Ashura Poems in English Explained and Annotated (volume 1)

Ethel M. Pope : Tragedy of Moharram

Gold moonbeam shed their misty light O'er a saddened world; To sound of deepest funeral dirge. Islam's banner is unfurled, With slow and measured step, ?tis borne, Aloft amid the throng, The emblem of a mighty hand E'er raised to right a wrong, In by-gone days its silken folds, Waved proudly in Iran; From Continent to Continent, The Arab symbol ran. Its path was marked by victory, The triumph of the right; Till darkest Africa's heathen hands, Were bathed in purest light. That day of happiness is gone; No more in ecstasy borne, The banner heads a sobbing throng; Whose duty is to mourn. The loss of him beloved by all A hero without stain, Whose noble sacrifice has made The world ring with his name With open hand he gave his all;

His little children dear

Brothers, friends - helpless women too, Cling to him in fear, Unflinchingly, nor moved nor wept, Secure in his just cause, He nobly fought and nobly died, To save Islam's great laws. All the memory of martyrdom A new the passions rise; A bitter, sobbing, wailing cry, Goes up unto the skies; With each new year the latent grief, Pent up, breaks out again, And Heaven returns the impassioned cry, Husain, Husain, Husain!*

* Khurshed, ed., Imam Husain, 2nd ed., pp. 153-154

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Justice A. D. Russel : The Martyr of Karbala

From age to age, on Virtue's age, Shall live the deathless story, His loss remain the Martyr's gain, His shame the Martyr's glory; Till truth shall lie, and Honor die, And time itself be hoary. ?Arise Husain, arise, Chief of the Prophet's seed; Fling broad thy banner to the skies, And come with utmost speed, Or ere the throne of the All-Wise Usurped be by foul Yazid?. He's donned his armour bright, His father's sword girt on; The sword of Ali, as the might Of the Destroyer's own: And he is off ere morning light Across the desert wide and lone, ?Now, Kufa, keep thy word! To the good cause be true; Yazid has sent a giant horde To march thy province through; The hirelings of his father's hoard, Who grace or mercy never knew.? They bore his god-like head aloft,

His mouth struck with their whips. ?O mouth, that I have seen so oft, A-teem with angel quips, In baby-kisses, warm and soft, Pressed to the Prophet's lips!? O body, trampled, fouled, disdained, Which charmed the gazer's eye, The blood from out thy veins that drained Was heaven's electuary; No horses hooves were ever stained In so divine a dye. O barren plain of Karbala, With herb, nor yet with sod Be clad eternally; for ah! There, overwhelmed, down-trod, The holy son of Fatima Gave up his soul to God!* * Khurshed, ed., Imam Husain, 2nd ed., pp. 136-140.

L. 19. Kufa, or al-Kufa (Arabic al-K?fa), is a town on western bank of the Euphrates. It is now quite close to al-Najaf. Al- Kufa served as a seat of Imam ?Al?'s government, hence a refuge and center for the Shiites. Just prior to the Karbala incident, several of its inhabitants wrote letters of invitation to Imam al-Husain; however, most of them betrayed him and participated in the unbalanced war against him in Karbala.

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Mariam Rizvi : Untitled Poem

Peace, with sception and hope, I seek, (congruity's scope I know is bleak) To mend I crave (rather than kill) To spill blood, abhor I will. Intend I do, no force to use (If sense in you I can infuse) 5 But the rules, supreme, of the divine faith Resolved I am, to defend till death. Face your hostile moves I will. Thought accord I covet, seek peace still. A holy war it means indeed If waged to crush the devil's creed. No rancour, `against you,' I hold But faith do cherish - as I told. Islam I will resolutely shield Burnt will stand and never yield. Would welcome death (and make it tame) Would rather die than live in shame. Your Prophet's scion I'm - you know At least some regard to his name show. His singular dictum is my creed:

"Universal good" I adore, indeed. Ali, the paragon, the seraphic Imam Champ of the faith, the shield of Islam Inimitable, impeccable: I am his son His peerless attributes I have won. My heart is virtues' abode and nest Blessedness harbours in my breast. Muhammad came in the kingdom of God, as a messenger of peace as the master of creed. He influenced the world with Ali's help, and all the sons from his daughter's breed. Fatima the lady of God's paradise, Ali the warrior, the leader, the wise. Hassan, the heir of eternal lore, Hussain, the martyr, the heaven's door. Call Ali in the trouble, Almighty says, because in his presence the evil decays. He's the lion of God, he's the sword of God, and all his believers are one righteous squad. Islam's prosperity is the gift of Hussain, In the way of God, he sacrificed his clan. He gave his head but not his grace, His martyrdom is a slap on the devils face. The grandson of prophet decided to fight, to unveil the Satan, and bring him in light. The food was banned, the water was stopped, but on his mind the triumph had topped. Zainab was with her brother all the time, and participated as much to demolish the crime. Her surety was Abbas, the holder of the flag, Whose hand on the emblem is the victory's tag. The thirst was a menace, the hunger a threat, an example for all the mankind was set. But the righteuos fought, and died on the faith, and the right won, against the evils wraith. * 45 50 55 *Published on: Thursday, 9 Muharam 1424 (13 March 2003) L. 34. Hassan was the elder son of Imam ?Al? and the second infallible imam. He was the elder brother of Imam al-Husain. 54

L. 48. Zainab, or Zaynab bint ?Al?, was Imam al-Husain's younger sister who accompanied Imam al-Husain from Medina to Karbala. She married her cousin ?Abd Allah b. Ja?far and had four sons and a daughter. Two of her sons, ?Awn (var. Aun) and Muhammad, were martyred on Ashura in Karbala. She bravely acted as the leader of the survivors of the Karbala incident and eloquently acted as the disclosing voice of the Karbala revolt to reveal the real face and unjust character of Yaz?d. L. 50. ?Abb?s (var. Abbas) b. ?Al? was Imam al-Husain's step- brother. He typifies and symbolizes bravery, religious zeal, chivalrous politeness, and absolute obedience toward Imam al- Husain.

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