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“O my Lord! Grant me a righteous (son)!” So We gave him the good news of a boy, possessing forbearance. And when (his son) was old enough to walk and work with him, (Abraham) said: O my dear son, I see in vision that I offer you in sacrifice: Now see what is your view!”
(The son) said: “O my father! Do what you are commanded; if Allah wills, you will find me one practising patience and steadfastness!”
So when they both submitted and he threw him down upon his forehead, We called out to him saying: O Ibrahim! You have indeed fulfilled the vision; surely thus do We reward those who do good. Most surely this was a manifest trial. And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice. And We perpetuated (praise) to him among the later generations. “Peace and salutation to Abraham!” Thus indeed do We reward those who do right. Surely he was one of Our believing servants. And We gave him the good news of Ishaq, a prophet from among the righteous.”
(Quran 37:100–111)

Eid al-Adha is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honour the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his young first-born son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of submission to God’s command and his son’s acceptance to being sacrificed, before God intervened to provide Abraham with a ram to sacrifice instead.
In North India this festival is also called “Bakrid”, from the Urdu-Hindi word bakri (goat) because of the tradition of sacrificing a goat.
(This picture of a tazia was shot in Varanasi (Benaras) during Muharram).

May Allah’s love brighten up the home and heart of all you know on this auspicious day.
I wish everyone a blessed Eid and a Happy Eid Mubarak.

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Friday Call

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“O you who believe! when the call is made for prayer on Friday, then hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave off trading; that is better for you, if you know.”
(The Quran – The Congregation, 62.9)

This is picture of Jama Masjid, the largest and best-known mosque in India, which is in in Old Delhi.
It was a Friday morning at the time of the call for prayer when many people gather in front of gate number two in the amazing market which goes to the main gate of the Red Fort.
This is the place where I always buy a few red apples from Cashmere which might be the tastiest I ever had.

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The Bond of Brotherhood

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“The mystical bond of brotherhood makes all men brothers.”
(Thomas Carlyle – Scottish Historian and Essayist, 1795-1881)

Those young men standing on the top of a wall are Shia devotees waiting for the processions with replicas of Husayn’s mausoleum called tazia which were coming in this narrow street.
It was at the time of Muharram when Varanasi (Benaras) add a little more magic and becomes timeless.
The Eternal city has so many amazing sides, this festival allows to feel a warm bond of brotherhood among the inhabitants of this area.

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The Vision of the Heart

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“What the eye sees the heart preserves.”
“The vision of the eye is limited; the vision of the heart transcends all barriers of time and space.”
(Ali ibn Abi Talib – religious leader, warrior, Orator and Poet. Son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad, 600-661)

I met those two brothers in a little street of Jaitpura in Varanasi (Benaras) at the time of Muharram.
They were standing nearby a tazia.
The night was cold however it was easy to feel the heat from everyone’s heart. They were happy to share this generous and heartful moment in front of my camera.

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A Passionate Intuition

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“Faith is a passionate intuition.”
(William Wordsworth – English Romantic poet, 1770–1850)

This little boy wearing a beige jacket made this tazia.
His family invited me to have tea and to share a few sweets which are especially done at the time of Muharram.
From the window of the house I took several pictures of the people passing by and admiring this miniature replica of Husayn’s mausoleum and the children of the house decided to go outisde and to gift my lense their happiness.
This picture was shot in the area of Jaitpura in Varanasi (Benaras).

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An Oasis in the Heart

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“Faith is an oasis in the heart which can never be reached by the caravan of thinking.”
(Kahlil Gibran – Lebanese born American philosophical Essayist, Novelist and Poet, 1883-1931)

Walking in the narow streets from Pili Kothi to Jaitpura in Varanasi (Benaras) at the time of Muharram is an enchantment.
In front of each house stands a tazia which is a miniature replica of Husayn’s mausoleum.
The simple ones are usualy done by the children living there, others which are more elaborated are made by several artcrafters from the city who follow different religions and maintain this way that well-known Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (Ganges-Yamuna Culture) which is a fusion of Hindu and Muslim elements in the culture of the central plains of Northern India.
During this magical evening families and friends visit each house where stands a tazia as the day after they will be carried in processions.

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Ontology of Observing

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“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
(Reinhold Niebuhr – American theologian, 1892-1971)

This picture was shot in Varanasi (Benaras) during Muharram.
Those men were observing the remembrance of the Battle of Karbala when Imam Hussain ibn Ali, the grandson of prophet Muhammad, and a Shia Imam, was killed by the forces of the second Umayad caliph Yazid I.
They gathered in front of a tazia in order to review Islamic teachings and to commemorate Imam Hussain’s sacrifice.

The night was generous and offering a wondeful and timeless journey in those narrow streets of the old Kashi.
I wouldn’t have been surprised to bump into Aladdin and his Wondeful Lamp…

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The Gardens of Eden

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“Hail, blessed space happier than the garden of Paradise
Hail lofty buildings higher than the divine throne
A paradise, the garden of which has thousands of Rizwans as servants
A garden of which has thousands of paradise for its land
The pen of the mason of the Divine Deeree has wrotten on its court
These are the gardens of Eden, enter them and Live Forever.”

This is a Persian poem on the third Mughal Emperor’s tomb complex’s entrance gate located in Sikandra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh from where this picture was shot.
This visual metaphor is a reference to paradise.
It was designed and written on the north facade, the side facing the tomb, by Abd al-Haqq Shirazi who was later known as Amanat Khan when he became the designer of inscriptions on several major Mughal monuments including the Taj Mahal.

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Towards Eternity

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“May his [Akbar's] soul shine like the rays of the sun and the moon in the light of God.”
(Final verse of the Persian inscription on the emperor tomb’s entrance gate)

This is one more picture of the third Mughal Emperor’s tomb in Sikandra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
This door shows a long narrow corridor which leads to the basement of the burial chamber where an interior domed chamber contains Akbar the Great’s true sarcophagus.
Although this interior was later whitewashed, it is reported that originally it was painted with Christian subjects including angels and the Virgin Mary, however such images were a matter of fashion and not reflection of religious belief.

Into Light

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“Allah is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light.”
(From the Holy Quran – 2.257)

 

Tow lamps are the only furnitures inside the mausoleum complex of the third Mughal emperor Akbar the Great (1542 – 1605).
Therefore it was easy to connect this picture with those symbolic words found in the Holy Quran…
It is located in Sikandra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.