the message - safar-ul-muzaffar 1438 ah - zahra...

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Food for Thought: - Sayings of Imam Ali (A.S.) 02

2 From The Editor’s Desk 03

3 Your Daily-Life Questions Answered 05

4 Islamic Faith and Human Perfection 06

5 The Journey of Ahlulbait (A.S.) to Damascus 13

6 Historical and Jurisprudential Issues Pertinent to the Ziyarat

Ashura 23

7 Miracles of Ziyarat-e-Ashura 37

8 The Great Legacy of Islam Preserved by the Lord of the

Martyrs (A.S.) 45

9 The Despicable Status of the Killers of Imam Husain (A.S.) 48

10 The Five Signs of a Believer 54

Kids’ CornerKids’ CornerKids’ CornerKids’ Corner

11 Shahadat of Bibi Sakina Bint Al-Hussain (A.S.) 59

12 Hazrat Zainab (S.A.): The Honorable Daughter of Imam Ali (A.S.) 61

13 Arba'een Aamal & Ziyarat 62

14 28th Safar - Martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad (S) & Imam

Hasan Mujtaba (A.S.) 63

THE MESSAGE

Editor: Hujjat-ul-Islam Wal Muslimeen Sheikh Shabbir H. Lakhani (Maisami)

Editorial Board: Mr. Mazher Ali Jumani, Molana Sajjad Qaimi, Dr. Hussain Kanani,

Mr. Hasnain Nanjiani.

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Disclaimer: The Editor does not necessarily agree with the views expressed in the matter published herein. The views and opinions presented in the Journal reflect the views of the authors

and not of the Journal or its Editorial Board or the Publisher.

Published by

Zahra (S.A.) Academy Institute of Islamic Education, Development & Relief

The Message Safar-ul-Muzaffar 1438 AH

2

1. Covering the woman is

more prosperous to her

state and more enduring

for her beauty.

2. Faith is patience during

calamity and thankfulness

during ease.

3. Self-sacrifice is the best

kindness and the highest

rank of belief.

4. Everything needs the mind,

and the mind needs good

manners.

5. Be cautious of every deed

which is performed in se-

cret but is embarrassing to

perform in public.

6. He who does not observe

his promises and his guar-

antee does not have con-

viction in Allah.

7. When trustworthiness is

fortified, truthfulness in-

creases.

8. When you meet your

brothers, shake hand with

them and show them

cheerfulness and joy; thus

when you part company all

your sins will have gone.

9. Vision is not dependent on

the eyes, for the eyes may

often belie their owners,

yet the mind never de-

ceives a man seeking its

counsel.

10. Do not rejoice at wealth

and luxury, nor dread pov-

erty and ordeal; for verily

gold is tested by the fire

and the believer is tested

by an ordeal.

11. Poverty is part of the trial,

and worse than that is the

sickness of the body, and

worse than that is the sick-

ness of the heart.

12. Repentance purifies the

hearts and washes away

the sins.

13. There are two things the

reward for which is beyond

measure: pardon and jus-

tice.

��

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Sayings of Imam Ali (A.S.)

Safar-ul-Muzaffar 1438 AH The Message

3

In the name of Allah, the

all mercy, the ever mercy.

Brothers and Sisters,

Salam Alaikum.

Months of Muharram and

Safar are months of sacrifice

and strengthening our faith

and polishing our character

and learning how to be

patient.

Muharram of 1437 A.H.

brought for us a new wave of

Shahadat in the whole Muslim

world. Starting from Yemen

and extending to Kashmir,

passing through Pakistan.

This time the target of terror-

ism was different. Two major

attacks were on ladies majlis

and a few Momineen present

there were also martyred.

Immediately after that a few

other people were also killed

in Karachi, thus presenting it

as if Shia Sunni target killing

has started.

Actually that is not the case.

If one tries to study the

situation it will be clear that

the Muslim communities in

Pakistan live in harmony and

peace and hardly fight on any

matters. It is just a group of

people who are trying to

portray that there is a big

divide in the society.

The TV programs during

Ashura give a very clear

picture of our society. Almost

all people mourn the Sha-

hadat of Imam Hussain (a.s.)

and participate in this annual

event in different ways.

The million dollar question is

when Zarb-e-Azb, National

Action Plan and such things

are going on in our country

and specially after ever big

incident it is said to be applied

and carried on more strongly

and extensively, then who are

these people who have so

much confidence in their

actions that in day time, in

front of hundreds of people,

with law enforcing agency

offices very near, are able to

carry out such terrorist acts

From The Editor’s Desk


4

and get away so easily. Who

is answerable for this?

Where are the loop holes?

Why till now the killers of the

Shia communities have not

been apprehended….!?

And then comes the Donald

Trump, who is he and how is

he going to deal with Muslims

all over the world and what

will be the effect of his

presidency? Nothing can be

said except one thing that the

world is going to take a big

turn, positive or negative not

clear. But, in my opinion

better than the way Bush had

dealt the world through is

neocons and killed/displaced

millions of Muslims in this part

of the world.

Anyhow! We need to stick by

our faith and have stronger

contacts with Allah (s.w.t.) as

He is the only one who can

save us from all such difficul-

ties, during the days of

GHAYBAT of Imam Zamana

(a.t.f.).

I pray our country and

Muslims all around the world

may live peacefully and be

able to follow their faith

firmly.

Allah bless us all.

Long live Islam,

Long live Pakistan.

Editor,

Shabbir H. Maisami (Lakhani)

��

Golden Sayings of Imam

Ali Reza (A.S.) "Accompany with caution the

person who has authority over

you; be humble when in the

company of a friend; stay alert

when facing an enemy, and

mingle with the public with a

smile on your face."

"We have a right against you

through Allah's Messenger,

may Allah bless him and his

family, and you have a right

against us. He who knows our

right (against him), his right

is incumbent (upon us). He

who does not know our right

(against him) has no right

(against us)."

��


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Q.1: At the time of birth

there was no one who

could recite the azan &

iqama in the ears of the

new born except for the

mother. Can she recite the

azan & iqama?

Ans.: Yes, she can.

Q.2: Does a wife inherit

anything from the building

standing on a land owned

by her husband or from a

flat built on any floor of a

building?

Ans.: She does not also

inherit from that which stands

on that land, like the house

and the trees, but she inherits

from their proceeds. The

same rule applies to the trees

and crops and buildings

standing on the land of a

garden, and on agricultural

land, or on any other lands.

Q.3: Is it allowed to give

fidya/kaffara of fast to a

shia momin who shaves

his beard or a momina

who is careless in observ-

ing hijab?

Ans.: In fact, as a precaution,

it cannot be given to a poor

who commit sins openly.

Q.4: Is it allowed playing

chess when no betting is

involved?

Ans.: It is haram to play chess,

regardless of whether or not

the play is with betting. It is

also haram to play chess

through computerized instru-

ment, if there are two players

involved in it. Based on obliga-

tory precaution, one must

refrain from it, even if just the

computer is the other player.

Q.5: I have bought a piece

of land on installment and

I have to pay its install-

ments for five years and

until then I cannot use the

land. I want to know my

duty regarding its Khums?

Ans.: If you bought the land

for selling it in the future and

make profit, you should pay

khums on any amount of its

installments you settled from

your income.

��

Your Daily-Life Questions Answered


6

What is that faith which is

spoken of in Islam and re-

ferred to throughout the

Qur'an, as an axis around

which all questions revolve? It

refers to faith in God in the

first place. In the second

place, it connotes faith in

angels, holy books, prophets,

Resurrection, etc. In Islam, is

faith a goal for mankind or a

means for other goals?

All these are goals for man, for

no divine goals or means are

involved. These goals are

meant as human accomplish-

ments towards perfection.

Is faith itself a human perfec-

tion which has been recom-

mended to him? Or has man

been called upon to have faith

because of its good effects?

Philosophers put this question

like this:

"Is faith a blessing for man, or

something useful?"

There is a difference between

a blessing and being useful. A

blessing is in itself a perfection

desired for itself, not for

something else. But anything

useful is good because of its

beneficial effect. It is a pro-

logue to a blessing, but not a

blessing in itself.

In discussing Islam as a school

of thought, it must be clarified

whether faith is a goal and a

blessing, irrespective of its

effect. We speak of effects of

faith and say it gives tranquili-

ty and fortitude against

calamities, and in a society the

people can trust one another,

and show benevolence and

avoid malevolence.

But is faith good because of its

effects, or because it seeks

perfection in itself? Here

comes the question:

What does human perfec-

tion consist of?

This is more difficult to answer

than the perfection of other

matters. In the world we can

often distinguish perfection of

Islamic Faith and Human Perfection

Edited excerpts from the book, “Goal of Life”

By: Ayatollah Murtaza Mutahhari


7

things. We can say how a

perfect apple should be; it

refers to its flavor, color,

delicacy and shape, and if an

apple has these qualities we

call it perfect.

A perfect house can easily be

defined, so can a horse. But it

is most difficult to define a

perfect human being. There-

fore various views concerning

him must be studied to see

which is right, or if we cannot

do so scientifically, at least we

should see how and to what

extent such views are con-

firmed by the Qur'an.

Different Views Regarding

Human Perfection?

Can it be said that a perfect

being is he who gets

maximum benefit from

nature which is external to

him? But this is wrong for two

reasons:

Firstly we do not define other

things in this way. We do not

say a horse is perfect merely

because it gets the highest

benefit. We should consider its

own particular qualities and

assets. We do not think a

horse perfect because of

eating a large quantity of

fodder. Nor do we call an

apple perfect because of its

getting more air, water and

light. Secondly, it is hard to

conscientiously agree that the

most perfect man is one who

benefits most from nature. For

it implies that a defective man

is he who benefits less or

least!

Let us compare two human

beings: Muawiyah enjoyed

maximum benefits in his eighty

years of life. He was ruler of

Syria for forty years (Twenty

years as a powerful governor,

and another twenty as a

powerful Caliph).

Then there was Ali (a) who

lived an ascetic life, with a

philosophy for it, whether this

philosophy was to be free, or

generous or humane, or not to

be taken in by the world, but

to give his heart to spiritual

things, Whatever it was, his

share of this world's gifts was

a few loaves of bread, Should

we then call him imperfect on


8

account of his benefiting least

from the world?

If we say this, we are making

out man to be less than an

animal, for, we do not evalu-

ate any animal by the standard

of its benefiting from the

world, even though some

people have no other thought

but this in evaluating human

beings. But there is no one

who believes this to the extent

of negating every spirituality.

Here another point comes up,

that is, if such benefiting is not

human perfection in this world,

what about the next one? This

would mean the perfection of

man is to deserve and benefit

from God's gifts. However, this

is not possible in its utmost

measure in this world, so

people pray for securing

maximum benefit in the next

world. In speaking of such

worship, Ibn Sina (Avicenna)

says;

"For such men worship is like

working for which a wage is

expected so that, without that

wage, there would be no

willingness to work."

From the viewpoint of Islamic

logic, such a belief would

mean a deficient kind of

worship, to show devotion and

worship only in order to be

rewarded in heaven. There are

many references to this by the

Imams (a) such as this:

"Those who worship for fear,

act like slaves fearing their

master."

