Mourning for Ma‘rifah: Imam Husayn at Karbala The colours of our family are, as you know, Red and Green. The reason being that we represent both the (offices of) Shāh [Imām] and Pīr. The Shāh was Ḥusayn and the Pīr was Ḥasan. Ḥasan had the Pīr’s colour of Green, but Ḥusayn’s martyrdom was so enormous in events and was so opposed to even the smallest laws of war that the colour of his Holy Blood, namely Red, was accepted with the Green of the Prophet’s flag as a souvenir and remembrance of that terrible day. - Imām Sulṭān Muḥammad Shāh Āgā Khān III You should be rest assured that the Nūr of Mawlānā Murtada ‘Alī is in me and is present before you. We Imāms change the physical bodies in this world but our Nūr is eternal and originates from the very beginning. You should therefore take it as one Nūr. The Throne of the Imamat of Mawlānā Murtaḍa ‘Alī continues and it will remain till the Day of Judgement. Imām Sulṭān Muḥammad Shāh Āgā Khān III, (Address made in Bombay, September 8, 1885 quoted in Michele Boivien, Le Renovation du Shiisme Ismailien en Inde et au Pakistan, 197-98) The Nizarī Ismā‘īlī Muslim community, led by Mawlānā Shāh Karīm al-Ḥusaynī – the present (hāḍir) and forty-ninth hereditary Imām in direct lineal descent from Imām al-Ḥusayn, continuously bears witness to the events of Ashūra and Karbala. This is evident in the official Ismā‘īlī Flag – raised upon the various buildings and structures where the Present Imām happens to be. This includes the Imām’s private jet – which could be likened to Duldul, the famous horse of Imām ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, in the modern age. Like the companions of Imām al-Ḥusayn in the past, the Ismā‘īlī Muslim today uphold the spirit of Karbala when they dedicate and sacrifice their lives in the service of the Imām of the Time, the community and humanity at large. In this respect, we conclude this post with the august words of Imām Sulṭān Muḥammad Shāh where he explains the meaning of the Red and Green colors of the Ismā‘īlī Flag in his letter to Dr. Pir Muhammad Hoodboy. As the Imām explains below, the Green color stands for the Prophet Muḥammad, Pīr Imām al-Ḥasan, and the office of the Pīr (the supreme ḥujjah of the Imām) while the Red color stands for Imām ‘Alī, Imām al-Ḥusayn, and the office of the Imām. Interestingly, the colors of Red and Green also featured prominently when the Imām Sulṭān Muḥammad Shāh assumed the Imāmah in Bombay 1885 – where the Imām, dressed in red attire, sat upon a green cushion. ismailignosis/2014/10/25/mourning-for-marifah-imam-husayn-at-karbala/
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 16:45:08 +0000
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