Latest / After Maghrib 🌙 / KARBALA is like nothing else! (ft. Zohaib Shariff & Husein Bandali)

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KARBALA is like nothing else! (ft. Zohaib Shariff & Husein Bandali) · After Maghrib 🌙

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  All the blah and Shetani regime, Smila Rahman Rahim Salaam,
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  alaykum rahatullahi Blahkatu. Welcome back to the aftermath of
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  podcast. Brothers and sisters.
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  As we continue in these days of Azhar, these days of mourning,
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  we look to continue to have conversations which will uplift
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  us both emotionally, socially and spiritually.
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  And inshallah, today we're going to continue with that theme.
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  We're going to be talking about the ziara of Imam Hussain Alehi
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  Salaam, but from a slightly different angle to what we
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  usually talk about South. In previous years, you would
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  have noticed that we've done episodes talking about the
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  amazing benefits, the rewards of Ziada, which you can go back and
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  inshallah check from previous years.
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  But this, this, this podcast, inshallah is going to
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  specifically talk about some of the intangible benefits, which
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  we don't hear enough about the brotherhood that you came from
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  Ziada, the highs, the lows, some of the core memories that you
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  develop in Ziada and the effect it has on you when you come back
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  home. So of course, as we get closer
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  to that day of Arubaeen, we're going to see all of our friends,
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  our families booking for that Arubaeen trip.
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  And Inshallah today, this is going to be the spark for you to
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  book that trip, whether or whether or not you've been
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  before brothers, sisters today, Inshallah will be that spark for
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  you. And if you are planning to go
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  inshallah this year, then hopefully this will be an
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  exciting and uplifting conversation for you.
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  I'm so honoured to be joined by two brothers to me, said Ali.
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  Unfortunately, is not feeling well so he wasn't able to make
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  it here. But I have two brothers who I've
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  grown up with in our community. My dear brothers, I hope Shreve
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  salwali Kumbra Salwali Kumbra. How are you doing bro?
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  Al Hamdullah, thank. You thank you for coming and
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  Hossein Bandal is Salwali Kumbra.
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  How are you doing, Al? Hamdullah, thank you.
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  It's your second time on. Yes, second.
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  Time on the last time Hussein was on, we were talking about
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  Christmas. It's a slightly different mood.
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  Inshallah. Listen, before we go kind of
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  into the discussion of the commemorations and my
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  condolences to you both of course on the Martin about
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  Abdullah Hussain Ali Salaam. And of course we can't begin any
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  discussion in any other way than sending our condolences to Al
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  Qaeda. My mum and Hajji Arjala to Alaf
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  al Sharif for this is the avenger of Karbala.
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  This is the grandson of Imam Hussein, who in our Zyada we we
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  hear and we read Christ tears of blood in these days.
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  So our, our love, our hearts go to him and we pray Inshallah
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  every year we will be beside him, whether spiritually or
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  physically will be beside our mom Inshallah.
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  Our hadith of course tells us that the Imam will make his
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  reappearance Inshallah. The holder will be on the night
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  of Ashura. And so you know, another year
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  goes by and you know their mom has not joined us.
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  So we pray inshallah that we will be amongst his, his unsaid
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  inshallah. Guys, I obviously this is a big
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  conversation to kind of kick off.
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  I want to ask you because we are so privileged and blessed to be
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  a group of brothers community in London that has access to Zaat
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  Arbaeen specifically. You know, I have friends in
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  Canada, in parts of of the US and in other parts of the world
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  in South America. For them to go for Ziad
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  Arbayeen, it means a number of flights, it means thousands of
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  dollars, it means days and days off.
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  Some people are restricted because they have family members
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  who are unwell or they're, they're not in a financial
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  position to do it. Can I ask what it means for you,
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  Zahebes? How many times have you been for
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  Ziyada? And I know that shouldn't be a
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  measurement of 1's commitment, but how much do you love going?
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  What does it mean to you? When you when you just ask that
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  question, it just gives me shivers.
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  So Al Hamdallah Karbala has been insured.
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  This Muharram is the 28th time. To Karbala Marshall.
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  But I'll tell you, you know what?
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  I'll tell you back when it started and how it all started.
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  So we're actually in Westminster Union in Harrow.
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  It was about sibs as it was 9 in the evening, but I know it was
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  by 11:12 at night and we're in the library and we're chilling
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  and sibs like, you know what, let's, let's book a trip to
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  Spain. So we're like, all right, we're
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  all broke and whatever. And he goes, I'm like, yeah, I'm
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  down. I was a couple of other brothers
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  with us. And so we're calling up the
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  troops now, and he's called Mutazapirani and he's like,
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  twos, come, let's let's hit Spain.
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  Yeah, let's go Barcelona or something.
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  And twos is like, brah, forget that, let's go to Iran.
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  So he goes Iran. He goes, yeah, let's go to Imam
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  Razal Islam and Sips. Like like when I was talking
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  about this SIM the other day, he said to me like, brah, I
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  remember when he said it to me, my heart just just felt like
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  just something just happened. And he goes, all right, let's do
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  it because twos had been a year before, you know, that five week
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  trip that they have, you know, they go for that five week trip.
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  So anyways, we're all broke and stuff.
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  Yeah. And I'm like when you said that
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  to me, I was like something, I've never been on Ziart before
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  ever, anywhere. And something came over me as
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  well. You know, you just.
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  You've got this. Feeling in your body.
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  You can't. You can't explain.
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  It was a lack of fear. Yeah, wasn't a fear.
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  It was a fear. But like, just like butterflies
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  in the stomach. Yeah.
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  Going to go see an imam. This is like serious, you know,
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  like these personalities that you've been hearing about all
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  your life. So anyways, we're like, we're
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  broken stuff. We're like yeah, our abysmal
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  lawyer. We just start calling a few more
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  people. Go back that night, we had about
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  six or seven that were ready to go.
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  OK, So now we're like, all right, how are we going to raise
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  the funds? Because now it's, you know,
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  there's Visa, there's this and. That.
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  So anyways, Fast forward a few days, Sibs in Chicken Cottage
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  with Fahim, Fahim from and Phim's got a phone call and he
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  said to some guy on the phone saying listen, I need, I need
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  some guy for a job in looking after some golf course in, I
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  don't know, somewhere up north. And we'll pay £80 a day.
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  We'll pay £80 a day. All you have to do is guard a
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  golf course to keep all these quad bikes off.
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  Yeah, some weird thing. Sib's there and he's like, he's
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  like, no, he feels like, no, I can't do it.
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  Yeah. And then he's like, wait, hold
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  on a minute, Sib. Actually, I've got someone for
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  you, Sib. I've got a job for you.
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  So sib's like. Yeah, I'll take it because
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  obviously we're all trying to go in a raise right now.
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  Sib went that weekend, got paid £80, just has to sit on a golf
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  course in his car, 80 LB eight in the morning to 8 in the
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  evening. The guy liked him so much.
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  He said, mate, you've got any other, you've got any other
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  mates? He's like, yeah, I'll bring my
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  cousin's Ed. So I was like.
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  Mate, that's my job done. And literally 10 of us that went
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  on that zyard, all of us had our own stories of how we all raised
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  our money and this that the other, and obviously my mum and
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  dad, they were like over the moon that you know what, they've
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  never been on zyard before. They've never been on zyard
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  before. And me and my two brothers would
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  go in and when it's that thing of going now we're all getting
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  ready. We'll buying our clothes and,
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  you know, like buying our bum bags and you know, you know that
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  stuff in it. You never you don't know what to
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  expect. It's your first time.
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  And people are saying like pray for us and this that the other.
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  So I actually bought a notebook. Yeah, with everyone's names.
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  And I remember writing down names and names and their
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  family. And you know how we doing stand
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  more with the with the Fatias and family and.
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  Family, all of that stuff. And I'm on the plane as well and
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  it's going like 3 pages. I'm remembering people that I
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  don't even remember. But I was just like, I'll pay
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  anyone that comes to. Mind anyone that comes to mind
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  just write it down. We get to Imam Rosale Islam.
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  No, no, sorry. We got to say the Masoom Islam
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  and bro, I don't know what I didn't go in with the normal
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  reciting everything. Yeah, I just went in with a soft
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  heart and people are people will say that the first thing you ask
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  for in a ZR be very careful what you ask for because it's going
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  to come true. I got to say the Masoom Islam
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  Allah and I said just thank you so much for inviting me here.
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  Thank you so much. I really want to go to Sham in
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  Karbala and Alhamdulillah since 2005 when that happened, every
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  year since that that day I've been to Sham, Karbala, Medina,
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  Mecca, like I've been to all these yards of Hamdallah,
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  Lebanon to say the Kola Salaam Allah.
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  But every year Sham and Karbala or Sham and Karbala or Sham and
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  Karbala, like multiple times. Long may it continue bro.
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  Inshallah for all of us and, and, and, and one thing I'd like
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  to say is it's not a please like even to the listeners of it's
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  not a boasting thing at all. It's just that it's a very proud
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  feeling for myself. But if I can, if even one of
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  those the arts is accepted, I'll be over the moon.
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  Say, what about? You Hamdullah, I've been blessed
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  to go a few times sometimes. Some of the times I've been with
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  Zed and the boys. But yeah, no, I think everybody,
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  everybody's experience of the art, if they've been is
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  different and unique. Even though you're all going to
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  the same place as millions of people going to the same place,
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  it's amazing how everybody will come back with a slightly
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  different story, a slightly different experience.
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  How do they, like you just explained, you know, the lead up
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  to to booking to going, what happens, all the insurance and
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  outs of that. So yeah, no, it's a beautiful
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  experience for me. My first experience of the art
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  was coming out of university and I went with my dad and two of
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  his friends. So it's me and these 3 old
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  uncles basically. God bless them.
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  Yeah, but you know, they looked after me and so my first yard
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  was for Irvine in in Karbala. So yeah, I think it was one of
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  those that I think I was and kind of my dad was like, I'm
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  going, do you want to come? And I was like, yeah.
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  I remember when you went, you know, Hussein and I used to live
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  together in uni. Yeah, I remember.
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  And this is a couple years after.
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  Yeah, yeah. So just after it was like, to be
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  fair, I didn't really travel much before, before university,
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  that odd family trip when we were really young, but so I
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  hadn't really travelled much either.
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  So it was kind of like with overwhelming experience.
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  And I think for me, it was kind of hard to absorb everything.
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  Like everything happened. We went on all these yards and
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  it was a beautiful experience. Like you go through the pains of
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  doing the walk and you're seeing uncles walking faster than you.
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  And then you'll see, you know, people who have nothing like
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  people in wheelchairs and they're just going, you know,
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  because, you know, the imam's calling them.
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  So I think it's just one of those.
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  It was a bit overwhelming, but that's OK.
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  And I think anybody who goes or who's a bit fearful about going
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  or like, I don't know what to expect, there's so many people.
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  Will I manage? Or what about the toilets?
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  What about this? What about that?
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  What about the food? You know, these things can be
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  something that troubles you or gives you a bit of anxiety, but
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  honestly, from someone who had some of those fears, I think
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  it's kind of like just just do it, trust the person, just just
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  do it and whatever's meant to happen.
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  And I think the more times you go, the more you realise you
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  actually have 0 control of what happens on that.
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  Trip, do you know what I've realised?
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  Yeah, it's and I, we were saying this before, before the before
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  we started filming is when you go, you are under the Aman of
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  Bibi Fatima, Salam Alayhi Alayhi.
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  And every step you take is under her, under her gaze.
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  And we are there. And we are the ones who are
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  saying that we'll never forget you say the father, man, We'll
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  never forget what sacrifice you gave and what your children
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  gave. You know, there's people who ask
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  why are you, she are so infectious with your love for
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  visitation of Imam Hussein Ali Salaam.
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  You know, there's like a lot of bounties, a lot of Nevermind
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  going, a lot of Barakain going countless.
