Posts Tagged Kerbala

by Syed Salman Chishty

Shah Ast Hussain

Among the Belivers are Men ,who delivered their promise to Allah

(Ayah 23/ Surah Al-Ahzab)

On the 10th of Muharram, 61 after Hijrah (680 AD) Hz.Imam Hussain was martyred by the army of Yazid. This tragedy shook the Muslim world and continues to be remembered by those who love the Prophet (saw) and his family. The death of Hz.Imam Hussain , his struggle for truth, justice and the greatness of Islam is still remembered and commemorated today. (more…)

by Mozaffar

God’s wisdom is beyond comprehension.

The 10th of Muharram is simultaneously the most celebrated day in the Islamic Calendar, and simultaneously the most sorrowful day of the Islamic Calendar.

It celebrates the day that God saved the Prophet Moses — and his people from the clutches of the Pharaoh.

It mourns the day that God allowed the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad — and his people to be slaughtered by the clutches of Yazid. (more…)

Mir Anis is a classical master of Urdu poetry whose elegies on the struggles between Imam Hussain, prophet’s grandson and the usurper, callous monarch Yazid are immortal. Today is the 10th of Muharram signifying the epic Karbala battle and the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. The mourning for Hussain and his family is not complete without a reference to Anis and his peer Dabeer. Luckily I found a Marthiyaa of Anis, that has been translated into English David Matthews, published by Rupa Co. (more…)

10th Moharram is a day of mourning for all Muslims. The tragic incident at Kerbala where the righteous Hussain refused to submit to the autocracy of Yazid is an event laden with deep symbolism. Hazrat Imam Husain and his faithful companions preferred to die on the banks of river Euphrates and upheld the struggle of good against the evil.

Khawaja Muinuddin Chisty’s powerful verses epitomise the reverence and devotion of Muslims towards Imam Hussain:

Shah ast Hussain, Badshah ast Hussain

Deen ast Hussain, Deen Panah ast Hussain

Sardad na dad dast, dar dast-e-yazeed,

Haqaa key binaey La ila ast Hussain

Loosely translated

Ruler is Hussain, Emperor is Hussain,

Faith is Hussain , guardian of faith is Hussain .

Offered his head and not the hand to Yazid.

Truly, the mirror of faith is Hussain

As Adil Najam writes on All Things Pakistan:

Growing up in Pakistan, the night of Ashura was always defined for me by the Majlis i Shaam i Gharibaan (often by Allama Naseer ul Ijtihaadi) on PTV on the night of dasveen Muharram, which was followed immediately – and at right about midnight – by Syed Nasir Jahan’s soulful recitation of Salam-i-Akhir.

Bachay to aglay baras hum hain aur yeh gham phir hai

Jo chal basay tou yeh appna salam-i-akhir hai

His soulful voice, so pregnant with a deep and heartfelt pain, always echoes in my head when I read of continuing sectarian violence and the instigation of sectarian hatred.

However, the ugly face of sectarianism is now haunting the entire Islamic world. There have been deaths in Pakistan recently and I have forgotten the number of people dying each day in Iraq. Forgotten? Yes, it sadly increases by the day..

And the true spirit of this sacrifice by Prophet’s family gets clouded by politics and imperial projects.

And for the poor Iraqis, Kerbala is not an event from their distant past.