Sunday, May 30, 2010

Ayyam-e-Aza: The First Ten Days

I am being forced to blog about this by a friend. Well not exactly forced, but she’s a pretty nice gal so I won’t turn down her ‘order’. :P

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What does the term Ayyam-e-Aza mean? ‘Ayyam’ stems from, and is the plural of, ‘Youm’ meaning ‘Day’ and ‘Aza’ means ‘Sorrow’. So meaning ‘Days of Sorrow’, it refers to the two months and eight days of mourning over Imam Husain’s (A.S.) martyrdom and the martyrdom and imprisonment of his family.

This post is a review of how I spent this years Ayyam-e-Aza.

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Upon sighting the moon of Muharram, I leave for my aunt’s house where I decorate my Azakhana with my cousins. An Azakhana is basically a collection of Alams [flag of Imam Husain's (A.S.) army] and other objects symbolising different aspects of the event of Karbala. My father got stuck at the naval academy in Bangladesh during the war of 1971 and my grandmother then made a ‘mannat’ that if my father returned safe and sound, she would decorate an Azakhana and hold majalis for the first ten days of Muharram every year. My father returned and then the process of decorating the Azakhana started. From my grandmother, it passed down to my father. I’m the next heir of this sacred practice. And it will continue in my lineage.

My AzakhanaMy Azakhana

I am a big Allama Dr. Syed Zameer Akhtar Naqvi fan, die-hard as people call it, and most of you know that by now. The reason being simple that he is the greatest scholar of his time and there is no one, absolutely no one, who can match his knowledge. And I’m not limiting him to the Shia sect. I’m talking about the whole goddamn world here.

As soon as Muharram starts, he always has three to four majalis to address everyday for the first ten days. This year I attended two everyday. One at Imam Bargah-e-Jama-e-Sibtain and the other at Imam Bargah-e-Chaharda Masumeen. Helped keep me busy, and I needed it.

Starting from the fourth of Muharram, there are Ziaraat everyday such as Alams, Taboots, Mehndi of Hazrat Qasim Ibne Hasan (A.S.), cradle of Hazrat Ali Asghar (A.S.), Zuljinnah, etc and I’m lucky to be among the few who decorate them and then carry them into the crowd.

Cradle of Hazrat Ali Asghar (A.S.)Cradle of Hazrat Ali Asghar (A.S.)

As usual, Allama Sahab’s majalis were awesome. And then the feeling of carrying the Ziarat into the rough crowd and pushing through thousands of swarming people is a joy in it’s own right. On the 7th of Muharram, I got a thumbtack in my foot and I was carrying a heavy Ziarat on my shoulders. It was a full minute before I managed to pull the damn thing out of my foot.

Allama Sahab’s horse, Sakhi Baadshah, whom we decorate into a Zuljinnah, gave me a kiss on the 9th and almost ate my finger in the process. The pain refused to subside for thirty minutes.

Sakhi Baadshah, the Shabeeh-e-ZuljinnahBaadshah

This year’s Taboot (shabeeh of the Janaza) of Imam Husain (A.S.) was a new one, and it was huge! More than five feet in height and 8 feet in length, it was carried around by six people, including yours truly. And by god, it was beautiful!

Taboot of Imam Husain (A.S.)Taboot of Imam Husain (A.S.)

Flower decoration on top of the Taboot of Imam Husain (A.S.)Flowers decorated on top of the Taboot

On Shab-e-Ashur, it is a popular practice to visit different Imambargahs and to light candles and agarbattis (incense sticks) there. I visited a few, then came back around four in the morning.

In the morning, I woke up at around eight to ‘undecorate’ the Azakhana as the women in the house bade Imam Husain (A.S.) farewell with Alvidai nauhas. Alvida Alvida, Ae Husain, Alvida! Hard to keep your tears inside.

Ashurah, although always special, held even more meaning for me as I finally did Zanjeerzani (knives wala matam) this year. It was cool!