Similar are the words of Ali

[The Nahj ul Balaghah,

Wisdom 229:

"Some worship God for the

sake of their desires, and that

is merchants' worship; some

worship for fear, and that is

slaves' worship; and some

worship out of gratitude and

that is the worship of the

noble,"]

Again, in another saying, Ali

(a) is even more explicit:

"O Allah, I do not worship you

for fear of your Fire or for

cupidity in desiring heaven; I


9

worship you because you are

worthy of it."

Therefore, it is not right to

think of human perfection as

the ability to secure maximum

material benefits, even by

negating every virtue in this

world, or to postpone such

benefits to future life. There

are various materialistic views

all of which end with the idea

of benefit. Spiritual views are

of the following types:

1) The first and perhaps the

most important is the view of

the gnostics concerning

"Perfect Man." Their view is

derived from various religions.

They are inspired by ideas,

such as 'Adam', 'Prophets',

'Saints' and the 'Perfect Man'

like the "awaited Mahdi".

Mackinion has written a book

entitled "Perfect Man in Islam"

which has been translated

into Arabic by Abdur Rahman

Badawi, In it he says:

"The theory of perfect man is

not a Hellenic bequest, for,

Greek philosophy has said

nothing of it."

In the Islamic world this topic

has been presented by the

Sufis, and especially by

Mohuyuddin Arabi. There are

similar books by Abdo-Karim

Deylami, Aziz-el-Din Nasafi,

and a Sufi poet called Sayed

Muhammad Borgheti. The

gnostics have a clear view

about man's perfection and a

perfect man, which may not

be wholly acceptable to others,

but they offer it with a decisive

finality.

They believe that there is one

truth and that is God. They

consider other things shadows

of the truth. In their opinion

everything is an attribute of

God. If we die without recog-

nizing the truth we would have

died in infidelity, ignorance,

darkness and absolute una-

wareness.

A man is perfect when he

understands the truth and

attains it. They think it

impossible for God to appear

in man or be allied to him. For

them incarnation is dualism,

so attaining the truth or God

means losing one's identity in


10

Him, and that is when man

understands the whole truth,

and then he will know himself.

God is the only truth and

everything else is its manifes-

tation. This is similar to the

phrase of 'approaching God,

except that they believe in

phases of proximity, subject

to a definite order. So, there

are stages of gnosticism

before truth is attained, One

who does not attain it is

imperfect, and man's humani-

ty consists of knowing and

attaining truth.

What helps this advance

towards God and truth are

love, affection and familiarity.

The way to Him is through the

heart, not the mind or philos-

ophy. Every other perfection

is derived from this perfection,

and for that reason alone it

may be considered perfection.

Is asceticism perfection? They

will say, yes, because it is a

condition for following this

path. So are humility and

other qualities like assistance,

and guidance which are moral

goodness.

2) Divine philosophers have a

view different from that of the

gnostics. They think human

perfection depends on two

things: recognition of facts,

or wisdom. Gnostics empha-

size truth, but the philosophers

attach importance to wisdom,

which for them is understand-

ing the reality of things and

existence as they are, general-

ly but not to wisdom. For

example, the properties of an

apple are related to science,

not to wisdom. Similarly

knowing a city or a house as a

whole unit, is different from

knowing parts of it.

A sage considers human

perfection is the general

context of proper and scientific

recognition of the universe. His

subjective world is a scientific

and intellectual one which

corresponds with the objective

world. For example, in an

objective world there is God,

and His Universal Order,

material, and immaterial. In

the scientific and intellectual

world, too, these things must

exist.


11

For them, then, a perfect

human being must recognize

wisdom. We may discuss the

proof and evidence of wisdom,

but we cannot discuss its

origin and principle. The

Qur'an, too; says (1:269):

"The blessing of wisdom may

be granted to anyone who He

wishes, and he who received

it, found much goodness."

Beside wisdom, as a requisite

of perfection, a sage also

considers justice as a requi-

site, that is, moral justice on

which social justice depends.

This means that there should

be an equilibrium between

human powers and instincts

ruled over by his intellectual

power. In other words, the

intellect must dominate all

appetites, passions and

imagination, so that each of

these powers should be given

the moderate share it de-

serves. In the terminology of a

sage what is related to wisdom

is called speculative intellect,

and what is related to justice is

a named practical intellect.

The question that was about

'faith' may be repeated in

connection with wisdom. Does

wisdom represent to a man an

end or means? And is

knowledge an end in itself or

means, or both?

Is knowledge human perfec-

tion? If it is, then it involves

benefits, and without benefits

it is useless, and the more it

benefits, the better it is.

3) A third view is that human

perfection lies in senti-

ments, that is, love. This is

an ethical viewpoint that

claims that a man who has

more affection for others is

perfect, and if he shows little

affection to others he is

imperfect. The basis of moral

depravity is selfishness; the

more one abandons selfish-

ness and shows love for

others, the more perfect he is.

This is a point emphasised also

by Hindus. Gandhi insists

thoroughly on this point in his

book "This is my Faith."

Hindus emphasize both truth

and love, and criticize western


12

civilization which has negated

these two things.

4) Another view is that hu-

man perfection is beauty.

This, of course, does not refer

only to physical beauty, but

mainly to spiritual beauty.

Artistic things show an artistic

spirit which creates beautiful

things.

5) Another view which may be

called a prevalent western one

is materialistic, and holds that

human perfection lies in

power. The more powerful a

man is and the more dominat-

ing over his environment and

other beings, the more perfect

he is. Darwin's Theory of

Evolution reflects this idea.

According to Darwin's criteria,

a more perfect being must be

powerful enough to preserve

himself and remove his rival in

the struggle for survival.

Darwin is criticized for having

annihilated morality by his

survival principle. Some

Westerners claim to have

discovered that knowledge is

what benefits mankind, makes

him more powerful, and

prevails over nature. Thus they

promoted empirical science, to

be used as an instrument of

developing civilization and

technology.

This idea had its uses, but

they went to such excess that

it caused more damage than

benefit. They ignored the

sacredness of wisdom, truth,

love and faith in which men

had believed before. To them,

everything became subordi-

nate to power, and so they

tried to change the course of

human advancement. Since

then, mankind tends to be

devoid of faith in any spirituali-

ty, and if they claim spirituality

they act in a contrary manner.

Nietsche's philosophy, has

been criticized for being too

extravagant. In any case he

has been frank and outspoken.

The logical conclusion of his

(and of the intellectual path

Bacon and others have fol-

lowed) is to place science in

the service of power, and to

recognize human perfection

only in power.

��


13

Ibn Ziyad sent a messenger to

Yazid telling him of the events

and waiting for his orders.

Then he wrote a letter, tied it

to a rock, and threw it into

the place where the people of

the House of the Prophet

were imprisoned. It said, "A

messenger has been sent to

Yazid and he will be back on

such and such a day. When

he comes back and you hear

'Allahu Akbar, write your will.

If you do not hear it, you

have your life." The messen-

ger came back with Yazid's

reply that Ibn Ziyad should

immediately send the prison-

ers and the heads to Damas-

cus.

Ibn Ziyad sent the heads with

some of his troops, ordering

them to put the heads on

spears and parade them in

front of the caravan, and he

ordered them to pass through

the cities on the way, and

humiliate the family of the

Prophet in every city they

pass through. On their way

they saw some writing paint-

ed on a wall, saying,

"Is it possible for a nation

that killed Husayn to have

the intercession of his

grandfather on the Day of

Judgment?"

On their way, they stopped

and a drop of blood fell from

the head of the Imam onto a

rock and that place is known

as Mashhad al-Nuqtah (Place

of the drop of blood) near

Hamah (Syria).

Also near Aleppo, there is

another place called Mashhad

al-Siqt, because Imam Husay-

n's wife was pregnant and

when they reached that spot,

the baby miscarried. He was

named Mohsin.

When they came near Damas-

cus, Shimr was leading the

caravan. Umm Kulsum asked

him not to go from the main

road, so people do not look at

them with evil eyes. Shimr did

The Journey of Ahlulbait (AS) to Damascus

Source: www.almujtaba.com


14

exactly the opposite, ordering

the caravan to march through

the city from the main road,

and for all of the heads to be

in the middle of the caravan.

Arrival in Damascus

They arrived in Damascus on

the first day of the month of

Safar. The prisoners were

kept in Bab al-Sa'at and

people went to see them,

dancing and using the drums.

Somebody asked Syeda

Sukayna, "What prisoners are

you?" She answered, "We are

prisoners of the family of

Muhammad (s.a.w.w.)."

Yazid was sitting on his throne

in his castle at Jiran when he

saw the heads on spears and

the prisoners. He recited a

poem:

• "When I saw the caravan

and the heads near Jiran

• The crow crowed, and I

said,

• Whether you crow or not,

• I have gotten even with the

Messenger of God."

Because of this poem and

other displays of hatred to the

Prophet, some Sunni scholars

believe that Yazid was kafir

(unbeliever) and deserves to

be cursed.

Sahl Ibn Sa'id came to Syeda

Sukayna, daughter of Imam

Husayn, and asked, "Is there

anything I can do for you?"

She asked him, "Can you tell

the one who carries the head

to go farther from the women,

so people do not look at the

women?"

Sahl honored his word and

granted her request.

An old man came to Imam

Sajjad and said, "Praise to

God that He perished you and

made the leader overcome

you!"

Imam Sajjad replied, "Have

you ever read the Qur'an, O,

old man?"

The old man answered, "Yes."

Imam Sajjad asked, "Have

you read the verse: Say: I do

not ask you any reward but


15

love for the near in kin?"

(Holy Qur'an 42:23).

He said, "Yes."


you read the verse: So, give

the near in kin their rights?"

(Holy Qur'an 30:38).

He said, "Yes, of course."


you read the verse: And know

that whatever you gain, a fifth

of it is for God, and for the

Messenger, the near of kin,

orphans, the poor, and

wayfarers?"(Holy Qur'an7:59).

The old man answered, "Yes,

I have read all of these."

Imam Sajjad said, "Indeed, by

God, we are them."

Then he asked, "Have you

read the verse: Indeed, God

wants to take away pollution

from you, O, People of the

House?"(Holy Qur'an 33:33).

The old man answered, "Yes."

Imam Sajjad said to him, "We

are the People of the House

whom God has purified."

The old man's eyes opened

wide as he asked, "Are you

them?" Imam Sajjad said,

"Yes, (I swear it) by our

grandfather Prophet Muham-

mad (s.a.w.w.). We are them

without any doubt."

The man fell to the ground,

kissed Imam Sajjad's feet,

and said, "I repent to God and

reject those who killed you."

When Yazid found out about

this, he ordered the man to

be killed.

The Prisoners Meet Yazid

The prisoners were ordered to

go to Yazid's main hall, and

they were all tied together

with one long rope. While

they were marched towards

the castle, they were beaten if

they did not go fast.

When they entered the castle

and were in Yazid's presence,

Imam Sajjad asked Yazid

"What do you think the

Prophet of God would say if

he sees us in this situation?"

The people started to cry and

Yazid ordered the rope to be


16

cut. The head of Imam

Husayn was in front of him.