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  You know, but there's three specific barakat which Allah
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  gave to Imam Hussain and to Karbala, which he didn't give to
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  the other Imams, special Barakat, the first of which
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  Turbatul Hussain, the khaki Shifa, the the soil of Karbala
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  has healing powers and I don't need to tell people at home.
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  Although there are countless hadith, yeah, countless hadith.
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  But just go and ask your friends and family and you will see the
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  miracles in front of your eyes. OK.
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  The second being that Karbala is a place where Allah has made it
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  as an elevated place in his eyes, somewhere where your hijat
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  is accepted. Imam Salah khalihi Salaam.
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  There's a hadith where one of the companions was called by the
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  Imam. He said come here.
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  He said I have a task for you, go for me.
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  Go to Karbala, Go there and pray for me.
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  That Imam told the man, go to Karbala and pray for me.
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  So the man went, he went to Karbala.
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  Someone says what are you doing here?
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  He said my Imam has hired me to come here and pray for him.
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  He said why would the Imam of the time hire someone else to
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  come here and pray for him? At his grandfather's grave, Imam
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  Ali Salaam says that there are some places in this world where
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  the Baraka and the, the, the, the status of this land is
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  greater in the eyes of Allah and Karbala being one of them.
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  The 3rd and in my opinion one of the most, the most elevated
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  blessing of the Imam Alayhi Salaam is that for that
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  sacrifice that the Imam gave, for the blood that he spilled on
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  the land of Karbala, for Tahir that the Imam died.
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  For Allah made him not just an Imam, he made him a IMA, Alehem
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  Salaam, he gave him a Emma, he gave him the lineage, the
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  progeny, 9 Imams that followed after him until the Imam of our
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  time, Imam Sahib, alas, was Zaman.
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  Who says I am, as I said, the grandson of Hussein, the one who
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  died thirsty, the one who was trampled.
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  You know, that is the blessing of abbaeen.
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  And when we say the go for abbaeen, it's because we know
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  that there's something you get from there that you can't get
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  anywhere else, whether it's the 4000 angels that Allah says
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  follow you in your life until you're Janazah 4000 angels, all
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  the 70,000 angels when you visit Imam Hussein, 70,000 Angel.
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  Our hadith even says what they look like.
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  They are pale, they're dishevelled, they're covered in
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  the sand, the dust of Karbala, and they're writing down the
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  names of all of the zawah, not just to pray for them, but to
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  pray for their stafar, for their forgiveness and Subhanallah,
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  that is, in my humble opinion, amazing.
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  But of everything is that when you go and visit the Imam, you
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  are greeted by three people, you're greeted by Allah Muhammad
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  sallallahu alaihi Salam Salaam. Because they say when Rasallah
• 15:32
  says Hussein and mini what an Amin al Hussein, it means that
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  when you give Salaam to Imam Hussein, you're giving Salaam to
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  Sallallallahu and it's wiser for him to give his Salaam back.
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  Salaam is not just a Salaam, it's kalimat doaa.
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  Salaam is making doaa for you. Peace be upon you, O zawad of
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  Hussein. This is it's just something
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  which is there's layers upon layers upon layers of beauty and
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  meaning and depth with Zyat of Imam Hussain.
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  And on that point, actually, it was just making me think that,
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  you know, throughout the year leading up to Muharram, there
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  are so many occasions where even in Ramadan, for example, and
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  other, you know, big events or big moments through the Islamic
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  calendar, where specific Ziara are there for Imam Hussein as
• 16:19
  well. And the recommendation is to 15
• 16:22
  Shihaban, for example, he, you know, to to recite a specific
• 16:26
  Ziara for Imam Hussein. And I think that just if so, on
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  this point of, you know, encouraging people to go for
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  Ziara, we get these reminders throughout the year.
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  It's not like you have to wait till Muharram to, to, to, to
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  remember Imam Hussein. Those reminders are there
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  constantly. It's just on us to them, you
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  know, make that step or, or make that effort or set that
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  intention. At least that's the beginning,
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  right? Without the intention, you're
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  never, nothing's going to happen.
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  So. You know so sorry on this one
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  was a really big one that I learnt from when Sheikh Mohammed
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  Abbas Punji was in Stanmore. When he used to read the
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  Ziyarath, I mean the in the in his last sajda Allah hummar
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  zukna Ziyartha Imam al Hussain, Ali islami dunya or shafa al
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  tufila Allah. And you know what, we just
• 17:17
  prayed namaz just now. Every namaz, you know what, it's
• 17:21
  something that I've clocked from there and you're making that
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  intention. Every Salah, you know, again,
• 17:27
  Thursday nights at the mosque when he got ziyartha waratha Ed
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  namaz, every edamaz, we've got ziyartha waratha, Ziyartha Imam
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  Hussain on. Shaban, in all the months, it's
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  always reminders like you were saying.
• 17:39
  Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
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  And there's a reason why Imam Hussein story and his tragedy
• 17:45
  Trump's all. Like when we, for example, in
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  our day-to-day lives, when friends and family pass away,
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  our grief is calmed and eased because we remember the the
• 17:57
  greatest sacrifice that was given.
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  We remember what Imam Hussein went through.
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  We remember what Imam Sajad saw, what say the Zainab saw.
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  The way they dealt with grief and the the way they dealt with
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  bereavement is something for us to take from so.
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  You know, you know, in this point, I'm going to just change
• 18:13
  this to an uncle I know Kamran uncle.
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  Do you know the guy who does? The uncle who does the Zuljanar
• 18:18
  in Slough In Slough, right? OK, come on, uncle, come on.
• 18:22
  So we've been on Fusio Arts with him, this uncle, and I hope he
• 18:27
  doesn't mind me saying it, but I remember his he was in the in
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  his burger, in his burger behind in his house.
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  And he was getting ready preparations for the Shah Rukh
• 18:38
  Sahar Aslam and he got a phone call.
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  He was sitting with his friend. He got a phone call and his head
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  went down, no emotion or anything.
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  And his friends, his friends like what's up?
• 18:54
  He's like, I think that night went for the.
• 18:58
  Shuttle of say the Zahar Aslam Malali.
• 19:00
  I saw him that night. After that, the next day we find
• 19:05
  out that that phone call was that his mum had passed away but
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  he didn't mention anything to anyone because he didn't want
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  anyone to feel sorry for him for his mother passing away more
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  than what they should be feeling for say the Zara because that's
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  her day. But can you just imagine what
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  some people actually have in them of the respect of the
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  personalities and this is in their day-to-day life.
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  Can you just imagine that just he didn't cry nothing for his
• 19:34
  mother that that day or night? So there was a reciter in Iraq.
• 19:40
  Mosheba confirmed that this is true or not.
• 19:43
  But you know Qabar Abbas. Abbas, he's a reciter.
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  Yeah. Who he, he was reciting, looked
• 19:50
  me at while he was reciting in Iraq.
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  Someone came and whispered in his ear and he had that moment.
• 19:57
  He looked down. He took a moment.
• 19:58
  He took a his, he took a breath, carried on reciting.
• 20:02
  After the Mudgelis, they found out that he got told your house
• 20:06
  is on fire and your mother and your wife are in the house.
• 20:10
  Leave now. And he kept on reciting.
• 20:13
  And then he continued his hidma and then obviously after the
• 20:17
  much less things transpired and I think I don't think they made
• 20:21
  it out. And there's other cases.
• 20:24
  Mullah Ali Muhammad, who comes to Stammor a lot.
• 20:26
  Sorry, it comes to London a lot. Amazing, amazing recite Mellah
• 20:29
  bless him. Last year his his wife Mahoma
• 20:33
  passed away in a car crash and left behind his children.
• 20:38
  Mellah grant them, you know, patience and Sabah, but he kept
• 20:42
  going. He kept reciting.
• 20:43
  He kept his Hidma. He keep he he released something
• 20:46
  and you can see it whenever he recites.
• 20:48
  There's there's like a a pain in his heart, but there's something
• 20:52
  which you give. There's something you sacrifice
• 20:54
  to be called a lover of the one who sacrifice you have to you,
• 20:58
  you, you cannot like just it's not something, you know, we're
• 21:02
  talking about birth rights before before the podcast.
• 21:04
  You know, the birthright that we have is we're born on reliable
• 21:07
  middle what minion? But that's something we're born
• 21:10
  with something we have to earn. We have to get worthy of saying
• 21:14
  that we're worthy of this. Yeah.
• 21:16
  And on the point of going on Zeara and you know the benefits
• 21:20
  of it and we'll obviously probably explore more on that.
• 21:24
  But yes, fine. Inshallah we all get the
• 21:29
  opportunity to be called by our Imam and but when you go on that
• 21:35
  Zeara, when you go on that pilgrimage, you are then making
• 21:41
  a statement to the Imam that I'm coming to you and I'm one of
• 21:44
  your followers and I'm coming to pledge my allegiance.
• 21:48
  So with that then comes responsibilities.
• 21:51
  And so and everybody deals with hardships and difficulties in
• 21:56
  their own way. So this is not to say that
• 21:59
  everybody has to react the same way, but by going on Ziara,
• 22:04
  seeing the being in that environment of mourning and
• 22:09
  hearing the stories about the trials and tribulations that
• 22:12
  imams and athelbait went through, which are far beyond
• 22:16
  anything any of us will ever go through.
• 22:20
  That should be a source of strengthening us.
• 22:22
  That when trials and tribulations then enter in our
• 22:25
  life, inshallah, that we're we've, we can fall on that, on
• 22:31
  those stories, fall on that the hardships of the imams and that
• 22:35
  lifts us and keeps us going. And I think that you learn those
• 22:39
  things even on on your trip, like, you know, having gone on
• 22:43
  Ziara, you see so many different people, you hear so many
• 22:47
  different stories. I remember one of the Ziara
• 22:50
  trips I went on. In fact, this was the second
• 22:53
  time I went Hamdullah. I went to both Sham and then
• 22:58
  and, and then took Karbala for, for Abibine and we had the
• 23:01
  opportunity to go and see an orphanage and see what work
• 23:08
  they're doing for the, for the, for the children in, in, in
• 23:11
  Syria. And you know how they've been
• 23:13
  affected by war and all of these things.
• 23:15
  And then you see how there's this innocence in them.
• 23:20
  They're just, you know, but they but they're looking to make a
• 23:25
  better life for themselves. They're doing, you know,
• 23:28
  everything they can to do well in their school and their
• 23:30
  studies. And, you know, and they laugh
• 23:33
  and play just like any other child would.
• 23:35
  And it just makes you think like, well, I haven't lost my
• 23:38
  parents when I was a child, you know?
• 23:40
  So what right do I have? Yeah, do you know, do you know
• 23:43
  what I mean? So going on these trips, it's
• 23:46
  not okay. Yes.
• 23:47
  The primary reason is to go and visit the imam, pay your
• 23:50
  condolences and and pledge your allegiance.
• 23:52
  But along the way, you'll meet different people, you'll see
• 23:54
  different things, you'll experience different emotions.
• 23:58
  And then you can take that on as a boost throughout the year,
• 24:03
  recall back stories when you're going through something or, or.
• 24:06
  Let me ask you something. Sorry.
• 24:07
  Go on, go. No, go on, tell me.
• 24:08
  I was going to ask. You've been Mashallah or you
• 24:11
  said 27 * 28 times Inshallah. What are three things?
• 24:16
  I know it's hard. You know three things.
• 24:18
  If you had to to summarize 3 key things that you've learned after
• 24:23
  28 times visiting the Imam Ali Salam.
• 24:28
  It's more than three, I would say #1 just go there in Messiah
• 24:38
  and pray. So OK, I'll tell you.
• 24:42
  So the first, and I'll take you on the back story on this bit as
• 24:45
  well. The first time we were actually
• 24:47
  going into Karbala. So before you actually get
• 24:50
  there, all those years before that, it's like everything is an
• 24:55
  imagination. Yeah, of course.
• 24:56
  Your eyes are closed when you're hearing the Messiah.
