The third night.
Today is the second day of the month of Muharram [Moo·har·rum], the first month in the Islamic calendar. Therefore, today is the third night of Muharram. There's even an article about this month in Hebrew.
The word 'Muharram' is rooted in the three letters h-r-m, the 'h' throaty. The root relates to anything that is sacred, too holy for ordinary beings to approach, forbidden for the ordinary folk, or simply forbidden. Some of the common words in Islamic terminology associated with this root are:
1. haraam [huh-raam]: Forbidden act/deed. Carrying out a haraam deed leads to deduction of 'brownie points' in one's record with God. E.g. Consuming alcoholic drinks is haraam.
2. haram [huh-rum]: A sacred place. E.g. Haram al-Qudsish Shareef, the place where the Dome of Rock stands in Jerusalem. Also used in reference to the family and descendants of Muhammad, e.g. ahl al-haram, "The people of the Haram".
3. mahram [maah-rum]: Relatives of the opposite sex with whom marriage is forbidden, i.e. with whom, having sex would be considered incest. These include parent, step-parent, children, sibling, parent's siblings, step-siblings, grandparents, sibling's children and more. The opposite of mahram, a "na-mahram" is one with whom marriage is allowed and [post-marital] sex is permitted.
4. haraami [huh-rah-mee]: Arabic for 'thief'. Means bastard or 'child born out of wedlock' in Urdu and is a commonly uttered obscenity in India and Pakistan.
I went to the Imambargah to attend the majlis [lecture]. These majaalis go on for 12 nights, starting from the first night of Muharram [i.e. last day of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar] and ending on the twelfth night [i.e. 11th Muharram]. People might be surprised at the fact that I'm attending such majaalis even after apostasizing from Islam, but there are two strong reason why I want to attend: I want to hear an opposing point of view and see what the "other side" has to say [even though I've been hearing it for years]. Also, since I was little, the love of the Imam Husayn has been carved into me. I can't let go of him and can't come up with adjectives to describe his sacrifices. He's my ideal and this is the high-time of the year when they talk about him, so I go to listen.
The lecture in English was about the rewards of weeping for the Imam Husayn, for whom and whose family's sufferings this 12-day-long commemoration is held. On the tenth of Muharram, the day of 'Aashura, he and seventeen other male members of his family were slaughtered in Karbala', defending themselves along with fifty-four companions against the massive forces of Yazeed, the tyrant caliph of Damascus. The women and the surviving son of the Imam Husayn were taken captive to Damascus and mocked in front of Yazeed and subsequently imprisoned there. Damascus has always been such a pain in the ass.
Anyways, returning to my point: the orator was just elaborating on the kinds of weeping: emotional, empathic, experiential and existential [or something like that]. He was a little scary, but his accent was ok.
The Urdu orator went on and on about how the cousin of Muhammad, the Imam 'Ali is really really great and is the next best thing to God [well, he didn't say that, but that's basically what he meant]. At one point, he got so close to relating the Imam 'Ali to God, it actually reminded me of the Christian mode of thought, that personifies God in Jesus.
He did make some nice, clean jokes to keep us all entertained, lol, but I was actually more interested in looking at Cute Boy #1249108, sitting far away in the crowd. But seriously, this guy is like hotness sculpted out of the best material. I've had my eye on him since like three years now, this being the fourth. And this was back when I considered myself 'straight'. To tell you the truth, my third intention of attending these majaalis was to gaze at him. He's to die for.
The lecture ended with the listeners in tears. Tonight was the night of Hurr at-Tameemi. He was originally the commander of about a thousand soldiers in the army of Yazeed. But on the night of 'Aashura [i.e. 9th Muharram], he visited the camp of the Imam Husayn and out of sheer guilt for initially intercepting the Imam at Karbala' and putting him in this mess in the first place, he joined the Imam's army, along with his slave and son. His son was the first martyr on the day of 'Aashura and soon after that Hurr, too, gave his life up. May they rest in peace.
"Lo rotzah/ La-ga'at 'od/ Im zeh ko'ev/ K'she-zeh noge'a."
"I don't want/ To touch again/ If it hurts/ When it touches."
