Shah ast Hussain (as)

Humanity and Hyderabad 2004, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

This was a Majlis at a private home in Hyderabad, the word synnonmous with Hyderabad is Hospitality.
I dont remember this gentlemans name but he was a hotelier, he came to fetch me to attend his majlis.
As people arrived at his house for the majlis he touched each ones feet , this was his gesture , his personal love for those who had come at the bequest of Bibi Zainab..
Yes Hyderabad is this and much more , the Hyderabadis dont scrouge when it comes to Ghame Hussain..

The Hyderabadi restraunt owners go each year to Hussain Tekri Jaorah feed the masses till Chehlum, and they do it without any fanfare just Hyderabadi humility..

Here I must mention one more thing the Hindus of Hyderabad too are lovers of Imam Hussain and his mother Bibi Fatima, the fervor with which they recieve the Bibi Ka Alam on Ashura is what mutual coexistence is all about..
For the this is a moment of frozen in tmelessness and do see the Bibi ka Alam procession once in your life time..

The Sunnis and Shias live in peace each respecting the other.

As a matter of fact the Muttawalli of the Bibi ka Alwa is a respected Sunni gentleman.

The leaders of both the communities maintain peace without igniting hatred..
For me this is Islam I will see no further..
Under
One umbrella of Allah
One Prophet
One Holy Book Koran
And Ahle Bayt

All Humanity living in mutual peace.. as Indians of a great nation… hope harmony and brotherhood.

Posted by photographerno1 on 31 Aug 2008
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The Hyderabadi Nohakars, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

The Hyderabadi Nohakar are very unique , they have their own predominant nasal, rendition of the Noha not be found anywhere else in India.
It has its base in classical musical ancestry, though Shias consider music to be Haram like the rest of the Muslim world.

Nohakars like late Sacchey and Zia too rendered the Nohas in a classical way..

Nohas are elegy recited describing the events of Karbala around the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain.

Posted by photographerno1 on 31 Aug 2008
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The Shias of Hyderabad 2004, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Hyderabad is a haven of culture and ancestry, Shias in Hyderabad bring in Moharam with a fervour that abounds in grief , mellowed sadness and nostalgia.
All around is a sea of black clothes , this is the badge of Faith of the Hyderabadi Shia.
Two months and eight days this sartorial blackness shall prevail.
I wear black clothes too for the same period . inspired by the Shias of Hyderabad.
I have been to Kolkatta to celebrate Ashura but Hyderabad stands out ..
Hyderabadis breathe Moharam, my policeman friend Sajjad Hussain would finish his duties and rush back to the Choti Bargah to bond with Baqar Bhai, the Alamdar brothers , food would be made outside on the streets to be distributed after each Majlis.

I am speechless realy when it comes to describing the Shia Hyderabadi, he lives in Hussain and Hussain lives in him.
And I am crying when I say this..

The blade matam, the kamazani, Bibi ka Alam the Chehlum procession is unique in its Hyderabadi flavor.

Ancestral homes like Nawab Kothi, Sharyar Palace have huge relics of Alams centuries old, well maintained.

I normally visit a city for barely three or four days and move out on the day of Ashura night itself.

But I make friends, though we dont keep in touch the memories remain.

Posted by photographerno1 on 31 Aug 2008
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Moharam in Hyderabad Nawab Kothi 2004, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

For the Shia Hyderabadis people of Hyderabad, nothing is greater than Azadari e Hussain.
These people rich , poor underpriviliged the Nawab and the beggar have one important ingredient Tehzeeb..call it culture.
Adab or respect.. both these qualities are also a common factor with a twin city of Shiasm called Lucknow.

The Nizam of Hyderabad will never be forgotten, he has built some of the finest Shia monuments , same with the Nawabs of Avadh or Lucknow .

Though Hyderabad has a different dialect which differs linguistically from the sweetness of Lucknow Urdu.. both are exemplary in the devotion of Imam Hussain a unique quintessential quality called Ghame Hussain.

I had literally coaxed my wife a staunch Lucknowi to visit Hyderabad for Chehlum in 2004 Chehlum is the 40 th day of the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain, she loved the people the city of Hyderabad, but opted for a Lucknowi bride for my son Asif Shakir.

I dont blame her but for me Hyderabad is something special.

