Every year I used to shoot this sad event the ruthless murder of Imam Ali in a mosque celebrated as a painful memory by the Shias all over the world and in Mumbai at Zainabia in the wee hours of the morning of 21 Ramzan.
A replica of his coffin called the Taboot is placed in the hall and prayers duas are offered by the ladies and the gents.
Later there is short majlis once the majlis gets over the Taboot moves around the hall and exists out into the streets where hardcore zanjir matam kama matam and sword matam take place and a lot of anjumans groups participate with hand matam till the procession finally moves to the Iranian Moghul Majid where all this comes to an end.
This is a complete series at my Flickr photostream...like a story board of moving images of pain and sadness of the Shia community..
However I have stopped shooting Shia segments in Mumbai completely due to personal reasons and the hooliganism that exists among a few Shia youth of Mumbai..
I vowed never to participate in Moharam in Mumbai ..I shoot Moharam in other cities where there is humility decorum respect for azadars ..
Hazrat Ali ibn Abu Talib or Imam Ali cousin of the Holy Prophet was his son in law married to his daughter Princess Fatima and Hassan and Hussain were their offsrings ..
Hazrat Ali is considered to be the first Shia Imam of the Twelvers and the fourth Caliph..
THE MARTYRDOM OF IMAM ALI (A.S.)
mam Ali (A.S.) had prophesied his departure from this world several days before hand, and on the day of his martyrdom he mysteriously desired his sons Hasan and Husain to offer their morning prayers in the house and not to accompany him as they usually did to the mosque. When Ali was leaving his abode, observes S. Ockley in his famous work the History of the Saracens, the household birds began making a great noise and when one of Ali's servants attempted to quieted them, Ali said, "Leave them alone, for their cries are only lamentations foreboding my death."
The fateful nineteenth of Ramadhan
On the 19th of Ramadhan Hazrat Ali came to the mosque in Kufa for his morning prayers. Ali gave the call for prayer and became engaged in leading the congregation. Abdur Rahman Muljim pretending to pray, stood just behind Ali, and when Ali was in a state of prostration, Abdur Rahman dealt a heavy stroke with his sword, inflicting a deep wound on Ali's head.
The Holy Prophet(S.A.W) had prophesied the assassination of Ali and his issues. Regarding Ali he had said, "O Ali! I see before my eyes thy beard dyed with the blood of thy forehead."
His last moments His blood-drenched lips parted into a thanksgiving prayer and he said, "Lord! I thank Thee for rewarding me with martyrdom; how kind art thou and how gracious. May thy mercy further lead me to the realm of Thy grace and benevolence." The murderer was caught and brought before him. When Hazrat Ali saw that the ropes with which his murderer was tied were cutting into his flesh, he forgot his own agony, and requested that he be untied and treated more humanely. Touched by these words the murderer started to weep. A smile played on Hazrat Ali's lips and in a faint voice he said, "It is too late to repent now, you have done your deed. Was I a bad Imam or an unkind Ruler?" He expressly ordered that no harshness should be shown towards his murderer. He should not be tortured before his execution, his body should not be mutilated, and members of his family should not be made to suffer on account of his crime and his property should not be confiscated. Ali's justice was always tempered with mercy, even to the worst of his own enemies.
Ali was taken home from the mosque, and lay mortally wounded, yet he was answering all questions put to him. His sons Hasan and Husain were given the last advice, and finally Ali told them that his coffin was to be lifted only from behind, as the front would of itself be automatically carried, and they would have to take the route guided by the coffin itself. At the place where the coffin would stop, they would find a grave already dug for him. Hazrat Ali also requested his sons that he should be buried secretly, because he feared that his enemies would desecrate his grave. The coffin stopped at Najaf, which is about four miles from Kufa.
Ali's last testament
To his sons Ali spoke thus:
"Remain steadfast in piety and resign yourself to the will of God. Never aspire to anything, which is beyond your reach. Always be truthful and merciful towards the orphans. Help the poor and needy, and try to live in the world in a way which may help it to become better. Stop the tyrant from his oppressions. Assist the afflicted and act upon the commandments of God; and do not be put off by any obstacles. Lastly, I ask you to bury me in some place, which is unknown to the public. No less than 10,000 persons have I killed by my own hands on different occasions, and I do not wish their relatives to violate the sanctuary of my repose, and expose my corpse to indignity."
After this talk with Hasan and Husain, Ali addressed his third son, Muhammad ibn Hanfia, and said,
"You have heard what I have told your other two brothers. I also want you to do the same. In particular, I command you to respect and obey your elder brothers. They have a right to claim your fealty. Always do whatever they command you.
He entrusted all to the care of his eldest son Hasan, except Abbas. Then he heard Abbas, hardly twelve years old, sobbing. Hazrat Ali asked him to come near and gave his hand to his second son Husain, saying :
"Husain, this child I am entrusting to your care. He will represent me on the day of your supreme sacrifice and will lay down his life in defending you and your dear ones."
And turning to Abbas, he said:
"Abbas, my child, I know your unbounded love for Husain. When that day comes, consider no sacrifice too great for Husain and his children."
Then, addressing the other members of his family, he continued,
"O thou Hashimites! After I am gone, do not spill Muslim blood, and do not kill any one except my murderer."
Right until the end Ali continued to talk of the good of the Muslim community, to fulfil the commands embodied in the Holy Qur’an and to submit to the will of God. Repeatedly calling upon the name of God and constantly re-affirming the belief in the Unity of God and in the Divine Mission of the Holy Prophet. Ali was to survive the mortal wound for three days. Speech was finally silenced at the approach on the third day.
mmasoom.multiply.com/journal/item/1
