A Few Thoughts on the Death of Abba Jan

Private Death vs Public Death: Abba Jan’s death is portrayed as an intimate moment that occurs within the private confines of the home. His family is present around him as he departs, and he is fortunate enough to get a chance to say his good-byes. We associate the death itself with a degree of warmth as it contrasts strongly with the portrayal of war-time death that seems to be on-going in the background. The sirens, the firing, the riots, the panicked movement is ever-present and hence the possibility of an impersonal, anonymous, sudden and highly unpleasant death looms large. Amidst the possibility of such a death, Abba Jan is almost blessed with a serene death.

Political Death:  Ofcourse, had Abba Jan died in the circumstances of firing, airstrikes or so on, his death would have been inevitably be tied to the State. He would have been one of many labeled as war casualties. His very death would have been political. However, his death is not explicitly caused by any external circumstances but it is interesting to note how he is determined that his time has come to an end because political circumstances have stripped away everything significant to talk about – ‘’Ab acha zikr kon sa karnay kay liyay reh gaya hai. Dekh nahi rahi ho Pakistan main kiya ho raha hai.’’ In this sense his death is deeply political and in some ways – national.

The Shia-ness of Death: We also see that the death of Abba Jan is a deeply Shia affair. It is deeply symbolic how he hands a book of prayers compiled by Hazrat Sajjad to his son and wife. This is significant because Hazrat Sajjad was the surviving son of Imam Hussain after Karbala and is deeply regarded in the Shia tradition as a symbol of patience after death and mournful lament. The tokens from Najaf and Karbala are also both by his side before he dies. Moreover, he claims to see Hazrat Ali moments before his death. As per Shia tradition, Hazrat Ali comes to greet virtuous men at the time of their death.