Amidst a snow storm began Ashara
Mubaraka in Chicago, USA in 1424H. By the farmane aali
of Huzurala, Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin TUS, Syedi
Mazoon Saheb graced the land of Chicago with his noorani
presence and spell binding bayan and warmed the hearts
of the mumineen residing in Chicago. Even with such
adverse weather conditions, mumineen in Chicago gathered
to take barakat of the waaz mubarak. Daily, the waaz
mubarak started at 7-15 pm after Maghrib Isha namaaz
and niyaz-e-Husain jaman.
It is impossible to describe the waaz
mubarak. Many of those who attended from other cities
in the US did araz that they felt they were returning
filled with barakaat. There is no substitute for actually
hearing the bayan, but in order to get a glimpse of
the barakaat that showered upon the mumineen of Chicago,
I have tried to highlight some of the recurring themes.
Throughout Ashara Mazoon Mola emphasized
the need to prepare for Aakherat (the hereafter) while
living a full and complete life in this world. He stressed
that following 'shariat' in Islam and preparing for
Aakherat does not mean that one has to desert worldly
pleasures; rather mumineen must live their life to the
fullest, as Ameerul Mumineen SA has said 'sakanuha be
afdale ma sokenat wa akaluha be afdale ma okelat' i.e
that mumineen should dwell in the best of dwellings
and enjoy the best of foods; so that when life ends
they return 'bil matjar il-raabih wal zaadi il-muballigh'
i.e with a profitable business and sufficient provision
for Aakherat.
An everpresent theme in Syedi Mazoon
Saheb's bayan was our identity as 'Mumineen'. Each of
us should realize that wherever he resides, whatever
his citizenship, whatever his occupation, he is first
and foremost a 'mumin'; a member of the dawat of Imam
uz zaman, which during his seclusion, is in the hands
of his Dai Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin TUS. It is this
identity that distinguishes us from the billions of
people in this world. And it is because of this identity,
if one lives up to it, that an individual will ascend
from this world. It is our duty as 'mumineen', to live
up to this identity by upholding the high moral and
religious standards that it demands no matter where
we are. Mazoon Mola drew the example of Chicago's weather;
we do not require warm clothing in India, but where
it is cold wearing warm clothes is a must. Similarly,
in places where our community is established we can
get away by not being conscious about this identity;
but where there are forces drawing us away from our
identity and culture we must be extra conscious of it.
A great share of the responsibility lies with the parents;
the essential thing parents must do is speak in dawat
ni zabaan at all times at home so that children understand
our perspective when they attend majalis and are thereby
able to acquire our culture and teachings.
A theme that recurred in every waaz,
a theme that is the crux of our 'aqeeda' (belief), is
the zikar of 'tasalsul' (continuity and linkage; the
word is derived from the Arabic word 'silsila' which
means chain). Syedi Mazoon Saheb in different ways and
levels reiterated that 'haqq ni dawat' has been established
from the beginning of time with the first Imam, in whose
lineage, the Imamat continued until Ibrahim SAW and
Rasulullah SAW. Rasulullah SAW and Panjetan pak upheld
the same 'dawat' with the religion of Islam. Ever since,
in the 'nasal' (lineage) of Imam Husain the 'silsila'
of Imams has continued; the 21st Imam for many reasons
chose seclusion, but the 'silsila' of Imams continues
in seclusion; that is a certainty. While the Imam is
in 'satr' (seclusion) the Imam's Duat continue to guide
mumineen and include them in the dawat of Imam uz zaman.
As there is a silsila of Imams there is a silsila of
Duat that was started by the 20th Imam, al Imam al Aamir
be Ahkamillah at the hands of Maulatuna Hurratul Malekah
in Yemen. Mazoon Mola said that as one Imam cannot die
before appointing one of his sons as successor, similarly
a Dai cannot die before appointing his successor; this
is the 'amanat' of Imam uz zaman in his Dai's hands.
Conferring 'nass' is solely the Dai's responsibility.
