Hazrat Abbas was the son of Hazrat Ali ibne Abi Talib. His mother's name was Fatima Binte Hazam bin Khalid Ibn-e-Rabi'e Ibn-e-Amer Kalbi. She was also known as 'Ummul Baneen'. She belonged to the clan of Banu Kilah, which was one the noblest families amongst the Hashimites and famous for the bravery and valour of its warriors.
Some years after the martyrdom of Fatema Zehra (S.A.), Imam Ali (A.S.) asked his brother Aqil to offer the marriage proposal to a woman from a brave progeny. Being so knowledgeable in this regard, Aqil wooed Fatima Binte Hazam (Ummul Baneen) for Imam and they got married.
Fatima Binte Hazam was an accomplished and cultured lady, and bore Hazrat Ali's four sons, Abbas, Abdulla, Ja'far and Usman. The meaning of 'Ummul Baneen' is 'Mother of Sons'. All of her sons were martyred along with Imam Hussain. After their martyrdom, she requested people not to call her 'Ummul Baneen' ever again.
The day she entered the household of Hazrat Ali, she made it very plain to Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain that she considered herself their slave, and she hoped and prayed that they would accept her as one. Her respect and affection for there was soon reciprocated by the two brothers, and even after her children were born, Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain occupied a foremost place in her heart.
Fatima Binte Hazam had such sincerity toward the Holy Prophet's progeny that she loved Imam Hussain (A.S.) more than her own children. A feeling which was from the bottom of her heart. It was to the extent that when she received the news stating the martyrdom of her four children, she said: "Tell me about Hussain (A.S.)" and when she received the news of Imam Hussain (A.S.)'s martyrdom she said: "All of the arteries of my heart are torn. May all of my children and what ever that exists under this azure heaven be sacrificed for the sake of Imam Hussain (A.S.).
One of the bravest of the Holy Prophet's followers Ja'far Tayyar, the brother of Hazrat Ali. In the battle of Muta, Ja'far Tayyar carried the Banner of Islam and in that battle he was out-numbered by the enemies and killed. When the news reached the Holy Prophet he cried and prayed for Ja'far's soul and the angel Gabriel came down and consoled (the Prophet), saying "Ja'far was a brave and loyal soldier. God has given him everlasting life, and in place of two arms which were cut off in the battle, the Lord has given him a pair of wings".
Hazrat Ali, who was sitting near the Holy Prophet at that time, said, "Please pray to God that I should die fighting for the cause of Islam and become a martyr." But the Holy Prophet said, "0 Ali, your death has already been decreed. You shall die in the mosque during your prayers, but the Almighty will give you a son who will die in the battle on Ashoora day". From that time Ali eagerly awaited the birth of that son.
(This prophecy was made in the year 8 A.H. when Imam Hasan was 5 years old and Imam Hussain was 4.)
10th of Muharram, Sham-e-Ghariban or literraly the evening of desolation is observed. The grandon of the Prophet Muhammed and his small but brave band of 72 followers fought a much larger (20,000-30,000) army of the tyrant Yazid. Water was denied to Imam Hussain's caravan which included small children and women on the 7th of Muharram on the orders of Yazid even though they were camped on the banks of the river Euphrates. The camp now had no supply of water and the enemy hoped to force Husayn to surrender on account of thirst.
This photograph is of a private imambargah setup in a house during the month of Muharram, it displays representations of Imam Hussain's Army's standard known as the "Alam". The standard bearer of the Imam's Army was Hazrat Abbas. Hazrat Abbas could not bear the outcry from the chidren and finally got the permission to get water keeping in mind that he was not to engage in combat of any sort.Abbas ibn Ali alone marched towards the Euphrates river in broad daylight. He succeeded in filling his water skin but on his way back, he was struck from behind and one of his arm was amputated then he was again struck and his second arm was amputated, he was the water bag in his mouth but an arrow struck the water bag and water poured out of it. The water blockade continued up to the end of the battle on Muharram 10 nigh.
Today was the 9th of Muharram (9th and 10 being National Holidays) the eve before Imam Hussain's Martrydom. Tonight processions known here as Jalous could be seen all over the city with thousands of devotees taking part in them. This Particular picture shows a decorated horse. It is known as the "Zuljana" and is part of almost every procession that takes to the street tonight or tomorrow afternoon. The Zuljana is a representation of Imam Hussain's loyal horse which the Imam rode all his life and during the Battle of Karbala, The Imam had inherited the horse from Prophet Muhammed.
