Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Khaste na Basheed!

Iranians use a lot of Taarof.

For example, when you're in a shop and want to pay the shop keeper, he'll say "Qaabil nadare" which means "it's no big deal" i.e. don't pay me. But the customer insists. Shopkeeper and customer keep playing this game of taroof until the shop keeper relents and tells you the price. Once a taxi driver said "Qaabil nadare" to The Husband. So he left without paying. Of course taroof is false. Obviously someone will want paying after delivering goods or services. The taxi driver ran after him and claimed the money.

Another example of taarof is when a random stranger invites you to their house. It's not a real invitation. Or better still when you go to someone's house and you're standing at their door and they say "Befarmayeed" (please come in). But rather than open the door and let you in, they close the door on your face!

One of my favourites is "Daste shoma dard na kone" Which little means "may your hands not hurt". This is what you say to someone who gives you something or opens a door for you or passes you a pencil. The reply to this is "sare shoma dard na kone" which literally means "may your head not hurt" (i.e. think nothing of it)

The other phrase you use for someone who's working is "Khaste na basheed" or "don't be tired". You generally say this to the teacher at the end of each class.

We had our first gym class today. Our teacher put us through the ringer. We started of running around the hall about 50 times, then a variety of stretches/star jump-type things etc, followed by a mini-assult course and stretches to finish off. We were all SHATTERED and had aches and pains in muscles we didn't know existed. At the end of the class, she tells us "khaste na basheed"! Excuse me, if you don't want us to be tired, don't make us do so much!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

School Update

I've been back at school for 2 weeks now. That's excluding the classes I've bunked!

This term, I'm studying Ahkam (Islamic Jurisprudence), Aqaid (Beliefs) and Tarbiyat e Badani (Gym class). It's a light work load, which is great as I'm hoping to make the most out of the swimming pool this term.

I went to the big library today in one of my free periods. The place was heaving and I had to sit on the floor and try and study! They've also changed the rules a bit. You have to leave your bag outside the library (so stop people sneaking out books perhaps?). There are some lockers, but unluckily they were all taken. My brand new designer (non-fake) school bag had to be left outside on the floor :-(

Noisy Neighbours

I think some new people have moved into our neighbourhood. The father is REALLY loud. We can hear everything he says when he's out in his yard (which seems to be most of the time!) and what's worse is that he has a really annoying laugh.

Actually, I lie. The worse thing is that his little son has inherited his loudness.

There go my friday lie-ins!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Lady Masuma Qum part 2

When this year's batch of summer camp kids were here, we were lucky enough to visit the International Relations Office situated within the shrine. If you ever visit Qum, its worth going to the office (Its found in Sahn e Ateeq - the old courtyard, and its open until 2pm every day). They give out books in English about the shrine. The books aren't written in the best English, but they are useful in pointing out the main sites within the shrine.

Anyways, the man in charge of the office (Agha Nazeri) gave us an insight into the life of this lady, who, if we're really honest, we only remember on her death anniversary and barely know anything about.

She's refered to in history as "Zainab e Dowvom" or the Second Zainab. We hear that she was very attached to her brother and when he moved to Iran, she missed him a lot and decided to move closer to him. What Agha Nazeri told us was that this was partly true. Some historians also narate that the 8th Holy Imam asked her to head towards Iran after his departure and use the cover of 'missing her brother' as a cover for the journey. On the way from Madinah (Saudi Arabia) to Iran, she (along with her brothers and nephews that were accompanying her on this journey) stopped and she gave speeches. Her aim was to educated the people about the unjust ruler - Mamun Rashid. In the same way that Lady Zainab spoke against the tyrant Yazid after the massacre of her family members in Karbala, Lady Masuma did the same.

Her words were starting to enlighten people about the unjustices of their ruler and when Mamun Rashid caught wind of this and sent his soldiers to kill Lady Masuma and her brothers. They were stopped in a town near Qum called Saveh. Lady Masuma was poisoned, and taken to Qum, where she died a short while later.

Agha Nazeri went on to explain that hundreds of books have been written about the position of women in Islam, but if you want to see the real position of women in Islam, come to Qum and just look at the area around the grave of Lady Masuma. You will see high ranking scholars, government ministers etc all come to her grave and kneel before Lady Masuma.

Personally (and I'm sure that all the students who live here will agree with me) I find that every time I'm stressed or having problems with my studies, I go to her shrine and tell Lady Masuma what's bothering me. I find that sooner or later my issues all go away.