He looked at Nu'man Ibn

Bashir and said, "Praise to

God that He killed him."

Nu'man replied, "Mu'awiyah,

your father, did not want to

have Husayn killed."

Yazid answered, "That was

before Husayn's movement. If

Husayn had started his

movement before, my father

Mu'awiyah would have killed

him."

Then Yazid faced Imam Sajjad

and said, "What do you think

of what God has done to your

father, Husayn?''

Imam Sajjad replied, "I saw

what God has written."

Yazid consulted with his

advisors about killing Imam

Sajjad and most of them

agreed to having him killed.

Imam Sajjad said, "O, Yazid!

These people are deceiving

you. Unlike the people of

Pharaoh did when he asked

them about Moses and Aaron.

They said, 'Leave Moses and

Aaron, because the children of

Prophets should not be

killed."'

Yazid thought and pondered,

then Imam Sajjad asked him

for permission to speak. Yazid

said, "You may speak, but do

not talk any nonsense."

Imam Sajjad said, "I am in a

position in which I cannot talk

nonsense. What would you

think if the Prophet sees us in

this position?"

Yazid ordered Imam Sajjad's

chains to be removed, then

faced his royal announcers,

and told them to praise

Mu'awiyah and humiliate

Husayn. When they continued

cursing 'Ali and Husayn, Imam

Sajjad interrupted them and

yelled, "You are trying to

please humans against God.

You are going to end up in

Hell!"

Then Imam Sajjad said

calmly, "O, Yazid! Let me go

stand in the same place as

this man (the announcer) and

say what would please God


17

and what would benefit these

people."

Yazid refused, but the people

insisted on allowing him. The

people persisted, and Yazid

did not want to anger the

people, so he allowed it.

Imam Sajjad said, "Praise to

God Who has no beginning,

Who is eternal. No one was

before Him and no one will be

after Him. He will remain after

the destruction of the whole

world.

O, people! We are given six

characteristics and we were

honored by seven. We are

given knowledge, patience,

generosity, eloquence,

bravery, and love in the

hearts of believers; and we

are honored that the Prophet

the Lion of God and the lion

of the Messenger and the two

grandsons of this nation are

from us.

O, people! Who knows me

knows me, and who does not

know me, I will tell him who I

am in genealogy and charac-

ter.

O, people! I am the son of

Mecca and Medina. I am the

son of Zamzam and Safa. I

am the son of the one who

carried the Black Stone with

his robe. I am the son of the

best of those who wear

clothes [are civilized]. I am

the son of the best of those

who made Tawaf [circumam-

bulating the Ka'bah] and Sa'y

[walking between Mount Safa

and Mount Marwa, as one of

the Hajj pilgrimage rite]. I am

the son of the man who rode

the Burraq [winged horse] to

the end of the horizon, and

reached his Lord, and was

two bow's shots away from

Him. I am the son of the one

who prayed with the angels. I

am the son of the one who

received the revelation. I am

the son of the one who fought

with the Prophet of God at the

battles of Badr and Hunayn

and he ['Ali] did not disbelieve

in God even for the blink of an

eye. I am the son of the best

of believers and the heir of

the Prophets and the leader of

Muslims, the knight of fight-


18

ers, the father of Hasan and

Husayn, 'Ali son of Abi Talib. I

am the son of Fatima Zahra',

the leader of women, and the

great Khadijah. I am the son

of the one who was killed and

covered with blood. I am the

son of the one who was killed

in Karbala'. I am the son of

the one for whom the Jinn

cried, and even the birds on

the wind."

When Imam Sajjad said this,

people yelled and wailed in an

uproar of grief.

Yazid began to fear that the

situation would escalate, so

he ordered the Muezzin to

recite the azan even though it

was not prayer time.

The Muezzin yelled, "Allahu

Akbar! (God is great)" and

Imam Sajjad said, "God is

greater and more honored

than anything I fear!"

Then the Muezzin said,

"Ashhadu anla ilaha ilallah [I

bear witness that there is no

god besides Allah]" and Imam

Sajjad said, "Yes, I bear

witness with everyone who

witnesses that there is no god

but Him!"

When the Muezzin said,

"Ashhadu anna Muhammad-ar

Rasulullah [I bear witness that

MuHammad is the Messenger

of God]", Imam Sajjad said to

the Muezzin, "I ask you by the

right of Muhammad to be

silent for one minute!"

He faced Yazid and said, "This

Messenger of God, is he your

grandfather or my grandfa-

ther? If you say he is your

grandfather, people who are

present and all people will

know you are a liar, and if you

say he is my grandfather,

then why did you kill my

father unjustly?

Why did you loot his wealth?

Why did you capture his

women? On the Day of

Judgment my grandfather will

be against you."

Yazid interrupted Imam Sajjad

and yelled at the Muezzin to

start the prayer, even though

it was not time. Some left to

pray and others simply left

the scene.


19

Then, Yazid asked for the

head of Imam Husayn to be

brought to him in a golden

washbasin. The women of the

family of the Prophet wanted

to see what is in the basin,

but Yazid did not want them

to. When he uncovered it and

they saw the head, everyone

cried. Yazid ordered others to

enter the room. He took his

stick, hit the lips of Imam

Husayn, and said, "Now I am

getting even for the battle of

Badr!" And then recited some

poetry. One of his people

yelled that 'Aale Mustafa' (the

family of Selected-Prophet

Muhammad) are cut into

pieces. Yazid hit him in his

chest, told him to shut up, and

cursed him, saying, "You have

no mother!"

Another stood up and asked

Yazid to give him Fatima,

daughter of Husayn, as a gift.

Fatima became very scared

and clung tightly to her aunt

Zaynab.

Hazrat Zaynab raised her

voice and said, "Impossible!

You cannot have this!"

Yazid replied, "If I want it, I

can...

Hazrat Zaynab said to him, "If

you do not believe in our

religion, you can."

Yazid barked at her, "Your

father and your brother were

not of our religion!"

Hazrat Zaynab said, "It was

by the religion of God, my

grandfather, and my father,

that you and your father

became Muslims!"

Yazid screamed, "You are a

liar and an enemy of God!"

Hazrat Zaynab said, "You are

governor. You curse us

unjustly and you govern by

force."

The man repeated his request

for the daughter of Husayn as

a gift. Yazid yelled at him,

cursed him, and then said to

everyone:

"I wish my ancestors were

here to see

How their enemies are in

fear.

They would be happy


20

And they would tell me:

Yazid, you did a good job!

We have taken their heads,

and gotten even

For the battle of Badr.

The Hashim (family of the

Prophet Muhammad]

played with politics.

There is no revelation and

no Messenger.

They lied just to get the

leadership.

I am not from my tribe

If I do not take revenge on

the descendants of Ahmad."

When Hazrat Zaynab heard

Yazid, she said, "Praises to

God and the Messenger of

God," and quoted:

"Then, the end result of

those who have done evil

was evil, because they

denied the signs of God,

and mocked them."(Holy

Qur'an 30:10)

Then she continued, "O,

Yazid! You think you have

turned the whole world

against us, and you have

driven us like slaves. You

think that you have honor,

and you are important. You

are holding your nose high,

and you are happy, for the

world is easy for you, and

your kingdom is secure. But,

you just wait and see!

Have you forgotten the saying

of God:

'And let not those who

disbelieve think that what-

ever we increase for them

is the best for them. In-

deed, We increase for

them so they increase in

sin, and they have a humil-

iating punishment?' (Holy

Qur'an 3: 178)

Is it just, O, son of Tolaqa, to

honor your slaves and drive

the children of the Prophet as

slaves? You exposed their

privacy and exposed their

faces. You paraded them from

city to city. They had no one

to protect them and everyone,

near or far, examining their

faces! What can we expect

from a descendant of those


21

who tried to eat the livers of

the righteous people whose

flesh grows from the blood of

martyrs. What can we expect

from someone who grew up

with hatred of the Prophet's

family?"

Then, she quoted his poem

and said, "While hitting the

lips of the son of the Messen-

ger of God, how could you say

such a thing? Someone like

you has to say such things,

while you shed the blood of

the descendants of Muham-

mad and the stars of the

family of 'Abdul Muttalib. You

call your ancestors. Indeed,

you will soon go the same

way as them. Indeed, you will

wish you were mute and did

not say what you said and did

not do what you did.

O, God! Secure our rights and

take revenge on those who

treated us unjustly who shed

our blood and killed our

protectors.

O, Yazid, you have not cut

anything but your own skin.

You have not chopped any-

thing but your own flesh.

Indeed, you will face Prophet

Muhammad by what you have

shed, the blood of his de-

scendants and humiliated his

honor!"

Then she quoted:

"Do not think of those who

have been killed in the way

of God as dead. No. They

are alive, with their Lord,

and bestowed blessings."

(Holy Qur'an 3: 169 )

"And God is the best Judge

and Muhammad is the plaintiff

and (Archangel) Gabriel is the

supporter. And those who

made you come to power over

Muslims will know what a

worse alternative they have

chosen and what a weak army

they have.

Though it is hard for me to

speak to you, I belittle you. It

is hard for me to look in your

face, but the eyes are weep-

ing and the chests are tight.

O! The wonder of wonders is

that the party of God, the

honored are killed by the


22

party of Satan, those who

were given freedom by the

Prophet. Their hands are

dripping with our blood, their

mouths are filled with our

flesh, and the bodies of the

righteous are scattered on the

ground. You took us as

prisoners as gains of the war,

but soon you will be the loser,

when you enter the Judgment

of God. We have only Him as

our protector. Do whatever

you want and plan and

scheme whatever you want.

But, by God you cannot

eradicate our memory, and

you cannot eradicate the

revelation (of God) and the

shame of this will not leave

you. Your view is in vain, and

your days are numbered, and

your groups will be scattered,

on a day in which a caller will

call and announce the curse

of God on those who are

unjust.

Praised be the Lord, the One

who gave the first of us

forgiveness and the last of us

martyrdom. And we ask

Almighty God to complete the

reward for them, and increase

for them, and make us the

successful ones. Indeed, He is

merciful and kind, and God is

sufficient, and the Best

Protector.

Later...

The historian al-Bayruni says:

"These actions taken against

the Imam were not done to

any nation in the world. Using

all cheap means possible,

such as killing by sword,

spearing, catapults, and

running the horses on the

bodies of the victims."

After the massacre at Karba-

la', 'Umar Ibn Sa'd, the leader

of the army, asked the

governor, Ibn Ziyad, for the

written promise to make him

governor of the city of Ray.

Ibn Ziyad said he lost it.

One year after the death of

Yazid, Mukhtar revolted

against Ibn Ziyad and killed all

those who participated in

killing Imam Husayn (a.s.)."

��


23

As a prelude to the study of

the chains of transmission of

Ziyarat 'Ashura' and in order

to clarify the subject, several

themes surrounding it will be

discussed.

Reliability of the Tradi-

tions

Early Shi'ite scholars classified

traditions into two: the

reliable and the unreliable.

Those traditions that were

corroborated by circumstantial

evidence were considered

reliable and authoritative.

Those that were not, were

considered unreliable.

So, what is circumstantial

evidence?

