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The King Who Loved Azadari of Imam Husain (A.S.)
By: Syed Hashim Razavi, Hyderabad, India
The Nizam of Hyderabad VII Mir Osman Ali Khan, the famous powerful ruler of Hyderabad Deccan State till 1948 was a Sunni Muslim. The area of the erstwhile Hyderabad Deccan State ruled by Asif Jahi dynasty till 1948 comprised the total area of Britain and France put together. Mir Osman Ali Khan was deeply devoted to Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.), the progeny of the Holy Prophet (SAWA) and commemorated Azadari (mourning) of Imam Husain (AS) and great martyrs of Karbala with a grieving heart. He was instrumental in building several edifices for Azadari in Hyderabad in particular and Deccan in general.
Azakhana-e-Zehra (the mourning house of Zehra) in the olden part of Hyderabad city in the name of Bibi Fatima Zehra (SA), the daughter of Holy Prophet Mohammed (SAWA), Bibi-Ka-Alawa in Dabeerpura has a gold Alam (standard) adorned with six gold pouches of diamonds which was a ‘nazarana’ (vow) by the Nizam of Hyderabad VII Mir Osman Ali Khan to Bibi Fatima Zehra (SA) were the contributions of Nizam of Hyderabad VII Mir Osman Ali Khan to promote Azadari in Hyderabad Deccan State.
When he was alive, the Nizam of Hyderabad VII Mir Osman Ali Khan used to regularly attend the Majalis of Imam Husain (AS) in Azakhana Zehra, and every year walked barefooted behind the Bibi Ka Alam on the 10th Moharrum day ‘Ashura’ to commemorate the memory of the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS), the grandson of the Holy Prophet (SAWA).
In 1935, he was declared as the richest man in the world by the world famous \'Time\' magazine. Every year he spent large amount of money to promote Azadari in Hyderabad Deccan State. The Nizam of Hyderabad VII Mir Osman Ali Khan was great poet in Persian and Urdu. His devotion to Azadari can be understood by the thousands of verses he penned in Persian and Urdu in the praise of Imam Husain (AS) and great martyrs of Karbala.
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