Tag Archives: Ali

Amazing – Must watch Abida Parveen’s rendition of “Man Kunto Maula, Ali Maula Maula, Ali Ali Ali…” from a live concert in Oslo, Norway

1 March 2020

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Abida Parveen performing in Oslo, Norway. Photo licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

On Saturday, February 29, 2020, Abida Parveen performed in Melbourne, Australia, in a rare appearance outside Pakistan. On the day of her performance she gave an interview to Andrew Ford, host of ABC Australia’s “The Music Show.” In discussing shades of Sufi music (Kafi) towards the end of the interview, the last question Ford asked Abida was what she would be singing in Melbourne that evening, and she replied “Man Kunto Maula.” She demonstrated a few lines from the song in the studio. The famous words are attributed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him and his family) at Ghadir Khumm when he said, “He whose Maula I am, Ali is his Maula” thus giving Hazrat Ali parity with himself as his successor to the Divine Institution of Imamat, a hereditary institution that continues to this day under the 49th Imam, Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan. The following rendition of Man Kunto Maula sung by Abida Parveen in Oslo, Norway, is deeply inspiring and worth listening to in full. It has been viewed on YouTube more than 2.7 million times (Update, January 29, 2023: We note the video is no loner available and has been designated as private.).

Date posted: March 1, 2020.
Last updated: January 29, 2023 (video unavailable.)

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For Navroz, How Volunteers and Young Ismailis Inspire the Aged and the Sick: And Thank you Ali of Grade 4

19 March 2016

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By Abdulmalek Merchant
Publisher-Editor, http://www.simerg.com

Navroz greeting from an Ismaili student
A greeting and prayer for my parents from an Ismaili student in Vancouver.

On auspicious occasions such as Navroz, Imamat Day and Salgirah a team of volunteers sets out to deliver trays of delicious food around the Greater Vancouver area to the aged and the sick who cannot attend the jamati functions due to ill-health and other limitations. These deliveries remind the recipients they are part and parcel of a greater brotherhood which has not forgotten them. The volunteer who came by to my mum was in his last leg of deliveries to 84 homes – this is just from one out of several Vancouver area jamatkhanas.

Navroz greeting from an Ismaili student 2

Along with the food comes a card designed by a young Ismaili. For my mum, the card delivered with the food moments ago was the highlight (the spicy food is for me! lol) and her face lit up as she read it. “See Malik,” she tells me, “different students write cards for us which brings joys to our hearts. This is done everytime.”

Thank you to the volunteers for preparing the food, and delivering it to hundreds of homes, and to students who design beautiful cards with good wishes and prayers. Keep up the excellent work of lighting up the hearts and souls of hundreds of jamati members on this most auspicious occasion of Navroz.

On behalf of everyone whose hearts you have warmed up, we say to you and your families Navroz Mubarak, and may you be blessed with happiness and success in all walks of life.

Date posted: March 19, 2016.

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The Muslim World at the USA Library of Congress: An Interesting Collection of Images at Simergphotos

17 March 2015

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Below, Battle tunic with Qur’anic Verse and Inscriptions in Praise of Muhammad and Ali….More Photos

Inscribed with much of the text of the Koran, this eighteenth-century linen Shiite Muslim battle tunic, most probably from Iran or southern Iraq, also bears inscriptions in praise of the prophet Muhammad and of his son-in-law, Ali. It is eloquent testimony to the place of religious commitment in all aspects of life in the Islamic world. Across the shoulders is inscribed verse 13 of Surah 61 (“al Saff,” or Battle array): “Help from God and a speedy Victory. Photo: Library of Congress, USA. Please click on image for more photos.

Inscribed with much of the text of the Koran, this eighteenth-century linen Shiite Muslim battle tunic, most probably from Iran or southern Iraq, also bears inscriptions in praise of the prophet Muhammad and of his son-in-law, Ali. It is eloquent testimony to the place of religious commitment in all aspects of life in the Islamic world. Across the shoulders is inscribed verse 13 of Surah 61 (“al Saff,” or Battle array): “Help from God and a speedy Victory. Photo: Library of Congress, USA. Please click on image for more photos.

