9\11\2009 - Entry 6
We left at 4am for Masjid e Kufa. This masjid is the most important masjid in
Kufa. We got there in time to pray Fajr salaat. I could not help but imagine
what all these walls have witnessed. These same walls witnessed the murder of
one of the greatest men that ever lived. He was struck with a poisonous sword
while leading the morning prayers. I had the opportunity to recite a salaam. I
read, `Moula utho kay Masjid e Kufa udaas hai.` Tears came to our eyes as we
remembered what all the abuse the family of our prophet suffered from those who
claimed to be followers of his message. The poet has rightly said laakh sajde
kiye jaayiye phir bhir bakshish na ho paaye gi ye Muhammad ka farmaan hai inke
ghar se wafa ki jiye.
Afterwards we went and did ziyarat of Bait e Ali. This is the house of Imam Ali
(a). It was really small and crowded. It was really humbling to see how small
the rooms were for Imam Hasan (a) and Imam Hussain (a). They didn’t let me take
a camera inside but I got some good pics from the outside. You walk into the
first room and on the right you go into a set of rooms. These were Imam Hasan
(a) and Imam Hussain (a)’s rooms. Then you come back through that same doorway
(which is really small so it’s a tight squeeze out). Then there is another
entrance that you go through that has the ghusl khana where Imam (a) was given
ghusl e mayyit and then there is an exit. By the exit you can get water from the
well in Imam Ali’s (a) house.
On the same street as we walked down we also did ziyarat of the mazaar of Mesam
e Thammar; one of the very pious companions of Imam Ali (a). I remember walking
along the streets thinking to myself; wow, I am walking in the streets of Kufa!
This was the city Imam Ali (a) chose to make his capital city. We loaded up in
our bus and headed back towards Najaf.
As we neared Najaf there was some complication and we all had to get out of our
bus and walk. (Like walk a really far distance!) Luckily, we passed by the
cemetery called Wadi us Salaam. Wadi us Salaam is claimed to be the world’s
biggest cemetery. There are approximately 5 million bodies buried there. Among
the common people, there is also graves for man Prophets
.
We each made a mark for our graves. Some people buried their nails and hair
(parts of the body that have already died) in there so that our soul would also
come here after death.
Afternoon of same day
We were fortunate enough to get permission to meet Ayatollah Sayyid Sistani. I
am a muqallid of him and was quite excited to meet him. Now the amount of
security I had to go through was hugeeeee. First of all you cannot get past the
first checkpoint with anything at all: no watches, no rings, no necklaces, no
handkerchiefs, no nothing! Then you get searched at two separate points. Then we
were taken through an x-ray machine and were seated in an empty room. We
couldn't all meet him at the same time so we had to go in groups. I was the last
group to go. We were then escorted to another room where the Grand Ayatollah sat
graciously on the floor in a corner.
He had two students on each side. He was saying something softly to one of them.
Then that student stood up and translated what the Ayatollah had said to him. He
greeted us and welcomed us. He also prayed for us and congratulated us for the
opportunity to do ziarat of arbaeen in Kerbala. He then met each one of us
individually and presented us the option of asking any questions we had. I
introduced myself and expressed my happiness in meeting my marja. I shook his
hand and he looked me eye to eye and prayed for my well being and prosperity and
said he prays that all the Shia have the passion I had expressed. I thanked him
for his kind words and well wishes and walked away knowing I had just met one of
the most pious and knowledgeable men alive. To the outsider his popularity is
due to his power and influence but to the insiders we are drawn to him because
of his piety, wisdom and knowledge. May God grant him a long life. Amen. I was
very glad today that I had made the effort to learn Farsi. There are certain
things which just can't be translated.
Tonight is our last night in Najaf. The last night in Najaf I went to spend the
night at the haram. I like going at less crowded times as the distractions are
fewer and the conversations with the beloved more intimate. I didn't sleep all
night. I did my last ziyarat of the haram of Maula Ali. It was peaceful and
quiet in the haram; although it was crowded everyone was arrested in prayer. I
was sad to go. I walked around the perimeter of the sehan. (Not sure why but I
do this every time I go for the ziyarat of an Imam. I guess when you go to a
family member’s house for the first time they give you a tour of the house.