-- Etti Ankri, in her song "K'she-zeh noge'a" [When it Touches].
The word 'Muharram' is rooted in the three letters h-r-m, the 'h' throaty. The root relates to anything that is sacred, too holy for ordinary beings to approach, forbidden for the ordinary folk, or simply forbidden. Some of the common words in Islamic terminology associated with this root are:
1. haraam [huh-raam]: Forbidden act/deed. Carrying out a haraam deed leads to deduction of 'brownie points' in one's record with God. E.g. Consuming alcoholic drinks is haraam.
2. haram [huh-rum]: A sacred place. E.g. Haram al-Qudsish Shareef, the place where the Dome of Rock stands in Jerusalem. Also used in reference to the family and descendants of Muhammad, e.g. ahl al-haram, "The people of the Haram".
3. mahram [maah-rum]: Relatives of the opposite sex with whom marriage is forbidden, i.e. with whom, having sex would be considered incest. These include parent, step-parent, children, sibling, parent's siblings, step-siblings, grandparents, sibling's children and more. The opposite of mahram, a "na-mahram" is one with whom marriage is allowed and [post-marital] sex is permitted.
4. haraami [huh-rah-mee]: Arabic for 'thief'. Means bastard or 'child born out of wedlock' in Urdu and is a commonly uttered obscenity in India and Pakistan.
I went to the Imambargah to attend the majlis [lecture]. These majaalis go on for 12 nights, starting from the first night of Muharram [i.e. last day of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar] and ending on the twelfth night [i.e. 11th Muharram]. People might be surprised at the fact that I'm attending such majaalis even after apostasizing from Islam, but there are two strong reason why I want to attend: I want to hear an opposing point of view and see what the "other side" has to say [even though I've been hearing it for years]. Also, since I was little, the love of the Imam Husayn has been carved into me. I can't let go of him and can't come up with adjectives to describe his sacrifices. He's my ideal and this is the high-time of the year when they talk about him, so I go to listen.
The lecture in English was about the rewards of weeping for the Imam Husayn, for whom and whose family's sufferings this 12-day-long commemoration is held. On the tenth of Muharram, the day of 'Aashura, he and seventeen other male members of his family were slaughtered in Karbala', defending themselves along with fifty-four companions against the massive forces of Yazeed, the tyrant caliph of Damascus. The women and the surviving son of the Imam Husayn were taken captive to Damascus and mocked in front of Yazeed and subsequently imprisoned there. Damascus has always been such a pain in the ass.
Anyways, returning to my point: the orator was just elaborating on the kinds of weeping: emotional, empathic, experiential and existential [or something like that]. He was a little scary, but his accent was ok.
The Urdu orator went on and on about how the cousin of Muhammad, the Imam 'Ali is really really great and is the next best thing to God [well, he didn't say that, but that's basically what he meant]. At one point, he got so close to relating the Imam 'Ali to God, it actually reminded me of the Christian mode of thought, that personifies God in Jesus.
He did make some nice, clean jokes to keep us all entertained, lol, but I was actually more interested in looking at Cute Boy #1249108, sitting far away in the crowd. But seriously, this guy is like hotness sculpted out of the best material. I've had my eye on him since like three years now, this being the fourth. And this was back when I considered myself 'straight'. To tell you the truth, my third intention of attending these majaalis was to gaze at him. He's to die for.
The lecture ended with the listeners in tears. Tonight was the night of Hurr at-Tameemi. He was originally the commander of about a thousand soldiers in the army of Yazeed. But on the night of 'Aashura [i.e. 9th Muharram], he visited the camp of the Imam Husayn and out of sheer guilt for initially intercepting the Imam at Karbala' and putting him in this mess in the first place, he joined the Imam's army, along with his slave and son. His son was the first martyr on the day of 'Aashura and soon after that Hurr, too, gave his life up. May they rest in peace.
"Lo rotzah/ La-ga'at 'od/ Im zeh ko'ev/ K'she-zeh noge'a."
"I don't want/ To touch again/ If it hurts/ When it touches."
-- Etti Ankri, in her song "K'she-zeh noge'a" [When it Touches].