Bibi-Ka-Alam or Bibi-Ka-Alawa is an annual procession during

Muharram Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after R ...

. Bibi-ka-Alam, installed in the name of

Imam Hussain Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...

, grandson of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

and son of

Ali ibn Abi Talib ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

and Muhammad's daughter

Fatimah Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, th ...

, at the Bibi ka Alawa at

Dabirpura Dabeerpura is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the Old City area of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is surrounded by Yakutpura, Chanchalguda, Purani Haveli, Noorkhan Bazar, and Azampura. Dabeerpura has one of the original thirteen gateways ca ...

Old City (Hyderabad, India) The Old City of Hyderabad is a walled city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India, located on the banks of the Musi River built by Qutb Shahi sultan Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 AD. There used to be Wall of Hyderabad, a wall surrounding the O ...

on the 10th day following Moharram. 829] 0It is a

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

event. The procession starts at Alawa-e-bibi situated at

and ends at

Chaderghat Chaderghat is considered one of the busiest areas of Hyderabad city and is located on the banks of Musi River (India), Musi River. Chaderghat Bridge was built during the time of the Nizams and connects major suburbs to the main city. The origina ...

. During the procession the devotees mourn the death by reciting Nauhey, (narrating the incidents occurred during 10th Moharram 61 Hijri in

Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...

). The daughter of Mohammed, Fatima-e-Zehra, is called Bibi. The locality is known as ''Mohalla Bibi Ka Alawa''.

History

Throughout the history of

Qutub Shahi The Qutb Shahi dynasty also called as Golconda Sultanate (Persian: ''Qutb Shāhiyān'' or ''Sultanat-e Golkonde'') was a Persianate Shia Islam dynasty of Turkoman origin that ruled the sultanate of Golkonda in southern India. After the coll ...

reign, the tradition of ''Azadari'' or mourning of the death of

and his followers was conducted with high regard under state supervision. This Ashur Khana was renovated by the

Seventh Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 — 24 February 1967), was the last Nizam (ruler) of the Princely State of Hyderabad, the largest princely state in British India. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of ...

under the advice of Nawab Zain Yar Jung. The main entrance and its roof remain unaltered on which 1199 H, the year of construction is engraved. The room in which the alam is installed is a strong room and the Alam is kept in a safe made on the design of a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

(Zarih).

The Relic

There is a relic enclosed in this alam as well. The relic is a piece of the wooden plank on which Syeda

was given her final

ablution Ablution is the act of washing oneself. It may refer to: * Ablution as hygiene * Ablution as ritual purification ** Ablution in Islam: *** Wudu, daily wash *** Ghusl, bathing ablution *** Tayammum, waterless ablution ** Ablution in Christianity * ...

by her husband before burial. This relic was in

for a very long time. In the time of

Abdullah Qutub Shah Abdullah Qutb Shah (also transliterated in different ways) was the seventh ruler of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India under the Qutb Shahi dynasty. He ruled from 1626 to 1672. Abdullah, son of Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah, was a polyglot, a ...

it reached Golkonda. The relic was preserved in the calligraphic alam with Arabic lettering of Allah, Mohammed and Ali. It was covered with an alloy of metals and gold. Later Nasir-ud-daulah offered jewellery to the alam which still exists.

The Procession

This alam is the symbol of the climax of the observance of the Moharrum mourning in Hyderabad. It comes out on an elephant on the 10th of Moharrum. The alam, as it emerges from the Alawa, the mourners keep chanting ''Ibn-az-Zehra Wa Waila'', which means "Goodbye Son Of Zehra," which is a protestation against the slaying of Zehra's son Hussain. Since long years it is a tradition of the mourners in the procession to chant these words.

Muharram procession from Ashoorkhana

The historic ‘Bibi-ka-Alam’ taken out from the Ashoorkhana in Dabeerpura of old city is the star attraction of ‘Youm -e-Ashoora’, the tenth day of Muharram. It is also considered a living example of communal harmony for it draws people of different faiths. Hundreds of barefoot and bare-chested mourners from more than 40 ‘anjumans’, including a few from various parts of the country form part of the procession. The procession starts around noon from Bibi-ka-Alawa and culminates at Chaderghat in the evening, covering a distance of about five kilometres. En-route it stops for a brief period at the Ashoorkhana ‘Khadam-e-Rasool’ where the footprints of

are displayed. The next stop is the ‘Peeli gate, Purani Haveli, where one of the members of the

Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

's family offers a ‘dhatti’ to the alam. The third stop is the ; 'Alawa-e-Sartouq' near the Darulshifa playground. Here, women mourners are permitted inside the premises where a ‘matham’ is performed for a short period of time. The fourth stop is Azakhana Zehra, where a ‘dhatti’ is offered by a representative or member of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

. It is believed that the practice of installing the alam is 434 years old, dating back to the Quli Qutb Shahi period. "For many centuries it was housed in a Qutb Shahi Aashoorkhana near Golconda Fort, but later was shifted to Bibi ka Alawa," Syed Hamed Hussain Jaffery, president of Andhra Pradesh Shia Youth Conference says. The important characteristic of the alam is that it is believed to contain a wooden plank on which Bibi Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, was given the final ablution. It also has six diamonds and other jewellery gifted by the VII Nizam,

Mir Osman Ali Khan Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 — 24 February 1967), was the last Nizam (ruler) of the Princely State of Hyderabad, the largest princely state in British India. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of ...

, in the 1950s. Initially, the alam was carried upon an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

named Hyderi, and now this job is done by Rajani, its calf. For some years another elephant, Hashmi, also carried the Alam. Rajani is also used during the Bonalu procession in the old city.

References

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External links

*http://m.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/muharram-procession-from-ashoorkhana/article4132914.ece * http://www.salmanbookcentre.com/?section=AshoorKhanas&ak=Bibi%20Ka%20Alawa * http://kaajhyd.com/hyderabad-azadari-history.htm Festivals in Hyderabad, India Islamic festivals in India 1956 establishments in India Recurring events established in 1956