A MUHARRAM TABUT. (A. F. Hole.)
“The martyrdom of Hasan and Husain is celebrated by the Shiahs all over India, during the first ten days of the month of Mohurrum. Attached to every Shiah’s house is an Imambarrah, a hall or inclosure built expressly for the celebration of the anniversary of the death of Husain. The enclosure is generally arcaded along its side, and in most instances it is covered in with a domed roof. Against the side of the Imambarrah, directed towards Mecca, is set the tabut—also called tazia (taʿziyah), or model of the tombs at Kerbela. In the houses of the wealthier Shiahs, these tabuts are fixtures, and are beautifully fashioned of silver and gold, or of ivory and ebony, embellished all over with inlaid work. The poorer Shiahs provide themselves with a tabut made for the occasion of lath and plaster, tricked out in mica and tinsel. A week before the new moon of the Mohurrum, they enclose a space, called the tabut khana, in which the tabut is prepared; and the very moment the new moon is seen, a spade is struck into the ground before “the enclosure of the tombs,” where a pit is afterwards dug, in which a bonfire is lighted, and kept burning through all the ten days of the Mohurrum solemnities. Those who cannot afford to erect a tabut khana, or even to put up a little tabut or taziah in their dwelling-house, always have a Mohurrum fire lighted, if it consist only of a night-light floating at the bottom of an earthen pot or basin sunk in the ground. It is doubtful whether this custom refers to the trench of fire Husain set blazing behind his camp, or is a survival from the older Ashura (ten days) festival, which is said to have been instituted in commemoration of the deliverance of the Hebrew Arabs from Pharaoh and his host at the Red Sea; or from the yet more ancient Bael fire. But, in India, these Mohurrum fires, especially among the more ignorant populace, Hindus as well as Mohammedans, are regarded with the most superstitious reverence, and have a greater hold on them even than the tabuts. All day long the passers by stop before the fires and make their vows over them, and all night long the crowds dance round them, and leap through the flames and scatter about the burning brands snatched from them. The tabut is lighted up like an altar, with innumerable green wax candles, and nothing can be more brilliant than the appearance of an Imambarrah of white stone, or polished white stucco, picked out in green, lighted up with glass chandeliers, sconces, and oil-lamps, arranged along the leading architectural lines of the building, with its tabut on one side, dazzling to blindness. Before the tabut are placed the “properties” to be used by the celebrants in the “Passion Play,” the bows and arrows, the sword and spear, and the banners of Husain, &c.; and in front of it is set a movable pulpit, also made of the richest materials, and covered with rich brocades in green and gold. Such is the theatre in which twice daily during the first ten days of the month of Mohurrum, the deaths of the first martyrs of Islam are yearly commemorated in India. Each day has its special solemnity, corresponding with the succession of events during the ten days that Husain was encamped on the fatal plain of Kerbela; but the prescribed order of the services in the daily development of the great Shiah function of the Mohurrum would appear not to be always strictly observed in Bombay.” (Pelly’s Miracle Play of Hasan and Husain, Preface, p. xvii.)
The drama, or “Miracle Play” which is recited in Persia during the Muḥarram, has been rendered into English by Colonel Sir Lewis Pelly, K.C.B. (Allen & Co., 1879), from which we take the death scene of al-Ḥusain on the battle-field of Karbalāʾ, a scene which, the historian Gibbon (Decline and Fall, vol. ix. ch. 341) says, “in a distant age and climate, will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.”
“Husain.—I am sore distressed at the unkind treatment received at the hands of the cruel heavens. Pitiful tyranny is exercised towards me by a cruel, unbelieving army! All the sorrows and troubles of this world have overwhelmed me! I am become a butt for the arrow of affliction and trouble. I am a holy bird stript of its quills and feathers by the hand of the archer of tyranny, and am become, O friends, utterly disabled, and unable to fly to my sacred nest. They are going to kill me mercilessly, for no other crime or guilt except that I happen to be a prophet’s grandson.
“Shimar (challenging him).—O Husain, why dost thou not appear in the field? Why dost not thy majesty show thy face in battle? How long art thou going to sit still without displaying thy valour in war? Why dost thou not put on thy robe of martyrdom and come forth? If thou art indeed so magnanimous as not to fear death, if thou carest not about the whistling sounds of the arrows when let fly from the bow, mount thou, quickly, thy swift horse named Zúʾl janáh, and deliver thy soul from so many troubles. Yea, come to the field of battle, be it as it may. Enter soon among thy women, and with tears bid them a last farewell; then come forth to war, and show us thy great fortitude.
“Husain (talking to himself).—Although the accursed fellow, Shimar, will put me to death in an hour’s time, yet the reproachful language of the enemy seems to be worse than destruction itself. It is better that the foe should sever my head cruelly from the body, than make me hear these abusive words. What can I do? I have no one left to help me, no Kásim to hold my stirrup for a minute when about to mount. All are gone! Look around if thou canst find anyone to defend the descendant of Muhammad, the chosen of God—if thou canst see any ready to assist the holy family of God’s Prophet! In this land of trials there is no kind protector to have compassion on the household of the Apostle of God, and befriend them.
“Zainab.—May I be offered for the sad tones of thy voice, dear brother! Time has thrown on my head the black earth of sorrow. It has grieved me to the quick. Wait, brother, do not go till thy Kásim arrives. Have patience for a minute, my ʾAlí Akbar is coming.
“Husain (looking around).—Is there one who wishes to please God, his Maker? Is there any willing to behave faithfully towards his real friends? Is there a person ready to give up his life for our sake, to save us, to defend us in this dreadful struggle of Karbalá?
“Zainab.—O Lord, Zainab’s brother has no one to assist or support him! Occasions of his sorrows are innumerable, without anyone to sympathise with him in the least? Sad and desolate, he is leaning on his spear! He has bent his neck in a calamitous manner; he has no famous ʾAlí Akbar, no renowned ʾAbbás any more!
“Husain.—Is there anyone to pity our condition, to help us in this terrible conflict of Karbalá? Is there a kind soul to give us a hand of assistance for God’s sake?