INTERVIEW with SYED UMAR

INTERVIEW 18

(Q1) INTERVIEWER: Ok, so why is there a mosque in front of your courtyard?

(A1a) SYED NIZAMI: Well, Makhdum Saheb used to pray there.

(A1b) SYED UMAR: Where?

(A1c) SYED NIZAMI: Well, the mosque was there because Makhdum Saheb.

(A1d) SYED UMAR: No sir, absolutely not-when Makhdum Saheb came here, the mosque in which he prayed was all broken down.

(A1e) SYED NIZAMI: Well, alright-the mosque out there, when the Venerable Makhdum came, at his place there a cemetery and first there was a mosque and he repaired it-he praised Allah day after day and then was buried there.

(Q2) INTERVIEWER: Ok

(A2) SYED UMAR: When he became a martyr, or he was buried and in memory of him this mosque was built. Everywhere you go, be it Ajmeer, there's a mosque there for example-wherever you go there is first a mosque and then a shrine. People praise Allah and they praise him so much that they reach a particular level and become saints and after they reach heaven a mosque is built.

(Q3) INTERVIEWER: Ok, could you explain what the "taziya" is?

(A3) SYED UMAR: People construct the taziya in memory of the martyred Husayn (the son of Ali). They celebrate the "taziya" (a word that also means "consolation") on Ashura (the tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharram).

(Q4) INTERVIEWER: So after they construct the taziya what do they do with it?

(A4) SYED UMAR: It's called "chauk"-it's placed somewhere-it can be made out of wood or bamboo.

(Q5) INTERVIEWER: And on Ashura, do people take it out in procession?

(A5) SYED UMAR: Yes, on Ashura people take it out in procession and they give voice to their sorrow and proclaim that Husayn was a martyr-they cry and say his name.

(Q6) INTERVIEWER: And they do not flagellate themselves?

(A6) SYED UMAR: Yes, Shi'as flagellate themselves-Sunnis do not.

(Q7) INTERVIEWER: And after Ashura, do they place the taziya in the mosque.

(A7) SYED UMAR: Yes, it's placed in a mosque, it's placed in home-there are no specific regulations, it can be placed anywhere. It's placed in the home in a pure place-since a mosque is a pure place, it's placed there.

(Q8) INTERVIEWER: Where's Karbala?

(A8a) SYED NIZAMI: Well, there's a locality called "Karbala" nearby and there's the one near Baghdad in Iraq-apart from this, there's no other locality named Karbala. It's near Malis Sarai.

(A8b) SYED UMAR: Look, there's only one real Karbala-and it's in Iraq.

(Q9) INTERVIEWER: Because it appears that.

(A9a) SYED UMAR: No, no sir-it's nothing like that. There's only one Karbala.

(A9b) SYED UMAR: In Islam, when Husayn achieved martyrdom it was in fulfillment of a prophecy in the Quran. Whoever becomes a martyr in the path of Allah you should not think of as dead-he is alive. The Quran is our infallible guide-it's the text of Allah, it's the text of Islam. The Quran has explained everything to me-the appropriate way of traveling, the appropriate way to walk and also the appropriate way to eat. I have gotten everything from the Quran. For example, you people have the Torah and the Bible but surely do not remember it all. Thanks be to Allah, I know the entire Quran.

(Q10) INTERVIEWER: Very well.

(Q11) INTERVIEWER: Suppose there's a month old baby who cries all day and all night and I want to have her cured. What would I do? What would I need to do? All of this is to say, what to people do here when confronted with a similar situation.

(A11) SYED NIZAMI: People faced with similar situations come here with water.

(Q12) INTERVIEWER: Ok, so they come here to place water on the tomb?

(A12) SYED NIZAMI: They'd place the water at the tomb and leave it there all night and then come here and give it to their child in the morning. And if the child is with them, they'd bring the child to the dargah and sit down and then ask for a boon-asking, "let our child be well. The child's been afflicted, let the child be well.

(Q13) INTERVIEWER: And you've seen that for yourself?

(A13) SYED NIZAMI: Yes indeed, we've seen it. For example, one time a child came who was "dumb"-meaning he couldn't speak at all. We absolutely saw this with our own eyes. They came here eighty days straight. And so they did two full forty days period and when the third forty day period was being completed, then this child who had never spoken, spoke his first word "Baba (Father)"-"Baba."

(Q14) INTERVIEWER: Very good.

(A14) SYED NIZAMI: He was absolutely "dumb."

(Q15) INTERVIEWER: Ok, so supposed my wife has a fever and neither talks nor eats and doesn't want to work-could you do the same thing with her-sit her down in front of the shrine, etc.?

(A15) SYED NIZAMI: They would ask a boon and say, "Your highness, please do this for us, you are close to Allah, beg Allah to make her well.