Shame-e-Ghariban

(Click to enlarge for better detail)

Today is the 10th of Muharram, Sham-e-Ghariban or literraly the evening of desolation is observed. The grandon of the Prophet Muhammed and his small but brave band of 72 followers fought a much larger (20,000-30,000) army of the tyrant Yazid. Water was denied to Imam Hussain's caravan which included small children and women on the 7th of Muharram on the orders of Yazid even though they were camped on the banks of the river Euphrates. The camp now had no supply of water and the enemy hoped to force Husayn to surrender on account of thirst.

This photograph is of a private imambargah setup in a house during the month of Muharram, it displays representations of Imam Hussain's Army's standard known as the "Alam". The standard bearer of the Imam's Army was Hazrat Abbas. Hazrat Abbas could not bear the outcry from the chidren and finally got the permission to get water keeping in mind that he was not to engage in combat of any sort.Abbas ibn Ali alone marched towards the Euphrates river in broad daylight. He succeeded in filling his water skin but on his way back, he was struck from behind and one of his arm was amputated then he was again struck and his second arm was amputated, he was the water bag in his mouth but an arrow struck the water bag and water poured out of it. The water blockade continued up to the end of the battle on Muharram 10 nigh.

Matam

This and the following few posts will be a series of educational posts, about something many of you have probably never heard of and will give you an insight into a people very emotional and devoted to what they believe in you can click the links in the post for further details.

Today is the 8th of Muharram the first month of the Islamic calander, Muharram is a very importnat month for Shia Muslims because on the 10 of Muharram Imam Hussain the grandson and family (consisting of 72 people) of the Prophet Muhammed were killed by an army of between 20,000-30,000 at the Battle of Karbala on the orders of Yazid because Hussain did not accept him as Caliph and was not willing to take the oath of allegiance. The next few days I intend to post pictures from Lahore which will show how the Shia mourn their Imam and his death, a celebration of justice over evil.

This picture shows devotees doing Matam.

I agree with wikipedia's description of Matam which is "Many of the male participants congregate together in public for ceremonial chest beating (matam) as a display of their devotion to Imam Husayn and in remembrance of his suffering. In some Shi'a societies, such as those in Bahrain, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Iraq, some male participants incorprate knives or razors swung upon chains into their matam. This practice is permissible by major Usooli Ayatollah such as Muhammad Shirazi and Sistani, however some major scholars such as Khameini have banned it in Iran temporarily, while others such as Fadlallah deem it permanently impermissible. In general however, the act is controversial."