Category Archives: Karbala

December 27

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

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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 […]

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Imam Sajjad December 21

When In Despair Remember Imam Sajjad

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He walked in the unforgiving heat, toward the city of Kufa, with the sands of Karbala still latched on to his clothes – each particle of dust slowly withering away with the humid winds. His neck and hands were locked in chains – a captive of war. Hussain Ibn Ali his beloved father, had just […]

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December 15

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

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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 […]

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Imam Sajjad December 14

He is Sajjad: Tears are Gems Not Simply Sorrow

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He is Abid, He is Sajjad. The day of the Ashura has come, the night of sorrows has gone. His caravan is on it’s way to Shaam. This is Sajjad’s Ashura, this is Sajjad’s battle. Not slaughtered, but still, treated like cattle Sajjad watches them: his aunts, his sisters, his mother Herded from one town […]

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November 22

Die Like Hussain, Walk Like Zainab

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I remember when I first came across the poetry of Yazeed. He was touted as a master of description. Naturally, he is drawn to the opposite sex in his work. So many of the classic Arab poets have taken up that subject matter. Their physical appearance; the description of white flesh, red lips, and the […]

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November 19

Mohammad Ali Naquvi : The Logic and Emotional Aspects of Commemoration

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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 […]

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November 12

Fahd Ahmed : Hussain The Spirit of Islam

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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 […]

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November 10

Abbas Rattani: Muharram, Community, Privilege and Power

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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 […]

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November 08

(Dis)Honoring Imam Hussain’s Legacy?

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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 […]

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November 07

Justin Mashouf : Telling the Story of Ashura in America

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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 […]

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