I love the people their humility and their life during Moharam, the sea of black clothes , the Bargah the Choti Bargah and a Shia policeman called Sajjad Hussain.

However I must digress though my simple hearted wife was very keen on a wife for my younger son Saif Shakir, she hunted Lucknow, inumerable trips finlly to my hearts solace found him a match in Amchi Mumbai.

So I wont be surprised its true Marriages take place in Heaven ..and its either one or the other in the menagerie that make it a Hell on Earth.. Divorce Sucks but necessity is the mother of Convention.

This event is the 8 Moharam procession at the seat of the noble Nawabs of Hyderabad, blue blood , royal ancestry and all..
Times have changed at Nawab Kothi , much has been lost to time and tide yet the progeny of the Nawabs keep the Chirag of Ahle Bayt alive with their devotion..both the kids and the older folks leave no stone unturned to make Moharam each year an unforgettable one..
But mind you there are crochety conservative photography hating Nawabs too..there was this one who picked up my bag to throw it out during a Chehlum procession though I had taken permission from his son..luckily he was not from Nawab Kothi.
Well this is the flip side of Nawabi.. nothing personal.
There was one educated person who said photographs show Shias in a bad light, and the person knew I was all in black and a Shia.. yes I almost threw up.. my morning breakfast.

I dont need to scan old negatives at 6400 dpi, negatives that are badly gone but come alive as memories, thanks to this present of the Epson Scanner V 500 from an American Jew Dr Glenn Losack MD ..who came and shot Chehlum in Mumbai.. drenched in blood barefeet..

I had to literaly stop him from using my sword to cut his forehead .

Yes this is an American quality they go berserk and sometimes to do the right thing..
This has got nothing to do with the choice of Vice President by Mr Cain.
Dr Glenn Losack MD is an eminent psychiatrist from Manhattan New York but loves India immensely, he shot Moharam for the first time , he is very keen on shooting Moharam in Hyderabad, Lucknow and Hussain Tekri too.

He is the godfather figure of my 9 month old grand daughter Marziya Shakir.

His first present to her was the Powershot G9 a brilliant camera.. and Marziya was only 4 month old.
I use this camera till she grows up to to shoot with it too.

This was a textless picture but I elaborated it for a Flickr member Plasma Theory..
To show him my world beneath the emulsion as a Photo Blog..

I hope Rene from Indi Blogger has read this too..

Posted by photographerno1 on 31 Aug 2008
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Moharam in Hyderabad Nawab Kothi 2004, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

These are pictures shot in 2004..I had gone to celebrate Moharam in Hyderabad.
On 8 of Moharam, there is a huge pocession at Nawab Kothi ancestral seat of the Nawabs .
One of the scions of the Nawab carries the Alam Abbas on a horse.
Than chants of Ya Sakina Ya Abbas..
This is an unforgettable event in the Azadari of Imam Hussain.

Posted by photographerno1 on 30 Aug 2008
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Bibi Ka Alawa Hyderabad 2 March 2004, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

I was visiting Hyderabad for the first time to shoot the Ashura procession in March 2004..
I shot negatives mostly black and white .

This was T Max 100

Bibi Ka Alawa

www.shiaindia.com/All/BibiKaAlam/bibikaalam.php

This Alam-e-Mubarak Installs on the sight of crescent of the first month of Islamic Calendar
that is Muharram -ul- Haram and after Installation for 9 days it ends with a procession from
Alawa-e-bibi situated at Dabeer Pura to Chadarghat, Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh, India
along with devoties who cuts their chest, backs and fore heads with blades, knives and swords
by reciting Nauhey ( re-collecting the incidents took place at karbala)

I am thankful to a Shia policeman Sajjad Hussain who took me around to shoot this event, on the streets behiind the Bibi Ka Alam I stripped my shirt and jacket and scourged my back with 14″ steel blades.
Sajjad Bhai held my camera bag and my camera.
Moharam in Hyderabad is a 24/7 activity, the Shias wear black and only black, totally immersed in Matam , Majlis collectively called Azadari e Hussain.

On Ashura day the Bibi Ka Alawa is jam packed , kamazani or head cutting and zanjir zani self flagellation.

At the Bargah of Hazrat Abbas the entire area is filled with blood, the Hyderabadis cut their chests with blades between their fingers..
Little children barely six months or perhaps younger have their heads cut, the mark of faith, done for a wish called Mannat.

