Bibi-Ka-Alam or Bibi-Ka-Alawa is an annual procession during

Muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...

. Bibi-ka-Alam, installed in the name of

Imam Hussain Husayn ibn Ali (; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680 CE) was a social, political and religious leader in early medieval Arabia. The grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an Alid (the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad's daughter ...

, grandson of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

and son of

Ali ibn Abi Talib Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until Assassination of Ali, his assassination in 661, as well as the first imamate in Shia doctrine, Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muha ...

and Muhammad's daughter

Fatimah Fatima bint Muhammad (; 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra' (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija bint Khuwaylid, Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs and ...

, at the Bibi ka Alawa at Dabirpura,

Old City (Hyderabad, India) The Old City of Hyderabad is a walled city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India, located on the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River built by Qutb Shahi sultan Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 AD. There used to be Wall of Hyderabad, a wal ...

on the 10th day following Moharram. It is a

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

event. The procession starts at Alawa-e-bibi situated at Dabirpura and ends at Chaderghat. During the procession the devotees mourn the death by reciting Nauhey, (narrating the incidents occurred during 10th Moharram 61 Hijri in

Karbala Karbala is a major city in central Iraq. It is the capital of Karbala Governorate. With an estimated population of 691,100 people in 2024, Karbala is the second largest city in central Iraq, after Baghdad. The city is located about southwest ...

). The daughter of Mohammed, Fatima-e-Zehra, is called Bibi. The locality is known as ''Mohalla Bibi Ka Alawa''.

History

Throughout the history of

Qutub Shahi The Sultanate of Golconda (; ) was an early modern kingdom in southern India, ruled by the Persianate, Shia Islamic Qutb Shahi dynasty of Turkoman origin. After the decline of the Bahmani Sultanate, the Sultanate of Golconda was established i ...

reign, the tradition of ''Azadari'' or mourning of the death of

and his followers was conducted with high regard under state supervision. This Ashur Khana was renovated by the Seventh Nizam under the advice of Nawab Zain Yar Jung. The main entrance and its roof remain unaltered on which 1199 H, the year of construction is engraved. The room in which the alam is installed is a strong room and the Alam is kept in a safe made on the design of a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

(Zarih).

The Relic

There is a relic enclosed in this alam as well. The relic is a piece of the wooden plank on which Syeda

was given her final ablution by her husband before burial. This relic was in

for a very long time. In the time of Abdullah Qutub Shah it reached Golkonda. The relic was preserved in the calligraphic alam with Arabic lettering of Allah, Mohammed and Ali. It was covered with an alloy of metals and gold. Later Nasir-ud-daulah offered jewellery to the alam which still exists.

The Procession

This alam is the symbol of the climax of the observance of the Moharrum mourning in Hyderabad. It comes out on an elephant on the 10th of Moharrum. The alam, as it emerges from the Alawa, the mourners keep chanting ''Ibn-az-Zehra Wa Waila'', which means "Goodbye Son Of Zehra," which is a protestation against the slaying of Zehra's son Hussain. Since long years it is a tradition of the mourners in the procession to chant these words.

Muharram procession from Ashoorkhana

The historic ‘Bibi-ka-Alam’ taken out from the Ashoorkhana in Dabeerpura of old city is the star attraction of ‘Youm -e-Ashoora’, the tenth day of

. It is also considered a living example of communal harmony for it draws people of different faiths. Hundreds of barefoot and bare-chested mourners from more than 40 ‘anjumans’, including a few from various parts of the country form part of the procession. The procession starts around noon from Bibi-ka-Alawa and culminates at Chaderghat in the evening, covering a distance of about five kilometres. En-route it stops for a brief period at the Ashoorkhana ‘Khadam-e-Rasool’ where the footprints of

are displayed. The next stop is the ‘Peeli gate, Purani Haveli, where one of the members of the

Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

's family offers a ‘dhatti’ to the alam. The third stop is the 'Alawa-e-Sartouq' near the Darulshifa playground. Here, women mourners are permitted inside the premises where a ‘matham’ is performed for a short period of time. The fourth stop is Azakhana Zehra, where a ‘dhatti’ is offered by a representative or member of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

. It is believed that the practice of installing the alam is 434 years old, dating back to the Quli Qutb Shahi period. "For many centuries it was housed in a Qutb Shahi Aashoorkhana near Golconda Fort, but later was shifted to Bibi ka Alawa," Syed Hamed Hussain Jaffery, president of Andhra Pradesh Shia Youth Conference says. The important characteristic of the alam is that it is believed to contain a wooden plank on which Bibi Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, was given the final ablution. It also has six diamonds and other jewellery gifted by the VII Nizam,

Mir Osman Ali Khan Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 – 24 February 1967) was the last Nizam (ruler) of Hyderabad State, the largest state in the erstwhile Indian Empire. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of 25 and rule ...

, in the 1950s. Initially, the alam was carried upon an

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

named Hyderi, and now this job is done by Rajani, its calf. For some years another elephant, Hashmi, also carried the Alam. Rajani is also used during the Bonalu procession in the old city.

References

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External links

*http://m.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/muharram-procession-from-ashoorkhana/article4132914.ece * http://www.salmanbookcentre.com/?section=AshoorKhanas&ak=Bibi%20Ka%20Alawa * http://kaajhyd.com/hyderabad-azadari-history.htm Festivals in Hyderabad, India Islamic festivals in India 1956 establishments in India Recurring events established in 1956