• Karachi Bohras open their homes and hearts to fellow community members
• Around 45,000 foreigners are in Karachi to attend Muharram congregations being addressed by their spiritual leader Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin

KARACHI: As thousands of Dawoodi Bohra community members have arrived in Karachi from all over the globe to attend Muharram congregations, known as Ashara Mubaraka, there are several community households all over the metropolis who have opened their homes and hearts to their visiting fellow community members.

In Karachi, there are some 30,000 Bohra households who are hosting around 45,000 guests. The guests hail from the United States, Canada, Australia, Egypt, Kenya, the United Arab Emirates, India and other countries.

At one such household in the DHA, someone is busy lining up foam mattresses against a wall; someone else is bringing in several sets of freshly laundered and pressed Libas al-Anwar of all sizes in hangers. They are all brilliant white, making it very difficult to tell apart one from the other. “Which one is mine?” You hear an exasperated sigh as someone quickly goes through the laundry before taking a chance on one slightly longer in length saya, kurta and izar (traditional dress for Bohra men).

There are as many as 30 guests staying in the ground floor portion and 15 more in the upstairs portion of the Petiwala house. And the hosts, the Petiwala family, feel very blessed about this.

The young couple of Ibrahim Fakhruddin Petiwala and Hina Fatima Petiwala tell Dawn that they do not feel burdened at all as their entire community is involved in lending them a hand in making their guests comfortable. “Every year the Ashara Mubaraka carries a message, and this year’s message is about how we give back to our community,” says Hina.

She is dressed in a sober light gray pinstriped Ohbat Rida, different in colour from the regular pretty printed Rida with lace that one usually sees the Bohra community women dressed in the rest of the year.

“To understand the message of giving back to the community, we take guidance from the stars, which twinkle in the night sky, the rain, which brings water and makes the weather pleasant or honeybees who consume nectar to produce pure honey,” she explains.

It is after a span of seven years, this year that Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin chose Karachi again to host Muharram congregations. Last year, this religious gathering was held in Dubai.

Syedna is delivering sermons at Taheri Masjid in Saddar, while there is a live telecast to over 20 centres in other parts of Karachi, as well as one in the neighbouring city of Hyderabad. Additionally, the sermons are also being broadcast live to Colombo.

The community members in Karachi and Hyderabad, besides gathering at their nearest centres for the sermons, also have niaz there twice a day. The niaz is like a full meal akin to lunch and dinner. Therefore, other than breakfast or snacks, the burden of cooking doesn’t fall on the families hosting the guests. Even the extra mattresses are provided by the community.

Ali Asghar Saifuddin, from Dubai, is staying with the Petiwalas with nine of his family members including his mother, sister, wife, three children, his sister’s two children and husband.

“Though the venue for the Ashara Mubaraka was decided and announced around three weeks before, I already was invited by Ibrahim in advance to come and stay at his place if Karachi is decided as this year’s venue,” he says.

Ali Zainul Abedin, another guest of the Petiwalas, is visiting from Toronto with his better half Na’ama Yousaf Ali. He was the one looking for his saya, kurta and izar in the laundry earlier and having found his belongings is now comfortably sitting in the family’s drawing room. “Usually, to prevent the clothes from getting mixed, we also do label them but not always,” he smiles. “We are, after all, not here for convenience. We are here for Imam Husain,” he adds.

Hamza Champion, another guest with family at the house, is in Karachi for the first time. He is visiting from Australia. His paternal grandfather was a champion of triathlon in Gujarat, India, hence the family name.

Suddenly, there is a baby crying. Several of the guests and members of the host family run out from the sitting area to comfort the child. Hamza then emerges with a cute toddler, Insiyah Hamza Champion, who is holding on tightly to her feeder.

There are many children among the guests. The community has not missed them. There is an arrangement in the shape of ‘Atfal Care’ in each of the 21 centres where they have helpers with toys for children. “This way, the children also bloom as they understand values and begin the year with Syedna’s blessings,” Hina explains.

“Similarly, there is the ‘Rahat Block’, which are sections created for the elderly or persons with special or medical needs,” she adds. “There are also medical camps, known as ‘Mahal-i-Shifa’ for providing free consultancy and even foot massages during the rest time between sermons or ‘waaz’, from 3pm to 6pm,” she says.

In fact, every little thing has been given consideration and is taken care of by the community. Right from the time the guests arrive at the airport, they are welcomed with a potato samosa, a packet of ORS, water, toothpaste, etc, before being led to their particular zones, by the welcoming committee. There is also a transport committee to see to their conveyance. They also distribute prepaid transportation cards.

“Offering a potato samosa to welcome us is a tradition of Karachi’s Bohras,” says Ali Asghar. “Last year, in Dubai, we offered traditional head scarves to welcome the visiting community members,” he adds.

Community representatives said that this year’s Ashara Mubaraka is an example of the vibrancy of the cultural mosaic of Karachi.

The Ashara Mubaraka every year has a different theme. This year’s theme is ‘A mosaic of faith and culture’.

Suddenly, you notice a wall in the Petiwala’s living room that is full of big and small family photographs. It, too, looks like a colourful mosaic. And then when you glance back at the visiting community members enjoying each other’s company in their house, you can see how beautifully they blend into the mosaic.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2024