I was expecting our trip to be Karbala and Najaf to be spiritual and rejuvenating. No surprise it it is.
What I wasn’t expecting is that this is not a Bohra experience. Most of the ziyarats and significant places I’ve been have been almost exclusively Bohra or in an intolerant mostly Sunni environment where I felt like I was hiding what I was feeling in some way or doing something which felt secretive.
Coming here I didn’t expect to feel a serenity and calmness from watching others from all over do Moula Ali’s and Moula Husain’s and shohada’s ziyarat. Not just other Bohras, but many other Muslims of all types visiting these places and being visibly overwhelmed. I think to myself they didn’t have the nice Faiz rooms, knowledgeable guides, comfortable tours, regular good meals, and endless chai.
They had to think about all sorts of practical things that I just don’t have to think about. It makes it all the more moving just to watch. Today there was another matam majalis at Imam Husain’s ziyarat. It’s wonderful we have this organized way to express ourselves. I doubt many people understood what we were saying, but it was clear what we were doing when we were yelling ya Ali or ya Husain. I looked up and saw many non Bohras joined in and were doing matam with us and many taking videos seemingly because they were moved. It was beautiful.
Taher, remember how you felt when you wrote this. Taher, remember love is love.