I have not gone back to Hyderabad ever since..I had gone for Chehlum with my wife in the same year.

Hyderabad and Lucknow are Shia strongholds.

Mumbai too has Moharam nurtured by the Shias who settled here from various states , Mumbai Moharam , you will have to see my pictures is not behind in the emotion called Ghame Hussain.

This set of negatives is badly under exposed and a bit out offocus , but its the thought underlying the picture that is very important..
I have scanned it at 6400 DPI …the file is 8810by 5696 pixels 144MB.

Epson after sales service SUCKS but tthe scanner is formidable and very good..

Posted by photographerno1 on 28 Aug 2008
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Ghame Hussain, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

photo shot by dr glenn losackmd

glennlosackmd.com/-/glennlosackmd
/

ghame hussain
from one era to another
from one generation to the next
holy scriptures on our souls
engraved as bleeding text
they call us heretics
lovers of yazid
smiling fusillades of pretext
seeing our passion
our blood our sweat our tears
they get overwhelmingly
perplexed
karbala the land
of our spiritual salvation
in a new Islamic context
yes we are shias
beyond caste color creed
hussain is humanity we project
muslims love killing muslims
but none will object

Posted by photographerno1 on 24 Aug 2008
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Islam - A Loving Faith, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

photo shot by dr glenn losackmd

glennlosackmd.com/-/glennlosackmd
/I
ISLAM
is incomplete
without the Holy Koran
the Ahle Bayt
Islam a loving faith

Ahl al-Bayt (Arabic:أهل البيت) is an Arabic phrase literally meaning People of the House, or family. The phrase “ahl al-bayt” was used in Arabia before the advent of Islam to refer to one’s clan, and would be adopted by the ruling family of a tribe. Within the Islamic tradition, the term refers to the family of Muhammad, the founder of Islam.[1] Muslims venerate Muhammad’s household as it is given a special significance in the Qur’an, the Muslim holy scripture, and the hadith, reports recording the words and actions of Muhammad.

There are differing interpretations over the scope and importance of Ahl al-Bayt. In Sunni Islam, Muhammad’s household includes his wives, his daughter (Fatimah), her three children, as well as his cousin and son-in-law, Ali. Other interpretations include Muhammad’s blood relatives, such as the Banu Hashim or the Banu Muttalib. In Sunni thought, every Muslim has the obligation to love the Ahl al-Bayt. In Twelver and Ismaili Shi’a Islam, the Ahl al-Bayt are central to Islam and are believed to be the true successors of Muhammad. The Shi’a definition of the phrase includes only Fatimah, Ali, Hasan and Husayn (known collectively as the Ahl al-Kisa, “people of the mantle”) and the Imams, descendants of Fatimah who they consider to be divinely chosen leaders of the Muslim community.[1][2]
According to the Twelver and Ismaili Shi’a, the Ahl al-Bayt are in a state of ismah, meaning infallibility, and they have limitless understanding of the Qu’ran and Hadith. The Ahl al-Kisa together with the Imams make up the Shi’a definition of Ahl al-Bayt. Ahl al-Bayt are seen as divinely appointed individuals and teachers of the Islamic faith after Muhammad. The Zaidi Shi’a do not believe in the concept of ismah.

The Twelver and Ismaili branches of Shi’a Islam differ in regards to the line of Imamate. While the Twelver believe in a lineage known as the Twelve Imams, the Ismaili believe that the descendants of Isma’il ibn Jafar were the inheritors of the Imamate instead.

EXCERPTS FROM WIKIPEDIA

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahl_al-Bayt

Posted by photographerno1 on 21 Aug 2008
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15 Shaban - Shia Shabbarat, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

On 18 August the Shias of Mumbai after paying respects to the dead at Rehmatabad Shia cemetery, lighting candles on the graves, saying prayers called Fatiah, move towards the pier at Gateway of India to await the arrival of a decked up boat called Bajra.
Here tey celebrate the birth of the 12 th Imam called Imam e Zamana or Hazrat Muhamad Al Mahdi.
At the pier it is poetry time with poems in praise of Imam e Zamana and Ahle Bayt.

As I was having problems with my Nikon D 80 I shot photos on Canon G9 too..