Lady Masuma Qum

I promised a while back that I'd write a little about Lady Masuma Qum - the sister of the 8th Leader of the Shia Muslims who's buried here in Qum. This week was her birthday anniversary, so the shrine was filled with fresh flowers and lit up with lots of lights!

Here's a little bit about her:

Lady Fatima Masuma (A), born on 1st Zilqaad 173AH, was the daughter of the 7th Imam, Imam Mūsā al-Kāđim (A) and the sister of the 8th Imam, Imam Ali al-Ridā (A). She was a noble lady who dedicated her life to Islam and Allah. She was highly gifted and due to the training of her father and brother, she has achieved a high reputation in history for her knowledge and piety. She was only six years old when her father was arrested by Hārūn (the 6th Abbasid Caliph) and thereafter, she was brought up under the care of her brother, Imam al-Ridā (A) for twenty-one years.

In the year 200 A.H, Ma’mūn (the 7th Abbasid Caliph) forced the Imam (A) to move from Madina to Khurāsān, in Iran. And so, Lady Fatima Masuma (A) was once more separated from her guardian. In the year 201 A.H, she decided to leave Madina and travel to Khurāsān to be at the side of her brother, intending to help him in his mission to preach Islam. But regrettably, she never reached him. The caravan that she was travelling with, was ambushed at Sāweh, where she had to witness the brutal killing of her close family members. As a result, she can be compared to Lady Zaynab (A), who suffered a similar plight in Karbalā.
Lady Fatima Masuma (A) was taken ill at Sāweh. From here, the Shi`a of the nearby Qum brought her to their city, where she spent her last few days, before passing away. Lady Fatima Masuma (A) is buried in Qum, Iran. Due to her blessed presence and patronage, the city has grown into a centre of Shi`a learning; a destination for thousands of Muslim students from over 80 countries.

Life in Qum largely revolves around the Haram of Lady Fatima Masuma (A), which is the focal point of this holy city. Every year hundreds of thousands of pilgrims come from all over the world to pay homage to this noble lady. They come to pay their respect to Lady Fatima Masuma (A) in accordance to the reliable traditions of three Holy Imams (A) which are quoted below:
From the 6th Imam, Imam Ja`far al-Şādiq (A):
تُقبَض فيها امْراةٌ منْ وُلْدى، اِسْمُها فاطِمَةُ بِنْتُ مُوسى، وتَدْخُلُ بِشَفاعَتِها شيعَتي الجنّة بَأجْمَعِهِمْ
“A lady from my children whose name will be Fatima, daughter of Mūsā, will die in Qum.
On the day of Judgement this lady will intercede for all my Shi`a to enter Heaven.”[1]
From the 8th Imam, Imam Ali al-Ridā (A):
مَنْ زارَ الْمَعْصومَةَ بِقُمْ كَمَنْ زارَني
“Whoever visits Masuma in Qum is like the one who has visited me.”[2]
From the 9th Imam, Imam Muhammad Taqī al-Jawād (A):
مَنْ زارَ عَمَّتي بِقُمَّ فَلَهُ الجَنَّةُ
"Whoever visits my aunt in Qum will enter Heaven.”[3]
Notes:
[1] `Allāmah Muhammad Bāqir Majlisī, Bihār al-Anwār, vol. 60, p. 228; Qādī Nūrullāh Shūshtarī, Majālis al-Mu’minīn, vol. 1, p. 83.
[2] Mīrzā Muhammed Taqī Khān Sepehr, Nāsikh al-Tawārikh, vol. 3, p. 68; Shaykh Dhabīhullāh Mahallātī, Rayāhīn al-Sharī`ah, vol. 5, p. 35.
[3] Bihār al-Anwār, vol. 102, p. 265.



That's what we're taught about her in lectures/Sunday school. In my post I'll write a little about what I've learnt about her since I moved here and what she means to me.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Back in Qum

After a busy summer filled with summer camp, going back to the UK, working, catching up with friends and family and spending as much time in Tesco as I can, The Husband and I are now back in Qum.