Circumstantial evidence can

be defined as any of the

following:

1) The presence of a tradition

in many of the four hundred

primary works of traditions

that were circulating among

the early scholars and which

they transmitted on the

authority of their teachers in

an unbroken continuous

chain, which linked them to

the infallible Imams (as).

2) The recurrence of a

tradition in one or more

primary works of traditions by

means of multiple reliable

chains. Alternatively, the

existence of a tradition in a

primary work attributed to a

disciple of any of the Imams

whose reliability and truthful-

ness was unanimously attest-

ed by the scholars. Examples

of such disciples are Zurara

bin A'yan, Muhammad bin

Muslim and Fudhayl bin Yasar.

3) The existence of a tradition

in one of the primary works

that was presented to one of

the Imams who commended it

and praised its compiler.

Examples are the book of

traditions of 'Ubaydullah al-

Halabi (presented to Imam al-

Sadiq), or the books of Yunus

Historical and Jurisprudential Issues

Pertinent to the Ziyarat Ashura

By: Ayatollah Shaykh Ja'far Subhani


24

bin 'Abd al-Rahman and Fadhl

bin Shazan (presented to

Imam al-'Askari).

4) The citation of a tradition

from the books in circulation

among the predecessors of

the early scholars, provided

the books were reliable,

trustworthy and credible,

irrespective of whether the

compiler was an Imami or a

non-Imami. Examples of such

works from Imamis are the

book on the ritual prayers of

Hurayz bin 'Abdullah al-

Sijistani or the books of the

two sons of Said bin al-

Husayn al-Ahwazi and 'Ali bin

Mahzayar.

From the non-Imamis these

include the book of Hafs bin

Ghiyath al-Qadhi and Husayn

bin 'Ubaydullah al-Sa'di as

well as the book on the prayer

direction (al-Qibla) of 'Ali bin

al-Hasan al-Tatari. The early

scholars therefore judged the

transmitted traditions of some

of the narrators as authentic

and correct even when those

narrators were not from the

Imamiyya, such as 'Ali bin

Muhammad bin Riyah.[1]

These are some of the

examples of circumstantial

evidence used to determine

the authenticity of traditions.

There are many other types of

evidence too, but for the

purposes of this discussion,

the above-mentioned evi-

dence will suffice.

With regards to the later

Shi'ite scholars, they had to

relinquish the two-fold classi-

fication in favour of a four-

fold classification of traditions:

authentic (sahih), dependable

(muwathaq), good (hasan)

and weak (dha'if). The reason

for the adoption of a four-fold

classification was the lack of

circumstantial evidence, due

to the passage of time and

the loss of reliable primary

compilations of traditions.

Thus, the evidence rendering

a tradition authentic due to

the knowledge that it origi-

nated from the infallible

Imams, was also lost. The

four-fold classification of the

traditions was now based on

an analysis of the chains of


25

transmission of the traditions

and an investigation into the

circumstances, conditions and

positions of the narrators who

featured in these chains.

Hence, for the early Shi'ite

scholars, if the origin of a

tradition was from the infalli-

ble Imams, it was confirmed

by circumstantial evidence

and was considered to be

authentic. However, as a

consequence of a loss of this

evidence over time, the same

was not the case for the later

Shi'ite scholars.

The Probative Authority

(hujjiyyat) of a Tradition

The ultimate question is: Can

a tradition be proven as

reliable based on the fact that

it is transmitted by a reliable

narrator or can it only be

authoritative if it is rendered

certain that the text originated

from an infallible? There are

two perspectives on this.

The most correct position is

the latter one; the reliability of

a tradition based on the

certainty that the text origi-

nated from an infallible. It is

for this reason that, in the

instance where the reliability

and truthfulness of the

narrator is not established,

but circumstantial evidence

proves the report to have

originated from an infallible,

the report assumes probative

authority. As a consequence,

it is adopted in law, which

completes and lends credence

to the practice of the intelli-

gent people in this field.

Rational jurists (al-Usuliyyun)

focussed on discussing the

probative authority of a

reliable person's reported

speech in their studies in a

way that suggested that the

divine Legislator intended to

establish this as a principle

above all else. However, an

investigation into the matter

shows that there is no evi-

dence in the law that this is

the case. Even the evidence

from Qur'anic verses in favour

of the principle, is not defini-

tive, as is apparent to anyone

who refers to the works of

jurisprudence.


26

With regards to the transmit-

ted traditions pertaining to

this issue, all of them are

concerned with the latter

position. This is because the

query contained in the rele-

vant traditions is associated

with concerns in favour of the

second position and there is

nothing in the traditions that

legitimately points to the

establishment of the first

position. Hence for example,

it is sometimes the case that a

narrator would ask the Imam

“Is Yunus bin 'Abd al-Rahman

reliable and should I take

from him what I need of the

religious directives?”[2]

Or the Imam is reported to

have said, “Al-'Umari and his

son are both reliable, there-

fore whatever they claim to

convey from me then that is

from me”.[3]

The sole evidence for the

probative authority of a singly

transmitted report is therefore

the practice of intelligent

people, implemented in their

daily lives. This practice

transpires into a reliance on a

reliable and authentic report

originating from an Infallible.

The reliability of the reporter

of such a report must also be

one of the circumstantial

pieces of evidence that

renders the report certain as

originating from an Infallible.

It is for this reason that in the

instance where the reliability

and truthfulness of a narrator

is established and circumstan-

tial evidence does not prove

the origins of a tradition to be

from an Infallible, the tradi-

tion is abandoned.

In conclusion, for the early

scholars the criterion for the

probative authority of a

tradition lay in the testimony

of internal and/or external

circumstantial evidence for

the provenance of a tradition's

origins to be from an Infalli-

ble.

Widespread Practice of a

Tradition Mitigates the

Weakness of its Chain

The widespread practice of

the contents of a tradition

compensates for the weak-


27

ness of its chain. A tradition

may be divided into three

types in terms of its fame and

renown.

1) Fame and renown due to

widespread transmission:

A tradition may be renowned

and famous due to its wide

transmission among narrators

and transmitters of hadith as

well as its transmission in

books, irrespective of its

utilisation by the jurists and

scholars.

2) Fame and renown due to

widespread reliance and use

by jurists:

A tradition may be renowned

and famous due to jurists'

widespread reliance on it and

their use of it in issuing

verdicts. An example is the

Prophetic tradition “every

person is responsible for what

he undertakes till he dis-

charges that responsibility,” or

the Prophetic report “people

have authority over their

possessions”. Both these

traditions, even though they

are not transmitted in the

Shi'ite books of traditions,

have been applied in the

juridical exercises of jurists.

Therefore, widespread

reliance on and use of the

contents of traditions by

jurists indicates the existence

of circumstantial evidence

related to those traditions,

which makes it certain that

the origins of those traditions

are from an Infallible.

It is known that the wide-

spread transmission of a

tradition produces benefit if

the transmission is coupled

with practice. However, if the

hadith is merely transmitted

widely without being practiced

then this negates its authority

and instead engenders

suspicion about the tradition's

authenticity.

3) Fame and renown of a

juridical verdict:

Sometimes, there is a famous

and renowned juridical verdict

regarding a particular issue,

irrespective of a relevant

tradition existing in its favour

or the verdict being contrary


28

to a tradition. In such a case

the question is:

Does such renown possess

probative authority or not?

The matter is a lengthy and

detailed one, however, in

general, a tradition that is

widely utilised in juridical

deduction (indicating wide

reliance on it by jurists)

compensates the weakness of

its chain, if a chain exists, and

engenders certainty regarding

its authentic provenance.

The evidence for such a

stance is the 'accepted' report

(maqbula) of 'Umar bin

Hanzala.[4] Here the Imam

was asked about two contra-

dictory traditions which were

transmitted by two reliable

persons.

Ibn Hanzala reports that he

said to the Imam, “Both the

narrators are veracious and

acceptable to our companions

such that it is not possible to

prefer one over the other.”

The Imam responded, “Look

into what they are transmit-

ting from us regarding the

matter under consideration

and the tradition which is

unanimously agreed upon

among your colleagues is the

tradition and judgement to be

accepted as originating from

us and the contrary report

(i.e., the one which is rare

and unknown among your

colleagues) is to be set aside.

This is because the matter

that is unanimously agreed

upon is beyond doubt (fa inn

al-mujma' 'alayhi, la rayba

fihi). Indeed matters are of

three types. A matter, whose

correctness is established, has

to be obeyed. A matter whose

error is manifest has to be

avoided and finally a matter

which is doubtful and ambig-

uous has to be returned to

Allah and His prophet.”[5]

Evidence in Favour of this

Perspective

The meaning and intent of the

phrase 'that which is unani-

mously agreed upon,' does

not mean a tradition that is

unanimously transmitted by

all but rather that the tradition


29

is transmitted widely among

the Shi'ite. This understanding

is supported by the following

statement from the Imam,

”…and the rare tradition is to

be set aside; that which is

rare and unknown among

your colleagues.”

A tradition that is renowned in

its transmission among the

Shi'ite means that it is one

that is renowned in transmis-

sion as well as practice

according to its contents and

its utilisation in issuing

juridical verdicts. As men-

tioned earlier, a tradition that

is simply transmitted but not

practiced inspires doubt about

its authenticity.

Furthermore, the meaning of

the statement 'a unanimously

agreed upon tradition is

beyond doubt' is the absolute

negation of doubt. The

vocabulary used is similar to

the Qur'anic verse (2:2) 'This

Book, there is no doubt in it

(dhalik al-kitabu la rayba

fihi…)' where the negative

phrase 'there is no doubt in it'

contains the word 'rayb',

meaning 'doubt', in the

indefinite form. The use of the

indefinite form denotes

generality (the definite form

would have been 'al-rayb').

Therefore, if a renowned and

practiced tradition is one that

has no doubt in it, then a rare

tradition would have the

opposite connotation: there

would be no doubt about its

invalidity from a logical

perspective.

When the validity and cor-

rectness of one part of a

proposition is certain and

beyond doubt then the other

part is obviously invalid and

incorrect. Otherwise it would

require the combination of

certainty and doubt regarding

a single matter, which is

logically unacceptable. For

example, if the veracity of

Zayd is beyond doubt then its

contrary, his dishonesty, is

negated beyond doubt too.

From the above discussion, it

can be concluded that a

renowned tradition belongs to

the first part of the tripartite

division mentioned by the


30

Imam, that is, a matter whose

correctness is established and

is therefore required to be

obeyed, while the rare tradi-

tion belongs to the second

part of the tripartite division,

that is, a matter whose error

is manifest and therefore

needs to be avoided. The rare

tradition cannot be said to

belong to the third part of the

tripartite division, that is, a

matter which is dubious and

which requires its knowledge

to be returned to God and His

Prophet.

Therefore the meaning of the

Imam's statement 'that which

is unanimously agreed upon is

beyond doubt' is the tradition

that is renowned and prac-

ticed among the Shi'ite and

not a tradition regarding

which there is mere unanimity

that it originates from the

infallible. This is because the

narrator in the tradition above

assumes that both the con-

tradictory traditions, which

two veracious and acceptable

narrators report, ensue from

the Imam and that is why

neither one can be preferred

over the other, for if the

converse were true, and only

one of the traditions was

unanimously known to

originate from the Imam then

there would have been no

crisis of ambiguity.

