Shias commemorate Imam Hussain's martyrdom

MUMBAI: Muharram, the first month of Islamic calendar began on December 7 and most Muslims, especially the Shias, are in mourning. Shia families have put all celebrations, like birthdays and weddings on hold till December 17, Ashura (the day of martyrdom of Imam Hussain, grandson of Prophet Mohammed). Some Shias have postponed all celebrations till the 40th day of the martyrdom of Hussain and his 72 companions at battle of Karbala (Iraq) in the 7th century.
"Forget about having parties and celebrations, Shias even avoid eating delicious food during this month.Men and women mostly wear black to commemorate one of the most tragic events in Islamic history," said Mohib Nasser of Mehfil-e-Mohibbane Panchtan, an organization formed in the memory of the Prophet, his daughter Fatima Zahra, son-in-law Hazrat Ali and grandsons Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain.
The Shia pockets in the city wear a sombre look with senior clerics delivering discourses on the significance of Hussain's tragic death at the hands of the army of Yazid, a debauch Ummayid caliph.
The Iranian Mosque, also known as the Mughal mosque, at Dongri sees Mumbai's largest congregation of Muharram mourners. And the chief speaker Maulana Mirza Athar who has delivered his annual Muharram lecture at the venue for the last 53 years is here again. "I didn't know I would continue my attachment with Mumbai for so long. The city loves me and I love the city," says the 75-year-old Mirza Athar, a revered Shia scholar from Lucknow. The scholar's unique feat may see him get an entry into the Limca Book of Records soon. "We have sent all the relevant documents to the Limca Book of Records as there is no one else in the world who has spoken at one venue annually without a break for the last 43 years. He was here even when he was ill," says Kausar Zaidi who has anchored the Mughal Masjid's Muharram programme for the last 22 years.
Though issue of terrorism normally features in his speeches, Mirza Athar is especially stressing on it this year as Muharram began on the day terror struck the holy ghats of Varanasi. "Those who killed an innocent child and injured many cannot be Muslims. They are the barbarians for whom Islam has only condemnation," says the scholar. "Islam never sanctions killing of the innocents and severest punishment awaits the perpetrators of the heinous crime, if not here, then hereafter."