Yalla Yalla agha buro buro mustaqeem! Yalla khaanum haraka! This is probably the only arabi I can speak yet. However, I'm a work under construction and soon, I'll be Yalla habibi'ing everyone and anyone who crosses my path and probably will drop the most intense Laatmiyah (arabi noha) in the near future. Moving on from the noob arabi skills, I AM IN KARBALA, also known as HEAVEN ON EARTH!!!
We left Najaf on 29th November early in the morning at 4 AM with half our stuff. Our travel group locked up the rest of the luggage so that we won't have to carry the entire luggage to Karbala. After bidding our farewell to Najaf and our hotel, half of our travel group went out on foot to Shahrah-e-Madina and further out to the bus depot. Because Fajr was upon us, we had to stop at a muakkab to quickly pray as we were on a short time limit. I think it's safe to say, IT WAS FREEZING! Then started the 6-hour road trip from Najaf to Karbala. The most important things I noticed on this road trip were
1. How like always, we were food-less, again! No breakfast before leaving, No breakfast during the road trip.
2. The whole way from Najaf to Karbala, Millions and millions of zair of all races and cultures were walking in the freezing cold. They weren't doing this to gain anything, but its the love for ahlulbait and Imam Hussain aleyhsalam. It's the thought and devotion to visit Karbala on foot and pay their tribute and respect to Imam Hussain Aleyhsalam and get his blessings and to tell Bibi Fatima Zahra aleyhsalam that we will never forget Imam Hussain aleyhsalam and his sacrifice.
3. People of all ages, let them be kids or extremely old or extremely sick and disabled, EVERYONE walked the whole long 76KMs ka rasta without any hesitation and full enthusiasm. That has got to be the most refreshing thing EVER!
4. People from all around the world also made muakkabs (stalls and tents) for the travelling zaireens. Moreover, those muakkabs were providing every zair with all the travelling necessities like food, water, place to crash, place to rest and sit and pray, BATHROOM STOPS, wifi stops, foot and back massage stalls, health and medical camps etcetera etcetera.
1. How like always, we were food-less, again! No breakfast before leaving, No breakfast during the road trip.
2. The whole way from Najaf to Karbala, Millions and millions of zair of all races and cultures were walking in the freezing cold. They weren't doing this to gain anything, but its the love for ahlulbait and Imam Hussain aleyhsalam. It's the thought and devotion to visit Karbala on foot and pay their tribute and respect to Imam Hussain Aleyhsalam and get his blessings and to tell Bibi Fatima Zahra aleyhsalam that we will never forget Imam Hussain aleyhsalam and his sacrifice.
3. People of all ages, let them be kids or extremely old or extremely sick and disabled, EVERYONE walked the whole long 76KMs ka rasta without any hesitation and full enthusiasm. That has got to be the most refreshing thing EVER!
4. People from all around the world also made muakkabs (stalls and tents) for the travelling zaireens. Moreover, those muakkabs were providing every zair with all the travelling necessities like food, water, place to crash, place to rest and sit and pray, BATHROOM STOPS, wifi stops, foot and back massage stalls, health and medical camps etcetera etcetera.
Seeing things like these do change a person inside out. My biggest regret of life would probably be not being able to walk the entire safar-e-Ishq, or the walk to heaven. I had my personal reasons (Im too fat to walk that much and had crazy scary blisters under my feet that took my breath away every time I stepped anywhere).. I know that's not even an excuse, and I'm really ashamed of it now. I really do wish time could somehow unwind itself and I'd be able to walk the journey.
But khair, things happen for a reason. The 6 hour drive was somehow crucial cause we were tired from sitting too much and without bathrrom breaks and food and sleep, we all turned into zombies. Then along the way, there were a gazillion of mujahideens and loadsa snap checking and vvv high security. Neend ne hashar bura kiya hua tha aur checking he khatam nahi horai the. Then suddenly the coaster stopped in the middle of the road and the driver said something in arabi (more like shouted) and idk what happened sabne bus se utarna start kardia and some people came outta nowhere and started emptying our luggage and kept their luggage in the storage compartment and took over our seats. That's when everyone realized WE WERE ON THE BORDER OF KARBALA!