My TokasMy Tokas :P

Back from the procession (juloos) after matam, I spent the whole day lying on my tummy, sleeping which is a haraam practice on Ashurah. Around four, I left for the Asr-e-Ashur majlis which coincides with the time Imam Husain (A.S.) was “slaughtered” by Shimr (L.A.). After that majlis I came back but left again for the Shaam-e-Ghariban majlis at the same place.

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I’m breaking this post up into parts otherwise it’ll be too long.

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Sayyida Zainab (sa): Date of Birth, Family members and Relationship, Hazrat Zainab Kubra (sa)
Hazrat Zainab (sa): Wedding with Abdullah ibn Jafar son of Jafar-e-Tayyar, Hazrat Zaynab (sa)
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Heroine of Karbala: Sayyeda Zainab (sa), Zaynab al-Kubra (sa), Bibi Zainab, Sayyida Zeinab (as)
External Links for Biography or Seerah of Zaynab bint Ali (sa), Sayeda Zainab al-Kubra (sa)
Victory of Truth: The Life of Zaynab bint Ali (sa), Hazrat Zainab daughter of Imam Ali (as)
Lady Zaynab, Peace be Upon Her, al-Sayyidah Zaynab (as) by Ansariyan Publications

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Hidden Imam: Al-Imam Al-Mahdi (May Allah hastens his gracious appearance), Twelve Imams
Allah's Caliph on Earth Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (p.b.u.h), Ya Sahib uz Zaman, Hidden Imam
Twelfth Imam, the living Hujjah, Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (pbuh): Minister and Pomegranate
Loader of the black stone, Imam al-Mahdi (a.t.f.s.), Our duties/responsibilities during occultation
Abu al-Adian al-Basry: Trusty of Imam al-Hasan al-Askary (pbuh) in Samarra in Iraq, Jafar bin Ali
First deputy of Imam al-Mahdi (as): Othman bin Sayid al-Omary, Imam al-Hasan al-Askary (as)
A Meeting with Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.), 12th Imam - Imam-e-Zamana (a.t.f.s.), Ahle Sunnah, Shia
Meeting of Ali bin Ibrahim Mahziyaar (r.a.) with Imam Mehdi (a.t.f.s.), Holy Ka'bah, Hajj, Ehraam
Imam Mehdi (a.t.f.s.) and Allamah Shaikh Hurr-e-Amili, Muqaddas Ardebeli, Shaikh Hilli (a.r.)
City of Birds in the light of a Hadith of Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), Hazrat Baqiyatallah
Baqiyatallah, Hazrat Imam Mahdi (aj) and Truthful Barber, Najaf-e-Ashraf, Masjid-e-Sahlah
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Imam al-Mahdi (as) Children Stories: How he guide us? Circumambulating (Tawaf) Holy Kaaba
Fourteenth Infallible: Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (as) Picture Gallery, Description and Sayings
External Links for Stories about 12th Imam: Imam Mahdi, Imam-e-Zamana, Imam Mehdi (as)
Life of Imam Al-Mahdi (A.J.), Al-Imam al-Mahdi, The Just Leader of Humanity, Book of Occultation
Discussions Concerning Al-Imam al-Mahdi, Just Leader of Humanity (May Allah hasten his return)
The Occultation of the Twelfth Al-Imam al-Mahdi (A Historical Background), Imam-e-Zamana (as)
The Awaited Savior of Humanity (Twelfth Al-Imam al-Mahdi in the Eyes of the Ahlul Bayt)
The Awaited Saviour, Baqiyatallah, Qaem-e-Ale Muhammad, Sahib uz Zaman, Imam Mehdi (as)
Mahdi in the Qur'an, According to Shi'ite Qur'an Commentators by N. Vasram and A. Toussi
The Awaited Savior, Imam al-Mahdi (as) Questions and Answers
Inquiry About Imam Al-Mahdi by Muhammad Baqir As-Sadr
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