Err…log meri kaafi waat laga rahay hain kuch na likhnay per so I thought kuch to likh doon.
Two questions:
1) Woh kya hai jo Allah mian nahin dekh saktay per insaan dekh leta hai?
2) Woh kya cheez hai jisay aagay se Allah mian ne banaya hai aur peechhay se insaan ne?
NOTE: Pachaas comment maro tab answer bataoon ga!
Continued from Trip To Syria: Flying Away.
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We reached the hotel in Muhalla-e-Zainabia on the outskirts of Damascus. Imagine waking up from a deep sleep and then having to carry sixteen heavy suitcases to the hotel building. And it doesn’t stop at that. The room was on the third floor. Thank God for the elevators!
We were told to come down for tea. What ‘down’ turned out to be was ‘down – 1′ i.e. the basement. It was divided into parts. Ours had plastic seats and tables set up for around thirty people. The tea was served and IT WAS PATHETIC! My cook makes better tea.
Khair, not to be unfair to the Maulana Sahab cooking for us there, I think it was the tea’s fault.
We were told that the Haram was to close at eight-thirty.
I came back up and went to sleep. Woke up around six-thirty and got busy in getting ready. That usually consists of emptying myself (in this case, all the Etihad food and specially the Octopus) and taking a bath. Left at seven-thirty with my uncles.
The hotel was five minutes from the Haram and my taya (father’s elder brother) led the way through the crowded streets of Muhalla-e-Zainabia. We entered through one of the small side gates and came upon a small opening with people sitting. The place was extremely crowded. Crossing another gate, we came into the main courtyard.
The burial chamber sits in the middle, surrounded by a circular courtyard and then again by a circular building that houses administration offices and other rooms. Two tall minarets stand in the courtyard on both sides of the main entrance. The huge gold brick dome sits on top of the large burial chamber, marking the resting place of the eldest daughter of Haider, the lion of Allah. The place emits an aura of authority and fearlessness, all the while maintaining a charming elegance and attraction for millions of devotees.
Welcome to Syria, the place where the Captives of Karbala (A.S.) were brought tied up in chains, bare-footed, bare-headed, being stoned from all sides, in a state of helplessness that does not find it’s counterpart in the realms of documented and undocumented history. This was the place where Yazeed (La’natullah) ruled and the people were hardcore enemies of the Ahle Bayt (A.S.). Where the mention of Ali (A.S.) was met with curses and abuses.
Who could have thought that the stronghold of Bani Umayyah (La’natullah), the capital of Muawiyah (La’natullah) and Yazeed (La’natullah), would fall to Lady Zainab (S.A.) in such a way that nothing would remain of their kingdom and they would become the focal point of all curses and abuses themselves? That their followers would become a minority and the country would come under the rule of people who would hail Ali (A.S.), not as a Caliph, nor an Imam, not even one of the most astounding creations of God, BUT GOD HIMSELF!
And the daughter of this God “sleeps” near Damascus. Welcome to the Lioness’s Den!
I went with my phupa (father’s sister’s husband) towards the burial chamber and stopped outside the door. An Arab with whom my phuppa had become acquainted helped us read the Ziarat of Lady Zainab (S.A.) that hung beside the door. Then we went in. I will not describe what I saw inside. You will see for yourselves in later posts!
My taya had told us that it would be impossible to reach the Zareeh (gold and silver cage above the grave) in the middle of the chamber on the first go due to the usually huge crowd but we did not find one of such size. The reason being that this was the first year when all barriers to Karbala had been lifted and most Zaireen (visitors) had gone there. The gathering in Karbala on Arbaeen this year was 20 million strong as compared to only 1.7 million for Hajj!
Result: we got to the Zareeh easily.
After praying and paying our respects, we came outside and offered the Ziarat prayers. I left my phuppa with the Arab and returned to the hotel, cursing myself for not taking my camera with me.
NOTE: I have uploaded some pictures of the tour to my Facebook account and will upload the rest with each related post. You can see them there if you want.