Soaz or soz (Persian / Urdu: سوز) is an elegiac poem written to commemorate the martyrdom and valour of Hazrat Imam Hussain and his comrades of the Karbala. In its form the soaz, salam and marsia, with a rhyming quatrain, and a couplet on a different rhyme. This form found a specially congenial soil in Lucknow (a city in Northern India), chiefly because it was the centre of ShiaMuslim community, which regarded it an act of piety and religious duty to eulogise and bemoan the martyrs of the battle of Karbala. The form reached its peak in the writing of Mir Babar Ali Anis. Soaz is written to commemorate the martyrdom of Ahl al-Bayt, Imam Hussain and Battle of Karbala. The sub-parts of marsia can be called noha and soz which means lamentation and burning of (heart) respectively.
Marsiya (Marsia) (Persian: مرثیہ) is an elegiac poem written to commemorate the martyrdom and valour of Hussain and his comrades of the Karbala. In its form the marsia generally consists of six-line units, with a rhyming quatrain, and a couplet on a different rhyme.
This form found a specially congenial soil in Lucknow (a city in Northern India), chiefly because it was the centre of Shia Muslim community, which regarded it an act of piety and religious duty to eulogies and bemoan the martyrs of the battle of Karbala. The form reached its peak in the writing of Mir Babar Ali Anis. Marsia is a poem written to commemorate the martyrdom of Ahl al-Bayt, Imam Hussain and Battle of Karbala. It is usually a poem of mourning. and Even a short poem written to mourn the death of a friend can be called marsia. Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem 'In Memoriam' can rightly be called marsia. The sub-parts of marsia are called noha and soz which means lamentation and burning of (heart) respectively.
The famous marsia writers in Urdu are Mir Babar Ali Anis, Mir Moonis, Salamat Ali Dabeer, Syed Muhammad Mirza Uns Syed Sajjad Husain "Shadeed" Lucknavi, Dr. Syed Ali Imam Zaidi, Gauher Lucknavi the (grand son of Mir Baber Ali Anees}
Mir Babbar Ali Anees (Urdu: میر ببر علی انیس) was a renowned Urdu poet. He was born in Faizabad in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in 1803 and died in 1874.
His father, Mir Khaliq who was a famous poet and littérateur, took personal interest in the education and upbringing of his son, and entrusted him to the care of reputed contemporary teachers, Mir Najaf Ali Faizabadi and Maulvi Hyder Ali Lucknavi. In addition, Anis's mother who was an educated and pious lady, played a significant role in shaping the personality of the boy poet. But above all, it was the boy's own instinctive urge for learning and literature that made him an accomplished poet, proficient in Arabic, Persian and Islamic scriptures, and well-versed in logic, literature and philosophy. Poetry came to him as ancestral heritage, for his forbears, going back to his great grandfather, were eminent poets and men of letters. Anis was the grandson of Mir Hasan who is remembered for his immortal Masnavi, Sehir-ul-Bayaan. His parents had migrated in their old age to Lucknow, where he spent the best part of his life.
Anis had started writing poetry quite early in his life right at Faizabad, though he perfected his art in Lucknow under the supervision of Imam Bakhsh Nasikh. In keeping with the popular trend, he first tried his hand at the ghazal, but failing to make much headway in this sphere, he changed over, under the advice of his father, to the writing of marsias[1], in which domain he soon established a high reputation, equaled (sometimes) by his poetic compare, Salamat Ali Dabir. Anees broadened the scope of this genre by including in its body, in addition to the customary lamentation and mourning, realistic scenes of the battlefield, graphic delineations of the hero's face and figure, lively portrayals of the emotional states of the combatants, accurate descriptions of the landscape, and occasional interludes of moral edification. Anis was a master of simple, natural utterance, with a superb command on the language, which was always adequate to express a large variety of moods, scenes, characters and situations. He is specially notable for presenting the same scene or situation, over and over again, in different words or phrases, without letting it appear monotonous. Besides being a master of the marsia, Anis was also a specialist of the rubai, the shortest complete poem in Urdu, containing only four lines.
Anis died in 1874 at the age of 71. The marsia, strictly speaking, is an elegiac poem written to commemorate the martyrdom and valour of Hazrat Imam Hussain and his comrades of the Battle of Karbala. In its form the marsia generally consists of six-line units, with a rhyming quatrain, and a couplet on a different rhyme. This form found a specially congenial soil in Lucknow (a city in Northern India), chiefly because it was the centre of Shia Muslim community, which regarded it an act of piety and religious duty to eulogies and bemoan the martyrs of the battle of Karbala, and Even a short poem written to mourn the death of a friend can be called marsia. Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem 'In Memoriam' can rightly be called marsia. The sub-parts of marsia are called noha and soz which means lamentation and burning of (heart) respectively. It is usually a poem of mourning. The form reached its peak in the writing of Mir Babbar Ali Anis.