• 24:59
  OK, your head's down and the Milano or the speakers talking
• 25:03
  about the Messiah, you're crying, but you're imagining a
• 25:06
  desert. You imagine the froth, you're
• 25:09
  imagining all the all the details of the Messiah, the
• 25:13
  details that the the tent, etcetera.
• 25:17
  And then when you actually get to Karbala yourself physically.
• 25:21
  Yeah, I think we were talking about this the other day, but I
• 25:25
  remember we walking in with the we had, our group was about 30
• 25:28
  people at that time. It was a mixture of different
• 25:30
  cultures, etcetera, Pakistanis mainly and we had to walk out
• 25:35
  half an hour before we got in. OK, we had to walk in took took
• 25:39
  us about half an hour. So the guy we came off the bus,
• 25:43
  they pulled out an alum. OK, the guys pulled out an alum
• 25:47
  and they restarted, started reciting at Mercier.
• 25:50
  And we're all like shaking. Like you're like, you're going
• 25:55
  to see Imam Hussein Ley slam, Mulla Abbas Ley slam.
• 25:57
  Like you're going to Kerbala for the first time.
• 26:01
  Like, is this even real? Like, am I?
• 26:03
  Am I dreaming? And we're walking towards there
• 26:09
  and our heads down. You're crying this, that, the
• 26:11
  other. And then around me, I can hear
• 26:14
  people crying, wailing now. So now I can understand that I'm
• 26:20
  insight of the harem and I looked up slowly.
• 26:25
  I remember I remember this every single time.
• 26:29
  And literally my I saw this Dome, bright Dome of Mullah
• 26:35
  Basla Islam and my knees were literally shaking and it just
• 26:41
  automatically just dropped down to the ground.
• 26:44
  OK, I don't think this is just you.
• 26:49
  Look, some people can walk into Karbala and not feel that.
• 26:51
  That's fine. Everyone's got their own way of
• 26:54
  expressing themselves and stuff. But I feel that going into this,
• 26:59
  I think Azadari needs to be a part of everybody's life.
• 27:04
  Because the more you listen to Latmiya, Noha, Marcia,
• 27:08
  Ziyathawaratha, whatever it may be.
• 27:11
  I'm not saying because we listen to Noah's all the time or
• 27:13
  whatever, Whatever it is, but if you're listening to this Azhar
• 27:17
  before you go listening to the meaning, it softens the heart.
• 27:21
  OK, that's definitely #1 and alhamdulillah, I know it's 27 *
• 27:27
  28 times, but alhamdulillah. And I pray till the day I die,
• 27:33
  this happens. I've not walked into Kabbalah
• 27:35
  without a tear in my eye and I don't want that to ever happen
• 27:39
  because that would that would break me.
• 27:42
  If I don't have a tear, if I I glanced my eyes on the harem for
• 27:45
  the first time, that would break me.
• 27:49
  So that's number one. Number two, I feel that we
• 27:53
  should embrace struggle. I know it sounds a bit weird,
• 27:59
  but when we used to go in the early days to charm from 2006,
• 28:05
  we used to say in some Rago hotels, bro, I'm talking like we
• 28:09
  used to go with Kamran uncle Shakey jars, all these guys, all
• 28:14
  these uncles, I shouldn't say guys, all these uncles,
• 28:16
  respected uncles and and honestly blessed people.
• 28:21
  We used to go with with these uncles and these groups, Mathmi
• 28:25
  groups, majority Pakistani. And we used to see that the the
• 28:31
  way that they used to respect going to the Ziara, everything
• 28:35
  we're going there to do Azhar, we are literally going on this
• 28:39
  group in this group to Sham or to Karbala to do Martin and give
• 28:45
  our condolences and applause to Bibi Salaam Alaali.
• 28:48
  Yeah. So one of the things that we
• 28:51
  learnt, and I remember when we were walking towards going to
• 28:55
  the home for the first time, going out from our hotel,
• 28:59
  they're taking the shoes off and they're all in barefoot.
• 29:02
  So I'm thinking like, what's what's going on?
• 29:05
  So one of the guys told me they say, look, when we're going to
• 29:08
  BB, this is out of respect. One of the big things is
• 29:13
  actually broadening our horizon when it comes to different
• 29:15
  cultures, taking the good from all of these different cultures.
• 29:18
  What happens when you take your shoes off 1st when you go
• 29:20
  barefoot? It's part of the Hadith as well.
• 29:22
  Not saying you have to do it, but it's, it's a good thing.
• 29:25
  You're going to keep your head down.
• 29:27
  You're going to have that respect of where you are.
• 29:30
  It's like you're going into the barga, into the mosque, take
• 29:32
  your shoes off. This is the way they see it, and
• 29:36
  rightfully so, right? It's cold sometimes.
• 29:39
  I remember there was times when it's freezing cold.
• 29:43
  Right now. Curbula is what, 4550° I have,
• 29:48
  I'm not going to lie, I have to wear socks.
• 29:50
  Like I can't do barefoot. Like it will literally rip your
• 29:53
  skin off. But you try and hustle what you
• 29:55
  can. In the night, yeah, you can take
• 29:56
  your, you can walk barefoot. But in the daytime, it's like
• 30:01
  it's very, very different. But you, you try anyways.
• 30:04
  I saw this with them. And alhamdulillah, a few of the
• 30:06
  brothers, we take this from them.
• 30:08
  Yeah. And you see the struggle.
• 30:09
  So you stay in some regular hotels.
• 30:11
  There was times, I remember once I woke up and Nashed, he's going
• 30:16
  to crack up. But I woke up because there was
• 30:19
  like, I think 1010 of us in like 6 beds all over the floor,
• 30:24
  everywhere. Yeah.
• 30:25
  And I woke up. I'm trying to lift my foot up.
• 30:28
  I look, I said. I see Nashed sleeping on my
• 30:32
  foot. His face is on my foot.
• 30:35
  I'm like, get off. But, you know, like, that's how
• 30:38
  we, that's how we used to stay. And you know what?
• 30:42
  Those were the best memories of. Those are always the best news.
• 30:46
  There are times we we do end up staying in good hotels.
• 30:48
  Don't get me wrong. Of course.
• 30:49
  Yeah, we do. Yeah.
• 30:50
  But. You don't.
• 30:52
  You learn not to complain. You learn not to complain #1.
• 30:55
  Whatever situation you're in, whether because for for like
• 30:58
  first when you, I think when you're younger, when you're with
• 31:00
  the boys, it's a little bit easier, right?
• 31:02
  So there's not to say you have to stay in regular hotels, but I
• 31:05
  think every time I've gone, it's been a slightly different
• 31:08
  experience as well. So we'll come back to your Third
• 31:10
  Point by the way, but just just to remind me.
• 31:12
  So the first time I went with my dad and stuff, it was freezing
• 31:18
  cold. So there was like on the walk.
• 31:21
  Obviously there's no build like structured buildings, not many.
• 31:25
  So sometimes, so we had to one of the nights we're sleeping out
• 31:29
  outside, like just outside with do you know those like.
• 31:32
  Thermal. Yeah, those, those blankets that
• 31:35
  have the flowers all over them. Yeah, there's, there's
• 31:37
  traditional. Yeah.
• 31:39
  So you and you just have to deal with it.
• 31:41
  And then there's other times where it's baking hot and you're
• 31:44
  like, you're literally. So you go through all the
• 31:48
  elements. So there's that struggle.
• 31:49
  There's the struggle of like. Struggle.
• 31:52
  Yeah. But yeah, the minor
• 31:56
  inconvenience. And then, yeah, there there are
• 32:00
  other times where sometimes you're actually staying at
• 32:03
  what's meant to be a good place and then you end up with the
• 32:05
  most headaches because all the room keys not working or this
• 32:10
  the food wasn't good today, why did they make this food?
• 32:13
  And so you actually end up with more problems when you try and
• 32:18
  make it too comfortable sometimes if you just go and let
• 32:21
  whatever. And then we have to learn from,
• 32:23
  you know, there's people we're blessed.
• 32:25
  We're I mean, we come from the West.
• 32:27
  So we used to certain comfort. There are people coming from all
• 32:30
  over the world for especially the like.
• 32:33
  I mean, you see the Iranians, they'll come with a carrier bag.
• 32:36
  Yeah, the shirt on their back and that's it.
• 32:39
  And wherever they sleep, wherever they stop, they they
• 32:42
  just make do with anything that's around them.
• 32:46
  First, the first time I went for the walk in Urbane, the first
• 32:50
  ever walk I remember. So we walked to pole like 300 or
• 32:55
  something and it was cold that day.
• 32:58
  This was, it was cold 2012. And when it's cold, you, you
• 33:02
  seize up after you've, you know, after you've walked for a while,
• 33:04
  you seize up whatever. So I remember I'm trying to, we
• 33:07
  lie down for a bit and I'm trying to get up and I can't
• 33:09
  move. And one of the guys had one
• 33:13
  really bad blister. Yeah.
• 33:16
  And Shaitaan must have come in my mind.
• 33:18
  I'm like, he's like, he's like thinking, should I take the taxi
• 33:21
  to Karbala? And I remember just like, just
• 33:26
  hustle, Just hustle. Just hustle.
• 33:27
  Yeah. And you know, you make that
• 33:30
  complaint. Like, that is like the word.
• 33:33
  I never want to ever make that complaint again.
• 33:35
  And I'll tell you why. Got up finally.
• 33:39
  Yeah. Took a, took a bit.
• 33:41
  Go to the back, brush your teeth forever.
• 33:44
  And now we're sitting on our way and I'm slowly limping and I see
• 33:48
  this woman. She was like 8590 years old.
• 33:53
  Yeah. She's got a bent back.
• 33:57
  She's got a bent back. And she's got a walking stick.
• 33:59
  And she's got a big bag on her back as well.
• 34:01
  Yeah. Iraqi lady.
• 34:04
  And I just looked at her and she's walking right next to me.
• 34:08
  And I said, Salaam alaikum from where she goes, Baghdad,
• 34:18
  Baghdad. And I just started crying.
• 34:22
  I said to Mola. I said I am never going to
• 34:24
  complain about this ever. Like never even complain about
• 34:30
  anything. I asked you the other day, and I
• 34:34
  know this is a bit extreme, yeah, and people might, the
• 34:36
  viewers might be thinking like what is this guy on here?
• 34:38
  But serious question. If I was to ask you if you got
• 34:42
  to go to Karbala and you have to stay in the toilet, If someone
• 34:45
  told you, you get to go to Karbala but you have to stay in
• 34:46
  the toilet for 10 days, what would you say?
• 34:50
  Spiller. Yeah.
• 34:52
  Bro make make make sure you keep that toilet clean for everyone
• 34:55
  who wants to come and use it. And that's your service, bro.
• 34:58
  Bro, Yeah, this is clean. Clean the toilet for those
• 35:01
  people. That's it.
• 35:01
  It's everything that you're doing on ZR is a service.
• 35:04
  Anything that you do, whatever you're doing, like if you go in
• 35:07
  the toilet, yeah, you're going to keep that thing clean.
• 35:09
  I know it's a bit extreme, but this is what Karbala means or
• 35:13
  the the art of any of the. You would, you would, you would
• 35:16
  take any opportunity to go and you would take anything, you
• 35:19
  know, and you know what I think what I will say is obviously
• 35:21
  just a caveat, because obviously I'm I'm, I'm conscious that
• 35:25
  everyone listening has their own kind of experiences, comes from
• 35:30
  different cultures, has different expectations.
• 35:32
  Some have only ever gone with families, some have only ever
• 35:34
  gone in in as in the youth or maybe in elderly ages, and of
• 35:38
  course some go from different cultures.
• 35:40
  So whether you go in comfort or in difficulty, whether you go in
• 35:44
  the hot or the cold, whether it's easy for you or it's
• 35:46
  difficult for you, go because ultimately the zeal of the
• 35:50
  visitation of mum Hussein. And you'll only ever be tested.