Maybe it’s something like that. I guess mostly for me it’s so that I remember it
and have something to think back to. )
It is not surprising that the shrine acts as a place of mercy for the homeless
and poor. Every corner I turned there were bodies upon bodies each lying
motionless wrapped tightly under a blanket. I got lost on the way home partly
because I walked all around and lost track of the door I entered from and partly
because it was dark outside. After a bit of wandering and experimenting with
different streets I finally ended up in front of the street Ayatollah Sistani
lives on. Luckily someone showed me this earlier and I found my way home just in
time for our group to leave at 4am.
9/12/2009 – Entry 7
We arrived late last night. It was 1:48AM. The drive from Najaf to Kerbala is
supposedly 3 hours long but I think it took us a lot longer than that. The bus
was dusty which made it hard to breathe. We stopped and got stopped at countless
checkpoints and each time a soldier with a gun would come on and inspect us. I
manage to catch some entertainment as there were some kids sitting in front of
me having some weird conversations. I caught some of it on night vision
camcorder but am hesitant to put it up. It’s funny when you have a 8/9 year old
kid saying something like, “Arrey Hurriya tum mera dimagh nakko khaao.” Gotta
love the Hydro kids. They talk like they’re middle aged.
There was a bunch of people in our group who wanted to get off from the bus mid
way and walk the remaining distance by foot. They would arrive a day after us.
Turns out there was a bomb thread so they weren’t allowed to go. Our bus finally
stopped and we were asked to get off. We unloaded the bags from the bus and were
told to leave them on the street. I guess they had people they hired who would
deliver the bags on carts to our hotels. We had to go through a security check.
We walked a long distance (half an hour walk actually). I know because I was so
out of it that I left the camcorder on as I threw it back into the camcorder
bag. So I have the whole audio of the walk but not the video. I even have the
audio of someone calling out room names so we could pick up keys. Apparently the
perimeter to the haramain is protected and no one is allowed to get in without
being fully checked. Every few steps there is another security check. By now I’m
used to them. We were reciting nauhas as we walked towards the hotel. I can’t
remember who was reciting. I guess it was the Ata e Zahra folks but they were
reciting ‘Kerbala Kerbala Kerbala.’ It truly felt like we were answering the
call of Imam Hussain (a) as we recited nauhas and walked through security
checks. There was no concern/fear for our safety or any danger that might be in
the way. We were here to answer his call. If it meant putting ourselves in
danger so be it. It is what it is.
Here’s the clip I recorded. It’s short but has my beautiful voice providing
commentary. I hit the point where I was awake for 46 hours straight and
collapsed. I don't even know when our bags arrived. Last I remember is an
announcement that there would be a group ziarat the next morning. Luckily my
sister and brother in law were more with it than I was. They brought up the
bags, had breakfast, brought some food up for me incase I woke up hungry, went
for ziyarat and then finally went to sleep. I had seen the glimpse of the haram
of Imam Hussain (a). I knew this was the same place where the Imam’s voice had
echoed the call of Halmin Nasir. I had come to answer that call.
Morning of the
12th - Entry 8
At the most elevated
point of selflessness is martyrdom. No no not the crazy kind you hear about on
Fox news. The purest form in which one sacrifices himself/herself for the sake
of someone or some thing else. The term martyrdom has become a dirty word in
western media, but the concept lives strong. Don't believe me? One example for
the sake of argument in the movie 'I Am Legend.' (warning this a spoiler if you
haven't seen the movie yet then you might want to skip this). At the end when
the main character realizes that the only way to save the cure for all humanity
is by sacrificing himself he does just that.
Our group left the hotel around 9:30am for ziarat of Imam Husayn(as) and Hazrat
Abbas (as). Would you believe it? We were in Kerbala walking through the streets
reciting Nauhas. Just as we were about 80 feet from the haram of Imam Husayn(as)
there was a big explosion behind us. I looked back and saw black smoke in the
air. At that point I made my niyyat for being martyred as did everyone around me
and started chanting `Labbaik Ya Husayn` Within a few seconds about 100 Iraqi
soldiers surrounded us and started pushing us through the next checkpoint. One
of my friends who was even closer to the explosion described what he had seen.
