Moharrum – Rana Safvi

Karbala ki Sher Dil Khatoon: Zainab Karbala’s Braveheart

ranasafvi — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 09:42:38 +0000

Yezid’s army celebrated the beheading of Hussain.

But was this their victory? Not as long as Zaynab was alive!
https://newsd.in/zaynab-karbalas-braveheart/

Back home: Jalali

ranasafvi — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 15:57:54 +0000

Back in my ancestral village ( it is actually a qasba now a nagar panchayat ) after 38 years. Time travel and it seems to stand still here.
We have come for the burial of my aunt. She of the caustic wit and jovial ways. Had lots of fun in this house where we gathered every Moharrum for Azadari.

May Allah grant jannat to Mrs Sagheera Zaidi.

Bachpan ki yaadein wabasta hain is chulhe se.

When Dada built the Imambara he was a young Deputy Collector .

He retired as member board of revenue with title of Khan Bahadur.

But in Jalali it’s still known as Deputy saheb ka Imambara

Perhaps because he was the first to reach a high govt position in a village of rich jagirdars.

this zarih would be older than me!

The mimbar where the maulana or zakir sits to recite the majlis in the imambara

My uncle Syed Haider Abbas Zaidi tells me :
The Zarih was presented by Late Nawab of Rampur to Khan Bahadur Syed Mohd Abbas Zaidi (Deputy Sahib) when he was Reve nue Minister in the Rampur State . The Alams are of pure silver were installed by him. The patkas are of pure zari work

Moharrum was a very important event in our lives and still is. Everyone goes to their villages for it. I go to my sasural now that’s why haven’t been here for so many years.

We stayed in these rooms on the roof. And it’s here that every ashoor we would do the amaal e ashoora recited by Dadi. So many memories come flooding in .

All of sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, Amma and Baba.

Dadi telling us about Imam Hussain. She was a mohibb e Hussain and would cry on just hearing the martyred Imam’s name. As children we loved to hear stories of Djinn Mamu peeping at Djinn waali masjid from our window

We visit it today

200 year old masjid

Now it’s fashionable to put chandeliers in homes but for me they r associated with imambaras

The imambara attached to the masjid, ready for Moharrum

In Jalali all matam was done to beat of these naqqaras. Miss that sound in cities

The haveli belinging to one of our relatives

When we went for majlis we would cross this Haveli and go through this chatta

Jalali was established by Jalaluddin Khilji in reign of Balban. A plaque on the Jama Masjid stating the fact.

Bet 1628-1658) descendants of Shah-e-Hamdan Ameer Kabir Sayyid Ali Hamdani, (our ancestors) came & settled in Jalali

Sayyid Kamaluddin Hamadani, was the first Sayyid to migrate and settle down in Jalali. He then got married to the daughter of Qazi of Jalali.

Jalali’s Jama Masjid

An important landmark in Jalali is the historic Jama Masjid that is taken care by Sayyids of Jalali. It was built by Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban and is over 700 years old. The masjid bears an inscription with the name of Balban dated 665 Hijri or 1267 AD.

Plaque from Balban’s era

The photograph of the mosque and its brief history along with the inscriptions of Sultan Balban, Mohammad Shah and Jalaluddin Akbar was published in the Archaeological Survey of India, 1936.

plaque from Akbar’s era

The mosque was renovated and rebuilt by Haji Syed Mehdi Ali of Jalali in 1901.

from Wiki

The original mosque had one dome.

Two more domes were built by Haji Mehdi Ali who also added a golden kalas on top of each. An account of the contributions of Haji Mehdi Ali is engraved in Persian on the marble stone which forms part of the middle arch of the mosque.

mimbar

In 1826, the arch in the middle of the mosque near mimbar was built by Sayyid Ahmed Hussain. An engraved stone just above the arch gives complete details.

( source Wikipedia)

the later additions and renovations recorded here

Aaj waqt kuchh tham sa gaya

Moharrum Terminology

ranasafvi — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 10:27:03 +0000

Explaining some Moharrum terminology for those who may not know

First of all many people wonder why Shias self flagellate every Moharrum.
The reason is that in 61 hijri after the martyrdom of Imam Hussain and the menfolk of his family including his 6 month old son there was oppression against them. They were denied kafans and burial. Their heads were cut off and impaled on spears to be taken to the royal court in Damascus
The family of Imam Hussain( except for one sick male surviving member – Imam Zainul Abidin, only women and children) was immediately imprisoned and made to march as prisoners to Damascus to the court of Yezid.
They were not allowed to weep their dead.
Today Shias compensate for that

Imambara : This is different from a mosque as prayers are not held here. Its used for gaTherings where the sacrifice of Imam Hussain is commemorated and talked about

Majlis : A congregation at an Imambara, which follows a fairly precise procedure, is called a #majlis

A #majlis follows a set pattern first
1. Sozkhani or the singing of marsiyas or elegies of unparalleled beauty set in classical raaga
The musical origin of #sozkhani was the Hindustani classical tradition of vocal music and its concept of ragas.
However, the singing was not accompanied by any instruments.
The elegies sung were poetic compositions devoted to the martyrdom of Hussain by some the finest poets that have lived in India &in Persia

2. Hadis : this is divided in 2 parts
1) fazail – general discussion on points of religion
2)sacrifice of Imam Hussain and his family

3. Nauha : This is followed by nauha or elegies set to music ( no instruments) which describe the martyrdom of Imam Hussain accompanied by matam

Matam : beating of chest in beat with the nauha. This is to express solidarity with the Sorrow of Imam Hussain’s family.

Alam : this is a symbol of Hazrat Abbas the commander in chief of Imam Hussain’s army. Its the army standard and he was the standard bearer.
He is also calked Abbas Alamdar

Zarih : every Imambara has this. Its a replica of the mausoleum of Imam Hussain Karbala. These are made of wood, brass, silver and gold and are permanently kept there

Taziya : These are again replicas of the mausoleum but are made of paper and bamboo and are buried on 10th Moharrum – ashoor