Muharram

Memories of the fiftees ..... the sun begins to set on the day of Ashura. Scores of miles-long processions of thousands of mourners that started early morning from Karachi's Nishtar Park 20km away now wind their way past the imambargah in Kharadar towards their culmination at the Iranian Hall...

..... here are a couple of nohas from fiftees recited by br Ahsan (from Karachi) during his 1999 Singapore visit:

mazloom e karbala khanjaro teero sina hai, aur tan e shabbir hai

...as darkness falls, the sound of nohas and matam on the streets recedes and we now hear Allama Rashid Turabi reciting majlis e shaame ghariban on the national radio. Here are his famous lectures on Sajda and Yaqeen:

...... this is followed by the most heart-rending of recitals: Ghabrayegi Zainab and Salaam e aakhir in the haunting voice of alhaj Nasir jehan:

It ends with:

If life permits, next year I shall again mourn this tragedy,
If I have passed on, then this is my last salaam.....

..... by this time, the streets that had been bustling with mourners and majalis and alams and nohas under bright lights for the last ten nights have suddenly become eerily silent and dark .... not a sound, not a soul around ... only a very haunting, frightening feeling deep within and tears rolling down the cheeks... crying silently for the children in burning tents of shaam e ghariban....

As soon as the moon of the month of Muharram is sighted, a deep transformation comes about in shias ….. off goes the TV , out come the black clothes and the conscience that prods us to do good deeds. And night after night, all roads seem to lead to the Imambargah and Hussainyeh, and you get to meet the whole community including those you may not have seen since the previous Muharram. The trigger is the remembrance of severe atrocities against Imam Husain (a.s.) , the grandson of the Prophet, and his family and companions for their refusal to allow the hijacking and distortion of Islam by the corrupt rulers. Lectures and majalis(gatherings) are held at several places in Singapore including the ones in Urdu, Malay and English organised by the Association and the Assembly.

Considering how we tend to forget over time all sorts of tragedies, including loss of our own loved ones, one can understand the bewilderment of the world at our intense mourning over an event that took place more than 1400 years ago in Karbala, Iraq in the month of Muharram. How is it, they ask, that the lapse of these centuries has done nothing to diminish even slightly the sense of deep sorrow that we feel during this month and the firm determination it revives in us to fight against oppression in general and corruption of islam in particular. Not easy to explain when it comes to the matters of the heart. Its partly to do perhaps with gratitude for someone who sacrifices everything for you . It was the noblest of ideals for which Imam Husain a.s. and his supporters laid down their lives on the scorching sands of Karbala in Iraq on the 10th of Muharrum ( the day of Ashura ). They had the option to save their lives and let Islam die. They chose death so that truth is separated from falsehood once and for all, so that the right way continues to be available as a choice for humanity for all times. And in the process they also explained in practical terms the meaning of true submission to the Will of Allah.

Our passion must also have to do with the love we feel for the pure and blessed household of the Prophet … beyond that, one may still wonder what forces are at work to produce such strong attraction, how did this love come to reside in hearts and permeate the souls, why does it not become stale with time, why these tears year after year at the very mention of the martyrs on the day of Ashura ? …. at this point, words cease to be of much help. All one can say, with utmost humility, is that if one has this love, one certainly knows it. And feels blessed. And feels the urge to share this treasure with the world. The feeling for truth seekers is that of having finally “arrived” .(one meets many non-muslims and non-shia muslims who have embraced Shia beliefs but rarely, if at all, does one come across any shia ithna asheris who have changed their beliefs).

And so, during the months of Muharram and Safar, and especially during the first ten days of Muharram, one finds shias all over the world heading in large numbers to participate in lectures/majalis ( gatherings). These are held at several places in Singapore in Urdu, Malay and English. Besides the mourning aspects, the majalis provide a unique opportunity to learn more about all aspects of Islam and the Holy Quraan. Unlike obligatory rituals, these gatherings comprise people who have come voluntarily and who are therefore very receptive and keen to learn. Thus, Imam Husain’s sacrifice also serves as a school that continues to help millions internalise the principles of Islam every year. It also fills our hearts with sympathy for the oppressed of our times, whoever and whereever they may be. And to the oppressors, including those who try to hijack our religion of peace and love and taint it with terrorism, it declares that, whatever the odds, truth always triumphs in the end.

A selection of video majalis recited in recent years during Muharram/Safar

Hajj Hasnain Rajabali Sheikh Kassamali

Maulana Raza Pasha:

Ustaz Mohd Rosli:

Syahadah of Imam Ali Zainal Abidin A.S

Maulana Zaki Baqri:

Sayed Mohammed Saleh Al-Qazwini:

Sheikh Muhammad Kassamali in Singapore - English Majalis Muharram 1430 (2009) - (audio - pl right click and use "Save Target As" to download)

Nohas - Singapore Imambargah 2008-2009

(audio - pl right click and use "Save Target As" to download)

Noha/marsiya re bibi Sakina