• 35:53
  You'll only ever be tested or we're told, like you just in
• 35:56
  general life, you'll only be attested to whatever you
• 35:59
  whatever you can invest. So it's not about the trial
• 36:02
  itself. And you need to make it the most
• 36:04
  difficult, you know, trip possible.
• 36:07
  But what we're trying to say, I think, is that.
• 36:10
  There's. Whatever.
• 36:10
  Yeah, there'll be beauty in everything that happens.
• 36:13
  And sometimes it's it teaches you that to take the beauty out
• 36:18
  of that. What?
• 36:18
  Does that remind you of when I say that's you, there's beauty
• 36:21
  in every struggle? Or does that remind you of?
• 36:24
  Say that. Like, and this is what we say
• 36:28
  about the applicability of of this, this, this legend and this
• 36:33
  story in everything in our lives.
• 36:35
  Whenever we have any tragedy or any difficulty, we just think of
• 36:39
  these words. Every life lesson I think that
• 36:41
  you want to gain or that you want to apply in your life, you
• 36:46
  can literally pick up from the the story of a Mama Saina and
• 36:49
  say the Zaina, you know, I think you learn how to be.
• 36:56
  Content. Yeah, just like how to like that
• 37:01
  you learn how to deal with people, how to interact, how to
• 37:05
  meet new people, how to talk, how to deal with awkward
• 37:09
  situations where you don't know a language.
• 37:12
  Like there's so many things that happen on these trips that and
• 37:15
  then you pick up from, you'll be listening to Messiah everywhere
• 37:19
  you're going, you'll listen to stories and it all links in.
• 37:23
  And then when you take that back home, it actually does apply to
• 37:26
  your day-to-day life. Can I ask you guys?
• 37:30
  I'm going to throw some like rapid fire misconceptions or
• 37:35
  less, I don't want to say excuses, but justifications as
• 37:38
  to why people hesitate to go on Ziata.
• 37:42
  OK, are you guys ready? So I'm going to say something to
• 37:44
  you and then I want you to respond to it for like 30
• 37:46
  seconds each or a minute each. OK, so the first one is if I go
• 37:51
  on Ziata, I don't feel like I'm ready for it spiritually or I'm
• 37:54
  not worthy of going. Go on.
• 37:59
  OK, so this was literally the first time I went.
• 38:02
  I think the reason why part, when we started, we were talking
• 38:05
  and I said I felt kind of overwhelmed.
• 38:08
  I think part of the part of that trip, I think I felt unworthy
• 38:16
  the whole way. And I don't think you ever feel
• 38:20
  worthy of going. It's not that any time I've gone
• 38:23
  after I felt worthy of going. I don't think I ever have, but
• 38:26
  especially that first time. And then I think the first time
• 38:30
  I went after COVID as well, what I felt proper like it's just
• 38:34
  whatever is going on in your life, there will be times where
• 38:36
  you feel unworthy. But like, I think what you go
• 38:43
  there is in the hope that if, if Imam Hussein could accept, we
• 38:49
  take stories. So, for example, we were taking
• 38:51
  stories. So look at the story of Janelle
• 38:54
  Behore. Yeah, all he had done up until
• 38:57
  that point. Do you not think he felt
• 38:59
  unworthy of, of making that walk to Imam Hussein's tent and
• 39:04
  asking, is there a little hope for me still left?
• 39:10
  You know, then who am I? Yeah.
• 39:12
  To to be like, oh, I'm not going to go on the art now because,
• 39:16
  yeah, like the we, we all may sin in our, in our own way.
• 39:22
  And you may be struggling with whatever it is that you're going
• 39:25
  through with your life, whatever.
• 39:28
  But take this as an opportunity that you go to the imam, you go
• 39:32
  in a dishevel state. You know, you're told to go in a
• 39:34
  dishevel state. You know, you're not going to be
• 39:38
  coming prim and proper and, you know, maybe fully educated on
• 39:41
  even the Imam's history. You might not even know much
• 39:44
  about the Imam. Yeah, you might turn up and just
• 39:46
  know his name. You know that he died on the
• 39:49
  10th of Muharram, and that's pretty much it.
• 39:52
  But just go, yeah, just go. Just make that intention.
• 39:55
  And then if the Imam calls you, everything else will fall into
• 39:59
  place. OK, give it 30 seconds, 60
• 40:02
  seconds, because I've got a few. I've got a few.
• 40:03
  Yeah. Is that?
• 40:05
  I'd say Mola Hussein Islam obviously like what Hussein
• 40:10
  said, look at Janab Behur. That's one example.
• 40:17
  Number 2, they forgive. They are our, they're like your,
• 40:23
  your parents when you're young and you're saying story to your
• 40:25
  mum, we're saying story to your dad or whoever it may be your
• 40:28
  parents, they forgive you. But Mola Hussein Islam is the
• 40:32
  greatest. So it's like it's just open for
• 40:37
  you to go there and just get it's not even about going there
• 40:40
  to want something. It's just, I don't know.
• 40:42
  I'm I'm seeing it from like, I don't know how to explain it.
• 40:45
  It's. I think it's the point of view.
• 40:47
  I think what you're trying to get at is that, you know, if
• 40:50
  when you're in trouble, in your need or you're in desperation,
• 40:54
  your parents are the people you'd normally turn.
• 40:56
  Exactly. So why wouldn't you turn to the
• 40:58
  people who Allah loves the most? Because if you go and ask them,
• 41:05
  Allah's not going to turn them away.
• 41:07
  You know he's not going to. They're the greatest.
• 41:09
  Exactly. So use them as your sealer.
• 41:12
  And I tell. You to get yourself out that
• 41:14
  hole. Right.
• 41:15
  And I tell you one thing, I know we've got 60 seconds on Be
• 41:17
  Quick, but the first time I went to Karbala, I remember getting
• 41:21
  into so right, Sorry, it's going to be more than 60 seconds.
• 41:24
  Sorry, I'm going to say. So I'm stuck.
• 41:26
  So if I ask you, where did you go first?
• 41:28
  Moral boss lists on? Moral send lists on.
• 41:30
  What's our boss? Yeah, it's boss.
• 41:33
  I think that's weird. I just followed my dad.
• 41:35
  Yeah. So I was baffled.
• 41:37
  Yeah, I got there and I sat in the middle and I, I said I'm
• 41:41
  waiting for a sign. One of the boys said to me, just
• 41:44
  because I asked one person saying this, one person saying
• 41:46
  that I said I'm going to wait for a sign.
• 41:49
  I sat in the middle of Beno Haramin and I'm just like,
• 41:54
  Mullah, give me a sign. And a coffin was going past, you
• 41:58
  know, you know, this bear. So I just naturally just got up
• 42:04
  and just started holding. It's going towards Mullah
• 42:07
  Barsley slums. Yeah.
• 42:09
  So I'm holding it. Imagine this the first time I'm
• 42:11
  going into the very room. Yeah, it's gone all the way.
• 42:16
  It's gone to the very of Mullah Barsley slum.
• 42:20
  I've gone into sajdah and I've just got back up and I'm holding
• 42:26
  it again. I don't know why I've done that
• 42:29
  and it went straight. Tomorrow I was saying list and
• 42:31
  when it stopped there and I've done my zero over there.
• 42:33
  It's just, you know, everyone's got there.
• 42:36
  But when I went there first tomorrow I was saying list and
• 42:38
  this is what I wanted to get to. The first thing I actually felt
• 42:42
  there after the Messiah was guilt.
• 42:45
  That why has my mother not had the chance to go to go I.
• 42:51
  Had the same. Thing and I've and I'm here, the
• 42:54
  Sinner of sinners, and my mother, who prays on the Mars on
• 42:59
  time, wakes up in. The morning.
• 43:02
  Do I got me here or? Yeah, I had the same thing.
• 43:05
  I'm like my first time. How?
• 43:06
  Did I even get. But you know what happened over
• 43:09
  there? I And this is one thing that
• 43:13
  it's sometimes we promise things.
• 43:15
  Yeah, but I'm not saying don't promise.
• 43:17
  I'm not saying promise, I'm not saying whatever, but be careful
• 43:20
  when you promise, because sometimes we make promises.
• 43:22
  As I said, I don't want to ever miss.
• 43:25
  I said I want to pray all my namaz's from now on time.
• 43:28
  See, that didn't happen, but I made a NIA.
• 43:32
  That's the important point. Exactly.
• 43:34
  But I tried. And from that point I still
• 43:36
  remembered exactly where I was when I said it.
• 43:39
  Tomorrow saying Islam, but along the line I still if I've if I
• 43:42
  used to miss the Mars is off that used to come to me.
• 43:44
  So the point from when you came back that you say things and
• 43:49
  something will flip in you that will just OK.
• 43:51
  Change your I like that. That's good.
• 43:53
  I've got like two or three more songs.
• 43:54
  I'll try to be I'll try and make these if I'm no, no, they're
• 43:57
  fine, bro. To be honest, the reason why I'm
• 43:59
  saying this is because I feel like there's like, look, I love
• 44:02
  you guys at home, subscribe to aftermarket.
• 44:04
  OK, if you're first time, this is but or even if you're not,
• 44:07
  smash the subscribe button. But there's, I'm sure there's
• 44:10
  people that are at home who are hesitant, OK, for one reason or
• 44:14
  the other. And I know that there are like
• 44:17
  if you were to do a survey as to why people don't go, a lot of
• 44:19
  these will come up. I'm not worthy is definitely a
• 44:22
  chunk of them. It was probably the majority for
• 44:25
  me, you know, before I went. Another one is, for example, I
• 44:29
  don't like or I have expectations for what services
• 44:33
  are given to me. So hotels, speakers, reciters
• 44:37
  and if I don't like them, I don't really want to go with
• 44:40
  that group, especially because I know you guys talked about
• 44:42
  living conditions, but specifically in terms of the
• 44:45
  speakers are resized, I don't like that speaker.
• 44:47
  I don't like that recital. I don't understand that
• 44:48
  language, would you guys say? Should I go first?
• 44:53
  So firstly, going to Ziara, you don't have to go with any
• 44:57
  particular group. People think that you you've got
• 45:00
  to go with a group and this that the other and there's different
• 45:03
  prices and there's all sorts. I'm not going to get into the
• 45:06
  commercialization stuff of all of.
• 45:07
  This, yeah, that's for another that's.
• 45:10
  Another situation, but it's not difficult to go to zero.
• 45:16
  OK, Number one, you've got the you've got hotels and you've got
• 45:20
  all of this stuff. I know now it's obviously
• 45:22
  getting quite expensive. It is getting quite expensive
• 45:25
  for some people, Yeah, not for something for everyone.
• 45:28
  It is like you have to pay like 7-8 nights sometimes and this
• 45:31
  that the other. But you can stay a bit outside
• 45:33
  of Kurbala as well, you know, there's like.
• 45:36
  Well, not in this. You don't have to send the
• 45:38
  immediate centre, yeah. You can go to different Moranas
• 45:41
  who you like, because there's so many people residing over there
• 45:43
  during the during the period. Some people think that they have
• 45:47
  to go with a particular group. Yeah.
• 45:49
  And then there's and then there's FOMO.
• 45:51
  There's all of this stuff. That No, There's majalis
• 45:53
  everywhere. There's majalis everywhere, all
• 45:54
  times. You can go between them and
• 45:56
  yeah. But I think what you just need
• 45:58
  to ask yourself is why am I going?
• 46:01
  Yeah, why am I going? And look, look at Hajj, for
• 46:04
  example, or Umrah. Everyone's wearing white.
• 46:08
  We're going there and everyone's wearing black.
• 46:12
  You're all going for the same thing, to mourn above the law.
• 46:15
  So however you go, it doesn't matter.
• 46:18
  It's just get there and do your salams.
• 46:23
  Yeah, so. I think on that topic, I mean,
• 46:26
  I've been, like I said, the first trip was just four of us.