Now beyond the border, no big vehicle is allowed so that's when our feets were summoned and we along with our thora sa luggage walked all the way into the city limits of karbala. After some 17 to 18 KMs give or take I saw the hotel I used to live in the last time I visited karbala! Nostalgia hit me so hard, I think I fell over a bridge or something. Oh and Btw since we didnt had any bathroom break till more than 7 hours, i was totally on the verge to peeing and drowning the entire world in it. AAAAND I CRIED. I was like, moula plsplsplspslsplsplsssss PLS make it stop. Please. I prayed too damn hard. After some more walking, I realized, I DID NO LONGER HAD TO PEE! WHAT!?? I know it sounds crazy, but seriously, I was like ?????? pee?? You where??
After a while and more walking, we stayed at a lobby of a hotel cause our Kafla leader was lost. We reached that hotel at 11 am and stayed there IN THE FRIKING LOBBY, still foodless btw, till 2 pm!! Because we were dying, my mom took up some courage and looked around. As she actually looked around in search of food for us, she actually saw that there were PLENTY of people giving out free food to the zairs and food and drinks of every kind were to be seen, and woh bhe FREE! It is said that if you serve the zair of Moula Hussain aleyhsalam, you get yourself an eternity of bliss. Around 2PM, out of complete boredom and back ache and dying feet, I connected my phone to an open wifi and searched for my hotel on google maps. AND MILGAYA MUJHAY! I was like, dayummmm son. Why didnt i go for it pehly.
Now beyond the border, no big vehicle is allowed so that's when our feets were summoned and we along with our thora sa luggage walked all the way into the city limits of karbala. After some 17 to 18 KMs give or take I saw the hotel I used to live in the last time I visited karbala! Nostalgia hit me so hard, I think I fell over a bridge or something. Oh and Btw since we didnt had any bathroom break till more than 7 hours, i was totally on the verge to peeing and drowning the entire world in it. AAAAND I CRIED. I was like, moula plsplsplspslsplsplsssss PLS make it stop. Please. I prayed too damn hard. After some more walking, I realized, I DID NO LONGER HAD TO PEE! WHAT!?? I know it sounds crazy, but seriously, I was like ?????? pee?? You where??
After a while and more walking, we stayed at a lobby of a hotel cause our Kafla leader was lost. We reached that hotel at 11 am and stayed there IN THE FRIKING LOBBY, still foodless btw, till 2 pm!! Because we were dying, my mom took up some courage and looked around. As she actually looked around in search of food for us, she actually saw that there were PLENTY of people giving out free food to the zairs and food and drinks of every kind were to be seen, and woh bhe FREE! It is said that if you serve the zair of Moula Hussain aleyhsalam, you get yourself an eternity of bliss. Around 2PM, out of complete boredom and back ache and dying feet, I connected my phone to an open wifi and searched for my hotel on google maps. AND MILGAYA MUJHAY! I was like, dayummmm son. Why didnt i go for it pehly.
Later, we walked the whole way passing Khaimagaah-e-Husaaini, Tilla-e-Zainabya, Roza-e-imam Hussain Eleyhsalam and a lot of energy was put in to fight through the crowd the entire rasta. On the way to the hotel, we also surpassed Maqam-e-Ali Akbar aleyhsalam (where Hazrat Ali Akbar aleyhsalam, the 18 year old son of Hazrat Imam Hussain aleyhsalam was martyred); Maqam-e-Ali Asghar aleyhsalam (where the infant son of Hazrat Imam Hussain aleyhsalam was shot an arrow straight into the infant's neck), and just opposite our Hotel is the place where Imam Hussain Aleyhsalam was confronted by Umer Ibne saad (that shitface) to swear his aleysalam's allegiance to Yazeed (May he burn in hell till the end of times).