We've had a wonderful welcome back home - seems like nothing has progressed in the 2 months that I've been away. Facebook, BBC and You Tube are all still blocked. But the icing on the cake is the next door neighbour's building work. It started during the time of my final Farsi exams (February) and it still hasn't finished!! So instead of my 'bunking off school lie-in', I had to listen to drilling all day long. n.b. the bunking off school was justified - (1) I never bunked off school when I was a kid, so I'm making up for it now (2) There was a power cut this morning which meant no water to shower or electricity to make tea.

The cherry on the icing of the cake is that our water pump is broken, which doesn't help the piles of laundry I have to do. Also means that I have to cross my fingers and hope/pray that there is enough water in the tank when I need to flush!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Eid

Here's an interesting article I was sent about Eid. Some of you will be interested to know that moon-sighting issues aren't restricted to London - we have them in Qum too!

Belated Eid Mubarak - whenever you celebrated the Eid

"But how can we have more than one Eid?"

The answer: why not?!

Instead of making mountains out of molehills, let's try to resolve such issues with a little bit of common sense. If Ramadan ended on Saturday for the parents (i.e. Sunday Eid) and on Sunday for the children (i.e. Monday Eid) and on Monday for the followers of Ayt.. Sistani in Europe (i.e. Tuesday Eid), surely the parents can wait just one or more days to wear their new clothes or cook up all sorts of ethnic delicacies! If the other members of your family are fasting today, and you are not, just drink a glass of water in the morning – you don't have to eat a four-course meal in front of them! In regards to Eid prayers, most places have services to accommodate various situations, and even if your community doesn't, keep in mind that Eid prayers are not obligatory during the occultation of the Twelfth Imam (may Allah hasten his reappearance) and can also be offered individually (Ayatollah Sistani: Islamic Laws, ruling #1525).

Furthermore, even if we see the Arab community celebrating Eid on one day, the Pakistanis the next days, and as usual the Khojas after them, what exactly is the big deal? In many parts of the Muslim world, people celebrate Eid for a whole week. The more, the merrier! I for one fail to see the problem with being able to dress up, visit friends and having delicious meals in the evening for three days instead of just one!

Instead of panicking and rushing to hurl the vilest accusations at our religious scholars, and turning and twisting their research and presentations to suit our needs, let us try to be a bit more reasonable. Unity does not mean uniformity. Instead of becoming upset at such minor differences, let us learn to appreciate and enjoy the blessings of variety and diversity.

Also, we must realize that even if we ignore all jurisprudential differences, we still would not be able to avoid the issue of multiple Eids. Indeed, we see that during the caliphate of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), a man once came and told him that he had sighted the crescent for the month of Shawwal, while no one else had. The Imam told him that since he has sighted the moon himself, it was Eid for him the next day, but for the rest of the community, since there were not two reliable testimonies (as required by Shariah), it would be the 30th of Ramadan. So while it was haram for the man to fast the next day, it was in fact wajib upon everyone else!

Hence, for those who have proper knowledge and understanding of Islamic jurisprudence, this is really a non-issue. In all honesty, the moonsighting drama has nothing to do with unity or keeping our families intact. The Shia world has had multiple Eids for centuries now, so it has hard to fathom why this has become such a divisive issue. The fact of the matter is that this is a simple jurisprudential technicality which certain nefarious elements have hijacked and used to attack our Maraja-e-Taqleed, and many simple-minded Shias are sadly following suit. If we are really so concerned about maintaining unity, let us keep in mind that the one institution that has safeguarded and protected Shi'ism for the past 1200 years and the only platform that is capable of uniting us is the same Marjaiyyat which we so quickly rush to accuse of causing disunity amongst us!

On a final note, History tell us that in the 16th century, as Mongol armies were about to overrun Baghdad, the Muslim world was too busy fighting among itself over apparently a far more pertinent matter: whether it is permissible to consume owl meat or not! While they were busy discussing this issue, Baghdad was captured and run over. Today, as we face enemies and calamities from all sides, let us learn from our own history, let us cease from wasting so much time and energy complaining about such trivial matters, let us unite under the banner of the Marjaiyyat, and let us focus on the greater problems that threaten to overrun our communities and the Muslim Ummah today. Remember the famous statement of Ayt. Khomeini (r.a.) who used to say: Muslim world is fighting whether to keep hands open or closed during prayers, forgetting that enemies are ever ready and waiting for the chance to chop those hands."

It is time to wake up and face up the real danger which is on our doorstep. May Allah swt accept all your Ibadat's of the Holy Month and the special Ibadat of the Eid day - no matter, whenever you celebrated it!