Photography. Taziyeh, ‘The Miracle Play of Hasan and Husein”

Hasan and Husain_Water

This photograph displays the imagery of water in the taziyeh-derived “The Miracle Play of Hasan and Husain.” Through this photograph, an aerial image of water, I hope to show the different perspectives of water as discussed in the monologue delivered by Husain (Pelly, 1879). In a conversation with a young dervish, the conversation reads:

Know, O young man, that we are never in need of the water of this life. Thou art quite mistaken if thou hast supposed us to be of this world. If I will, I can make the moon, or any other celestial orb, fall down on the earth; how much more can I get water for my children. Loot at the hollow made in the ground with my spear; water would gush out of it if I were to like. I voluntarily die of thirst to obtain a crown of glory from God. I die parched, and offer myself a sacrifice for the sins of my people, that they should be saved from the wrath to come (Pelly 97).

In Husain’s discussion of the “water of this life” and use of thirst imagery, he discusses how suffering creates benefit and glory for the next life to come. He describes how “he voluntarily dies of thirst to obtain a crown of glory for God”. Interestingly, this passage reminded me of a Biblical verse in which the apostle Paul also describes how self-discipline and sacrifice can bring about greater glory:

24 Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. 25 Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a crown that will fade away, but we a crown that will never fade away. 26 Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. 27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified [1 Corinthians 9:24-28, Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)].

This excerpt describing piety and suffering to produce glory is also representative of the Islamicization of the taziyeh genre following the Iranian revolution of the late 20th century.

I used the words of this scene to border a photograph of an aerial view of the gulf of Mexico that I took in December 2015. Because the clouds are so low, it almost seemed that sea in the picture could be the sky and that the photo was taken from a contre-plongée (low angle shot) perspective. The ambiguity of the sky, sea, and the clouds in this photo reminded me of the discussion of water in this play because of its multifaceted nature and versatility as Husain describes.