Category Archives: Ashura

October 25

Zainab In my eyes

Zainab sees the nuance, the ways in which we can all be more accountable for the suffering we inflict on others and on ourselves. Zainab sees truths that are inconvenient to narratives about geopolitical realities. She sees truths that are inconvenient to narratives about Imperialistic dichotomies that have overwhelmed our literature.

October 24

Aun Hasan Ali : Some thoughts on the remembrance of Karbala

One of the tragedies of modern life is the monopoly of reason. Keats’ lament that Newton would unravel the rainbow and clip an angel’s wings was prescient indeed. I find it increasingly difficult to access those aspects of my self that are not meant to be governed by reason. I cannot appreciate Mir’s couplets without analyzing them, and the expression “subḥāna rabbī al-a‘lá wa-bi-ḥamdih” has become a philosophical project of tanzīh and ithbāt. The majlis of Husayn is one of the few places left where I can still access something visceral. It is one of the few times that I experience the tranquillity of a mode of knowledge that is not discursive. That is precious to me and I’m not willing to give it up for yet another rational act like political mobilization.

January 04

Ruba Al-Hassani : Hussain A Universal Call for Justice

It was almost time; the moment of truth. He was uncertain about whether he was ready. It was not only his fate alone that was at stake, but that of many others who depended on him and believed in his cause. He had to be brave, and he surely wanted to be so. He has […]

December 27

Ali Gee : Motivational Muslim, Charity and Belly of the Beast

Motivational Muslim I think about all the sadness and the tears that I have seen And then I remember I’m like every other human being Flawed and insecure, arrogant and mean Black dot on my soul no one else has ever seen What’s it all for? Just to live and die young Or old and […]

December 15

Hussain’s Love: the battle of breaking one’s self

Hussain as man At Nightspring Hussain empathizes with the nightingale. tuning nocturnal odes around the fire and rewinding his-story, because summer has come early to Karabala. Dreams at dawn dropping dew on Hussain’s dried lips, because Karbala’s clouds barely peel With no shade of any olive tree under which to rest Hussain’s sun-scorched eyes dream […]

November 19

Mohammad Ali Naquvi : The Logic and Emotional Aspects of Commemoration

Some say that it is overly dramatic to say that the Caliph Yazid and his forces committed the greatest injustice in the history of mankind by killing Imam Hussain (AS), grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), in Karbala in the Year 680 A.D. It is important to take this matter seriously because it questions the […]

November 12

Fahd Ahmed : Hussain The Spirit of Islam

The significance of Imam Hussain’s (as) struggle is not limited just to the Shia, or even for that matter, to the Muslims. The struggle, the cause, and the principle that Imam Hussain (as) invited to was for all people, of all places, and of all times. It is this same struggle that every Prophet, from […]

November 10

Abbas Rattani: Muharram, Community, Privilege and Power

A year ago, I wrote a piece on why non-Shi’as should attend Shi’a events, arguing that history is often dictated/determined by the group in power, and in our current case, “Islam” is dictated primarily by heterosexual Sunni Arab men (with some influence from South Asian men).  Syntax and grammatical issues aside, the article raised some […]

November 08

(Dis)Honoring Imam Hussain’s Legacy?

I remember when I used to anticipate the beginning of Muharram.  Not because it’s something to celebrate, but because it brought me close to my community and close to my faith as we commemorated the sacrifice that Imam Hussain made for Islam.  It’s not just that he was beloved to the Prophet of Islam, rather […]

November 07

Justin Mashouf : Telling the Story of Ashura in America

The event of Ashura is arguably the most singularly impactful story in Shia identity. This tragic event in which the grandson of the Prophet is slain while thirsty in the battle field, surrounded by the corpses and of his own family members and close friends, has been and continues to be central in a diverse […]