Friday, 4 April 2014

Dawn in the Aftermath of Abba Jan's Death

(missed blog post)

''Oh best of those who offer prayer! In what state did the morning find you?' He replied, 'I swear by the Provider, the morning found me tormented by the Umayyids.''

The following anecdote, presumed to be related to Hazrat Sajjad, is passed on to Zakir by Abba Jan moments before his death. Indeed, there is an obvious father-son parallel to be drawn here between the figures of Hussain and Sajjad with the figures of Abba Jan and Zakir. The father figure here becomes the defeated martyr, while the son becomes a survivor who escapes from death but must continue to suffer under a system that cannot be changed while upholding the responsibility to remember the past. The dawn, in this context of Shi'ism, is not a symbol of hope or redemption. It signifies the continuation of a sort of suffering. For Sajjad, the death of Hussain signified the passing on of the imammat. The continuation of Karbala undermined this transference of spiritual responsibility. For Zakir, the passing on of the keys is ostensibly useless but symbolically represents the transference of patriarchal responsibility.

"Son, from then to now, that morning has continued." He fell silent, then said, "And it will continue until the Appearance."  

The role of Zakir, in the face of this eternal dawn, becomes one of remembrance and suffering through remembrance. 

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