. He also requested anonymity, fearing for his safety.
Some Iranians wore white, in defiance of the customary black attire, and trekked to cemeteries to pay homage to killed protesters. In the northern city of Amol, a religious marching band dressed in white went to the home of Ghazalleh Chelavi, 33, a female athlete shot in the head during protests last September, videos showed. Her mother wailed by the door.
In Yazd, the maddah led the crowd in singing a famous poem that honors protesters killed by governments: “From the blood of our country’s youth, tulips grow.”
Then, comparing the authorities in power to wheels, they continued, “Oh, wheel, how you have derailed, how you misbehave, how you take revenge. Oh, wheel, you have no religion and no principles.”
Ms. Amini’s mother posted a video on Instagram of her daughter’s grave illuminated by candlelight at night on Ashura. A woman’s voice could be heard singing the same poem.
People standing behind a police barricade. Two men in camouflage stand in front of it.
Police officers watched over the crowd gathered in Tehran last month during an Ashura ritual. Nearly a year ago, Iranians took to the streets in nationwide protests demanding an end to the clerical government.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/13/worl ... tests.html