This is the continuity of dawat since the beginning
of time till our day. As each link in a chain is connected
to the link before it and after it, all the Imams and
in their satr the Dais are connected to each other.
By entering the dawat of our zaman's Dai, Syedna Mohammad
Burhanuddin TUS, we are able to reach all the Dais,
all the Imams and all the way to Panjetan pak. The 'iqrar'
(recognition) and 'ma'refat' (knowledge) of all the
Imams and Dais from the very beginning to the end is
essential; this continuity and linkage is the 'hablul-llaah'
(Allah TA's rope) mentioned in the Quraane Majeed. One
side of the 'hablul llah' is in Allah TA's hand and
the other is in mumineen's hands. If any mumin does
not recognize any one of the Imams or Dais he breaks
away from the rope, and the only way this rope can be
embraced in our day is through the 52nd Da'il Mutlaq,
Syedna Burhanuddin TUS.
Mazoon mola gave some practical examples
that explain the philosophy of our beliefs. While doing
the zikar of 'anbiyaa' (the prophets) and their different
religions he said that the religions of the 'anbiyaa'
were correct in their time; but today it is the 'dawr'
(age) of Rasulullah SAW and only his religion and 'shariat'
is the right one. For if one was living in the age of
the British (in India) and insisted that he follow the
laws of the Mogul empire, it would not avail him. It
is necessary to follow the law of the land in the present
age. Therefore one cannot come today and say that I
follow the 'shariat' of an earlier prophet as he was
also a prophet of Allah TA, because the law of the land
is Rasulullah SAW's 'shariat'.
Syedi Mazoon Saheb then gave mumineen
the answer to a very basic question: why did the shariat,
especially since it was from Allah TA, need to be changed
with each prophet, Nooh, Ibrahim, Musa, Eesa and Rasulullah
SAW? Mazoon Mola said that this can be understood if
we take the example of an illness. If a patient is ill
the doctor prescribes medicines, but as the illness
progresses he changes the dosage and prescription to
tackle new problems. Similarly to rid our souls of its
illness and for the souls to be able to ascend to jannat,
the 'roohani' doctors, the prophets, change the dosage
and prescription, the 'shariat', as the circumstances
of the day and age necessitate.
Today, though the Imam is secluded
we hold the belief that he is necessarily present on
the face of the Earth. In one aspect Imam uz zaman is
the Sun of dawat and his Dai is the moon. In nature,
when night falls we all believe that the sun necessarily
exists; this even though we cannot see the sun. By seeing
the sun's light reflected by the moon we are assured
that the sun is present albeit concealed from our eyes.
In the same vein, we cannot see Imam uz zaman through
our eyes but by seeing the Imam’s 'noor' shine
in his Dai's 'paishani' we are assured of his presence.
These are but drops from the ocean
that flowed from the takhat in Chicago. A perfect blend
of the ilm of Aale Mohammad, nasihat (sikhaman or guidance)
and the 'noha' and matam of Imam Husain SA. From the
ilmi point of view many unique 'tawjihaat' were orated
that were understood by mumineen because of Mazoon Mola's
explanation even though some of them were very 'a'laa'
(high) and difficult to attain. Mazoon Mola throughout
did the zikar of the fazaa'il and ma'ajiz of Panjetan
pak, Aimmat tahereen and Duat mutlaqeen especially 51st
dai Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA. In particular, Syedi
Mazoon Saheb repeatedly did zikar of Daizzaman 52nd
dai Syedna wa maulana Mohammad Burhanuddin TUS and did
doa for Huzurala TUS's sehhat and long life innumerable
times. As for the noha, daily Mazoon Mola spent at least
30 minutes doing the zikar of Imam Husain SA in a way
that left no mumin without tears; all mumineen concluded
Ashara satisfied with the matam and bukaa they had done.
As for nasihat, if one indeed took to heart each nasihat
he heard in Ashara, he would ensure a flourishing life
in this world and also in the hereafter.
