Tag Archives: Islam

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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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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Muharram November 05

Hussain: What’s in a name?

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The name “Hussain”  is a young child sitting in a crowded mosque and seeing her parents cry for the first time at the tale of a far-off event that seems impossibly remote. It is emotional, black-clad multitudes in grim processions, shaking with sorrow for the household of the Prophet killed nearly fourteen centuries ago. Hussain […]

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Imam Hussain November 03

Preserving Islam : Karbala A Universal Paradigm

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On the day of Ashura, Imam Hussain called out “Is there any helper to help us?” This call extends to us to the present day, since the larger struggle of Good vs. Evil that Imam Husayn fought on the tenth of Muhurram 681 AD is still an on-going struggle to this day.  Imam wasn’t looking […]

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October 30

Have You Got What It Takes?

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What Do You Stand For? What Do You Believe In? Who Would You Stand Up For? These are the most important questions you’ll ever ask yourself–what rouses your soul and speaks to your heart? Justice? Equality? Freedom?…fair enough. But ask yourself, at what point would you take a stand–when your own rights are ignored? What […]

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October 24

Divine Inspiration: Hussain is from me and I am from Hussain

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Inspiration flows like a river;  rivers flow through the earth into the enormous and powerful depths of the sea, similarly inspiration flows through our bodies and becomes a central part of our being, giving rise to wisdom, insight, and beauty. Throughout our lives we are nourished emotionally, psychologically and most importantly motivated by the things […]

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