This Year – Ashara 1442H

Words Zainab H.   
Header Credits Husayn S. (@husaynshaakir)

The auspicious days of Ashara Mubaraka are always a new and pious start to a wonderful year. In fact, according to me, they’re a guide on how to live our years from thereon.

This year Ashara Mubaraka was the same yet different. Different because this time we were privileged to transform our humble homes into Masjids where Zikre Husain(AS) would take place. It was an amazing feeling – seeing the masjid tazyeen in our homes was heartwarming and made us feel how we were all, though away from masjid, still so close.

It was a different experience for me as my husband was in the UK for his studies and I was in Mumbai with my sister. This Ashara I looked after her and everything around me which I normally wouldn’t as I would always be in a hurry to get to the waaz venue on time during Ashara with Maula TUS.

During these testing times, when everything was so uncertain, we mumineen were certain of one thing – that we would listen to the voice of our Maula TUS and perform noha and aweel as we had for all these years.

While the social media and news alerts gave all the information that was depressing to human minds and made them more unsure of what should be done, mumineen around the globe were calm and composed during Ashara Mubaraka as our schedule remained the same. 

This year, I was more mindful about planning the day so as to be more attentive in the waaz mubarak, I was more patient and understanding with my sister which I usually am not, I was more thoughtful of getting in touch with my relatives and friends who I hadn’t contacted since some time, I attended istibsar sessions regularly which is the one thing I don’t normally do during Ashara because of the hustle-bustle, and I was more firm in my faith in Maula TUS that by his dua mubarak, the world is a better place. I found myself desperately wishing to do didar as that was something I had taken for granted because Behamdillah, mumineen of Mumbai are blessed with didar quite frequently. I realised this time that I would never take anything for granted in my life, ever.

This year I was more grateful than ever, to be blessed with the tawfeeq of listening to bayanaat of Doat Mutlaqeen and understanding it better because of my upbringing in Al-Jamea-Tus-Saifiyah. I was also deeply grateful for being able to do noha aweel even though not being in the masjid. 

All in all, I was grateful for being a taalebah, a mumenah and for being and feeling closer to my Maula TUS as stated in the Qawl mubarak – (كم من بعيد منا قريب) ”The ones who are far from us are very close to us”.

I pray to Allah Ta’ala to grant our Maula TUS a long, prosperous life till the day of judgment, and because of his very existence, keep all mumineen safe from this pandemic. 

Ameen.

---