It has started.

The yearning.

The magic.

The pull.

The mystery.

My heart is already flying to Karbala.

But there is no majlis tonight.

Just the quiet darkness of my home.

But you are all here with me.

ʿAlī al-Akbār and Qāsim and Umm al-Banīn and Zaynab.

Welcome to my home.

Welcome to my heart.

What is this thing, this love for people I have never seen?

What is this marvel, this desire for death in the midst of peace?

What is this month, this rising of the moon that transforms my inner self?

Maybe I will never understand.

All that matters is tonight,

and all of you.

al-salām ʿalā al-Ḥusayn

wa ʿalā ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn

wa ʿalā awlād al-Ḥusayn

wa ʿalā aṣḥāb al-Ḥusayn