Saturday, November 24, 2012

Hindus observe Muharram in Bihar village : Moharam means different things to different people.


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In a rare show of communal harmony, dozens of Hindu families in a Bihar village observed Muharram Monday to mourn the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed, and took out a ‘tazia’ (replica of Hussain’s shrine) in a procession.

“We observed Muharram and also took out a tazia procession along with the Muslims,” Lalan Choudhary, a resident of Thepha village in Siwan district, where the procession took place.
“It is an old tradition in our village that Hindu families observe Muharram,” he said.
His brother Ramayan Choudhary said that five tazias were built in the village for Muharram.
“Four tazias were built by the Muslims and one by the Hindus to prove that we also mourn martyrdom of Imam Hussain,” he said.
Sita Devi, a Hindu woman who observed a fast, said that in last one decade more Hindu families have been observing Muharram after one ‘miracle’ or another in their lives.
“We strongly feel that god blessed us for observing fast to mourn martyrdom of Imam Hussain,” she said.
Cleric of the village mosque, Shamshul Haque, said: “Hindus observing Muharram sends a message of peace, harmony and brotherhood to others.”
In this village, Muslims and Hindu families participate in each other’s religious functions

Muharram  is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year in which fighting is prohibited.Since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, Muharram moves from year to year when compared with the Gregorian calendar.

Muharram is so called because it is unlawful to fight during this month, the word is derived from the word haraam, meaning "sinful". It is held to be the most sacred of all the months, excluding Ramadan. Some Muslims fast during these days. The tenth day of Muharram is the Day of Ashura, which to Shia Muslims is part of the Mourning of Muharram.


What is Moharam?

Moharam means different things to different people.

Moharam is the new year.
Moharam means remembering the rebirrth of Islam cleansed by the blood of its martyrs, led by a single man called Hussain on the burning sands of Karbala.

Moharam is a page tattered and torn by Yazidiyat, a black page in the history of Imam.Some call this a political battle , yes the Caliphs in the name of Islam did vie for political power, a power they needed desperately , a power that Imam Hussain the grandson of the Holy Prophet did not need.

If he needed political supremacy than I think the Battle of Karbala was uncalled for he should have shook hands with Yazid and history would have been read differently.

Moharam is a month that brings forth all these thoughts , throws us back into time , our earliest childhood memories.

This is what seperates a Shia Child from the child of the majority community.
Moharam is memories that live and relive year after year.It has the brilliance not found in any other Muslim feast on the Calendar .

We remember Idd, our first Roza, we remember Bakra Idd the Bakra bought to the house for slaughter, but Moharam we remember through Bakra Idd too, because here to the slaughter is depicted vividly, and as we watch the butcher place the knife on the Goats throat, that has had its last drink of water, we remember Hussain and Shimr straddled above him decapitating his head , the same neck that was kissed many a times by the Holy Prophet and his daughter Princess Fatima..

Yes Moharam we can never forget it is embedded in our cosmic comciousness passed on from mother to daughter , father to son.Yes you have to be a Shia to understand our Pain, our immortal tears , for the outsider it is an event , but for us Shias Moharam is a state of Mind.Its a continuance of a Pledge.A pledge that is marked as Hussainiyat.

A Shia child from the day she is born or he is born is carried by the mother to the Majlis, Matam, and this grief becomes part of the childs Heritage.

Yes this is Moharam, its my grandaughters first Moharam, and I am shedding tears as I write this..This spontaneous shedding of tears of a grandfather is called Moharam.. and I can imagine what the Grandfather the Holy Prophet felt when he saw Hussain for the first time.. and when he looked at the snow white neck already silhouetted with the traces of blood.. Yes this is Moharam.

The Shias are a unique race and I am proud that my Grandfather a Sunni born accepted Ahle Bayth gave up his ancestry , his home his wealth.. my father too followed the tenets of his father , so did I and there is no looking back.

Yes this is Marziya Shakirs first Moharam.. 
We have come a very long way..and Karbala is not very far its waters drop and flow from the pitchers of our eyes.

Yes Ya Hussain two words that surmise the meaning of Moharam..
Ghame Hussain , the Tragedy of Karbala is our path that brings us closer to our Maker.

Shah ast Hussain, Baad Shah ast Hussain,
Deen ast Hussain, Deen Panah ast Hussain,
Sar dad na daad dast, dar daste Yazeed,
Haqqah ke binaaye La Ilaha ast Hussain!




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