Muslim Spaces of Worship and Gathering

Zikrikhana Teertej
Baluchistan, Pakistan
SPACES TO COMMEMORATE THE
MARTYRDOM OF IMAM HUSAYN
Zikri Muslims are followers of the Indian Sufi Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri, who is said to have
founded the Zikri tariqa in the 15 th century CE. Jaunpuri claimed the status of Mahdi – a
messianic reformer of Islam, to himself. Followers of the Zikri belief system flourished in the
16 th century, in Baluchistan.
Read more about the Zikris in Pakistan
Amongst the Twelver Shi‘a, Ithna‘asharis,
who are the largest of the Shi‘i Muslim
communities, there are a series of spaces
used as part of the rites and ceremonies
to commemorate the martyrdom of
Imam Husayn, the grandson of Prophet
Muhammad. These spaces are visited
throughout the year, but are particularly
busy in the first 10 days of the Islamic
month of Muharram. The ceremonies are
often marked by retellings of the stories
of the Prophet’s grandson and his family,
and of the events leading to their death at
Karbala.
In Iran, retellings are also accompanied by
passion plays (ta‘ziya) re-enacting the last
days of Imam Husayn’s life. In South Asia,
replicas of Imam Husayn’s shrine or tomb
(tabut), made anew each year, are paraded
and processed along with standards (‘alams)
and replicas of other relics belonging to the
family of Imam Husayn, taken out only at
this auspicious time of the year.
These spaces take on various names, usually
depending on the part of the world in which
they are located. In Hyderabad Deccan, they
are known as ashurkhanas; further north in
South Asia, they are known as imambaras;
in Bahrain, they are called matam, referring
to the practice of beating one’s chest as
a display of grief and mourning; in Iran,
they are called husayniyas, in the east of
the country and tekkiya in the western
districts of Kurdistan and Kermanshah, and
mashhads in Syria.
General View of Zikrikhana Teertej, Baluchistan.
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Credit: Dawn.com.
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