The significance of a re-

nowned tradition having its

meaning elucidated as above

lies in its ability to stimulate

certainty with respect to its

origins (being from an Infalli-

ble). It is this that makes it

the subject of the principle of

the probative authority of a

tradition.

Therefore, in light of the

above discussion, it should be

known that when the five

chains of transmission of

Ziyarat 'Ashura', each of

which varies in its reliability

and concomitant authority,

are collectively considered

along with the circumstantial

evidence that accompanies

them, then this bequeaths

certainty and conviction

regarding its divine origins. As

a result, the faith and devout-


31

ness professed in it has come

about in light of its probative

authority and the recitor will

be awarded according to the

rewards specified in the

tradition.

The analysis of the chains of

Ziyarat 'Ashura', according to

the criteria of the science of

biographies, is a significant

and substantial affair. Howev-

er, to restrict oneself to its

conclusions and to disregard

the large amount of circum-

stantial evidence proving its

authenticity and correctness

would be to make a mistake.

The circumstantial evidence

presented in this study will

perhaps bestow a level of

reliability to the narrators or

to the tradition itself.

The Book of Biographies of

Al-Ghadha’iri and its

Scholarly Significance

The scholar, al-Husayn bin

'Ubaydullah al-Ghadha'iri or

his son Ahmad bin al-Husayn

are attributed to have had a

book of biographies of the

narrators of traditions com-

piled. The collection is entitled

'Kitab al-Du'afa',[6] which, as

its title makes apparent is a

book that purports to contain

information on hadith trans-

mitters deemed weak and

unreliable. However, the

authenticity of this attribution

has not been verified.

This is because this book was

lost for a couple of centuries

between the time of al-

Ghadha'iri (d 411 AH ) and his

son, till its discovery two

centuries later by Seyyid

Jamal al-Din Abu al-Fadha'il

Ahmad bin Tawus al-Husayni

al-Hilli (d 673 AH). In light of

these facts, how is it possible

to rely on this work?

In addition to the above,

circumstantial evidence

related to this book proves

that it does not belong to the

aforementioned individuals.

Seyyid al-Khu'i has elaborated

on this matter in his book

Mu'jam Rijal al-Hadith [7] and

we have done the same in our

book Kuliyyatu fi 'Ilm al-

Rijal.[8] Those who wish to be


32

apprised of the details should

refer to these books.

Furthermore, the early

scholars of Qum have dispar-

aged a huge number of the

narrators but their disparage-

ment was not based on the

report of a veracious person

from a veracious person, but

rather on the basis of their

theological differences with

those narrators. Therefore if

they noticed anything in a

tradition that seemed like an

exaggeration (al-ghuluww) in

doctrinal issues, they would

criticise the tradition as being

exaggerated or fabricated.

Al-Muhaqqiq al-Bihbahani

writes, 'It is clear that many

of the early scholars and

especially the scholars of

Qum, of which al-Ghadha'iri

was one, used to profess

distinctly special beliefs

regarding the Imams on the

basis of their personal re-

search and they would not

tolerate any infringement of

those beliefs. They used to

consider any infringement of

their theological stance to

amount to doctrinal exaggera-

tion to the extent that they

considered the negation of

forgetfulness for the Imams to

be akin to such exaggeration.

It is possible that they even

considered any concept of the

delegation of divine powers,

any sort of elevation, miracles

and extraordinary acts,

negation of defects, and

knowledge of the secrets of

the heavens and the earth

attributed to the Imams as

doctrinal exaggeration and

worthy of censure. This is

especially in light of the fact

that people professing deviant

religious ideas and beliefs had

concealed themselves among

the Shi'ite, mixing with them

and deceiving them.

In short, it is clear that the

early scholars disagreed on

theological issues such that

there would be a matter

considered by some of them

to amount to disbelief or

doctrinal exaggeration while

the same matter would be

considered a requirement of

the faith by others, or it could


33

be that the matter was

neither this nor that. Or

perhaps the source of their

disparagement would be their

feeling that a tradition was a

fabrication by those deceitful

exaggerators or that the claim

of the leading scholars of the

sect that a certain tradition

was a fabrication of those

extremists'.

Al-Muhaqqiq al-Bihbahani

writes, 'It should be known

that (Ahmad bin Muhammad

bin 'Isa and) al-Ghadha'iri

used to accuse a narrator of

lies or fabrications after

having accused him of doctri-

nal exaggeration as if his

transmission indicated

that'.[9]

The Utility of a Weak

Report

Previously, it was pointed out

that the later Shi'ite scholars

classified the traditions into a

fourfold division:

1) Sahih (authentic),

2) Hasan (good),

3) Muwathaq (reliable) and

4) dha'if (weak).

A sahih tradition is one that

has been transmitted from an

infallible by a continuous

chain consisting of veracious

Imamis. A hasan tradition is

one that has been transmitted

from an infallible by a contin-

uous chain consisting of

commendable Imamis but

where there is no explicit or

clear statement of their

veracity.

A muwathaq tradition is one

that has been transmitted

from an infallible by a contin-

uous chain consisting of

veracious individuals, some of

whom may espouse unortho-

dox beliefs and ideas. Given

these definitions, a dha'if

tradition is contrary to all

three categories, though it

may be in accord with reality

and perhaps more so than the

other three categories.

However, due to the criteria

established in the science of

hadith, verification of such a

tradition will not have proba-

tive authority.

Hence, in light of this explana-

tion, if there is a tradition


34

regarding a specific matter

that is judged weak, it is not

possible to abandon it simply

on the basis of its weakness.

This is because every tradition

has an effect and a bearing

on the soul of an individual

with respect to its reliability.

Therefore, if reasons for its

reliability increase then the

degree of its reliability also

increases in the estimation of

a person.

In light of the above, if it is

assumed that the chains of

Ziyarat 'Ashura' are weak

(although such an assumption

is incorrect as will be proven

later), then these five chains,

especially in light of the

individuals who feature in

them who are peerless and

who cared to transmit this

salutation, still inspires

confidence in its truthfulness

when the separate chains are

considered together and in

their totality. One should

therefore not be hasty in

rejecting this salutation on the

basis of the weakness of its

chain.

Principle of Leniency in

Deducing Proofs for

Recommended Acts (al-

tasamuh fi adillati al-

sunan)

The principle of leniency in

deducing proofs for recom-

mended acts is one that is

widely known among scholars.

The significance of this

principle is that a researcher

does not insist on the fulfil-

ment of those stringent

conditions that are necessary

in establishing obligatory acts

and duties, when attempting

to ascertain recommended

acts.

For example, one of these

stringent conditions is that the

narrators in a chain must be

absolutely reliable and trust-

worthy. This condition is

however, not mandatory in

ascertaining recommended

acts. It is sufficient even if a

recommended act is transmit-

ted by means of an inferior

chain in terms of the reliability

and trustworthiness of the

narrators who appear in it.


35

This principle is addressed

and discussed by both Sunni

and Shi'ite scholars. The

Sunni scholars refer to it as

'an act based on a weak

tradition, (which is neverthe-

less encouraged) because of

the merits of virtuous acts'-

al-'amal bi al-khabar al-dha'if

fi fadha'il al-a'mal. The

following scholars have

alluded to this principle in

their respective works:

1) Al-Shahid al-Awwal in his

work, Al-Dhikra.

2) Ibn Fahd al-Hilli (d 8541 AH)

in his work, 'Uddat al-Da'i.

3) Al-Shahid al-Thani (d 966

AH) in his work, Al-Diraya.

4) Baha al-Din al-'Amili (d

1030 AH) in his work, Al-

Arba'ina.

5) Shaykh al-Ansari (d 1282

AH) in a special treatise de-

voted to discussing this

principle.

Shaykh al-Kulayni transmits

the following authentic report

from Ibn Abi 'Umayr who in

turn reports from Hisham bin

Salim who heard from Abu

'Abdullah al-Sadiq (as) that:

“One, who learns of the

merits and virtues of an act

and as a result carries it out,

will be eligible for that reward,

even if later that report

proves to be inauthentic”.[10]

Scholars have elaborated at

length on this and other

traditions similar to it, as well

as discussing whether or not

such reports accord the act a

position of being meritorious

and recommended. However,

further discussion on this

subject is not necessary here.

It should be noted that there

is no aim to encourage the

transmission and propagation

of weak reports by means of

these traditions, rather the

aim is to preserve the teach-

ings and traditions of the

Prophet and the Imams so

that they may not be aban-

doned simply because the

chain is deemed weak.

Therefore, if it is assumed

that the chains of this Ziyarat

are weak, (an incorrect


36

assumption), a Shi'ite Muslim

will still obtain the rewards

mentioned for this Ziyarat if

he recites it with a heart

brimming with grief and

sadness due to the oppression

and injustices to which Imam

al-Husayn (as) was subjected.

Some pertinent points have

been mentioned briefly here.

A reader who gives due

consideration to these points

and those to follow in the

study of the chains of Ziyarat

'Ashura' will come to realize

that the Ziyarat is a reliable

one, which has its origins with

the Imams of the Ahlulbayt

(as). It ensued from a pained

and sorrowful heart, denounc-

ing the politics of tyranny and

oppression perpetrated by the

Banu Umayya against the

Ahlulbayt and that it was and

continues to remain radiant

throughout the centuries.

Notes:

1) Al-Wafi, vol. 1, p. 11-12, in

the second introduction.

2) Wasa'il al-Shi'a, vol. 18, ch.

11, hadith number 33.

3) Ibid, hadith number 4.

4) A similar report is ascribed

to Zurara bin A'yan and is

identified as marfu'. A marfu'

report is defined as one

whose chain has some narra-

tors omitted. A marfu' tradi-

tion can also be termed as

mursal. A mursal tradition is

defined as one which has

either all or some of the in-

termediary narrators omit-

ted.



6) This title would be translated

as: 'the book of weak narra-

tors'.

7) Mu'jam Rijal al-Hadith, pages

113-114 of the introduction,

in the Najaf edition and pag-

es 101-103 of the Lebanon

edition.

8) Kuliyyatu fi 'Ilm al-Rijal, page

81-106.

9) Al-Fawa'id al-Rijaliyya of

Wahid al-Bihbahani, pages

38-39, printed at the end of

the work Rijal al-Khaqani.



��


37

It is a firmly established fact

that just as it is impossible to

comprehend and grasp the

greatness, excellence, position

and status of Ahle Bait (a.s.),

it is impossible for us to

comprehend the connotations,

implications and significance

of their words and statements

in their entirety. Of course,

we can have some basic

understanding of their words,

which makes us realize their

high stature and distinction.

Ziyarat-e-Ashura too falls in a

similar category. Its great-

ness, benefits and rewards

cannot be entirely compre-

hended or enumerated. Hence

whatever is being written in

this article concerning Ziyarat-

e-Ashura is like taking a few

drops from a vast ocean. As

the old Arabic cliché goes, 'If

the entire ocean cannot be

encircled and seized, then at

least take from it to the

extent of your thirst.'