The Hijra: Movement of God’s People by Omid Safi

15 August 2014

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Standing outside the city, Muhammad looked back lovingly on Mecca and said: “Of all God’s earth, you are the dearest place unto me, and the dearest unto God. Had not my people driven me out from you, I would not have left you.”…Read more….The Quintessential Marking Point of Islamic History

An 1889 photo showing a view of the city of Mecca. Photograph attributed to al-Sayyid ʻAbd al-Ghaffār by scholar Claude Sui. (Source: "Travel to the Holy Land and photography in the nineteenth century" by Claude Sui. Chapter in: To the Holy Lands: Pilgrimage centres from Mecca and Medina to Jerusalem. Mannheim: Reiss-Engelhorn Museum, 2008, pages 56-63). Credit: USA Library of Congress. Please click on image for article by Omid Safi

A photo taken in 1889 showing a view of the city of Mecca. Photograph attributed to al-Sayyid ʻAbd al-Ghaffār by scholar Claude Sui. (Source: “Travel to the Holy Land and photography in the nineteenth century” by Claude Sui. Chapter in: To the Holy Lands: Pilgrimage centres from Mecca and Medina to Jerusalem. Mannheim: Reiss-Engelhorn Museum, 2008, pages 56-63). Credit: USA Library of Congress. Please click on image for article by Omid Safi

Poems for Salgirah: ALI by Sherali Kara

12 December 2013

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(English translation follows this transliteration from Hindi)

ALI

By Sherali Kara

Hum jiyenge aur jiyenge sirf ALI tere liye. 
Ruhani bache tere hai, Haath thaam ke rakhna ALI. 

Tub bhi ALI he thaa, Ab hai tu Hazar Imam ALI.
Taa qayamat tak rahenga Hayul Qayum ALI ALI.

Kya tariqat shaan hai teri.
Khub haqiqi jalwa hai tera.
Kya noorani tevar tere hai.
Shaan e Khuda tu hi ALI hai.

Teri Hidayat se ALI hum jaamat ne taraqi ke.
Lakho Abjo sukhran karo ‘Sukran ALI Sukhran ALI

Is salegrah ke jasn me kya dena hai tujhe ALI.
Khub ibaadat aur khidmat jum kar karna hume ALI.

English Translation

We will again and again serve ALI, you and you only.
We are your spiritual children, hold our hands tight. 

You were ALI of the past, now you are Hazar Imam ALI.
You will be physically forever, Always Present and Everliving ALI ALI

What a tariqat greatness you have.
What a haqiqi brightness you posses.
With the Noorani enlightenment in you O ALI.
You are the greatness of GOD, only you ALI.

With your guidance, we jamat have prospered.
Millions and billions of thank you ALI, thank you ALI

On this Occasion of your Salgirah (Birthday),
what do we need to give you? O ALI.
Lots and Lot of Ibaadat and Khidmat by us is our gift to you. O ALI

Date posted: Friday, December 13, 2013.

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Author’s note: When I mention the word ALI, I am referring to the ALI who has been with us from the beginning of time and will remain with us till the end of time. Also, ALI here refers to all the Imams and not simply the first Imam, Hazrat Ali.

About the author: Since his teenage years, Sherali Kara, now fifty-three, has taken a keen interest in furthering his spiritual knowledge, and over the years has developed a deep spiritual and esoteric insight into several ayats from the Holy Qur’an, Ismaili ginans and qasidas. He hails from a family that has a long tradition of Khidmat (service) in the Ismaili Jamat. His mother, Malekbibi Kara, was called the “ginan queen” of her time. Mr. Kara composes poems and couplets specifically on the theme of ALI.  He lives in Andheri, a suburb of Mumbai, and provides Realty Advisory services.