To teach the historical events of Karbala to the younger generation.
No innovation occurs without resistance. Traditionalist Bohra critics argue that the English marsiya “gentrifies grief.” They contend that the visceral, raw tones of Lisan al-Dawat—with its specific, untranslatable cries of “ Ai Hasan! Ai Husain! ”—are flattened by English’s more analytical vocabulary. Furthermore, the very rhythm of chest-beating ( matam ) is historically tied to the Gujarati-Urdu prosody; when recited in English iambic pentameter, mourners report a subtle but perceptible dissociation between rhythm and physical mourning. dawoodi bohra marsiya in english
Critics argue that the classical languages (Arabic, and to a lesser extent, Lisan al-Dawat) carry a barakah that English lacks. The specific phonetic vibrations of the original are believed to open the heart. “Reading Marsiya in English is like eating a gourmet meal through a straw,” says one Mumbai-based scholar. “You get the nutrients, but you miss the taste.” To teach the historical events of Karbala to
“The prince is Ali Asghar, an arrow on his neck, The fire of thirst burns in every vein, what can the mother say?” Ai Husain
(a blend of Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and Gujarati), these elegies mourn the martyrdom of Imam Husain and his companions. Review of English Translations and Availability