Importance of Ziyarat-e-

Ashura

The great and pious jurist,

Marhum Shaikh Jawad b.

Shaikh Mashkoor, was a

leading jurist of Najaf who

died at the age of 90 years in

1337 A.H. He is buried next to

his father in a room in the

blessed courtyard of the grave

of Amirul Momineen (a.s.).

This great scholar dreamt in

the night of 26 Safar 1336

A.H in which he saw Hazrat

Izraeel - the angel of death

(a.s.). He greeted the angel of

death and asked him from

where he was coming. The

angel of death replied 'I am

coming from Shiraz after

having seized the soul of

Mirza Ibrahim Mahallati.'

Shaikh asked him 'In what

condition is his soul in Bar-

zakh?' The angel of death

replied 'He is residing in the

most beautiful garden and is

in the best of the conditions.

Miracles of Ziyarat-e-Ashura

Edited excerpts from the book, “Amazing Stories of Ziyarat-e-Ashura

By: Haider Qambari


38

Allah has appointed 1,000

angels at his beck and call.'

Shaikh asked him 'For which

action has he received such a

great reward - for his high

level of knowledge? Or for the

large number of students he

had trained?' The angel of

death replied, 'For none of

these reasons'. Shaikh asked,

'Then for leading the congre-

gational prayers and explain-

ing the religious laws to the

people?' The angel of death

replied in the negative. So

Shaikh asked, 'Then on what

basis did he receive such a

great position?' The angel of

death said 'For reciting

Ziyarat-e-Ashura.' Mirza

Mahallati recited Ziyarat-e-

Ashura regularly in the last 30

years of his life. And if due to

an illness or any other reason,

he was unable to recite the

Ziyarat, then he would

appoint a representative to

recite the Ziyarat on his

behalf.'

The next morning, Shaikh

Jawad went to Ayatollah Mirza

Mohammed Taqi Shirazi and

narrated his dream. On

hearing this, Ayatollah Mirza

Mohammed Taqi began

weeping. When people asked

him the reason of his grief, he

replied 'Mirza Ibrahim Ma-

hallati was a pillar of jurispru-

dence and he has departed

from the world.' People said

'But this news was only a

dream, while we don't know

the fact as yet.' Ayatollah

Mirza Taqi replied, 'This was

not the dream of an ordinary

individual, it was the dream of

Shaikh Jawad.' The very next

day there was letter informing

the residents of Najaf about

Mirza Ibrahim Mahallati’s

demise. In this way, the

veracity of Shaikh Jawad's

dream proved to be true.

Subsequently many scholars

learnt of this incident from the

late Ayatollah Syed Abdul Hadi

Shirazi who in turn had

personally heard about it from

Shaikh Jawad.

Respite from Plague

Ayatollah Shaikh Abdul

Kareem Yazdi Hayeri (r.a.)

narrates, 'I was residing in


39

Samarrah to pursue religious

studies. Once, the city was

struck by a deadly plague.

Scores of people were dying

every day. During those days,

a group of religious scholars

had gathered at the house of

our teacher late Syed Mo-

hammed Fesharki (r.a.). At

that time, Mirza Mohammed

Taqi (r.a.) too came in that

meeting. The talk turned

towards the topic of plague

and the devastation it was

causing in terms of loss of

lives. Marhum Mirza Taqi

(r.a.) said, "If I command you

to perform an action will all of

you obey me?" Everyone

replied "Yes, of course, we

will obey whatever you say."

Marhum Mirza (r.a.) then

ordered "Tell every Shia of

Samarrah to recite Ziyarat-e-

Ashura for the next ten days

and to gift the reward of the

Ziyarat to the soul of the

mother of Imam-e-Zamana

(a.t.f.), Janabe Nargis Kha-

toon (s.a) so that the people

remain safe from this dis-

ease." All those who were

present in that gathering

passed this information to the

Shias of Samarrah, who all

began reciting Ziyarat-e-

Ashura. From the very next

day, there was no news of

any Shia death. Only the news

of the death of the Ahle

Sunnat was being reported.

Gradually the Ahle Sunnat

realized this and asked some

of their Shia friends as to the

reason that why none from

the Shias were dying of

plague. The Shias said that

they were reciting Ziyarat-e-

Ashura. On hearing this, the

Ahle Sunnat too began

reciting the Ziyarat. Conse-

quently, they too were

secured from the perilous

effects of the plague.'

Emphasis of Imam-e-

Zamana (ATF) on Reciting

Ziyarat-e-Ashura

Sayed Ahmed Rashti (a

businessman living in the city

of Rasht in Iran) says, "I

decided to perform Hajj in the

year 1280 A.H. With this

intention I traveled from

Rasht to Tabriz. There I was


40

very worried and anxious

because at that time there

was no caravan, which was to

depart to Makkah for Hajj. I

did not know what to do. I

became ready to depart from

Tabriz with Haji Jabbar

Isfahani. We agreed on the

fare for journey and departed

from Tabriz. Three other men

joined us in this journey as

well. We departed together.

During the journey, Haji

Jabbar came close to me and

said, “The road that we are

about to cross is a dangerous

one. It is better if we cross it

quickly so that we can join the

caravan that is ahead.” So we

all began traveling faster with

the intention of catching up

with the caravan ahead of us.

We had hardly walked some

distance that it began snow-

ing heavily. It was dark and

visibility was poor. My com-

panions covered their heads

and continued to move

quickly. I tried my best to

keep up with them, but in this

weather it was difficult for me

and soon they had gone

ahead and I was left alone.

I got down from my horse

and sat down on one side of

the road. I was in a state of

helplessness and dejection. I

was carrying only about 600

Tumans, which I had kept

with me for the journey.

Finally I decided to spend the

night there and continue my

journey in the morning.

As we had not traveled very

far from the city, there was a

possibility for me to turn back

and select a few strong men

as my companions and renew

my effort to catch up with the

caravan. I was deliberating

over this option when sudden-

ly I saw a garden on the

opposite side of the road and

its gardener. It seemed that

there was a shovel in his hand

with which he was clearing

the snow form the branches

of the trees in the garden.

This person came closer to

me and stood at a distance

and asked me in Persian,

“Who are you?” I told him


41

that my companions had gone

ahead and that I was new in

this area and did not know

the way. He said to me, “Pray

the Nafilah (recommended)

prayers so that you may find

the road.” I readied myself for

prayers and recited the night

prayers (Namaz e Shab).

After I completed my prayers,

he came to me again and

said, “You are still here? Why

haven’t you left yet?” I said,

“By Allah, I promise that I do

not know the way.” He said,

“Recite Ziyarat-e-Jamia”.

I did not know Ziyarat-e-

Jamia by heart and even at

that time I knew that I would

not be able to complete it. Yet

I began reciting it and soon I

found that I had recited it

completely without any

mistake.

As I completed the Ziyarat,

the gardener came to me

again and said, “You are still

here? Why are you sitting

here?” I began crying uncon-

trollably and said, “Yes, I am

still here. I do not know the

way or else I would have left.”

He said, “Recite Ziyarat

Ashura”. I got up and began

reciting it. I did not know

Ziyarat Ashura by heart and

even at that time I knew that

I would not be able to com-

plete it. Yet I began reciting it

and soon I found that I had

recited it completely with the

100 salaams and 100 curses

without any mistake. I even

recited dua Alqamah which is

to be recited after Ziyarat

Ashura.

After I completed the recita-

tion, he came to me again

and said, “You are still here?

Why haven’t you left yet?” I

said, “I will be here at least till

morning.” He said, “Wait, I

will escort you to your desti-

nation.” He mounted a horse,

hauled the shovel on his

shoulder and asked me to

climb behind on the horse’s

back. I complied with his

request. At this time, I tugged

at the reins of the horse, but

it did not move from its place.

The gardener said, “Give me

the reins of the horse.” I gave


42

them to him. He shifted the

shovel to his left shoulder and

began walking. Surprisingly,

the horse began to move

along with him.

While walking, he placed his

hand on my thigh and said,

“Why don’t you pray Nafilah

(Namaz e Shab). Then he

repeated thrice, “Nafilah,

Nafilah, Nafilah!” Then he

said, “Why don’t you recite

Ziyarat-e-Ashura?” Then he

repeated thrice for emphasis,

“Ashura, Ashura, Ashura!”

Then he said, “Why don’t you

recite Ziyarat-e-Jamia?” Then

he repeated thrice for empha-

sis, “Jamia, Jamia, Jamia!”

Thus in this way, he reminded

me about these three actions.

Suddenly he turned to me and

said, “Look there are your

friends”. I saw my compan-

ions in the distance. They had

stopped at the river and were

performing Wuzu for their

morning Namaz. I got down

from the horse and moved

towards my horse so that I

may reach them. I had hardly

reached my horse that I saw

the gardener. He had got

down from his horse and was

waiting to help me mount my

horse.

At this point a few thought

began racing through my

mind. Who was this person?

Firstly, he had been speaking

to me in Persian in an area

where this language was not

spoken. The people in the

area were Turkish and fol-

lowed the Christian religion,

and apart from them there

was no other person in this

area. Secondly, he had asked

me to recite Nafilah, Ziyarat-

e-Jamia and Ziyarat-e-

Ashura. Thirdly, despite the

fact that I had waited for so

long at that place, he was

able to reach me to my

companions in a very short

time!

Finally I reached the conclu-

sion that this gardener was

none other than Imam-e-

Zamana (ATF). However when

I turned behind to address

him, I could not see anyone.

In fact there was no sign at all


43

of any person having been

there.

Ziyarat-e-Ashura – Re-

pealing of Chastisement

Marhum Mohaddis Noori (r.a.)

narrates an incident from Haaj

Mulla Hasan, who was a pious

and virtuous individual and

was the caretaker of the

shrine of Amirul Momineen

(a.s.). He was very religious

and was always preoccupied

in worship and Ziyarat. Mulla

Hasan, in turn narrates about

Haaj Mohammed Ali Yazdi

who too was a very respecta-

ble, devout and virtuous

person. He too would always

spend his time in acts of

worship and in matters

related to the Hereafter. Haaj

Mohammed Ali used to spend

his nights in worship in a

particular place in Yazd known

as "Mazaar" where many

prominent and pious scholars

are buried. He had a neighbor

who was his good friend. Both

of them had grown up and

studied together. His friend

started doing the work of tax

collection. Few years later this

friend died and was buried in

this very 'Mazaar' where Haaj

Mohammed Ali used to spend

his nights in worship. One

month after his friend's

demise, Haaj Mohammed Ali

saw him in a dream. His

friend was looking very

handsome and smart. Haaj

Mohammed Ali asked him, 'I

very well know the kind of

business in which you were

involved. There was nothing

in that business that would

merit this great reward that

you have received. In fact

nothing except punishment

could be expected from the

kind of work you used to do.

Then how did you receive this

great position and reward?'

The friend replied 'You are

absolutely right. In fact, from

the time I died, till yesterday I

was involved in a painful

chastisement. But yesterday,

the wife of Ustad Ashraf

Haddad (blacksmith) died and

was buried a few meters away

from here. Last night Imam

Husain (a.s.) came to visit her

thrice. On the third visit, he


44

(a.s.) ordered that the pun-

ishment from the entire

graveyard be removed.