Posted by photographerno1 on 19 Aug 2008
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Father of Terrorism - Lanatullah Yazid, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

photo shot by dr glenn losackmd

glennlosackmd.com/-/glennlosackmd
/

the butcher of karbala
son of a serpent seed
father of terrorism
lanatullah yazid
power
wealth of Islam
to usurp
with his evil deed
slaughtering humanity
with his misdeed
Hussain gave his head
for his life
he did not plead
from the front
with 72 braves
astride on zuljana
he did lead

har kaum pukaregi hamare hain hussain
yes indeed
karbala the killing field
against yazidiyat
hussainiyat did not yield
protecting the holy prophets bayt
he did suceed
our blood letting
a protest 1400 year old
against terrorism
is the core of shiasm
ghame hussain
is all we need
a path of peace towards
our holy creed
a wave as much as you stop
will never recede

Posted by photographerno1 on 12 Aug 2008
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Islam Interconnected, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

once a religion
of peace and brotherhood
Islam interconnected
pristine soul of humanity
a vision reflected
in some Muslim countries
Islam badly infected
uncalled for war on humanity
misplaced martyrdom
by the jehaddis injected
tears on the soul of mankind
the unborn child
on the threshold
dejected

Posted by photographerno1 on 08 Aug 2008
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Gods House and Womans Rightful Place, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

outside like a dog leashed to the gate
a poor Muslim womans accursed fate
a never ending never changing state
help will come when her daughter
takes her place too late
terrorism on one hand of womans rights
reads the sanctimonious slate
in a world man loves money
loves war its womans emancipation
he hates
covers her from head to toe
her accursed life to berate.
mind you this is not about the hijab
its about the human flesh that inhabits
a soul mate
for a better world
the poor Muslim woman
has to wait
and to wait and to wait
when the end comes
buried
in the pieces of a wooden crate

Posted by photographerno1 on 08 Aug 2008
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Yusuf Bhaijan of Bandra Shia Khoja Mosque, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

He is cine star Raju Shrestas father .
Master Raju..
He is a very humble human soul.
If there is one person that endears to all is Yusuf Bhaijan.
He is a Moulaiee.A soldier of our Imam.
He is the face of the Shia Khoja Mosque, a face that will always remain alive , for his selfless devotion, he seeks no rewards .From the time I knew him, and more because he loved my kids Asif and Saif who studied at the Mosque when they were very young.He met me when our paths crossed , lavishing praises on my childrens character and love of Ahle Bayt.
Than one day I entered the Bandra Shia Khoja Mosque dressed in a sherwani and a Muslim cap and was thrown out for not being a Shia.
This was a a more devout Shia than me representing the Imams for the Khoja Shia Bandra Mosque.
He apologized for his shortcoming but I never forgot the incident.
I was entering the Mosque after many years to shot this event..

I sometimes pity these so called modern overzealous Shia kids.
God save them from themselves.

I dress as a Shia Pandit proudly showcasing my Indian cultural inheritance..all in saffron.Its only during Moharam that I wear only black 2 month eight days.

I shoot the Hijdas , people ask me why? Than I feel like telling them that these Hijdas at least live with dignity unlike the Hijdas who kept silent .. lips sealed when Imam Hussain was being ruthlessly massacred.The greatest crime was not just of Yazid but of the so called Muslims who were spectators did not raise a protest against an Unislamic Act , or condemn the misdeeds of the Ummayad Caliphate at the Court of Yazid,,
It was just one womans voice against the entire Islamic World.
The Voice of Zainab..Indomitable Sister of Imam Hussain.

So if the Hijdas today want to become Women, I salute them for their choice of Gender.These are my personal views as a photographer poet and blogger not just as an Indian born Shia.

Posted by photographerno1 on 08 Aug 2008
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Jashn E Wiladat E Bibi Zainab Shia Khoja Masjid Bandra, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

This was shot a few nights back at the Shia Khoja Bandra Masjid.I was attending a joyous function here after a long time.
Ashiq my computer tech had invited me for this event.There were recitals in praise of Hazrat Ali, Bibi Zainab .
The most profound moment was the recital by a young Shia boy called Hamza.
Betab Hallori too had been invited including a Maulana who gave a powerful recital and acted as the Master of Ceremonies.

Posted by photographerno1 on 07 Aug 2008
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