Husain Tekri- A Spiritual Hospital
By Dr..Mazhar Naqvi
Husain Tekri is probably the most popular among all the shrines built in memory of Hazrat Imam Husain in Indian Sub- Continent. It is revered by Shias, Sunnis and Hindus alike in view of ‘Haziri’ rituals that cure mental ailments. Located on the outskirts of Jaora town in Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh, the holy place has a long history of curing people stricken with incurably illness. The constant healing of disturbed souls has turned the Tekri as a spiritual hospital of the world as people not only from India but from across the globe visit in thousands to get rid of their chronic and terminal diseases.
How the Tekri came to existence shrouds in mystery. A popular legend that one night horse riders believed to be souls of martyrs of Karbala were seen at the site and a water pond was also discovered the same day. The news spread like wildfire and people began assembling at the site for fulfillment of their wishes. Their prayers evoked positive response and popularity of the place grew rapidly. Shunning their ideological differences, Hindus, Sunnis and Shias started visiting the holy place to get relief from ‘Jinns’, Ghosts ,demons or evil spirits. Even today, the maximum numbers of devotees visit Husain Tekri after getting frustrated in search of mental peace or liberation from evil spirits. During Haziri Ceremony performed each day , people watch surrendering evil spirits at the shrine to leave their victims as normal human beings.
According to another version, Nawab of Jaora, Mohammad Iftikhar Ali Khan Bahadur had a holy dream. He saw an elderly face with divine light, asking him to erect a boundary at a place selected in a forest containing the fragrance of musk. A puzzled Nawab discussed the dream with Islamic scholars who advised him to immediately act as he was instructed. He raised the boundary at the specified spot. Then, a merchant named Mohammed Ismail experienced a somewhat similar dream. He was instructed to raise two of Imam Husain at the exact point of location of the `Tekri` or gradient at the central portion of the boundary. The divine entity also directed him to establish a shrine of Hazrat Abbas Alamdaar at a fountain a few kilometers away from the shrine of Imam Husain.. When the merchant expressed his inability for carrying out the order due to paucity of funds, the entity in his dream assured him that he would soon receive a grand consignment that would fetch him enough profit to enable him fulfill the task. As prophesied, the merchant Ismail reaped profits from a great consignment from Surat soon.
Dating back to 19th century, the Tekri has 6 shrines in its vicinity. They are dedicated to the sacred memory of Hazrat Fatima Al Zehra (daughter of Holy Prophet Hazrat Mohammed), Imam Husain (Grandson of Prophet and younger son of Hazrat Ali), Hazrat Zainab (Daughter of Hazrat Ali and sisrter of Imam Husain), Hazrat -Abbas (Son of Hazrat Ali and Commander of Husain’s forces at the Battle of Karbala), Hazrat Sakina (daughter of Imam Husain) and Imam Ali (Son of Mohsin-E-Islam Hazrat Abu Talib and cousin and son-in-law of Prophet) .
A visitor finds a different version of shrine’s history from the locals and caretakers but the
most popular legend is associated with Nawab Mohammed Iftekhar Ali Khan who ruled Jaora nearly 135 years ago. Once, two festivals,
Ram Navmi and Muharram clashed in their timings on 10th Muharram (Ashura).
Muslims wanted to carry the `Tazia` upon their shoulders in memory of at Imam Husain
across Jaora while a group of Ram Leela artists wished to enact scenes from Ramayana on the route of Muharram
procession. To avoid the clash, the Nawab deployed his troops to march ahead
and did not permit Hindus to go ahead of tazias. These tazias were huge and
used to be carried by 50 or 60 people. At a spot, the procession stopped to
give rest to the carriers of Tazia. They took their own time .The Hindus got
agitated as they were unable to proceed further. This resulted
in heated arguments and Hindus approached the Nawab who immediately permitted
the Hindus to go ahead. Upon their return from royal palace, much to their amazement,
the Hindus discovered the tazia afloat in the air and moving gradually. They
reported the matter to Muslim troops who too became wonderstruck after finding
tazia moving without any support. After reaching a particular spot, tazia came
to a halt. The same night Nawab is believed to have seen the dream.
The Nawab lies buried in the same graveyard where Tekri exists.. During Muharram thousands of people visit the shrines of Husain Tekri. However, the Tekri is more famous for observance of Imam’s Chehallum (40th day of his martyrdom) when numerous pilgrims assemble here to seek shelter from their worldly sufferings. Of late, a number of hotels suiting to all types of budgets have sprung up in and around Tekri to accommodate devotees and a businessman of Mumbai run a free ‘Langar’( Community lunch or Dinner) for thousands of people for the past several years. His Langar is also considered to be a sort of miracle as it has remained uninterrupted since its inception despite a heavy daily expenditure exceeding lakhs of rupees on certain occasions..
The Nawab lies buried in the same graveyard where Tekri exists.. During Muharram thousands of people visit the shrines of Husain Tekri. However, the Tekri is more famous for observance of Imam’s Chehallum (40th day of his martyrdom) when numerous pilgrims assemble here to seek shelter from their worldly sufferings. Of late, a number of hotels suiting to all types of budgets have sprung up in and around Tekri to accommodate devotees and a businessman of Mumbai run a free ‘Langar’( Community lunch or Dinner) for thousands of people for the past several years. His Langar is also considered to be a sort of miracle as it has remained uninterrupted since its inception despite a heavy daily expenditure exceeding lakhs of rupees on certain occasions..
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