We landed in Karachi on 24th Safar. Slept the whole day then went to attend a majlis that night. Being held in commemoration of the martyrdom of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) and Imam Hasan (A.S.) on the same day, 28th Safar, it was part of a Khamsa (group of five majalis) to be addressed by Zameer Akhtar on the tale of ‘grandfather and grandson’. I missed the first one but joined from the second. I was relieved to see Zameer Akhtar back in full form and better than ever. And I also learned that it was Muawiyah (L.A.) who opted for a truce with Imam Hasan (A.S.) rather than the other way round.
Two days later, I delivered the Tabarrukat that I brought for him from Syria. There I saw Haider Rizvi, owner of TV Today. He had come to convince Zameer Akhtar to speak on his channel against the attackers. Zameer Akhtar told him to wait till after the 8th of Rabi-ul-Awwal, when the Ayyam-e-Aza would end. Three other channels had already made an offer to him and he told them all to wait.
Days passed with the same routine. I got the video of the annual majlis of Karavan-e-Murtaza and watched it. Shaukat Raza Shaukat brought the roof crashing down with his verses on Hazrat Abu Talib (A.S.).
Khamsa ended on the eve of 28th, but there was a seperate majlis on the same topic the next night as well. There I got to decorate the Taboot of Imam Hasan (A.S.), the same one that was used for Imam Husain (A.S.) on the eve of Ashurah but with a green covering this time. Green is the color that is associated with Imam Hasan (A.S.), red with Imam Husain (A.S.). The special feature this time were the protruding arrows from the Taboot to signify the arrow-riddled Janaza of Imam Hasan (A.S.) that was prevented from burial beside the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) by the “Ummah” who attacked it.
Taboot of Imam Hasan (A.S.)
The next day, the ash’ara at Qasr-e-Musayyab started on the topic of “Imamat and Azadari”. In the second majlis, Zameer Akhtar shook all of Rizvia Society with his speech. I kept teasing my sister for the next couple of days on what she missed.
On Saturday night, Zameer Akhtar addressed a Shab-Baidaari on the topic of the History of Azadari. After that I planned to go meet him but my father brought me home.
I missed the majlis on the fifth as I went to the Alvidai juloos at Imam Bargah-e-Tanzeem-ul-Momineen where we decorate and bring out Baadshah every year. One thing I wanna say here is, never touch a horse between the ears from behind and never stand near his rear legs. You’ll get a free ticket to America if you do, but someone will have to collect your pieces from all over the country.
Baadshah with my cousin Haider.
Baadshah was well-behaved and more sober this time, unlike last year when he got scared of the rising Alams. It’s awesome to run with him when he starts jump-trotting. And keeping his size in mind, it makes you look really brave and cool, even if you’re terrified inside and pleading with Allah to make him stop. But Baadshah don’t listen to Allah Mian either. 
I was planning to do both Zanjeerzani and Qamazani at the end of the juloos but my nincompoop of a cousin above failed to get my tokas sharpened. Bloody &#@*()*#! So I postponed my “Grand Sunday Plans” to Thursday night for the Alvidai Matamdari at Imam Bargah-e-Baab-e-Askari.
The next three days went by smoothly, Thursday arrived. At night there was Nazar at my Phuppo’s. Got too late there so I had to skip another majlis and went straight for the Matamdari.
Haider and I picked up our Zanjeers from his friend who had gotten them sharpened. His were “talwars” or sword like zanjeers. There I came to know that my tokas had become really popular among the guys and everyone wished to do matam with them because they were the right size and shape and good for inducing deep cuts. They asked me to switch my zanjeers with them. My reply: “Chal be!” My tokas were celebrities!
Khair we went for the Matamdari. It started around half past twelve. I did matam for around ten minutes when my head began to spin. I stepped aside and another cousin Abbas (in pic above with folded hands) dried my back up with my shirt. So much for Zanjeerzani. And I didn’t even come around to Qama. Crap!
I kept thinking it was due to my reduced intake of food but Haider later came and told me it was because of the two Ghulam Latifs I’d had before the matam. Man, I hate John Player! Better to stick with DLs.
Nevertheless, I took advantage of the Nazar afterwards and drank three glasses of Lassi from the Sabeel to stuff myself. Came back to Haider’s place and we both went to sleep but not before we had made videos of our backs.
Would anyone like to see? 