• 46:32
  The next time I went was with a official group, if you will.
• 46:35
  And that was a beautiful experience as well, because with
• 46:38
  that experience, we, I had the opportunity to have a speaker at
• 46:43
  every the art we went to explaining, OK, this is what
• 46:50
  this is, this is what happened here.
• 46:52
  And I think that that was also something I felt like I missed
• 46:55
  the first time. So, but then I've also been with
• 47:00
  the just with the boys, you know, And so it's a different
• 47:04
  experience, you know, you know, then you'll just wherever you
• 47:08
  go, you'll help each other. OK, we need to do this, the art,
• 47:11
  we need to do this. So I think whatever opportunity
• 47:15
  comes up, just take that opportunity and that will be the
• 47:18
  catalyst for another opportunity.
• 47:20
  And don't, don't be rigid either.
• 47:22
  Don't be like, I have to go with this group every year.
• 47:25
  I think it's like whatever opportunity I've been with, like
• 47:28
  I said, multiple different people, multiple different sizes
• 47:32
  of groups. I've been at different times of
• 47:36
  use. So during I've been during
• 47:38
  Muharram time. So just whatever opportunity you
• 47:42
  get, don't be too concerned because nothing ever works.
• 47:47
  You know exactly like how the itinerary is planned out.
• 47:50
  So don't let that bro and. Ultimately, you're going to the
• 47:52
  busiest human pilgrimage. Exactly so. 25 million people in
• 47:57
  a small city which is not physically built
• 48:00
  infrastructurally to cater for that many people.
• 48:02
  And if you know people that have gone, yeah, reach out to people
• 48:05
  like, it's like get some advice from friends and stuff, OK.
• 48:08
  I went with this group. Yeah.
• 48:10
  It was comfortable. I went with.
• 48:11
  I just planned my own trips. Do you want to come with me?
• 48:14
  Just whatever. Yeah, whatever works for you.
• 48:17
  Just. Let me ask you another one.
• 48:20
  So when you're getting ready for your ziada, how do you usually
• 48:23
  prepare? What goes through your mind?
• 48:25
  What do you do? OK, so a bit of a light hearted
• 48:28
  one here. Well, it's not a light hearted,
• 48:30
  it's a bit different, but so there's this.
• 48:34
  Uncle. Come on, uncle, I told you that.
• 48:37
  So when we first used to go to him, with him to Sham, he used
• 48:41
  to bring Keema, Keema and Nan onto the plane.
• 48:46
  Yeah. Like used to.
• 48:47
  Bring a pot of Keema and of course I would be like, Uncle,
• 48:51
  what's going on? He's like, yeah, Auntie made
• 48:53
  Lunger, Auntie made Niyaz and be sitting there and he'd be like
• 48:57
  here and we'll be munching Keema on the plane.
• 49:01
  And I was like, mate, this is wicked.
• 49:04
  No aeroplane food. Yeah, yeah.
• 49:05
  He's like, I don't, I don't need the aeroplane food I like.
• 49:10
  Proper desi. Proper Desi.
• 49:11
  Yeah. So we're like this is solid.
• 49:13
  My mom makes a banging keema. Yeah.
• 49:14
  So I was like when you came back mum, we're going to when you go
• 49:19
  back for his yard. Yeah.
• 49:19
  Can you make some Keema please? She's like yeah sure, better
• 49:22
  don't worry, I'll make. So she start.
• 49:24
  You know those tubs you get, you know those take away tubs
• 49:27
  started off with like 4 of them and she whack out some nons.
• 49:31
  Then they got to like 6-7 with Alu as well with with potato
• 49:35
  saloon as well, potato Curry and dry one in it so it doesn't get
• 49:38
  messy. But you'll be shocked.
• 49:40
  You know what we're eating this on the plane.
• 49:43
  Yeah, sometimes we get at the airport before we even get out
• 49:45
  here of Heathrow and the conversations that because we're
• 49:49
  not only eating it for ourselves, we're passing around
• 49:51
  to other like people who sit next to the English people,
• 49:54
  whoever else is on the plane. No, but if you think about it,
• 49:57
  this is the way of the bleak. So they're like, So what
• 50:03
  happens? You start conversation, They're
• 50:05
  like, that smells nice. We're like, yeah, try some.
• 50:07
  You're just going around offering chemo to the boys
• 50:09
  because the boys are sitting in different places, whatever.
• 50:12
  And what happens, They'll be like, oh, that's really nice.
• 50:15
  They'll be like, yeah, we're going to, oh, where you off to?
• 50:17
  We're going to Sham or we're going to Iraq.
• 50:21
  And they're like Iraq. They're like, yeah, did you know
• 50:23
  there's about 20 million people going for a pilgrimage?
• 50:27
  They're like, what? I never heard of this.
• 50:29
  I say, yeah, the news don't show it.
• 50:30
  Really. They were like, like, what is
• 50:32
  it? And we tell them the story.
• 50:34
  And then we told them that we're going to be walking for 80
• 50:37
  kilometers and they'll be like, wow, OK.
• 50:42
  And did you know that there's free food?
• 50:45
  We we have to say free food. We don't say any hours, but free
• 50:48
  food the whole way and places to stay for free the whole way to
• 50:52
  black. I've never heard of this.
• 50:54
  And then you tell them and it's just telling people about.
• 50:58
  Intrigue, yeah. And again, back to your point
• 51:00
  earlier before it's everything on Ziyad is the bleak.
• 51:06
  Literally you just tell someone about Imam Hussein al Islam.
• 51:09
  It's it is what it is. We did a podcast, which you guys
• 51:13
  can go back and watch with some brothers from Who is Hussein,
• 51:17
  where we talked about the, the ways to talk to people about
• 51:20
  Imam Hussein, because that's the ongoing thing.
• 51:22
  And there's the art Albain, everyone's asking.
• 51:24
  I remember last year the same thing.
• 51:25
  My colleagues at work, you know how they're mind blown when
• 51:29
  you're walking in the desert of Iraq in August to go and, and,
• 51:33
  you know, to a shrine, there's free food and there's 20 million
• 51:35
  people going like this. Is not just free food.
• 51:37
  I mean, there's medical camps. Everything I've been in, I've
• 51:40
  been in some of the dental camps because of my profession as
• 51:44
  well. You see that people who don't
• 51:46
  get and you know, they're not in a position to to to get, you
• 51:50
  know, that type of work done elsewhere during the rest of the
• 51:53
  year. So they come, you get to serve
• 51:55
  people like if you want to massage your legs are tied,
• 51:59
  someone will do that for you. Like, you know, it's crazy.
• 52:02
  What's the thing about I had before you guys came on, I heard
• 52:05
  there was a story about flapjacks and I don't know any
• 52:07
  context to this. That's my auntie.
• 52:10
  So when we started taking the chemo and the potato Curry,
• 52:14
  she's like us. We told her and she's like,
• 52:16
  yeah, I want to send some flapjacks.
• 52:18
  So now they've become like famous flapjacks.
• 52:20
  So everyone asks whenever is yours there?
• 52:22
  Money knows like when, what day you're not leaving and she'll
• 52:25
  just make like 2-3 boxes. Of Charlotte, We look forward to
• 52:27
  a donation at the studio for people who say, and I feel like
• 52:34
  this applies to us even for those who have been.
• 52:36
  You could have gone dozens of times in your life, but you
• 52:40
  still might have a reluctance because you might say, I'm not
• 52:45
  like, now's not the right time for me.
• 52:47
  I have exams coming up. My finances aren't good, you
• 52:51
  know, and my work is really busy.
• 52:53
  I can't get time off. At what point do you draw the
• 52:56
  line to say something is reasonable or something is
• 52:59
  unreasonable? And who can be the judge of
• 53:01
  that? Is that can can someone say so
• 53:03
  let's say I'm someone. Yeah, let's say my kids are
• 53:06
  like, you know, got a lot going on summer holidays.
• 53:09
  I've got with a kid. Do you know what I mean?
• 53:11
  Can someone else tell me, bro, that's that's a lame excuse.
• 53:14
  Or is that something why I need I need to reality check myself
• 53:18
  to know whether that's genuine or whether it's I'm putting off
• 53:22
  As for another reason? So on this one, I think your
• 53:26
  friend circle is very important. I think the brothers in our
• 53:31
  group itself, like with our boys, it's everyone's
• 53:36
  encouraging everyone, lads, we're going, we're going, we're
• 53:38
  going, we're going, we're going. It's the whole year.
• 53:41
  When we're finished coming back from Ashura, it's or even at
• 53:45
  Ashura. What's the sketch for Irvine?
• 53:47
  And when you're constantly around this year, it's not peer
• 53:50
  pressure. It's called love, it's called
• 53:53
  love. I'll be honest with you, my
• 53:57
  brothers are the ones that I've wept with and I've beaten my
• 54:02
  chest with and I've shed my blood with.
• 54:06
  It's as simple as that. I'll be, I'll be told I, I know
• 54:09
  it's maybe it might sound a bit too much, but this is what it
• 54:12
  is. My true brothers are these guys,
• 54:14
  the guys that constantly when are we going to, we're going to,
• 54:18
  we're going around, we're going Iraq, we're going Muharram,
• 54:20
  we're going Arbayin. It's constant in that talk.
• 54:23
  So when you have your circle like that and more and more
• 54:26
  people come into this circle, it just becomes now this is the
• 54:30
  norm. It needs to be part of
• 54:32
  conversation. And when we why does why?
• 54:35
  Why is it a blessing that we should?
• 54:38
  Every time you sit in a friend circle, it is useless.
• 54:41
  If you haven't mentioned the Abu Beit of Islam, we're told this
• 54:49
  bless your gatherings with the vicar of Ali Muhammad Muhammad
• 54:53
  and Ali Muhammad. When this is constantly there,
• 54:56
  then it's naturally just going to, but we need to take that
• 54:59
  step to be part of those circles and because of they would
• 55:03
  naturally encourage you to want to go.
• 55:04
  And when you're with, when you're, when you're with these
• 55:07
  kind of brothers and you're sitting with them, even if, even
• 55:09
  if it means sitting with them in the mosque or whatever.
• 55:13
  Because the emotion. Because the emotion of Imam
• 55:16
  Hussein, such and such, yeah, it's just open.
• 55:20
  It's just open and something will come.
• 55:23
  I think in terms of, you know, the struggles of going, I think
• 55:29
  when I first went compared to going now, there is a difference
• 55:32
  obviously in cost, cost of living crisis, people are
• 55:34
  struggling with things. So I think it's a case of
• 55:37
  nobody's saying, you know, go beyond your means, but sometimes
• 55:43
  we're saving for, you know, that trip away, that holiday away,
• 55:47
  or, you know, that upgraded car. If, if it's something that you
• 55:52
  don't need and even sometimes you can just make a small habit.
• 55:56
  Like, OK, I'm going to put, I think we spoke about this before
• 56:00
  the podcast started about how do we encourage more, more youth
• 56:05
  to, to, to go on the yard or people who aren't able to go,
• 56:09
  you know, save 5 lbs every every week or every month.
• 56:14
  And then eventually it all adds up.
• 56:16
  And then some months, some weeks, you'll have a bit more to
• 56:19
  put in can. I can I be honest.
• 56:20
  So it's something that I've noticed.
• 56:22
  Yeah, it's a panel. Not like, you know, obviously
• 56:25
  risk and now hadith we have that any money you spend on Ziya will
• 56:28
  come back to you firstly. So you don't need to worry about
• 56:31
  this. When you spend in the way of
• 56:32
  Allah, then there's nothing to Imam, Salah, khali, Islam.
• 56:34
  So it's giving charity in the way of Allah is always returned
• 56:37
  to you. It's one of the keys of of risk
• 56:40
  anyway, so aside you. Know on this like in my friend
• 56:43
  group. Yeah.
• 56:45
  Our priority in throughout the year is not a buying trip.
