Annual 10 Days of Commemorations :  Dec 2010

Speaker: Moulana Syed Aftab Haider. Time: 8 pm at AFOSA, Ottery.

Reform and Revival are the major themes of Husayni Revolution

At Ahlul Bait Islamic Centre last night, following a recitation from the Holy Qur’an, Moulana Sayed Aftab Haider’s lecture was preceded by two short items. There were a poem of lamentation in honor of the martyrs of Karbala by Ammarah Muhammad, a student of Madrasatul Imam Husayn (AS) and a brief talk by Moulana Abdurahman Seagers, a scholar in our Shi’ah community who does a tremendous amount of work in the township of Mitchells Plain.

Moulana Sayed Aftab Haider began his discussion for the evening on “ Husayni Ideals in Karbala”. Moulana introduced the first of the ideals of Imam Husayn (AS) which he broadly referred to last night, namely that of “Islah” or “Reform”. Moulana referred to this ideal of reform as the “title of the story of Karbala” and the “subject of Imam Husayn’s revolution”.

Illustrating that reform was at the very core of Imam Husayn’s stance, Moulana cited a few passages from Imam’s letter to Muhammad bin al-Hanafiyyah which outline the reasons behind Imam marching to Karbala. He quoted sentences in which Imam clearly mentions reform as central to his movement. Moulana quoted the following famous sentence, “I did not come out to create chaos in the society or to seek power or to oppress people and propagate corruption. I came out with the only purpose of seeking reform in the Ummah (community) of my grandfather (SAWA)”.

Muharram Majalis (December 2010)

2nd Night of the annual Majalis of Imam Husayn (AS) and his followers at Karbala

by Hojjatul Islam Moulana Sayed Aftab Haider,

Ahlul Bait (AS) Islamic Centre, Ottery, Cape Town, South Africa

As is customary, this evening’s majlis commenced with the recitation of passages from the Holy Qur’an. This was followed by Hojjatul Islam Moulana Sayed Aftab Haider’s lecture. Moulana introduced the broad theme for his discussions for the upcoming nights, namely “the Husayni ideals in the movement of Karbala”.

Moulana began by referring to his talk of the previous night in which he underlined the philosophy behind crying for Imam Husayn (AS) and the martyrs of Karbala. He stated that this cry is not a cry of regret or loss, but is instead a cry of victory. After insisting that our tears for Imam Husayn represent both a protest against tyranny as well as an identification with the Imam’s values, Moulana asserted that the shedding of tears is the purest form of human emotion.

In this context, Moulana emphasized that the commemoration of the sacrifice of Imam Husayn is kept alive in its most emotional form in comparison to the demise or martyrdom of any of our blessed infallibles (AS). He added that the act of keeping the mourning ceremonies of Karbala alive over the centuries is not only a Shi’ah phenomenon. Moulana said that our respected Sunni brothers and sisters also share in this emphasis on mourning for the martyrs of Karbala. He cited a variety of ahadith which make reference to our beloved Prophet (SAWA) weeping for Imam Husayn. While stating that this emotional emphasis on Karbala is well-grounded in both Shi’ah and Sunni tradition, Moulana asked the audience what the reason could be for this emphasis in comparison to our mourning for the other infallibles (AS).

Alluding to the idea that this question will be answered throughout the upcoming nights, Moulana said that a major reason as to why Karbala is such a focal point is that the whole of Islam is manifested in Karbala. He added that humanity showed its true essence of diversity on the plains of Karbala. Moulana said that at Karbala we found people reaching amazing peaks of human virtue as well as those people who reached points lower than that of animals.

Elaborating further on this diversity in human capacity, Moulana spoke of the different types of people associated with Imam Husayn. These include “people of a true nature, who always stood with Imam Husayn”, “the people of potential, who needed to be called to Imam’s movement”, “people who were not at Karbala but repented for this by later rising up against Yazid”, and “those people who came after Karbala and have commemorated Imam Husayn’s sacrifice”.

Taking the audience back to the actual theme of his discussion, Moulana asserted that every principal of Islam is manifested at Karbala. He reminded the audience that he will shed light on these particular principals during the upcoming nights. Giving the audience an idea as to which principals will be discussed, Moulana pointed out that different people seek solace from Karbala in distinct ways. He said that the most radical social activists and the most passive mystics find their ideals in Imam Husayn (AS).

Moulana went on to introduce the three “Husayni ideals” of Karbala that will form the basis for his discussions. These are, the ideals associated with realizing God’s Oneness (Tawhid), Akhlaq (Morals and Ethics), and socio-political activism. Moulana assured the audience that he would most certainly expand upon elements from each of these ideals over the course of this year’s commemoration.

With regards to Tawhid he said that the connection between the intellect and love will be elaborated upon. In terms of Akhlaq, the immaculate interpersonal conduct of Imam Husayn and his followers, even with their enemies will be underlined. And with reference to socio-political activism, Moulana pointed out that Imam Husayn’s example seems to be most apparent. He said that this is the case because Imam Husayn separated Islam from an existing despotic political state by giving legitimacy to resistance against such a state.

Following his emphasis that Imam Husayn’s delivery of these ideals touches the human heart, Moulana concluded his lecture by delivering a moving account of a dialogue between Imam Husayn and his beloved sister, Sayyidah Zaynab (AS). This dialogue took place on the second day of Muharram upon their arrival at Karbala. Imam reminded his sister as to his fate at Karbala as predicted by their grandfather (SAWA).

The majlis ended with the recital and performance of ma’tam in honour of Imam Husayn (AS) and his followers.