Hence, now you see me living

a life of easy and comfort.'

Haaj Mohammed Ali got up

from his sleep. He did not

know who Ashraf Haddad was

nor did he know where he

lived. He went to the iron

market, inquired about him

and reached his house. Haaj

Mohammed Ali asked him, 'Did

you have a wife?' He replied

'Yes. She died last night and I

buried her at so and so place'.

Haaj Mohammed Ali asked

him, 'Had she gone for the

Ziyarat of Imam Husain (a.s.)?'

The man replied 'No. But why

are you asking me all this?'

Haaj Mohammed Ali narrated

to him the dream that he had

seen. After hearing the entire

incident, the blacksmith said

'My wife was very particular

and regular in reciting Ziyarat-

e-Ashura'

Ayatollah Behjat Says:

“The existence of Ziyarat-e-

Ashura in itself is a proof of its

miraculous nature. And when

one considers the fact that

Imam Jafar Sadiq (a.s.) has

narrated this Ziyarat to

Safwan, then its significance

increases manifold. Imam

Sadiq (a.s.) told Safwan, I

guarantee a few things to the

one who recites this Ziyarat:

(i) his Ziarat will be accepted,

(ii) his action will be consid-

ered virtuous, (iii) his salam

will reach the Imam demands

will be, Allah will not turn him

back dejected and disheart-

ened.”

“And O’ Safwan! I have heard

this guarantee from my father

and him from his father. And

this chain goes until Amir-ul-

Momineen (a.s.). The latter

heard it from the Messenger of

Allah (S), who narrated it from

Jibraeel, and the latter from

Allah Himself. Allah swears by

His Holy & Pure Self that one

who recites the Ziarat with the

Dua (Alqamah), from near or

far, his Ziyarat will be accept-

ed, and his demands will be

fulfilled.”

��


45

The concept of guardianship

was embodied by Imam

Hussein (a.s.) with all its

dimensions and with all the

necessary and possible

means. This is not to say that

others did not do such a thing

or did not want to do such a

thing, rather it means that

this movement was fully

realized in the behavior of the

Lord of the Martyrs (a.s.)

during his ten-year imamate.

One can clearly notice in his

lifestyle all the methods that

could have been used by a

descendant of the Holy

Prophet (s.w.a.) to preserve

the great legacy of Islam

which has been passed down

by the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.)

and his father as well as their

genuine followers. We can

clearly see everything in the

lifestyle of the Lord of the

Martyrs (a.s.) - everything

ranging from clarification, to

forewarning, to promotion of

Islam, to provoking the

conscience of prominent

figures of his time during a

sermon in Mina. All these

things are tangible in the

lifestyle of the Lord of the

Martyrs (a.s.). Later on he

stood up against a great

deviation and laid down his

life. Imam Hussein (a.s.) was

aware of the consequences of

his movement. He was an

infallible Imam. Infallible

Imams' extensive knowledge

and insight are beyond our

heads. Imam Hussein (a.s.)

revolted to set a role model

and he refused to surrender.

He asked people to help him

and when a group of people

from Kufa expressed their

willingness to accompany him

on this path, Imam Hussein

(a.s.) accepted their offer and

moved towards Kufa and he

did not give up in the middle

of the way. Imam Hussein

(a.s.) stood up against the

deviated current of his time,

which was extremely danger-

The Great Legacy of Islam Preserved by

the Lord of the Martyrs (A.S.)

By: The Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei


46

ous. And this became a lesson

and Imam Hussein (a.s.)

himself makes the same point.

That is to say, he backed up

his action with the order of

Islam. He said that his duty

was what he was doing. He

said that he had to express

his opposition, no matter what

the consequences were. He

said, "It is good if my destiny

is a victory and if my destiny

is martyrdom, so much the

better." This was how Imam

Hussein (a.s.) acted.

This was a perfect instance of

self-sacrifice and it safeguard-

ed Islam. This move pre-

served Islam. This move

institutionalized values in

society. If Imam Hussein

(a.s.) had not accepted this

danger, if he had not made a

move, if he had not taken

action, if his blood had not

been shed, if those great

tragedies had not happened

to the shrine of the Holy

Prophet (s.w.a.), to Imam

Ali's (a.s.) daughter and to

the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.)

descendents, this event would

not have gone down in

history. The event that could

have prevented that great

deviation had to shock people

and history as much as the

deviation did. This shows

Imam Hussein's (a.s.) self-

sacrifice.

Of course this is easier said

than done. What Imam

Hussein (a.s.) did was an

extraordinary feat. That is to

say, the dimensions of his

action are far more than what

we estimate. We usually

ignore aspects and details.

Once I spoke about Imam

Hussein's (a.s.) patience. His

patience was not limited to

enduring thirst or seeing his

companions being killed.

These things are relatively

easy to tolerate. The kind of

patience that is difficult to

practice is to listen to influen-

tial, aware and respectable

people who keep creating

doubts and telling you that

what you are doing is danger-

ous and wrong. Who did those

things? People like Abdullah

Ja'far, Abdullah Zubair and


47

Abdullah Abbas. These promi-

nent figures of that time were

constantly telling Imam

Hussein (a.s.) not to do what

he was doing. If it were

somebody else, somebody

who did not have that deter-

mination and stable character,

he would have thought, "Well,

I did my duty. These people

are talking like this and the

world is acting like that, so I

should just say what I am

supposed to say and do

nothing else." A person who

decides to stand up against

such statements, such tempta-

tions, such doubts and such

efforts to bend sharia and is

not dissuaded from continuing

his path - such a person is the

one who can give rise to such

a great transformation. In this

regard our magnanimous

Imam (r.a.) was similar to the

Lord of the Martyrs. I ex-

plained this in another meeting

and I do not want to go into

the details now. This was how

Imam Hussein (a.s.) acted as

a guardian.

��

I would like to discuss a point

regarding the efforts to

promote Islam in the month

of Muharram (& Safar). Some

people may question the

value of the ceremonies for

mourning Imam Hussein's

(a.s.) martyrdom. They may

say, "If you want to speak

about Imam Hussein's (a.s.)

movement, just go ahead and

speak about his movement.

Why all the crying?" This is a

wrong assumption. It will be

extremely hard to move

ahead on this path in the

absence of this emotional

connection to the infallible

Imams. These ceremonies are

necessary, and they will

always be necessary. Of

course some forms of mourn-

ing are unacceptable. But the

common mourning rituals can

increasingly strengthen one's

emotional connection to the

infallible Imams. These rituals

are very good.

(Statement of the Supreme Leader made during a meeting with the seminarians and clergy December 13, 2009)

��


48

Question: Which group is

more despised and con-

demned in the eyes of Allah

(SWT)? Those among the

people of Bani Israel who

worshipped the calf in the

absence of Prophet Musa

(AS), or those who killed

Imam Husain (AS) – the

grandson of the Holy Prophet

(SA)?

If we pose this question to the

general Muslim population, we

will find those who support

each side adamantly. One may

rush to confidently answer this

question, but let us use the

Holy Quran, the facts in

history, and logical reasoning

to reach a satisfying answer

which no one else can refute.

To do so, one must first define

the wrong that was committed

in each case, its level of

intensity, its negative effect

and influence on others, and

its long term effects in this life

and the Hereafter.

If we pose this question to the

majority of the Muslim nation

who follow the School of

Companions, they will answer

without hesitation that those

who worshipped the calf are

much worse because they

have committed Shirk (poly-

theism). Shirk is associating a

partner with Allah or giving a

share (of that which belongs

to Allah alone) to others. The

proponents of this position

will argue that the greatest

sin by Allah (SWT) as He

states in the Qur’an is Shirk,

“Most surely polytheism is

a tremendous wrong-

doing.” [31:14].

The Almighty also says that

He will forgive all other sins if

he wishes, except Shirk.

Surely, worshipping a calf

especially after being guided

to the truth is a devastating

sin which demonstrates the

weak level of faith which the

The Despicable Status of the Killers of

Imam Husain (A.S.)

By: Jerrmein Abu Shahba


49

people of Bani Israel have and

their lack of certainty in the

Oneness of God! There is

nothing more unforgiving than

a person committing a sin

intentionally while bear

knowledge of the falsehood

being committed and the

extent of transgression in the

eyes of God.

On the other hand, those who

realize the great status of the

holy personality of Husain ibn

Ali (AS) assert that definitely,

the killing of Husain is the

worst sin which has no like or

similarity and will not be

forgiven by Allah (SWT). But

what supports this argument?

Let us consider the following:

If we analyze the history of

both incidents, we will find

that the Quran clearly states

that Allah (SWT) eventually

pardoned the people who

worshipped the calf,

“Yet they worshipped the

calf even after clear signs

had come to them; even so

we forgave them.” [4:153]

In fact, they were punished by

Allah (SWT) on the spot as a

way of atonement for their sin

as described in Surat Al

Baqarah,

“And when Musa said to his

people: O my people! You

have surely been unjust to

yourselves by taking the

calf (for a god), therefore

turn to your Creator (peni-

tently), so kill your people,

that is best for you with

your Creator: so He turned

to you (mercifully), for

surely He is the Oft-

returning (to mercy), the

Merciful.” [2:51]

In their case, the divinely-

appointed guide of their time

who is Prophet Musa, was the

person who conveyed the

order of punishment as well as

the glad tidings of forgiveness

after acting as the intercessor

for them. But in the case of

the killers of Imam Husain, it

is narrated by Umm Salamah

that when the Prophet (SA)

foretold her about the events

of Karbala, he asserted that

the enemies and killers of his


50

grandson Husain will not

attain his intercession.

The Quran acknowledges the

great extent of transgression

committed by the people of

Bani Israel since they deviated

even after they witnessed the

clear signs. By their actions,

they have attained the wrath

of their Lord as well as

indignity in the life of this

world only as mentioned in

verse 7:152. However, Allah’s

infinite Mercy encompassed

them and they were given the

opportunity to be punished in

this life to atone for their sins

which was altogether good for

them. Even though Allah

(SWT) states elsewhere in

verse 4:49 that He forgives

anything except Shirk, this

example of divine mercy

demonstrated in the case of

Bani Israel comes to show the

unlimited level of compassion

and forgiveness that the

Almighty Creator enjoys. Glory

and praise be to Him!

On the other hand, there is

absolutely nothing in history

which indicates that any of

the killers of Imam Husain

(AS) or those who participated

remotely were forgiven by

Allah (SWT). On the contrary,

we find multiple narrations

where the Holy Prophet (SA)

was envisioned in dreams

where he was observed to be

in a disheveled state filled

with grief over the killing of

his son Husain and disap-

pointment over His nation

who dared to commit that evil

act of transgression. We do

not hear any indication that

the Imam of that time, Ali ibn

Al Husain Al Sajjad (AS)

conveyed any glad tidings of

forgiveness or an opportunity

for atonement to any of the

perpetrators of the Karbala

tragedy. Instead, we hear the

story of one of the men who

were assigned to guard the

severed head of Imam Husain

who was seen circumambulat-

ing the Holy Kaaba while

weeping in regret and

acknowledged his certainty

that Allah (SWT) will never

forgive him for what he

committed. When asked why


51

he was so certain, he an-

swered that after he and his

companions fell asleep while

guarding the holy head, he

saw the Holy Prophet (SA) in

his dream in deep grief over

the killing of Husain. The man

asked the Prophet to seek

forgiveness for his great sin,

but the Prophet (SA) an-

swered him, “Allah will not

forgive you!”

