Religious fervour: Relief as urs, chehlum pass off peacefully

Separate passages were provided for devotees attending the urs, chehlum mourners.

LAHORE:

The twin observances of the urs of Hazrat Ali Hajweri and the chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) ended on Sunday without any untoward incident in the city.

While the news of a blast at a chehlum procession in Khanpur caused concern, there was relief amongst them and the devotees of Data Sahib at the peaceful conclusion of the ceremonies in Lahore.

The visitors to the shrine and mourners at the chehlum processions welcomed tight security arrangements.

The mehfil-i-naat and the mehfil-i-sama at the urs was well attended. The ilmi mehfil (scholarly session) continued all day long and was presided over by Syed Mazhar Saeed Kazmi, Khwaja Fareeduddin Fakhri, Muhammad Aminul Hasnat Shah and Sahibzada Pir Abu Kabir Ali Shah.

The biggest chaddar offering of the year was brought by a group from Multan.  It was a six-metre long and three-metre wide green sheet with Arabic inscriptions. One of the group told The Express Tribune that they had been bringing an offering for four years. He said the group had brought bigger chaddars in the past. This year, he said, financial constraints had forced them to settle for this size. He said they left from Multan’s Dehli Gate every year with floral wreaths with fervour to attend the urs.

Many devotees had brought prayer rugs and mats. People stood in long queues to drink from the sabeel milk. Some of them said the practice prevented and cured disease.

There was some pushing and shoving at the langar, where charity food was being distributed. People thronged at the distributors lest missing a chance to get a portion. One of the people in the queue told The Tribune, “It is considered lucky to have eaten from the langar. Leaving the urs without it can bring misfortune.”

At around 3pm, security at one of the gates appeared challenged. The problem was overcome when additional security personnel arrived.

Chehlum procession

Several mourning processions were taken out in the city on account of the chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA). Despite a bomb blast at a chehlum procession in the city last year in which seven people died and some 37 were injured, thousands of mourners joined the main procession from Haveli Alif Shah to Karbala Gamay Shah on Sunday.

It walked through its traditional route of Masjid Wazir Khan to Akbari Mandi, Chowk Nawab Sahib, Mochi Gate, Nisar Haveli, Kashmiri Bazaar, Mohallah Sheikhan, Rang Mahal, Paaniwala Talab, Shahi Mohalla, Novelty Chowk, Bhati Gate and Bazaar Hakeeman.

Mourners of all ages, most wearing black, performed mourning rituals. Elegies were recited in traditional styles. Tea stalls and sweet rice stalls had been set up by philanthropists along the route.

Security was tight with some 6,000 policemen providing cover. Hundreds of Hyderia Scouts volunteers assisted the police. Sharp shooters were deployed on the roofs and in temporary entrenchments. Three superintendents of police, seven deputy superintendents of police, 30 inspectors and 703 wardens facilitated the procession.

Separate passages were marked for devotees attending the urs of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh and the chehlum mourners. A majlis-i-aza, presided over by Maulana Manzoor Hussain Abadi, was arranged in the afternoon at Karbala Gamay Shah. Some other religious scholars also spoke in the majlis.

Shabbir Hussain, a mourner, said he was determined to visit the procession ‘at any cost.’ “Terrorists cannot shake our faith and our resilience to be a part of this day,” he said.

He said he had had a narrow escape in a bomb blast at a procession near Karbala Gamay Shah in 2011. Still, he said, he did not fear death. Shabbir had come to attend the procession from Gujranwala.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2012.