The debate between the two prominent sects of Islam, Shia and Sunni will never end. In the Holy month of Muharram, the debate raises where the two sects tell one another on how right or wrong they in terms of the practices and beliefs they follow.

Marrying out of sect has always been a difficult thing when it comes to Shia and Sunni belief systems. The biggest factor many families consider is the ‘odd’ choice children will have in terms of which sect and its beliefs to follow.

Pakistani blogger Urooj Fatima had a similar experience, which was not very easy for her to adopt. Urooj had to face the despicable comments regarding her Shia inheritance, which made her distant from the core practices of Shiasim, such as how they practice Muharram.

To Know More About What Urooj Had to Go Through, Here’s What She Expresses:

I was born to a sunni mother and a shia father. The first Thing i heard were both sect’s azan. I grew up observing both of them. Learned namaz both ways. Observed ablution both ways. I finished the Quran twice from each sect’s molvi. When i was just three my dadi used to put me to sleep by singing this in my ear, ‘Ya Allah Ya Nabi Ya Ali Ya Fatima Ya Hasan Ya Hussain’ so the first words i learned were these names. As i grew up i faced troubles with my name, imagine an 8 year saying to another 8 year old, ‘tumharay abu tumhe bakra eid p qatal krdengay qk tm shia ho’ and ‘tumharay sath khana nahe khana’ and that is when the hate for this sect in me grew. I detested my name. I hid my cast. I became aggressive with my dadi and chachoos. I detested majalis. I cared the least about Who Hussain was and how he was killed. It all felt too heavy on my heart to even admit.

I won’t fill you in with meticulous details because we have all grown up listening to all possible things about all possible sects(shia or sunni) it was late 2010 when one day- and i think it is because Allah wanted me to see it- i went to a majlis(with a heavy heart thinking, ‘i have to endure another hour of this rona dhona because baba said so’ and I don’t know what compelled me but I actually listened to what the person on the speaker was saying. This post isn’t about what shias do and what sunnis do because that’s the story for another day. This post is about Karbala. About Muharram.

As I listened to the person on speaker something snapped inside me- i flipped. I wanted to dig my nails into my brain for even thinking how i had been thinking and ignoring Muharram for over 14 years of my life. I wanted to reverse every day i spent detesting majalis. from that day onwards. Muharram became the kaaba to all my months and they all revolved around it.

Durood shareef shuru yun hota hai: Alla humma sale ala muhammadio wa ala aal e muhammad…
Ye Aal e muhammad kon hai? Yehi hain so Aal e muhammad k jin pe bachpan se salam bhejtay hain magar unke gham mein nazren pher letay hain.
What is Muharram? Please understand this. THIS ISNT ABOUT WHAT SHIAS DO AND WHAT SUNNIS DO. This social media has made Muharram so much about the sectarian fueds k Meray Hassan or Hussain tou kahin pechay reh gaye. Unka gham. Unka pursa. We need to understand that this month is not for bringing up ‘Niaz mein khoon’ or ‘Khud ko peetna’ khudara har ksi ko Apna gham krne do. You spend the whole year dining out with your shia friends and then post shit about them ONLY IN THIS MONTH? You will hang out with your sunni friends the whole year and then bullshit them only in this month?

Hussain kia tha? Uski Azmat ka Andaza jis din hojaye tou har din muharram mehsoos hoga. Jis ki khaatir dunya bani ho- Allah ka Mehboob- usko mehboob Khuda ko kitnay mehboob hongay ye kabhi socha hai humne?
Fatima(A.S) k ghar ki traf ishara krke Nabi Pak kaha krty thay k Ay Allah jo inse muhabbat kray tou unse muhabbat kr. Jo inse nafrat krey tou unse nafrat kar.

Bibi Fatima sees who remembers her son and his sacrifices. Nabi notes who observes muharram for his beloved Janat kay sardars.
I won’t speak more of them because no matter how liberal or cool we might act- deep inside we all know the place of Panjtan Paak!

This is a humble request to everyone- shia sunni jhagray baki 11 mahene. Ye mahena Hussain ka hai. Ye mahena unke Gham ka hai. Unki un qurbanion ka hai jo unho ne hum jesay sharamnaak musalmano k lye di.
Please to my non shia friends- let’s attend atleast one majlis and Actually listen to what happened. Or watch PTV Ka safar e karbala. Or check out this page called Muhammadi films on facebook.To all my shia friends- please for once let’s encourage neutral non biased majalis which ONLY speak of Hussain’s gham and not sectarianism or whatever.

Mera aik bht strong believe hai k majalis mein Bibi fatima tuz zahra aati hain(metaphorically) ye dekhne k kon unke chand se husnain or zainab kay gham mein shareek hai.

Mola Ali atay hain ye dekhne k kis kis ko unke Shabbir or Abbas ki shuja’at or qurbani yaad hai.
Nabi Paak atay hain ye dekhne k jin shehzado ko mein apne kandhey p uthaye phirta tha Aj meri ummat mein kon hai jo unpe salam bhejta hai

Here’s the link to Urooj’s detailed post:

May Allah guide us all to the right track, Ameen!