• 56:48
  Yeah, as in that's that's the first thing we all do and then
• 56:51
  the rest of your finances. Yeah, that is the priority.
• 56:55
  Everything else is secondary. But bro.
• 56:57
  The first person books straight away, literally that same week.
• 57:00
  Like the domino for that effect, Yeah, Yeah.
• 57:02
  Do you know what? Yeah.
• 57:03
  Have you ever had this thing where, for example, who's like
• 57:06
  these crepes or something? Yeah, or it's like there's
• 57:08
  something you want to buy and then you have a mental thought
• 57:11
  process like now I can use this 40 quid, £80, whatever it is,
• 57:16
  put it into the the Kitty. And regardless, like there are
• 57:20
  people who, for example, will make less than they spend on a
• 57:22
  monthly basis. That's OK, But even if you're
• 57:25
  putting a pound a week towards that Ziara, Alan alas, is all
• 57:30
  and, and, and the Imam Imam will call you There's there's no
• 57:33
  risk. Once you're called, you're
• 57:34
  called. That's it.
• 57:35
  You know there's no. There was that brother on Urbain
• 57:38
  a few years ago from Kumail, from Canada.
• 57:41
  I can't remember the full story, but he was telling me on the
• 57:43
  way. But basically he got into a
• 57:47
  crash or something happened to his car and he lost his car and
• 57:50
  the insurance paid him out two grand basically.
• 57:55
  And it's either he gets a car, wow, or he goes yard and I'm
• 58:00
  walking with him and he's telling me, you know when you
• 58:01
  know those chronicles when you walk into Gobola and there's the
• 58:04
  stories going on and he's telling me this and he's like,
• 58:08
  and bro, and this is how I'm here, bro, I got that money and
• 58:11
  it just alhamdulillah. And he's like, car will come,
• 58:15
  car will go, yeah. If I have to take a whatever, if
• 58:16
  I have to take a bus away, who cares, man?
• 58:18
  I'm going to my molar, bro. I'm going to the master.
• 58:21
  Yeah, yeah. It's, I hope he's driving now.
• 58:23
  Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember one year my student
• 58:26
  finance didn't come in, so I was like proper limited on funds,
• 58:28
  but I thought just whatever happens, happens in I'll book,
• 58:32
  I'll book my ticket. I book my ticket like this was
• 58:34
  before Maharam. I think by the by eighth night
• 58:37
  of Maharam, a loan that I hadn't even applied for, like I wasn't
• 58:40
  expecting to come from student finance just.
• 58:41
  Came in. So I think these things just.
• 58:45
  They fall into place, They. Fall into place.
• 58:47
  Yeah, as soon as you book your ticket, even if you like you
• 58:49
  can't afford like a group trip, whatever, just book the flight
• 58:51
  ticket. Yeah, the rest of everything
• 58:53
  else will just come. Last year, last year, Hamdullah,
• 58:56
  we had the blessing to go with the shrine of Abbas.
• 58:59
  So do work with them, me and said Ali and we kept telling so
• 59:04
  much about like calm, calm, calm, calm, calm, calm.
• 59:08
  And it got to the point we were Kabala for like 3 days and by
• 59:11
  that time we're still trying him.
• 59:12
  Like you know bro, why you in London get your ass here?
• 59:14
  Like you know, come on bro, bro. The next day he was in Kabala.
• 59:18
  He he just said like I'm going to do it.
• 59:20
  And then you had like some long, you took some long route.
• 59:22
  He flew to Dubai. He had no like Dubai to Iraq.
• 59:27
  Yeah, yeah, he got to Dubai, fisible Allah.
• 59:33
  Well, they'll be caught. A flight to Turkey or some
• 59:35
  random Moss. Boasts the panel lines.
• 59:37
  You know that that Trekkie went through all my days.
• 59:41
  It's crazy. I met with say, I hope you don't
• 59:43
  mind me saying say, but I met with the Sayid on the Friday
• 59:47
  night in Karbalaya and it was nice.
• 59:50
  I got to see my brother and you know, it's, it's, it's I got to
• 59:53
  see him and we spent some time together and like 5 minutes
• 59:56
  after I left him, we got a call. Like after he left that say much
• 1:00:03
  about his grandfather passed away in Karbala and I was just
• 1:00:07
  with him and he that just happened and it was crazy, bro.
• 1:00:12
  Like he left. He was with his grandfather who
• 1:00:15
  he hadn't seen in years, if I'm not mistaken, a layer hammer.
• 1:00:19
  He'd seen his that flight, that trek he took after, you know, he
• 1:00:23
  saw his grandfather first time in years.
• 1:00:25
  He spent time with him. He came to meet his brothers and
• 1:00:28
  then he left us and his grandfather had left this world
• 1:00:31
  like an hour later. And that night after we met up
• 1:00:35
  later on, we went to his house. We we did the Fatah gave
• 1:00:37
  condolences to his family. But I thought Subhan Allah, like
• 1:00:40
  he didn't plan on coming and he didn't have he didn't know how
• 1:00:44
  to cope. Imam called him.
• 1:00:46
  He got to see his grandfather who passed away and he was known
• 1:00:49
  as one of the top Khudam in Kabbalah who passed away in the
• 1:00:52
  days of Albayeen and like this just show that a lot elevates
• 1:00:56
  people who he wants to elevate. And you know what I'm saying and
• 1:00:59
  you know, on this year, we've got a lot of, you know, we've
• 1:01:01
  got a lot of chances in the year as well, OK, for this, for these
• 1:01:06
  things to fall in place. OK.
• 1:01:08
  So when is the Shahadat of an imam or any of the AL Rebeid al
• 1:01:12
  Islam? We're at the mosque or at the
• 1:01:15
  Bargah, Yeah. Or the Husseini or wherever it
• 1:01:18
  may be commemorating. Now, if we if we had a family
• 1:01:23
  member that passed away, our daughter, our child, our
• 1:01:26
  brother, our parents, we'd be there crying this at the other.
• 1:01:30
  But this is our a mum. These are our mums and our
• 1:01:33
  Baitle Islam. Yeah, which we love more than
• 1:01:36
  our own family. OK, so not going to your own
• 1:01:40
  family members funeral or Janaza, it's unacceptable.
• 1:01:45
  Is unacceptable. Yeah, but this is absolutely
• 1:01:48
  unacceptable. Not going to your own Al Beitle
• 1:01:51
  Islam's commemoration of their shahada.
• 1:01:56
  Yeah. But at these gatherings, at
• 1:01:59
  these majalis, we're given an opportunity.
• 1:02:02
  It's an opportunity for us to cry, OK, to mourn those tears.
• 1:02:09
  And you don't know in that dua itself, Mullah would have said
• 1:02:14
  this is written for him, written for you in that in that portion
• 1:02:20
  of your day when you were crying that that is when is written
• 1:02:24
  FIFA Ziara. So we all are given chances.
• 1:02:27
  And I think if we make these as parts, as these things,
• 1:02:31
  fundamental parts of our year, daily life, then and they.
• 1:02:36
  Automatically be more easy for you to to make that journey.
• 1:02:41
  And we'd, we'd already discussed earlier about, you know, there's
• 1:02:44
  different ways to go. You you don't necessarily have
• 1:02:46
  to go and you know, luxury packages.
• 1:02:49
  There are, there are ways to, to do the trip on a more budget
• 1:02:53
  friendly way. So if that's the case, then
• 1:02:55
  there are ways around it. So just find, you know, a means
• 1:03:00
  and a ways that works for you. And then Inshallah, God willing,
• 1:03:04
  you know? We got a nickname for like the
• 1:03:07
  group. So the group that we sort of go
• 1:03:10
  with, it's just a few boys. We just, it's just families,
• 1:03:13
  friends, whoever wants to join basically.
• 1:03:15
  But we tell them that there's don't expect anything like
• 1:03:19
  literally, you know, don't expect.
• 1:03:21
  Anything at the short end of the stick.
• 1:03:23
  Don't expect anything. No, but seriously, we say don't
• 1:03:26
  expect anything. There might not be any reciters
• 1:03:28
  with us or whatever it may be. We are literally going there for
• 1:03:30
  Azar and that is it. No name whatever.
• 1:03:34
  Point being that you don't need. Sorry.
• 1:03:41
  Gladly, I've forgotten what I was going to say.
• 1:03:43
  Write down the minutes please. Sorry bro.
• 1:03:46
  Yeah, that's what I. Was going to say, Oh yeah, yeah.
• 1:03:49
  So we should start back with. Yeah, Carol, what you need?
• 1:03:52
  Just carry on. Yeah, so the name of, well, the
• 1:03:56
  name that one of the brothers gave the group was Daban Tours.
• 1:04:02
  Because it's just a raggle. Yeah, Not saying it like it's,
• 1:04:05
  it's not really like that. It's alhamdulillah.
• 1:04:07
  It's everyone's. Come I love the axe as well the.
• 1:04:09
  Alaban tours but no. But Alhamdulillah, we got
• 1:04:13
  brothers there that we just, we just want as many people to come
• 1:04:17
  as possible. Whether it's the group with us
• 1:04:19
  or whoever it may be, it doesn't matter.
• 1:04:21
  I think as Western people, like British people or whatever, we
• 1:04:25
  like to complain. So whoever's the Salah that the
• 1:04:29
  the. Not me, not.
• 1:04:30
  Salah, which is whoever is the organized, you want to find
• 1:04:35
  someone to to like to complain to this, yeah, to complain to
• 1:04:39
  so. That is that guy.
• 1:04:43
  But you know what? Hussein is the kind of guy.
• 1:04:44
  Yeah. Like I I can tell me if this has
• 1:04:47
  not happened because I could. I could if it was.
• 1:04:48
  I'll. I'll put money on it.
• 1:04:50
  OK. He's standing in a queue in a
• 1:04:52
  Malkin for shawarma. Yeah.
• 1:04:54
  Five guys cut in front of him and he loses his mind.
• 1:04:56
  No, I could. I could imagine.
• 1:04:59
  No so like. He's the AC is not working,
• 1:05:01
  Yeah. No, no, in this yard part, fine,
• 1:05:04
  outside of these art parts. And this is the thing like we
• 1:05:07
  were talking about what lessons you learned.
• 1:05:09
  Yeah, I think, yeah, the first time, the first year I went, I
• 1:05:13
  think it was a lot of things happened.
• 1:05:15
  And this is the thing. This is the beautiful thing to
• 1:05:17
  the to the listeners and viewers.
• 1:05:19
  You'll you'll remember things from that first trip or first
• 1:05:23
  couple of trips, and they'll keep coming back to you.
• 1:05:26
  Every trip is special. And there are certain things
• 1:05:28
  from the last trip I went to, which maybe you can get onto at
• 1:05:31
  some point that, you know, that stick with you.
• 1:05:35
  But we're here at Natcheff Airport and we're leaving now.
• 1:05:39
  Yeah, So we're tired. It's been a long trip.
• 1:05:43
  And one of the security people was like throwing my the luggage
• 1:05:48
  onto the carousel. This guy's like picked up my
• 1:05:51
  luggage, just flung it. And I was just like, what are
• 1:05:54
  you doing? Yeah, I've like flipped out.
• 1:06:00
  And these don't mess with the Iraqis people.
• 1:06:02
  Yeah. Don't mess with the anyone with
• 1:06:05
  security. Yeah.
• 1:06:06
  Don't mess with anyone official. Yeah.
• 1:06:08
  Because you could end up in trouble.
• 1:06:10
  Anyway, I flipped out. Now this guy doesn't speak
• 1:06:13
  English and he's called over the military police.
• 1:06:16
  Yeah, they all have military gear and they usually have some
• 1:06:20
  guns as well. He's called him over and he's
• 1:06:22
  telling him in in, in Arabic, probably like put this guy in
• 1:06:27
  jail. Put this guy in jail.
• 1:06:28
  Yeah, if because he's he's he's assaulted me, he's like offended
• 1:06:32
  me, like whatever. So and then in that moment, I
• 1:06:36
  was like, you know, So what? Like something breaks in there.