The famous marsia writers who inherited the tradition of Mir Anis among his successive generations are Mir Nawab Ali 'Munis', Dulaha Sahab 'Uruj', Mustafa Meerza urf Piyare Sahab 'Rasheed', Syed Muhammad Mirza Uns, Ali Nawab 'Qadeem', Syed Sajjad Hussain 'Shadeed', Syed Sajjad Hussain "Shadeed" Lucknavi, Dr. Syed Ali Imam Zaidi, "Gauher" Luckhnavi the (great grandson of Mir Babber Ali Anis).
The Majlis of 25 Rajab, is historically important Majlis of Marsiya in Lucknow, in this majlis Mir Anis used to recite Marsiya. After Mir Anis well known marsiya writers of Mir Anis's family as Dulaha Sahab 'Uruj', Mustafa Meerza urf Piyare Sahab 'Rasheed', Ali Nawab (Qadeem) and Syed Sajjad Hussain 'Shadeed', inherited the legacy of reciting marsiya. Presently, Dr. Syed Ali Imam Zaidi (Gauher) Luckhnavi (grandson of 'Shadeed') recites self composed Marsiya.
Mir Anis composed salāms, elegies, nauhas, quatrains. While the length of elegy initially had no more than forty or fifty stanzas, it now was beyond one hundred fifty or even longer than two hundred stanzas or bunds, as each unit of marsia in musaddas format is known. According to Muhammad Hussain Azad "The late Mīr Sahib must certainly have composed at least ten thousand elegies, and salāms beyond count. He composed as easily and casually as he spoke."[2].
Muharram and Mir Anis have become synonymous among Urdu lovers of the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Mir Anis has been a great teacher and inspiration for generations. Undoubtedly, Urdu derives much of its strength from the Marsias of Mir Anis. Mir Anis has drawn upon the vocabulary of Arabic, Persian, Urdu/Hindi/Awadhi in such a good measure that he symbolizes the full spectrum of the cultural mosaic that Urdu has come to be. No Urdu poet from Ghalib onwards has lagged behind in showering his eulogies on Mir Anis. Mir Anis himself was aware of his contribution as he writes: "Kisi ne teri terha se aay Anis, Aroos-e-sukhan ko sanwara nahi"
"Perhaps there is no other poet in the world who has looked after the aesthetic and spiritual satisfaction of his fans so completely as Mir Anis does. It is simply miraculous!
The first major and still current critical articulation about Mir Anis was Muazna-e-Anis-o-Dabir (1907) written by Shibli Nomani in which he said "the poetic qualities and merits of Anis are not matched by any other poet"
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi in 'How to read Iqbal?' on comparing Iqbal with Nazeer Akbarabadi says that "Iqbal was placed better because he had, among others, Bedil (1644–1720) in Persian and Mir Anis (1802–1874) in Urdu." to inherit the rich tradition of Urdu nazm. He further asserts that, "The mention of Mir Anis may surprise some of us until we realize it that Mir Anis’s marsiyas are the best premodern model in Urdu of narrative-historical, narrative-lyrical, and oral-dramatic poetry, and Iqbal’s poetry extends and exploits the possibilities created by Anis."
Noha (Arabic: نوحہ) is a genre of Arabic, Persian, or Urdu prose depicting the martyrdom of the 12 Holy Imams. Strictly speaking noha is the sub-parts of Marsia. Nohas are usually poetry expressing the sorrow felt by ShiaMuslims for their leaders.
One form of mourning is the theatrical re-enactment of the Battle of Karbala. In Iran this is called taziya or taziyeh. Theatrical groups that specialize in taziya are called taziya groups.[3] Taziyas were popular through the Qajar dynasty up into the early twentieth century, but the reinactments slowly declined until they were mostly abandoned in the large cities by the early 1940s. Nonetheless, taziyas continued to exist in Iran on a smaller scale especially in more rural and traditional areas. Reza Shah, the first of the Pahlavi dynasty, had outlawed taziyas. Despite some attempts at since 1979, Muharram processions and various forms of the rawza khani are still more common.
In South Asia where dramatic commemmorations are less significant, ta'zīya came to refer as specifically to the miniature mausoleums used in processions held in Muharram. It all started from the fact that the great distance of India from Karbala prevented Indian Shi'is wish to buried near tomb of Imam Husayn or frequent pilgrimages(ziyarat) to tomb. This is the reason why Indian Shi'is established local karbalas on the subcontinent by bringing soil from Karbala and sprinkling it on lots designated as future cemetries. Once the karbalas were established on the subcontinent, next step was to bring Husayn's tomb-shrine to India. This was established by building replicas of Husayn's mausolem called ta'zīya to be carried in Muharram processions. Thosands of ta'zīyas in various shapes and sizes are fashioned every year for months of mourning of Muharram and Safar; and are carried in processions and may be buried at the end of Ashoura day or Arbain day.
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