Hyderabad’s Old City set for historic Bibi-ka-Alam procession on Friday

Hyderabad's historic, centuries-old Bibi-ka-Alam procession will traverse the Old City this Friday. Mounted on a caparisoned elephant, the sacred relic honors Bibi Fatima, drawing thousands of mourners along a five-kilometer route from Dabeerpura to Chaderghat

Hyderabad: The historic Bibi-ka-Alam, one of Hyderabad’s most revered symbols of Muharram observance, will be taken out in a grand procession on Friday through the streets of the old city, continuing a tradition that has endured for centuries. The procession, which draws thousands of mourners and devotees from across the country, remains the most prominent and widely observed Muharram event in Hyderabad.

According to Syed Hamed Hussain Jaffery of the Telangana Shia Youth Conference, the origins of the Bibi-ka-Alam trace back to the Qutb Shahi era. Historical accounts state that the wife of Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah installed an alam in memory of Bibi Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Mohammed, at Golconda. During the Asaf Jahi period, the sacred standard was shifted to a specially constructed Bibi-ka-Alawa in Dabeerpura, where it continues to be housed.

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The alam contains a sacred relic believed to be a fragment of the wooden plank on which Bibi Fatima received her final ablution before burial. Tradition holds that the relic reached Golconda from Karbala in present-day Iraq during the reign of Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah. The standard is adorned with six diamonds and other precious jewels donated by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, with the ornaments preserved in black pouches attached to the alam.

Prof. Salma Ahmed Farooqui, Director of the H.K. Sherwani Centre for Deccan Studies at Maulana Azad National Urdu University, notes that the religious legitimacy, relics and ritual traditions associated with the Bibi-ka-Alam originated during the Qutb Shahi period.

The Ashura procession will commence around noon from Bibi-ka-Alawa and proceed through traditional routes before culminating at Chaderghat in the evening after covering nearly five kilometres. The Bibi-ka-Alam will be carried on a caparisoned elephant and accompanied by thousands of barefoot and bare-chested mourners representing nearly 50 anjumans from Hyderabad and other parts of the country.

Along the route, the procession will halt at several significant landmarks. The first stop will be at the Ashoorkhana Khadam-e-Rasool, where the revered footprints of Prophet Mohammed are displayed. It will then proceed to Peeli Gate at Purani Haveli, where a member of the Nizam family traditionally offers a dhatti to the alam. The third halt will be at Alawa-e-Sartouq Mubarak near Darulshifa playground, where women mourners participate in matam, followed by a stop at Azakhana Zehra for another ceremonial offering.

Following the main alam will be numerous smaller alams known as Tabarrukat, carried on camels or by devotees on foot. These sacred standards represent various martyrs and events associated with the tragedy of Karbala and form an integral part of Hyderabad’s centuries-old mourning traditions.