Works & Majalis
تقاریر و تحریریں
Khateeb-e-Akbar's art was the majlis, the living address delivered from the minbar. What survives is recordings, a booklet, a charter for his community and his journalism.
Printed books. Three collections of his majalis are in print: Ghadeer se Karbala Tak, Hussain Farzand-e-Mustafa Hain and Khandan-e-Risalat. You can read or download them on the Books page. If you hold other printed works by him, please help complete this list.
01
Majalis series
صراطِ مستقیم
The Straight Path
A cycle of nineteen majalis delivered in Dubai on the meaning of the Straight Path. Recordings circulate online and remain among his most listened-to addresses.
Listen to the first majlis02
Majalis cycle
عشرۂ محرم، ممبئی
The first ten days of Muharram
Fifty-seven consecutive annual cycles at Masjid-e-Iranian (Mughal Masjid), South Mumbai, from 1958. Taken together they are the largest body of his work.
03
Booklet
فدک کی تاریخی حقیقت
The Historical Truth of Fadak
A booklet on the historical question of Fadak, the estate of Sayyida Fatima al-Zahra. It is attributed to him on a page dedicated to his memory. The publisher and date are not yet confirmed.
04
Charter
ماڈل نکاح نامہ
A model Shia marriage contract
Drafted under his presidency of the All India Shia Personal Law Board. It gave Shia women the right to seek divorce, and Athar said it carried the approval of Grand Ayatollah Sistani.
05
Journalism
صحافتی تحریریں
Essays and articles
His work as a journalist was the subject of a paper by Dr. Mohammad Zafar Haidari, editor of the Srinagar monthly Hakeem-ul-Ummat, at a seminar held at the Khateeb Akbar Library.
The majlis as an art
مجلسِ عزا
Addressing a majlis at the Mughal Masjid, Mumbai, on the 8th of Muharram
A majlis is a gathering of remembrance, above all for Imam Husain and the martyrs of Karbala. Contemporaries remembered Athar's sweet, eloquent Urdu as a family gift shared with his father and brother, a style he shaped himself, and an audience that crossed every sect.
The address opens with the Quran, hadith, history and ethics, delivered in the refined Urdu of Lucknow.
It turns to the recounting of Karbala, the tragedy that brings the whole hall to tears.
The gathering ends in mourning and prayer, a shared act of love for the Ahl al-Bayt.
57Muharrams
Masjid-e-Iranian (Mughal Masjid), Dongri, every year from 1958.
19majalis
The Sirat-e-Mustaqeem series on the Straight Path.
5regions
Pakistan, the Middle East, the UK, the USA and Australia.
Help complete the record
Printed majalis, booklets, magazine articles, cassette or video recordings, letters. Tell us what you have. Every lead is checked before it is added, and contact details are never published.