Khair, I came back home the next morning, took a bath and then left again for the Chup Taazia juloos from Qasr-e-Musayyab. Went straight to Rizvia Imambargah where Baadshah was brought. He was first given a bath to clean up all the sweat from running. It’s fun to watch him try to drink it all up when they wash his face. (You can find the video on my Facebook profile.)
Then he was decorated and taken to join the procession from Qasr-e-Musayyab.
Left to Right: Me, Baadshah, Allama Syed Zameer Akhtar Naqvi
My cousin Shahazeb walking Baadshah
I walked Baadshah for some time in the juloos, then I left for the last majlis of Ayyam-e-Aza, back at Rizvia Imam Bargah. It was the majlis of the Barsi of Allama Zameer Akhtar’s mother. There I joined in decorating the Taboot of Imam Hasan Askari (A.S.) and then carried it out into the crowd after the majlis.
Flowers decorated on the Taboot of Imam Hasan Askari (A.S.)
We all bid farewell to Imam Husain (A.S.) and appologized for the lack of our efforts to commemorate and condemn the terrible attrocities on him and his family. Time passed quickly, maghrib arrived and Ayyam-e-Aza ended.
Eid-e-Zehra (S.A.) began.
Surah-e-A’raf, Verse 157:
“Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who is an Ummi, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) with them. He will enjoin on them that which is right and forbid them that which is wrong. He will make lawful for them all good things and prohibit for them only the foul; and he will relieve them of their burden and the fetters that they used to wear. Then those who believe in him, and honour him, and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: they are the successful.”
Allah gave the Prophet “Risalat”, “Nabuwwat” and “Ummiyat“.
Muslim translators and mufassirs wrote the meaning of Ummi as “one who does not know how to read or write”.
What needs to be thought upon is level by level, literacy and accumulation of knowledge increases. First you pass level one, then two, then you move on to class/level three. Here it is first Risalat, then Nabuwwat, then the Prophet becomes illiterate!
If this is the meaning of Ummi, then it’s a disgrace to Risalat and Nabuwwat.
If the Prophet did not know how to read and write, then why was it said in the first revelation to “Read!”? And in the same revelation was also the phrase “Bil-Qalam”: We taught him to write with the pen!
“Read with the name of your Lord Who created, created man from a clot. Read, and your Lord only is the Most Beneficent, The One Who taught to write with the pen!” (Al-Alaq 96: 1-4)
Taught whom? Why isn’t it “Say in the name of your Lord”? Why is it specifically “Read”?
The first revelation contains both reading and writing, then why are Muslims saying “didn’t know how to read or write”?
“Nun, and by the Pen, and that which will be written. Thou art not, for thy Lord’s favour unto thee, a madman.” (68:1-2)
Mufassirs have written the meaning of Nun as “fish”. Now what does a fish have to do with a pen? We have the pen, and what it will write, the only thing left to complete the set is a “dawaat” (ink bottle). Does the letter Nun resemble a container of sorts?
Why did Allah reveal this verse? Did the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) ask for a pen, paper and an ink bottle, and was declared a madman ever?
It is a strange thing that in Arabic, every word has 20-25 meanings. The Prophet said “Man Kunto Maulahu Fahaza Ali Un Maula!” Here the meanings of Maula have been declared by Muslims as brother, aide, helper, servant, neighbor, friend, etc so that the real meaning gets lost somewhere. But when it comes to Ummi, they have declared just one meaning “illiterate”. Why has the dictionary shrunk here?
Risalat means to convey the message, and Nabuwwat means to get it from Allah, if a Prophet passes away then neither will the message come from Allah nor would it be conveyed to the people. This means that both ranks get terminated. But the Holy Prophet is above all the other prophets, so there must be a rank that does not end ever.
Prophet Ibrahim was given Risalat, Nabuwwat, then Khullat (ref Khalilullah), showing that the rank is increasing, not decreasing, and in the end he was given Imamat. The last rank is the highest of them all: “We have made you the Imam of all humanity.” This rank will go on till Qayamat, all other ranks ended at his passing.
Imamat, Imam and Ummi, there is a strong connection between these three in Arabic. Since Ibrahim was the first Imam, this rank was passed on in his lineage till Qayamat. Since the Holy Prophet is above Ibrahim, then he must have a rank that is greater than that of an Imam i.e. Ummi.
