Jawn Martyr of Karbala Lamented

His Highness Raja Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan (1914-1973)

A hitherto unpublished marsiyah (elegy) composed originally in Urdu by Raja Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan of Mahmudabad (1914–1973), Jawn: Martyr of Karbala Lamented is an outstanding contribution to the commemorative literary tradition surrounding the massacre of Karbala (61/680), which saw the martyrdom of Imām al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī, the grandson of the Prophet Muḥammad, may God bless him and his descendants. This particular marsiyah is unique for a number of reasons. The subject of the elegy is Jawn, a freed Abyssinian slave and companion who was martyred at Imām al-Ḥusayn’s side on the day of Karbala. Jawn: Martyr of Karbala Lamented is the very first marsiyah known to be composed in Jawn’s memory in any language of such length and breadth. Alongside the obvious references to racial equality, the marsiyah demonstrates the author’s deep knowledge of Islamic history and contains subtle metaphysical meditations, as well as a profoundly eloquent use of the stylistic device of saqinamah. Jawn: Martyr of Karbala Lamented presents Jawn as a mighty warrior who, despite his age, valiantly defended Imām al-Ḥusayn to the death, and thus as a symbol of unflinching loyalty, bravery, and steadfastness in the face of injustice. The language of the marsiyah, with its rich turn of phrase and elegant verses that often incorporate allusions to verses from the Qurʾān and parts of ḥadīth, will be of lasting value to scholars, students, and general readers.

On the 14th of November 2014, Jawn: Martyr of Karbala Lamented became the Shīʿah Institute Press’s first publication and the first volume of the Shīʿah Heritage of South Asia Series, following a discussion between the Dean of The Shīʿah Institute, Dr Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi, and Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, the grandson of the author of Jawn: Martyr of Karbala Lamented, who himself became the Raja upon the death of his late father Muhammad Amir Muhammad Khan in October 2023. Through the literary expertise and great efforts of Dr Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi, Jawn: Martyr of Karbala Lamented, like all titles and volumes by The Shīʿah Institute, was designed and typeset in house. Jawn: Martyr of Karbala Lamented was painstakingly prepared in an extraordinarily fine edition printed with the highest quality paper and bindings, as well as embossing and decoration to the front and back covers and the spine. Jawn: Martyr of Karbala Lamented is a volume of enduring importance that preserves and transmits this great work of literature to posterity with dignity, respect, and beauty, and aptly marked the 100th anniversary of Raja Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan of Mahmudabad’s birth. Special commemorative editions were prepared and lodged at the Mahmudabad Library and the Shrine of Imām al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī in Karbala, Iraq, for the benefit of posterity.

This work consists of four rubaʿiyat, a salam of forty verses, and a marsiyah of 172 stanzas, adding a total of 1,104 verses to the Urdu literary canon. The book also contains an Urdu introduction by Sharib Rudaulvi (1932–2023) a giant figure in Urdu literature and former faculty member of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, offering an insightful literary analysis of the marsiyah, as well as a foreword by Dr Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi, a preface by S. Rizvi, and an introduction in English by Peter Knapczyk, outlining the general religious, literary, historical, and political context for this important collection of devotional poetry, as well as the aesthetic achievements of Raja Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan of Mahmudabad in Jawn: Martyr of Karbala Lamented.

Jawn Martyr of Karbala Lamented is available to purchase, please email the institute to order your copy.

ISBN: 978-1-905912-40-7 (Hardback)