Aashura in Damascus

This was our first Aashura in Damascus. It was probably the first time I have spent Muharram away from the khoja community, so it was slightly weird not knowing where to go and what time things were starting! By the 4th night though, we'd got into a routine of going to the Shrine of Sayyidda Zainab for the evening prayers and then sitting for the Arabic lecture there and then running to one of the local hawzas for a second lecture. We tried to pick out the lecturers that used simple, classical Arabic so that we could understand a little!

The government had put a ban on all things 'azadari' related. On Aashura day there were no processions, no open displays of mourning and no sabeel either (the stalls that give out water/drinks on the sides of the streets) There were even bus loads of soldiers placed at various points to control the crowds. Shame really. We were told it was for 'the protection of the shias' - whatever that means. It will be interesting to see what Arbaaen is like this year.

Most people were commemorating Aashura on the Thursday, whereas we were marking it on Friday (moon sighting issues are not just limited to London LOL). On the Thursday I went to the Musalla of Sayyida Zaynab's Haram and listened to the narration. I was surprised at how much Arabic I had picked up, as I managed to understand most of it. It was an interesting experience, unlike the khoja centres back home, there was no amaal of Aashura (it was good our Aashura was the next day!). I didn't realise that most khateeb's (narraters) read the actual naration of the story of Karbala from a book. Its reasuring to know that they are reading from authentic books and not adding extra spice like so many of our indo-pak shaykh's do (another post on that soon!)

Even though it's Aashura, the locals still keep their stalls open and try and make a quick buck from the pilgrims!

Banners in the courtyard of Sayyidda Ruqayya's Haram

Matam taking place in Sayyida Ruqayyah's Haram

Banners on the actual Dhareeh of Sayyida Ruqayyah

Cartoon narration of the story of Karbala in Farsi

Cartoon narration of the story of Karbala in Farsi

Shrine of Sayyida Zaynab

Banner outside the shrine of Sayyida Zaynab

The Reward of the Patient Ones

Our reading comprehension book features stories from the lives of the Prophets and Imams. More often than not, the stories featured give us food for thought, as well as increasing our Arabic vocabulary. Yesterday's story was about people who are patient.

It is narrated from the 4th Holy Imam who said that on the Day of Judgement, Allah will gather a group of the early people and the later people and call out for the patient people to enter into Heaven without having their deeds accounted for! So a group of people will stand up, only to be stopped by the angels. The angels will ask: "where are you going?" So the patient ones will reply: "To Heaven". The Angels will ask "Without being accounted for!?" The patient ones will say "Yes". The Angels will then ask "So who are you?" The patient ones will reply "We are the patient ones". And the Angels will continue to ask "And what was your patience?" The people will reply "We were patient in obeying Allah, we were patient against disobeying Allah and we were patient in the trials and tribulations of life".

Then Allah will tell the Angels "They speak the truth, enter them into Heaven. Only the patient will be paid back their reward in full without measure." (Qur'an, Chapter 39, verse 10)

This story really got me thinking. Living in the West, we are so accustomed to having everything here and now. If our blackberrys, laptops, ipods break down, if our email stops working, if our cars get a puncture, if the hot water heater breaks down... we are so 'put out' and 'inconvenienced' and 'feel we are experiencing trials and tribulations'. One of the things you realise when you move to the 3rd world is how unimportant these things really are. They are nice to have and keep, but really our lives don't depend on them.

And entering into Muharram and hearing the narrations of the events that transpired over a century ago in the hot sands of Karbala, you realise that those people lost everything - their family, their possessions, their hijabs all in a matter of a day. And yet when they were asked about their experiences, they replied by saying "I didn't see anything but beauty". This is really inspirational.

Even when I recite the ziarat of Sayyidda Zainab, at the end there is a line near the end which says: "Assalamu Alyki ayatuhas Saahibatul Museebatul Udhmaa" which means "peace be on you O the one who is the bearer of the greatest tragedy" and whenever I recite this line it puts everything into perspective. No matter what I experience in life, it will be nowhere nearly as tragic as what this lady went through in Karbala and after. It makes me that that I have no right to complain about the small things that go wrong in my life. Just deal with what life throws at you and move on. That's my new motto for life.

Qum vs Damascus

One of the first things that people ask me when they meet is what the differences are between studying in Qum and Damascus and which one I prefer.

I prefer Qum, without a doubt. The city there was geared around studying and students. You can tell someone there that you can't do something or go somewhere because of exams and they will believe you. Not only that, if you go to the mosques at exam time, you will see people studying together. There are also big supermarket-type-stores that sell things at a discount and once in a while, the school gives out things like rice, material for chadors, vouchers etc.

There's something magical about the atmosphere in Qum which I just can't put into words. And that just doesn't exist in Syria. Sure, Damascus is a great place to come and learn Arabic, and you can get pretty much everything here (in the city centre) and I love living a 7 min walk away from the shrine of Sayyidda Zainab, and it's great seeing so many people passing through here on pilgrimage (we didn't get that many visitors in Qum), but there is definitely something missing here.

We have private classes in Damascus, so I really miss the social aspect of studying in a university. No one to practise Arabic with at break times (I am the only girl in the class!) But the upside is that I have a 2 minute commute to class!

Word Associations

Our teacher is obsessed with them. He shows us how most of the words in the English language have been derived from Arabic. One lesson, he was telling us how many of the places in Africa have come from the Arabic language. Just like when the Europeans landed in America and named the city 'New' York, in the same way, the Arabs when they reached Africa named the city 'Nairobi' or 'Nay (new) Aruba (Arabia). Mombasa is 'New Basra' and Arusha is 'Arustatal Bahr' or Bride of the Sea (i.e. Mermaid)!

Nigeria comes from 'Nay Gariya' (Gariya is how the coastal people pronounce 'qariya'- village)

Even Europe comes from 'Euroba' (Aruba- Arabia!)