Ummi is a rank that will go on till Qayamat and beyond that. Higher than Risalat, higher than Nabuwwat!
To understand this word, we must see where it comes from. Ummi is derived from the word “Umm” (ام). “Umm” has a lot of meanings and in the light of each and every one of them, the Holy Prophet is an “Ummi”.
“Umm” means “mother”, “Umm” means the “origin/reality of everything”, e.g. the origin of Ummah, Ummi. The origin of Imamat, Ummi. “Umm” also means “basis/foundation”, and it also means “root”.
“Umm” means “central land”, “Umm” means “central/main Alam(flag)”, “Umm” means “where two rivers meet and form the main river”.
Umm means main alam/flag. A flag is the identity of an army, it’s purpose to bring all soldiers closer to their base. Flags are raised so that all those who have gone astray may reach their destination. On tall buildings, in villages, alams were hoisted so that a traveller, a stranger may find inhabitations easily. The first alam was used for gathering people. When Shees decided to avenge Abel’s murder from Cain, the children of Adam were scattered over great distances so Shees asked Gabriel on how to unite them. Gabriel brought an alam from Heaven and asked Shees to raise it. An Alam unites people, it does not create divisions. The one who raises it is an Ummi.
But the Holy Prophet never held an Alam throughout his entire life. It was either Hamza, or Ja’far-e-Tayyar and in Khyber he announced that he would give the Alam to the one who is a Man (Rajul) and it was awarded to Ali. Then which Alam is this? It’s the Alam of Shafa’at. On the Day of Judgment, this Alam will be in the Prophet’s hand, and this honor has not been bestowed on any Nabi or Rasool.
Umm also means “central land”. When the world was being created, the first land to be formed was Makkah, that’s why one of it’s names is “Umm-ul-Qara”. “Qarion ki Maan” (mother of villages), the origin of cities. A resident of Lucknow is Lakhnavi, that of Dehli is Dehlavi, the one from Umm-ul-Qara is Ummi. Mufassirs have written that in relation to Umm-ul-Qara, the Holy Prophet has been called Ummi. But that means every resident of Makkah becomes an Ummi, and everyone can not be an Ummi.
Allah says in the Quraan:
“We sent an Ummi from amongst Ummis.”
During the tafseer of this verse, the literal meaning was taken. If every infidel from Makkah becomes an Ummi, then this is a disgrace for this rank.
And if we repeat the previous meaning that “We sent an illiterate from illiterates” then the Quraan again refutes by saying that “He recites verses over them. He narrates the Quraan”…one who narrates the Quraan cannot be illiterate…and neither were the inhabitants of Makkah. They were so learned that their children used to say poetic verses effortlessly while walking. They used to recognize the rider by looking at the hoof-prints of the horse or camel. They used to say rhapsodies on the go during battles and were proud of their eloquence. They called themselves Arabs and all others Ajams (mutes). They were not illiterates. These Arab non-believers were not illiterate but the Prophet was…won’t the one saying this be called an infidel himself?
Then what does the Quraan mean by saying that we sent an Ummi from Ummis?
Sometimes the application of “Ummat” is on one man. The Quraan says that Ibrahim was an Ummat [Ibrahima Kana Ummatan (16:120)], this Ummat is still alive after Ibrahim in his progeny…this Ummat is of Abdul Muttalib, Abdullah, Abu Talib, Fatimah Binte Asad, Khadijah and Ali, etc. And from amongst these Ummis, the Prophet was sent.
Coming to the meaning of Umm that is “where two rivers meet to form the main river”:
Two bahars (seas) met…Ibrahim is one bahar, Hajra another, both met and this process led till Hashim. Hashim got married to Salmah of Madinah, Abdul Muttalib was born. Abdul Muttalib and Fatimah-e-Makhzoomia form two bahars, and Abdullah is born. Abdullah and Aminah meet, and the Noor of the Prophet appears. Where two Umms meet, appears an Ummi. Khadijah’s lineage comes from Ibrahim…she gets married to the Prophet and Fatimah Zehra’s Noor appears. Abu Talib and Fatimah Binte Asad meet and the Noor of Ali appears. Ali and Fatimah Zehra come together then the Quraan moves forward and declares:
“Pearls and Coral” like Hasan and Husain are born.
