DUA KARAAVI AND IDENTITY

[kmaherali]

The following are my thoughts on Dua Karaavi and our identity. Please post your thoughts and insights on this.

DUA KARAAVI AND OUR IDENTITY

"The loss of our inheritance of cultural pluralism -- the identity it conveys to members of diverse societies, and the originality it represents and stimulates in all of them -- will impoverish our societies now and into the future. Sustaining this inheritance will require conscious and concerted effort involving the best minds and most creative institutions around the world".(HazarImam, Granada, Spain, Oct 1998).

Mowlana HazarImam in the above statements mentions the importance of sustaining the inheritance of cultural pluralism in our societies. One of the ways of achieving this in the context of our Jamat, is to interprete our traditions in terms of our own heriatge, history, philosophy and theology. I have read write-ups prepared by the Tariqah Board in which our traditions are interpreted in a general manner. For example, the Dua Karaavi ceremony which is so important in our tradition and which conveys so much about our identity as Shia Ismailis is simply interpreted as an act of asking for forgiveness from Allah. It is certainly not wrong to say that. However we miss out on the essential aspect of identity and originality that this ceremony conveys.

If it was just for forgiveness of our sins, then we can ask for forgiveness at any time and place. After all Allah is everywhere. For that matter we do not have to go to JK. However there is a significance in doing it in JK in the context of the relationship between a murid and the Mursheed. Not everybody can attend JK as stated by HazarImam at the foundation stone ceremony of the Ismaili Center, Dubai as:

"The congregational space incorporated within the Ismaili Centre belongs to the historic category of jamatkhana, an institutional category that also serves a number of sister Sunni and Shia communities, in their respective contexts, in many parts of the world. Here, it will be space reserved for traditions and practices specific to the Shia Ismaili tariqah of Islam".

By attending JamatKhana, one is making a statement about his/her identity, i.e., who he/she is, what are his/her beliefs, values and traditions. And performing the traditions and practices in it, serves to reinforce that identity. Our identity stems from the fact that we have done Bayat to HazarImam, who has accepted us as His murids and who will intercede for us on the Day of Judgement, i.e., He will perform our Shafaat. In the 4th part of our Dua we say "Those who give you allegiance, they give it but to Allah and Allah's hand is upon them". In this sense if Imam forgives Allah forgives.

When interpreting the Dua Karaavi ceremony, we should draw from the strength of our our diversity. In Syria they call it Mubayah which gives a sense of renewing Bayat. Therefore Dua Karaavi involves an expression of devotion to HazarImam by submitting a token of devotion (coin) which is derived from Ginanic tradition . It also represents the renewal of Bayat through holding the hand of Mukhi Saheb who represents HazarImam. And when we plead for forgiveness, we are doing it for shortcomings within the context of the performance of Bayat (i.e., Farman Bardari). It is also an expression of humility without which all the rest of the ritual performances are meaningless. Mukhi/kamadia Saheb in return gives his blessings on behalf of HazarImam for prosperity and happiness(Khanavadan) and prayer for the fulfilment of good wishes. Therefore Dua Karaavi serves to reinforce our identity as Shia Imami Muslims through the renewal of the bond between a murid and the Mursheed.

[Faria]

How true that is. I was in fact thinking about how I first and foremost identify myself as an Ismaili, before anything else. Can u share more on the role of Mukhi/Kamdia's.

[kmaherali]

How true that is. I was in fact thinking about how I first and foremost identify myself as an Ismaili, before anything else. Can u share more on the role of Mukhi/Kamdia's.

As MHI has said on many occasions, Mukhi/Kamadias are his representatives. Holding their hands is like holding MHI’s hand. In a worldly sense, seeking their assistance is as good as seeking MHI’s. I have heard of situations where Mukhis have made suggestions which have benefited others but not themselves. In other words, they were vehicles through which MHI guided his murids. Their blessings are as good as MHI’s. It all depends on the level of faith and attitude by which you approach them. It would be interesting to hear from those who have served under these capacities about their experiences in this role.

[kmaherali]

There are related threads at:

Dua Karaavi & Chhanta Ceremony - Who Forgives Sins?
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... highlight=

DUA KARAVI- PLEASE HELP!!!!
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... hlight=dua karaavi