Apparently it was a woman suicide bomber that had blown herself up. He said he
even saw intestines and other body parts scattered here and there. Within no
time an ambulance showed up and took the injured/dying away. If our group had
taken only walked 2 minutes slower we too would have been hurt. I have always
been taught that if you make a sincere intention, even if circumstances prevent
you from carrying through with the act you will be given the reward for that
action by God. Looks like we weren't meant to die for Imam Husayn today but sure
did secure the reward on the day of judgment InshAllah. We did ziyarat and
returned to our hotel. So much excitement and it is only day one. Can't wait to
see what happens next.
Entry 9
We went for
ziarat of all the surrounding places within Kerbala. We visited the place where
the camps of the Imam were put, the place where Bibi Zainab stood and watched as
her brother was killed, the place where Hazrat Ali Akbar was struck with a spear
in his chest, the place where the six month old baby Ali Asghar was struck with
an arrow as tall as he was in response to a plea for water, the place where
Hazrat Abbas` arms were severed and the river Furath. It is at this same river
that kept flowing as the camp of Imam stayed thirsty.
We also had a chance to do ziarat of all the places within the haram of Imam
Husayn(as) and of the Haram of Hazrat Abbas (a). When we were at Kaf e Abbas I
stopped to buy a head band that said Ya Hussain and Ya Abbas. The only money I
had was a big bill which I gave to the store owner. I don’t know Arabic but
luckily the store owner knew some farsi so we were able to converse. I had a big
bill and had no change so I gave it to him. He did not have change so he said he
would go get it. I waited impatiently at this store waiting for him to return
and watching my group get further and further away from me. The crowds were
starting to pick up so this was not a good thing. I quickly did some math in my
head 500 deenar = approximately 50 cents. I decided to go so that I dont lose my
group. I started going after my group when the man came running after me to ask
me why I left without the change. He said something in Arabic which I think was
supposed to mean why did you leave without taking the money. I said, “Een pool
hadiya baraye shomast.” (Roughly translated to this money is a gift for you). He
said, ‘La la garden e ma” (Roughly translates to “No No My Neck”. I think he was
trying to say taking more than the cost would be something he would be held
accountable for by God. Seeing my group fade off into the distance I didn’t have
the time to argue with him but made a note to myself that this is an innocent
shop keeper. I’m going to come back to his shop and bring friends to give him
more business.
I went to the end of the street to realize that my group was no where to be
found. Didn’t know what to do. There was two turns didn’t know which path to
take. Luckily I saw one of the brothers from our group coming out of a store.
(He was one of the volunteers and wearing one of those neon parking vests).
Turns out he also got left behind for the same reason. He lived in Dubai and
knew Arabic so I was set. Turns out both paths would have lead me to the haram
of Hazrat Abbas (a) from where it is easy to get back. We started walking back
together and decided to do Zuhrain Namaaz at the haram. We luckily squeezed in
and found a spot just in time. The haram gets REALLY crowded at prayer times
(especially the Haram of Imam Hussain) and it’s hard to even get near the zareeh
or find room for prayer. We prayed and then thought let’s at least try to do
ziarat before going back. This was the biggest crowd by the zareeh I had seen
and was thinking I wouldn’t even get close but both of us got close with no
trouble, did ziyarat and headed out. As we came outside and picked up our
cameras from the amanat place (they have amanat places where you can leave your
valuables that aren’t allowed in the haram and they give you a token and you can
pick them up afterwards) and saw an Iraqi group doing zanjeer. We both wanted to
take videos so we took out our cameras. It was crowded, I was trying to get a
good shot and I lost the brother. Not sure where he went. It was ok thought. I
knew the way home from Moula Hussain’s Rauza. As I was video taping one of the
organizers called me between the people doing zanjeer. I video taped form there
for a while until my camera ran out of battery. I made it home just in time for
majlis in our hotel lobby.
More to come