Now we come to the most important meaning of Umm…”mother”.
Ummi means “son of one’s mother”, this means that the son of every Umm is an Ummi. No, every son of an Umm is not Ummi, only one whose mother is the pride of the Creation.
This is a strange merit…whenever the Prophet selected anyone from his Ummat to award a title or merit, then the highest merit was always awarded to Ali, and to Fatimah among the women. The Prophet declared everyone in his Ummat to be the brother of another, but made Ali his own brother…highest merit for Ali.
He made all his wives the mothers of the Ummat, Ali the father.
But for Fatimah, the merit had to be higher, so he called Fatimah “Umm-e-Abiha” (mother of her father)!
By calling Fatimah his mother, the Prophet wanted to show the Ummat that a prophet’s mother is always pure, and devoid of impurities and faults, like Fatimah. And the one who raised him on his lap was a mother like Fatimah Binte Asad. Ayah-e-Tatheer stands witness over their purity and infallibility.
It is now clear that the Prophet was not illiterate, the translators and mufassirs are the illiterate ones. Then how high a standard does the Prophet have of knowledge? This can only be declared by an Infallible. Muhammad-e-Taqi, his successor, states:
“The Prophet knew how to read and write in the 97 languages in use at that time!“
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This is a modified and translated extract (almost half) of Dr. Syed Zameer Akhtar Naqvi’s speech on the topic “Rasool-e-Ummi”, from the book “Mairaj-e-Khitabat” Volume III. Most parts have been removed to prevent choking due to overdose. Sorry!
Any mistakes or discontinuities are my faults, I am a mere human being after all. The full speech can be found in the book above.
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Born in Lucknow in 1947, Syed Zameer Akhtar Naqvi is one of the prominent scholars of Pakistan, having a breath-taking command over history, not just of Islam or Muslims but the whole goddamn world, and maybe more. Having two Ph. Ds to his credit, one on “Khitabat” and the other on “Mir Anees”, he has been conducting research on God knows how many topics for the past 50 years. Not only this, he has command over languages including Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Hindi and (again) God knows what else (I’ve even heard him speak in some dehaati language!). Ask him about the origin or roots of any word or idiom and he’ll tell you.
Having read books of all Muslim schools of thought, including Shia, Hanafi, Barelvi, Ahl-e-Hadees, Deobandi, Maliki, etc and even those of other religions like Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, he has devoted his life to upholding the merits of the Holy Prophet and His Progeny (S.A.W.W.) and condemning all actions taken by the perpetrators of heinous crimes against them, or in current times by the supporters of these perpetrators. He has taken it upon himself to defend these virtuous personalities and their forefathers, e.g. Hazrat Abu Talib (A.S.), Hazrat Abdul Muttalib (A.S.), by refuting all degrading theories, and proving their virtues and high status with the help of the Quraan, Ahadees and History. This has earned him the title of “Wakeel-e-Wila-e-Ali” from his fans and followers, belonging to both Shia and Sunni sects. He has delivered lectures in various countries including Pakistan (obviously!), India, Iran, Iraq, Syria, UK, USA, Greece, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, etc, etc, etc, bus main thak gaya!
Author of more than 300 books and articles, on topics like “Mir Anees Ki Shairi Mein Rangon Ka Istimal”, “Ilm-e-Maasoom”, “Shu’raye Urdu aur Ishq-e-Ali”, “Fatah-e-Imam-e-Hasan [w.r.t the deal with Muawiyyah (L.A.)]“, “Janab-e-Zainab aur Tareekh-e-Mulk-e-Shaam”, “Gham-e-Imam-e-Husain Aur Azadaron Ki Shifa’at”, etc, and personalities like Hazrat Ali (2000 pages), Bibi Fatimah Zehra(2000 pages), Hazrat Ja’far-e-Tayyar, Shahzada-e-Qasim Ibne Hasan (two volumes, 1000 and 900 pages), Bibi Umm-ul-Baneen (500 pages), etc and being an excellent poet himself (by the name ‘Akhtar’), he is famous in the literary world as well and many of his books are present in the Library of the U.S. Congress.
Bus buhat ho gaya, I’m tired. Find more here: Allamah Zameer Akhtar Naqvi
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