Our hotel is tiny. Vvvvv tiny. But it has wifi and clean big washrooms in all rooms and,... wait for it... HOT WATER TO SHOWER! YAAAAS! We reached our hotel around 3PM. And we were like lets just rest for an hour or so and we'll go for ziarat. The next thing we know is that the way we explored our beds, we somehow got lost on the way and slept through the entire day. And night. And day. Slept at 3PM, woke up the next 10AM! Crazzzzyyyy, right? (oh and still no sign of emptying the bladder. The bladder dont exist anymore guise)
But not as crazy as us approaching the roza in EXTREME crowd! It is said that if you get lost amongst the 3.5 crore people in karbala, you wont be able to find your way back to your loved ones. And that kinda sorta happened with us. We took our dad's shoes and told him we'll go inside together. But since the partition was wayyyy too intense here, he had to leave. When we got inside the roza of Imam Hussain eleyhsalam, there was not even a single foot step worth space left. So we decided to go a floor up. The second floor is nice and big and beautiful and isnt as much crowded as the rest of the roza. We ended up praying in peace.
After we got out, we remembered, Baba ke jootay humaray paas hain yaaaar! And is rush mae tou mil he nai saktay humain woh pakka. My sister was praying so so hard ke moula please miljayen baba. And i was like lol no things dont work that way, Moula ne yeh nahi kaha hai ke 3.5 crore logoun mae se maa baap miljayengay tumharay. And immediately, I regretted what i said, cause there he was, going straight ahead in his white shalwar kameez and brown sleeve-less sweater. BABA MILGAYE HUMAIN!!! We rushed to him, hugged him, and told him what happened. He laughed at me and told me to not test moula again. And he was absolutely right!
Since when we left, there was again, obviously NO BREAKFAST. And it was almost lunch time. And we were hungry as hell, My Baba decided to summon his crispy Benjamin Franklins, went to a money changer and converted them dollars into iraqi riyals (or dinars whatever) so we could eat out. We ate out, and we ate good!!
For maghrib and isha prayers we decided to go to the shrine of Hazrat Abbas eleyhsalam and because it was under construction, we found out two things. The floor on the ground level and the zari was only permitted to all the men. The escalators were to take everyone downstairs, where the real grave of moula is present. Moreover, was only permissible for women. We did our ziaraats perfectly, and bid him Farewell and left.
Upon returning, my mom took me to the hospital and they told me that they need to aspirate the water out of the giant scary blister on my feet to which I was like Nope no nah nay nope NO nah NOPE. So they tainted it with some medicine and wrapped that baby up. Came back home with a swollen foot and ICECREAM!!!!!! Icecream bohat achi thee yaar.
Omnomnom! It was delish! Khair, long story short, We're in heaven and heaven is EXTREMELY OVERCROWDED at the moment. Loug duniya ke har konay se atay hain yahan and its so overwhelming, but extremely impossible to get a glimpse of the actual grave inside the shrine. I'm pretty sure i wont get a chance to do ziarat before arbaeen. Lets just hope we'll be able to do propper ziarat after arbaeen. And lets just pray we dont get any more food-less days here. (though we've paid more than the required amount), but khair. KHAIR KHAIR KHAIR. There's this one thing thats so soothing about karbala. Banda jitna thaka ho, yahan akay it feels like you're in this therapy session where you get cleansed each and every passing day. My mind and body both are in a very good place and we've all been getting very long and good sleeps here in karbala. So that's basically a +1!
Chalo that's probably it for three days. Third day in karbala and still havent done ziarat inside the roza and still didnt find a good wifi reception for ze laptop. Till I spend more days in the Heaven on Earth, this is me, chilling out.
Digitally cleansed,
Wurduh Jaffri.
Karbala, 2 December.
Chalo that's probably it for three days. Third day in karbala and still havent done ziarat inside the roza and still didnt find a good wifi reception for ze laptop. Till I spend more days in the Heaven on Earth, this is me, chilling out.
Digitally cleansed,
Wurduh Jaffri.
Karbala, 2 December.
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