• 1:06:39
  OK, mine, you know, but you'll learn things like this, this
• 1:06:43
  patience. But yeah, no, but in the yard,
• 1:06:47
  bro, I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't like this one.
• 1:06:49
  Like if you want to eat, you eat first.
• 1:06:51
  Yeah, I can fully imagine that. I can visualize that, yeah.
• 1:06:54
  Everything goes wrong with this guy.
• 1:06:56
  Everything. Goes I know I love blessing.
• 1:06:58
  Oh, every, OK, let's let's go on to one story then everything
• 1:07:01
  going wrong. So we've been where was this?
• 1:07:05
  This is in Sham. We've gone to Dusiata BU
• 1:07:11
  Sakina's Haram and Alayi Salaam. And on the day of arraign, if
• 1:07:21
  you're in, obviously if you're in Iraq, then it's different.
• 1:07:24
  But if you're in in Sham, people usually go to say the rouquets
• 1:07:30
  in the morning. We'll do the Messiah there, do
• 1:07:33
  the yards and then it's because it's, I haven't done the walk
• 1:07:37
  yet, but there's a reason I haven't done the walk yet.
• 1:07:40
  So I'll get to that. And then people do a walk from,
• 1:07:43
  say the Rukers to say the Zainab's Harem.
• 1:07:47
  So it's about a 3-4 hour walk. Yeah.
• 1:07:51
  So for the people of Syria who can't make it to Iraq by Wayne,
• 1:07:57
  they've they've made their own kind of procession.
• 1:08:01
  So we've left the home. We're the last people to leave.
• 1:08:05
  And our organiser here has been like, yeah, yeah, I'll guide the
• 1:08:08
  ladies. Yeah.
• 1:08:10
  And the youngsters back to the to the main road.
• 1:08:14
  Now anyone who's been, it's a lot of like inside roads, like
• 1:08:17
  little alleyways. He's taken them on a walk for an
• 1:08:21
  hour, just walking around, say they're OK, it's Haram.
• 1:08:25
  And we're already waiting on the street, ready to go for this
• 1:08:27
  walk. Now, I think an hour or two
• 1:08:30
  hours later, he shows up with old ladies, little kids.
• 1:08:34
  Yeah. Yeah.
• 1:08:35
  Sorry. I got lost.
• 1:08:36
  He's been on the art 28 times. He's still get lost.
• 1:08:39
  Was he just going in circles? Yeah.
• 1:08:41
  So these are our organisers for our the art trips.
• 1:08:44
  So maybe if it's your first time, maybe a bit more
• 1:08:46
  organization, but yeah, so but no.
• 1:08:53
  So yeah, that and that's the beauty about I think going more
• 1:08:56
  onto, I think we've talked about, you know, a few things.
• 1:08:59
  I think the beauty of the brotherhood that you are also
• 1:09:02
  build on this trip. So, you know, there'll be people
• 1:09:06
  that you probably don't know that well you've never met in
• 1:09:09
  your life or people that maybe you've known, especially in
• 1:09:12
  Stanmore, you know of a lot of people so, but you don't
• 1:09:15
  actually really know them. So one of the trips I went on
• 1:09:18
  was with mainly, you know, boys from Stanmore that I knew of but
• 1:09:22
  didn't really. Ever spoke to?
• 1:09:24
  But when you go in the yard with them, I don't know, this special
• 1:09:27
  bond like happens like you're no longer like, you know, just
• 1:09:31
  Salaam like do you know that that that feeling on when you
• 1:09:33
  get on the train in London, like you see everyone around you, but
• 1:09:36
  you don't interact with anyone. But when you're on Zia, there's
• 1:09:40
  like all these people around you.
• 1:09:42
  And if you want to interact with anyone, it's not like a weird
• 1:09:44
  thing to. Do you know what it is?
• 1:09:46
  You know, you're, you're visiting, Yeah.
• 1:09:48
  You're visiting the, the, the, the, the place in which Hadith
• 1:09:53
  says is gender on Earth. Yeah.
• 1:09:55
  And when you're doing you're, you're in a place where you have
• 1:09:58
  Motminin. Yeah.
• 1:09:59
  Millions of motminin gathered together and for, for someone
• 1:10:01
  who is beside you, they're muttman.
• 1:10:04
  They've been invited. Of course, being in Karbala in
• 1:10:07
  itself is a blessing. And then you're, you're there
• 1:10:10
  with someone who the, the angels are circumambulating themselves.
• 1:10:15
  You know, there's such a baraka in going.
• 1:10:17
  And like you said, the ties that you build with people.
• 1:10:19
  There's a lot of brothers. I I know who I had built like
• 1:10:25
  that bond with because of Ziara and it you know, there's guys
• 1:10:28
  who. Even strangers.
• 1:10:29
  Strangers guys, you know my first Ziara ever, it was 2015
• 1:10:33
  and as into Iraq, I've been to Sham before that, but my first
• 1:10:38
  Ziara with a group was we went on on a retreat with the
• 1:10:42
  Mainstay Foundation and they had a Najaf.
• 1:10:44
  Like how was our crash course? It was amazing and so many of my
• 1:10:48
  friends now with me on that trip met them for the first time.
• 1:10:52
  In those days I was completely different.
• 1:10:55
  I had no idea what was going. I was saying those the dark side
• 1:10:57
  of my day those days. But you build something then,
• 1:11:01
  and it stays with you for life. And it breaks those habits of
• 1:11:04
  that you pick up here of being pretty isolated and reserved.
• 1:11:09
  You learn how to that you, yeah, you learn how to open up with
• 1:11:13
  people. You overcome such anxiety.
• 1:11:15
  Exactly so. If that's like also you're
• 1:11:17
  concerned that, look, there's going to be so many people
• 1:11:19
  there. I'm I'm not used to being in big
• 1:11:22
  crowds, honestly. Like when you're there, it feels
• 1:11:25
  you become feeling. Yeah, it's like a you.
• 1:11:27
  Know there's this one, there's this a few kids from Stanmore
• 1:11:30
  that have came on Zarath with us over the last few years.
• 1:11:35
  And before I'm not saying they were they were shy or whatever.
• 1:11:38
  It's everyone's got their own reasons, but you wouldn't see
• 1:11:40
  them in the in the bottom after coming for Ziaret frontline made
• 1:11:45
  the front lines of Azhar. And this is the beauty of it
• 1:11:49
  because it just you're fearless and when you're there, you can
• 1:11:53
  just be yourself and just be free and you're not like scared
• 1:11:57
  of it. It's look, everyone's got that
• 1:11:59
  you come. People come from different
• 1:12:00
  family backgrounds. There's a lot of things going
• 1:12:02
  on. Yeah, in different families,
• 1:12:05
  social status is people who are, you could say, however you want
• 1:12:08
  to say liberal or whatever it may be.
• 1:12:11
  There's people and it's sometimes it's not their
• 1:12:13
  children's fault, it's because they've just been brought up in
• 1:12:15
  that environment. Like what's this chest beating?
• 1:12:18
  Like what? Like it is, it is a thing, yeah.
• 1:12:21
  But when they actually go to Karbala or to Sharm or any of
• 1:12:25
  these arts and they just become free and they just join in, then
• 1:12:30
  it's like full on. And these kids, what happens?
• 1:12:33
  They come back. Next thing you know, their
• 1:12:35
  parents are in or their fathers are in front lines on the martyr
• 1:12:38
  as well. Yeah, Zed, I'm going to ask you
• 1:12:40
  something. Yeah, we have a lot of haters
• 1:12:42
  who watch aftermarket and I mean this.
• 1:12:45
  So we have a lot of NASA bees who watch our content.
• 1:12:48
  That one guy who comments every. Week.
• 1:12:50
  Yeah, we have. We have a guy, guys who spam our
• 1:12:52
  commas every week, guys who call us spies, all sorts of things.
• 1:12:57
  But the one thing which I love about this podcast is the fact
• 1:13:01
  that we can talk directly to those who call us Musha Keen and
• 1:13:06
  Kathleen and all of that. I want you.
• 1:13:09
  This is like something I want you to do.
• 1:13:11
  Yeah. I want you to look into your
• 1:13:13
  camera, OK? And I want you to to give a
• 1:13:16
  message to those like Wahhabis out there who say that you guys
• 1:13:21
  are kofar for beating your chest and why you beat your chest for
• 1:13:24
  you. What does that mean?
• 1:13:28
  Yeah. What would you?
• 1:13:29
  Say why? Why?
• 1:13:30
  Why? Why?
• 1:13:31
  Why do? You say to them, like what what
• 1:13:33
  is our what is your response to that that we hear about being
• 1:13:37
  chest and even for those who within our community, I'm not
• 1:13:41
  saying don't engage with it because each to their own, but
• 1:13:43
  I'm saying those who talk, criticize and talk down to
• 1:13:46
  people who do this, what's your response to that?
• 1:13:49
  The in if I can just say in this the most humblest way, because
• 1:13:54
  this is not an arrogance thing. It can't be an arrogance thing.
• 1:13:57
  The minute is the. Minute is then the point is, but
• 1:14:01
  if I just tell you that the granddaughter of the Prophet,
• 1:14:09
  she mourned in these ways, when the grandson of the Prophet was
• 1:14:22
  martyred in Kerbala, the daughter of the Prophet mourned
• 1:14:27
  in this way. The daughter of the Prophet
• 1:14:31
  Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaiwalu Salamallahu Saliallah Muhammad,
• 1:14:34
  mourned in this way, and she was brutally killed by certain
• 1:14:45
  individuals. And we will always mourn in this
• 1:14:51
  way until our very last breath. And we pray that inshallah I
• 1:14:55
  die. And I'm sure these guys will
• 1:14:57
  pray as well that we die beating our chests for all of the
• 1:15:02
  prophet and his Holy Family till the day we die.
• 1:15:04
  Inshallah, Yeah. I mean, yeah, I mean said, and
• 1:15:08
  this is a tradition. The tradition of Azhar, as you
• 1:15:11
  said, precedes Karbala, and it goes it's written in our
• 1:15:16
  traditions from the time of Salaam Muhammad sallallahu.
• 1:15:19
  He more for the first moment he picked up Yeah and I was saying
• 1:15:24
  he tears were in his. Eyes were in his eyes.
• 1:15:26
  We have now Hadith we have, there's so many stories about
• 1:15:29
  us, Allah, Muhammad and Imam Hussein Alayhi Musalaam and
• 1:15:33
  their specific relationship and their very close bond that they
• 1:15:37
  shared with each other. But the one story which I I, I
• 1:15:39
  love hearing is, you know, there are certain female personalities
• 1:15:43
  in the whole saga of Karbala and early Islamic history, the 1st
• 1:15:47
  70 years of Islamic history before the Hijran, the 60 years
• 1:15:51
  or 61 years after until Karbala, where yes, we hear about Seydah
• 1:15:57
  Fatimahzaharah, we hear about Seydah Zeinab Salam Alayhi.
• 1:16:00
  But there are certain other individuals who played such a
• 1:16:03
  pivotal role in this Bibium Salimah, the wife of the prophet
• 1:16:08
  Bibium Salimah, one of the most unanimously respected
• 1:16:12
  individuals across all of Islamic all Islamic
• 1:16:15
  denominations. Bibium Salimah was given sand as
• 1:16:19
  we know this story in the jar from the Holy Prophet Muhammad.
• 1:16:23
  He told her, keep this with you. When the jar turns red, the sand
• 1:16:27
  turns red, you'll know what has happened and you'll know what's
• 1:16:30
  happened to my grandson Hussein. Of course, Fast forward at which
• 1:16:34
  point was 50 years after the death of the Holy Prophet
• 1:16:36
  Muhammad, and she was still alive and she was in old age.
