Today Shiites all over the world commemorate the death of the grandson of Muhammad, Hussain, at the battle of Kerbala in 680 CE. Hussain, being a direct descendant of Muhammad had a fair claim on the caliphate which in 680 had just been assumed by Yazid, the son of Mu’awiya, who in 661 CE had usurped the function following the death of Hussain’s father, and caliph, Ali. Hussain went to Kufa to claim his rights and was caught at Kerbala, where he and his followers were massacred by an army that far outnumbered them.

In Shiism the commemoration of this battle has acquired a far wider meaning than just this historical incident. Hussain for Shiites is the epitome of everything that is good and just, while Yazid… Well, you may have guessed. The conflict between the powerless and the powerful, the oppressed against the oppressor. It all comes together at Ashura.

One day in Esfahan during Ashura, I read a phrase on the back window of a car, the title of this post. It means ‘every day is Kerbala’. According to Shiite Muslims Ashura is there to remind us of that sad fact. Those who are not Shiites need only to open their newspapers and read.

Kerbala is commemorated with passion plays in the streets, with music, public mourning and self-chastisement. In some parts of the world this even turns into self-mutilation, but not where I was. I’ve been told the latter is forbidden in Iran.

Flagellants in the main square of Esfahan (Iran) celebrating Ashura in 2010.

Beating oneself, in Iran with a bundle of chains of varying thicknesses, however is an integral part of the commemorations. It is done in groups in procession on the beat of a drum. It has a little choreography to it, that differs from group to group. Everyone wears black shirts and you can see small particles of iron shimmering on the backs of the men (no women beat themselves with chains). I’ve tried it myself. It does not hurt as much as you might think, it’s just a heavy thump on your back. But I’ve never tried doing it during half a day, as these men do.

It’s the beating with chains that impresses people the most, but once you’ve been at Ashura, you realise it’s just a detail. It’s the general atmosphere of mourning that is most impressive.

(source: Sotheby’s website)

In a few hours a page from the so-called blue qur’an will be auctioned at Sotheby’s, chances are it will disappear in the vaults of some private collector. Rumor has it that almost all old qur’anic manuscripts disappear there…

Somehow I cannot but think that things like these are world heritage, that should be publicly available for everyone to see and enjoy.

(source: Sotheby’s website)

Incidentally: a hijazi manuscript is also up for sale. This type of manuscript belongs to the very oldest group of manuscripts we have of the qur’an. They are important for the study of early Islam and the textual history of the qur’an. They should not only be available for everyone to see, but also for all to study.

The page from the blue qur’an contains surat al-Baqarah (2), verses 267 to 273. The hijazi manuscript contains surat Yusuf (12), verses 30 to 50.

Again one of my favorite pieces by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.

De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine;
Domine, exaudi vocem meam.
Fiant aures tuae intendentes
in vocem deprecationis meae.
Si iniquitates observaveris, Domine,
Domine, quis sustinebit?
Quia apud te propitiatio est propter legem tuam sustinui te Domine,
ut timeamus te.
Sustinui te, Domine,
sustinuit anima mea in verbo eius;
speravit anima mea in Domino
A custodia matutina usque ad noctem speret Israel in Domino,
quia apud Dominum misericordia,
et copiosa apud eum redemptio.
Et ipse redimet Israel
ex omnibus iniquitatibus eius.

That limits the possibilities to surprise me considerably. Fortunately my girlfriend kept an eye out for what I liked besides books. One evening, while visiting a friend, she’d noticed me playing with a Philips Living Colors lamp. It’s a lamp that has a remote control with which you can set the colour of the light, its intensity and hue. It makes for a very enjoyable evening.

These lamps cost a fortune. My girlfriend couldn’t possibly afford one. But as she had set her mind to pleasing me, she saved for it. I think it was at Christmas, at st. Valentines Day and our two-year anniversary that she gave me a card stating that a big present for my birthday was underway. In exchange for the three cards I could obtain my present for my birthday.

The package I got in mid-summer surely did not have the size nor the weight of a book. I was indeed surprised to find one of these lamps in the box. This was definitely not what I had expected and worst: this was not something I wanted. It made for a fun evening, playing with the remote and all that, but that was it.

I immediately realised how she had gotten the idea. I remembered the visit with my friend. She had been paying attention, accidentally came to the wrong conclusion and saved up her dearly earned money for about half a year, just to do me a pleasure. There was no way I was going to disappoint her. I pretended, I fooled, I faked. Not just on my birthday, I played with the thing every time during dinner.

My chivalrous charade only lasted for two months and four days, and then we broke up. The lamp is still in my house. It’s never on, except when I have visitors, they can play with it and all visitors have so far. Since my girlfriend’s gone, I have rid myself of everything she ever gave me. But I don’t want to get rid of the lamp, because that would make me feel sorry for her.

Given YouTube, I can post quite a lot of my favorite music. This one is by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. It’s the Magnificat, a song attributed to Mary the mother of Jesus in Lk 1: 46-55 and a popular text for quite some composers.

It’s actually a psalm, an a bit of a revolutionary one at that:

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
For he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden.

For behold, from this day all generations will call me blessed;

For the mighty one has done great things to me, and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts;

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the holy;

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent empty away.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his seed forever.

We come closest to the love of God when we forgive the unforgivable

I’ve been planning to clean up the posts I wrote for the past years and sift the best out to keep and delete the rest. I now seem to have the time. I’ve left a skeleton Shirhashirim blog with the most popular posts, and I am taking all the others home to scrupulously scruple. I expect to be back in September with a meaner, leaner Shirhashirim blog!

I blogged long ago about a discussion I had with my dad about an alleluia that was sung at the end of the funeral of lady Diana, but I never posted the song itself: ‘Song for Athene‘.

It was composed by English composer John Tavener in remembrance of a friend, Athene Hariades, who died as a result of a traffic accident.

Throughout the whole song you can hear what is called an ison: a low tone that is held throughout the entire song. This is an ancient Byzantine practice, now used again by some modern composers. In ‘Song for Athene’ the ison suddenly rises to a tone far higher than the song itself at the last line. This is a modern adaptation and the festive effect fits the text of the last line very well.

The lyrics:
Alleluia. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
Remember me O lord, when you come into your kingdom.
Give rest O Lord to your handmaid, who has fallen asleep.
The choir of saints have found the well-spring of life, and door of paradise.
Life: a shadow and a dream.
Weeping at the grave creates the song:
Alleluia. Come, enjoy rewards and crowns I have prepared for you.

In the name of Allah the most compassionate, the most merciful.

Most certainly not! The qur’an was revealed to us by Allah because of his love for mankind. It is perfect and inimitable and because it is already perfect, nothing can be added to it. The qur’an is Allah’s voice directed at us and if a woman -or a man for that matter- recites the qur’an, they recite His perfect and inimitable voice. The mere claim that anyone can add to this divine perfection is nothing more than attributing associates to Allah. This is shirk, the most heinous crime in Islam. To claim that anyone can add seduction and inappropriate thoughts to the word of Allah -astaghfirullah- is shirk with a vengeance!

And Allah knows best.