Many of those who had witnessed Syedna
Taher Saifuddin's waaz mubarak said that they saw Syedna
Taher Saifuddin RA on the takhat, and the barakat of
Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin TUS flowing through his
Mazoon. Mumineen also got barakat directly through two
full waaz audio relays from Mumbai, and for the first
time, the full waaz video relay of Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin
TUS. Even on Aashura night the mumineen of Chicago were
fortunate to hear the shahadat of Imam Husain SA from
Huzurala TUS's waaz on the 9th of Moharram in Mumbai.
On Aashura day as per custom the first
waaz started in the morning in which Syedi Mazoon Saheb
did zikar of Duat mutlaqeen and their 'Hudud fozalaa'
especially noting their sacrifices for the dawat and
their sincerity and pureness in the service of the Duat.
Between Zohor Asar namaaz, Syedi Mazoon Saheb's eldest
son, Taher bhaisaheb, prayed the doa, took vasila and
did zikar of Imam Husain SA. He prayed for the long
and healthy life of Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin TUS
numerous times and for the long life of the two maratib
of Imam uz zaman under the Dai, Mazoon ud dawat and
Mukasire dawat. In a very short time mumineen were immensely
moved. Syedi Mazoon Saheb's youngest son, Aziz bhaisaheb
prayed qasidas and marsiyas with an angelic and fervent
voice during waaz throughout Ashara Mubaraka.
In the afternoon in Aashura, before
starting the 'maqtal' waaz, Syedi Mazoon Saheb said
that when the farman came for performing ashara in Chicago
he was apprehensive about how ashara would be in the
US; but after seeing the jazbaat and matam of the mumineen
of Chicago, it was as if he was in a masjid in India.
In the days following Ashara Mubaraka
mumineen took barakat of Mazoon Mola's presence. After
suyum jaman an arzi bethak was organized in which mumineen
were able to do their araz to Syedi Mazoon Saheb confidentially.
Approximately 40 families did their araz, the bethak
started at 7 p.m and lasted almost until midnight. Mumineen
also took barakat in their homes in ziafats and qadams.
In the 17 day stay after ashara there were 25 ziafats
and many qadams. Amongst the ziafats was the ziafat
offered by Shabab ul Eidiz Zahabi. When Syedna Taher
Saifuddin formed Shabab on the occasion of his golden
jubilee he made Syedi Mazoon Saheb 'zaeem-ush shabab'
(zaeem=leader).
On the 26th of Muharram, Saturday,
Syedi Mazoon Saheb visited the madrasa in Chicago. He
visited each and every classroom and all the students
introduced themselves to Syedi Mazoon Saheb. Each group
prayed what they were learning in Mazoon Mola's presence;
they were overjoyed at receiving such personal attention
from Mazoon-e-Dawat.
The whole jamaat of Chicago also gathered
on the 16th and 27th of Moharram. The darees in Syedna
Hatim's urus majlis was unique with the presence of
Syedi Mazoon Saheb and his doa for the mumineen of Chicago
especially for barakat. On Syedi Fakhruddin Shaheed's
urus night, in his bayaan Syedi Mazoon Saheb did zikar
of the akhbar (history) of Bab-ji-sab, Syedi Fakhruddin
Shaheed. Many mumineen heard this bayan for the first
time in the urus majlis. This night was also a sad night
for mumineen as they were doing wada of Mazoon-ud-dawatil-gharra
after taking barakaat for a whole month.
Syedi Mazoon Saheb's Ashara 1424H trip
to Chicago was a truly unique one. For many years to
come the waaz, ziafats, madrasa program, majlis..etc
will be remembered by the mumineen of Chicago. May Allah
TA grant a long and healthy life to Huzurala Syedna
Mohammad Burhanuddin TUS until the day of qiyamat and
in his saya and khidmat may Allah TA give long life
to his Mazoon, Syedi Khuzaima bhaisaheb Qutbuddin. By
the wasila of Huzurala TUS may Allah TA keep all mumineen
in his hifazat and kilayat. Ameen.
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