• 1:16:40
  And the sand, the, the, the, the sand in this jar had turned into
• 1:16:44
  blood. And she went out and she was the
• 1:16:46
  first one in our hadith, the Shia hadith, the first one to
• 1:16:50
  proclaim to people around her to share the news that Imam Hussein
• 1:16:54
  had been martyred. She in our hadith had offered to
• 1:16:57
  go and fight with him, but because of her old age, she
• 1:17:01
  couldn't. This was the, the, the, the wife
• 1:17:03
  of his grandfather. You know this.
• 1:17:05
  We're not talking about anyone ordinary Bibi Omal Banin Salaam
• 1:17:09
  alayhi alayhi. May Allah always, never, ever,
• 1:17:12
  ever deprive us from being the servant of Bibi Omal Banin, who
• 1:17:16
  we give our You know she gave. Up.
• 1:17:18
  Her four sons for Imam Hussein Alayhi Salaam.
• 1:17:21
  Not just that she gave up her shrine today and she would do it
• 1:17:25
  all again. She gave up her her life and she
• 1:17:28
  gave up her lineage and she gave up her her resting place for
• 1:17:33
  this day for Hussein. And that will continue because
• 1:17:36
  if there's something that lives until the day of Qaam is the
• 1:17:39
  love of Imam Hussein and I think.
• 1:17:41
  That's the point, that the whole point of Azhar Martyam mourning,
• 1:17:47
  it's all about humility and sacrifice, you know, it's to
• 1:17:50
  teach you how to humble yourself in a moment of grief and and
• 1:17:57
  then it teaches you sacrifice. You know, if the Imam was in a
• 1:18:02
  position where he gave everything, you know, what,
• 1:18:07
  what, what state would you be if your mother was brutally killed
• 1:18:10
  in front of you? You know, what state would you
• 1:18:12
  be if your children were deprived of water?
• 1:18:16
  I mean, we're seeing scenes now, you know, around the world, you
• 1:18:20
  know, Palestine, Lebanon, you know, where people are being
• 1:18:24
  deprived of basic necessities. Look at how they react, how
• 1:18:28
  they, when you watch those videos, how do they, they react?
• 1:18:32
  Do they act calmly and, you know, you know, responsibly when
• 1:18:36
  they're talking about their child being blown to pieces?
• 1:18:40
  Or are they wailing and screaming and crying and, you
• 1:18:43
  know, you know, losing their minds.
• 1:18:46
  You know, I don't think it's I think until you've experienced
• 1:18:51
  that pain of losing a loved 1 you in such a manner, you don't
• 1:18:57
  understand why there are these millions of people who are going
• 1:19:00
  there to wail and cry and beat their chests.
• 1:19:04
  Because we feel for the Imam in such a way that that's just a
• 1:19:08
  natural response that comes. And I think it's also a point of
• 1:19:13
  identity as well, like for any of the Shia viewers out there
• 1:19:17
  who may be a bit, you know, reluctant about, you know, but
• 1:19:20
  what about the image of Islam? You know, a lot of our maybe not
• 1:19:26
  today in, in our sheltered societies, but the reason, a lot
• 1:19:30
  of the reasons we have I I believe that we have our Dean
• 1:19:35
  still, we still have these traditions of mourning are
• 1:19:38
  because our forefathers kept the traditions of doing as are doing
• 1:19:42
  Martam, doing whatever it may be alive.
• 1:19:46
  There are places around the world where people are being
• 1:19:49
  killed for doing this. Yeah.
• 1:19:51
  Or being persecuted for doing this.
• 1:19:53
  And you live in a country or in a place where you're free to do
• 1:19:57
  it. So don't.
• 1:19:59
  Don't ever belittle something that someone else is being
• 1:20:02
  denied the right to do. You know, take it as a badge of
• 1:20:07
  honour, take it as a something you're proud of.
• 1:20:10
  Yeah. And no one's saying you have to,
• 1:20:13
  you know, take your top off and, you know, bleed everywhere.
• 1:20:16
  And I mean, do whatever you whatever you feel comfortable
• 1:20:20
  doing or wherever the morning takes you, obviously within
• 1:20:23
  reason. And no one's saying go beyond
• 1:20:25
  the limits. That's that's very clear.
• 1:20:28
  But. If I can add something, and this
• 1:20:31
  is for me as an overarching point and of course a reflection
• 1:20:34
  point. When we look back on the Majalis
• 1:20:36
  that we've been to Muharram and you know, all of all of the, the
• 1:20:39
  reading, the research, when we, when we read the holy of Quran
• 1:20:41
  and we, we see Karbala and the Quran and we see the Quran in
• 1:20:44
  Karbala and we see the relationship there.
• 1:20:47
  Everything for me reminds me that Karbala is not in the past,
• 1:20:51
  but Karbala is the present and the future because everything
• 1:20:55
  that happened there is eternal. Hussein is eternal, sacrifice is
• 1:20:59
  eternal, Zainab is eternal, Sajad is eternal.
• 1:21:02
  Every one of them, and their mission and their.
• 1:21:04
  Role. Remains eternal and, and it
• 1:21:07
  sounds cliche we've had this over a a period of now what 1020
• 1:21:11
  years where these you know, stand against depression, rise
• 1:21:14
  up against tyranny. These phrases have become
• 1:21:17
  globalized and they sound, you know, repetitive, but let me
• 1:21:20
  tell you that they they are powerful statements and when you
• 1:21:23
  you mention Palestine as an example, there are Malawi in in
• 1:21:27
  in Palestine last I remember last Muharram.
• 1:21:30
  How many Majalis did we see in Palestine?
• 1:21:32
  How many people did we say in in Palestine who Prince Karbala and
• 1:21:36
  saying we're going through nothing because of what Hussein
• 1:21:38
  went through and they they repeatedly say it has to be
• 1:21:42
  Allah when network in like this is all the Contra of the last
• 1:21:45
  Pantala is what's overarching here and of course what keeps us
• 1:21:48
  going. A last thing from you guys
• 1:21:50
  because I know I've I've taken a lot of your time and I'm I'm
• 1:21:52
  extremely grateful for you. A final message for people at
• 1:21:56
  home, Zoeb who are watching, who have felt nostalgic, maybe who
• 1:22:02
  feel more confident and just need inshallah.
• 1:22:06
  A final push or maybe some words of affirmation from you.
• 1:22:11
  Encouragement on Inshallah making this year the year that
• 1:22:15
  they do another ZAR to autobayin or even their first.
• 1:22:20
  Just just, I would just say the number one thing.
• 1:22:26
  Like I said, I learned well. Sheikh Banjo used to say this in
• 1:22:31
  his namaz. Just make if just make the niyah
• 1:22:35
  and make that near in your namaz, in your Salah, Allah
• 1:22:40
  Humar Zukhna Ziyathi, Imam al Hussein al Islam Fedunya or
• 1:22:44
  Shafa Adolfi al Qura. And if you keep that constantly
• 1:22:48
  there, just make that near. Everything will fall into place
• 1:22:51
  the same way that that first trip we went to Iran, like I
• 1:22:53
  mentioned to you in the beginning, that was the the
• 1:22:58
  start of everything. I just made the knee.
• 1:23:03
  I'll give you an example like Al Hamdullah, my daughter last last
• 1:23:11
  urbane was two months old. I managed to take her to Sham
• 1:23:14
  Shamlah. She came to Sham and my 5 year
• 1:23:17
  old has been to a Kerbilah a couple of times.
• 1:23:19
  It's not easy even with children, but that therbiat,
• 1:23:24
  that therbiat that will get instilled in them from that
• 1:23:27
  young age when you've put your child's lips on the very of the
• 1:23:34
  the on the lips on the very. Can you just imagine that, I
• 1:23:40
  don't know, bless blessings. Like it's not even you can't
• 1:23:43
  even say blessing because it's like a million times more than
• 1:23:46
  that. But can you just imagine that
• 1:23:49
  love that will get put into them and going forward in their life,
• 1:23:54
  everything will just scare. I don't I don't know how to
• 1:23:56
  explain it, but you know what I'm trying to say.
• 1:23:58
  But if you do it, then what will happen Inshallah your children,
• 1:24:02
  if you don't have children, your children will do it.
• 1:24:04
  If you don't have children, you're trying for children,
• 1:24:06
  you'll get children, you know, like basically everything will
• 1:24:09
  work out. Everything will work out.
• 1:24:12
  You might feel like you don't have the money.
• 1:24:15
  I'm not saying everyone's with this situation.
• 1:24:17
  Like I said, I've borrowed money to cozy art before.
• 1:24:20
  There's no in this thing, there's no shame.
• 1:24:23
  There's no shame. The money will come back.
• 1:24:26
  And even if the money doesn't come back physically, some, some
• 1:24:30
  way or the other, it will. I'm not saying it's not going to
• 1:24:32
  come. It will obviously come back, but
• 1:24:34
  it will come back in different, different ways.
• 1:24:36
  Repayment is from. God, yeah, I, I did.
• 1:24:38
  We, we're going to Illallah, you know, the Noah, we're going to
• 1:24:43
  Allah. It's literally.
• 1:24:45
  The journey is for Torrid, Yeah, I said, saying any last words.
• 1:24:50
  Yeah, I think just on the point of encouragement, I think
• 1:24:54
  sometimes we feel like there's this, there's this thing that I
• 1:24:58
  need in my life, there's this thing I'm searching for and just
• 1:25:04
  maybe a small anecdote on on, on something that's personal to me.
• 1:25:07
  So the couple of years ago was the last time I I went.
• 1:25:11
  I didn't manage to go last year, but I went to charm and made,
• 1:25:18
  you know, you do use the art, You, you ask your doors.
• 1:25:21
  And there were certain things in my life I was asking for for a
• 1:25:26
  while. And up until that point, you
• 1:25:28
  know, hadn't come to pass. Well, Hamzaullah, you know, I
• 1:25:33
  think in that place Under the Dome of say, the Zainab, you
• 1:25:38
  know, when you ask, when you ask through them, it's much easier
• 1:25:45
  for that door to come to come true.
• 1:25:48
  And Alhamdulillah, there's been things in my life that I've
• 1:25:51
  changed and blessings that have entered my life since, since
• 1:25:56
  that ZR that I don't, I truly believe would not have come to
• 1:26:01
  pass without that ZR trip. And I've seen that with my own
• 1:26:05
  eyes. And the link is, it's impossible
• 1:26:09
  that it's not linked. So I don't want to go into too
• 1:26:13
  many details. But for everybody, there will be
• 1:26:15
  something that you're searching for, something that you're
• 1:26:18
  looking for in your life. You're not sure how to deal with
• 1:26:21
  this problem that you've got or just go, go with the intention
• 1:26:26
  of giving Salaam first. And then you know, once you've
• 1:26:28
  done that, go back and you know, there'll be opportunities to
• 1:26:34
  ask. Take that opportunity and trust
• 1:26:36
  me, whatever you're looking for in this world and the next
• 1:26:40
  through there were Cela and Charlotte.
• 1:26:41
  It's accepted, Sir. Sharla, thank you guys.
• 1:26:45
  I want to thank you so much. And remember to pray for us, for
• 1:26:49
  anyone, of course, who can't go, for those who are muddy health
• 1:26:52
  and those who are, you know, unable to go for whichever
• 1:26:55
  reason they're pressed and so on.
• 1:26:57
  And inshallah, we'll all be together Under the Dome of
• 1:27:00
  Abdullah and Sharla. Sharla, well, this is a home.
• 1:27:03
  Thank you so much for tuning in to another week of After
• 1:27:06
  Margaret. We'll be back in Charlotte next
• 1:27:07
  week. Before I leave you, I just want
• 1:27:10
  to ask you if you haven't already, please keep supporting
• 1:27:12
  the After Margaret podcast. Make sure you subscribe.
• 1:27:15
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• 1:27:18
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• 1:27:22
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• 1:27:25
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• 1:27:30
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• 1:27:44
  brothers and sisters, and we will see you next week.
• 1:27:47
  Take care of some alaikum rahatul mahi rakhat.