Furthermore, we observe the

deep grief and sorrow which

Imam Al Sajjad underwent as

he spent the rest of his life

mourning the tragedy of his

father. We find that his

grandson, Imam Jafar Al

Sadiq (AS) teaches us Ziyarat

Ashura which is an authentic

narration relayed to us by an

infallible personality. Without

a doubt, the words of this

Ziyarah is not based on

personal vendetta or desire,

rather it is the divine verdict

announced in the form of a

supplication and stamped in

history for all Muslims to

absorb. In the last portion of

this Ziyarat, we call out,

“O my Allah condemn and

damn the first tyrant who

unjustly and wrongfully

usurped that which rightly

belonged to Muhammad

and the children of Mu-

hammad, and bring curse

upon those who, after him,

followed in his footsteps.

O my Allah condemn and

damn those conspirators

who vexed and harassed

Husain, showed eagerness,

agreed mutually, and

joined hands to kill him.

O my Allah bring curse

upon all of them.”

From these divinely inspired

words, it is crystal clear that in

addition to praying that Allah’s

mercy be taken away from

those who participated in the

killing of Husain, we are also

praying that all those who

tread the path of these killers

and all those who showed lack

of enthusiasm or hesitated to

support Imam Husain (AS) be

included in this condemnation.

How grave is that sin of killing

of Imam Husain such that


52

Allah (SWT) condemns all

those who are associated with

that event by far and in the

future?! So despicable it is

such that even the great sin of

committing Shirk by worship-

ping the calf is not anywhere

near its extent of horrendous-

ness, and so there is no

supplication propagated to us

which prays against the

worshippers of the calf.

In addition, if we compare the

two acts of transgression –

worshipping the calf and

killing Imam Husain – we will

realize that worshipping the

calf constituted an act of

oppression to one’s own self,

as Prophet Musa addressed

his people,

“O my people! You have

surely been unjust to your-

selves...”

By worshipping other than

God, they have hurt none but

themselves because creation

is in need of God, and not vice

versa.

But the slaughter of Imam

Husain (AS) is tantamount to

oppression of another be-

ing(s), in addition to being

unjust to oneself. The injustice

committed in this case is

directed to the holy grandson

of the Seal of Prophets whom

he said about his grandson,

“Husain is from me and I

am from Husain.”

Hence, any offense directed to

Husain is equal to an offense

committed to Prophet Mu-

hammad! After all, Imam

Husain (AS) represents the

beautiful manifestation of

truth, justice, and divine

perfection; by killing him, all

these manifestations are also

challenged and destroyed.

This direct offense to Allah

(SWT) by attacking His

divinely appointed representa-

tive is worse than those who

killed the camel of Prophet

Saleh, which was also a divine

symbol and the consequences

were destruction to the people

of Thamood within three days

only, without being given a

chance for atonement or

repentance!


53

Moreover, the killing of Husain

meant the obstruction of

divine light and radiance to

the people of this world.

Hence, it is oppression com-

mitted not only against the

victim himself, but also to

every person who is deprived

of that torch of guidance. If

we analyze the Quranic

verses, we will find that

indeed Allah (SWT) promised

a great punishment for those

who dare to kill His divine

guides, whether they are

prophets or Imams. He states

in Surat Aal Imran, V 21-22:

“As to those who deny the

Signs of Allah and in defi-

ance of right, slay the

prophets, and slay those

who enjoin justice among

people, announce to them

a painful chastisement.

They are those whose

works will bear no fruit in

this world and in the Here-

after nor will they have

anyone to help.”

It is important to note that

even though Bani Israel

committed Shirk by worship-

ping other than Allah (SWT),

the killers of Imam Husain

(AS) committed a greater type

of Shirk by rejecting the Imam

of their time and more so,

slaughtering him in the most

brutal and merciless manner!

So great and intense is the

injustice committed in the

Karbala tragedy that this is the

only case of transgression

which Imam Al Mahdi (AS)

vowed that he will take

vengeance from the killers of

Husain, even after the pas-

sage of time, and he will

continue to shed tears of

blood in mourning of his

grandfather. Certainly, there is

no narration that expresses

with great passion the amount

of grief over any event as was

expresses by Imam As-Sadiq

when he stated,

“Surely, there is a burning

heat in the hearts of the

believers with respect to

the killing of Husain (AS)

that will never ever cool

down!”

��


54

Every existence is coupled

with signs. These signs are a

reflection of its essence. Often

times, we follow the signs to

reach the existence; other

times we start with the

existence and seek the signs.

The faith of a Muslim is no

different and is accompanied

by specific signs.

The Qur’an and the narrations

of the Infallibles (a.s.) point

out a variety of signs that we

Muslims should not only learn,

but also incorporate into our

everyday lives. This article will

focus on the following narra-

tion that lists five signs of the

believer: Imam Hasan al-

Askari (a.s.) says, “The signs

of the believer are five:

praying 51 Rak’at [including

mandatory and optional

prayers], Ziyarat al-Arba’een,

wearing a ring in the right

hand, prostration on dirt, and

saying ‘Bismillah hir Rahman

nir Raheem‘ in a raised voice.”

(Wasa’il ush-Shi’a).

At first glance, one can easily

infer that some of the reasons

behind these acts being

considered signs of a believer

include that in some cases

they are considered from the

Mustahabbaat, and in others

cases pay tribute to a repre-

sentative of Allah.

However, we shall examine

these signs from a different

perspective and hopefully

reach a common intersecting

point.

Praying 51 Rak’at

The person who is in love with

Allah and wants to reach Allah

will seek the path to Him, and

prayer is that path. Prayers

include speaking to Allah.

Prayers include supplications.

Prayers include deepening our

beliefs. When prayer is all that

and more, the believers will

surely want to fulfill their

obligatory duties – but they

will not stop there as they will

want to take advantage of

The Five Signs of a Believer

Source: www.islamicinsights.com


55

every opportunity to com-

municate with Allah, and the

optional prayer is exactly that:

opportunity.

It is the optional prayer that

should be the main focus of

our examination, as it is

already obvious that praying

the five mandatory prayers is

part of the circle of Islam. For

the sake of completeness, the

34 optional Rak’ats are: 2

Rak’ats before Fajr, 8 Rak’ats

before Zuhr, 8 Rak’ats before

Asr, 4 Rak’ats after Maghrib,

and 2 Rak’ats from a seated

position (thus considered as

one) after Isha, and 11

Rak’ats (8 Nafila, 2 Shafa’, 1

Witr) for Salat al-Layl. Along

with the 17 Rak’ats of the five

mandatory prayers, the total

becomes 51 – the count

referred to by Imam Hasan al-

Askari (a.s.).

The optional prayers have

been emphasized by our Ahlul

Bayt (a.s.) on numerous

occasions, and for the sake of

example, consider that Imam

Hussain (a.s.) asked Lady

Zainab (s.a.) to remember

him in her night prayers. His

emphasis on the night prayers

is worth analyzing.

This alone shows the im-

portance of these optional

prayers and a true believer

will not let this opportunity

slip by. But optional prayers

go further than that. Imam Ali

(a.s.) was struck by Ibn

Muljim (l.a.) on the 19th of

Ramadan while the Imam was

praying the Nafila of Fajr.

When one considers that our

beloved Imam was martyred

while he was praying the

optional prayers, those who

love Imam Ali would find it

only logical to be like him and

follow his ways. It is truly a

sign of faith when the person

wants to love Allah the way

the Imam does, and the

optional prayers help reinforce

his/her love for the Imam and

ultimately for Allah.

Ziyarat al-Arba’een

According to history, the 20th

of Safar is the day Jabir ibn

Abdullah al-Ansari (may Allah

be pleased with him) visited


56

Imam Hussain – the first

Ziyarat (Misbah al-

Mutahajjid). It is also the day

that the caravan of the Ahlul

Bayt returned to Karbala from

Damascus. The person who

follows the path of Imam

Hussain will want to be part of

that caravan. The 20th of

Safar was emphasized by the

Ahlul Bayt due to the tragedy

of “returning to Karbala” after

the massacre. Visiting Imam

Hussain on Arba’een follows in

the footsteps of Lady Zainab

and Imam Sajjad (a.s.). It is a

commemoration of the

tragedy. Who else will want to

bother with the Ziyarat other

than those who understand

the status of Imam Hussain

and the meanings of his

revolution – who else other

than those who love Imam

Hussain, the Prophet, and the

Ahlul Bayt? And those who

love the Prophet and his holy

household are those who love

Allah. And whoever loves

them follows them. That is

the path of every true believer

and Imam Hasan al-Askari

emphasizes that. It is im-

portant to realize that the

term “visiting” is not limited to

being physically there (alt-

hough it is the best realization

of visitation); rather, narra-

tions from the Ahlul Bayt

allow the believers to do

Ziyarat from a distance. Also,

one should not limit the

Ziyarat to only one day of the

year. In fact, Ziyarat al-

Arba’een is to be recited on

the 20th of Safar and on other

days of the year, independent

of whether the believer is

physically at Karbala or not.

When done regularly, the

connection with Imam

Hussain and the Ahlul Bayt

deepens as the sign of belief

shines.

Ring on Right Hand

Symbols are common in

today’s world and can be seen

in many different political,

academic, cultural, profes-

sional and other kinds of

organizations. During the

Battle of Siffin, Amr ibn al-Aas

set a trend by putting his ring

on his left hand and falsely


57

claimed that Imam Ali not be

the Imam and the Caliph. The

followers of the Umayyid

dynasty made it a symbol of

remembering that incident by

wearing rings on their left

hands. Thus, wearing the ring

in the right hand goes beyond

blessings and rewards. It has

become a symbol of following

Imam Ali. It is a revolution

against those who hate our

Imam. And clearly, those who

hate and do not follow the

Imam have gone astray. On

numerous occasions, the

Prophet said, “Oh Ali! Only

believers will love you and

only hypocrites will hate you.”

(Sahih al-Tirmidhi).

Prostration on Dirt

The true believer understands

that they are nothing without

Allah and their pride and ego

is to be put aside when

connecting with Allah. When

the person puts their head on

dirt, they are in a position of

humility before Allah. Prostra-

tion on dirt goes even further

as it represents the beginning

and end of this life. We began

from clay and we will end up

buried in dirt. True believers

always remember their

genesis and their destination.

The prostration on dirt is a

reminder of that. But the

significance of prostration

goes even further: when this

dirt comes from the holy city

of Karbala, then the prostra-

tion on dirt takes the believer

to a much higher level. It

becomes a form of remember-

ing the tragedy of Karbala. It

serves as a reminder of how

Imam Hussain (a.s.) was left

on the blazing desert sands of

Karbala for three days. It

reminds us of how Shimr (l.a.)

slaughtered Imam Hussain

from the back of his neck

while his was on the ground.

Indeed, prostration on dirt is

a connection between us and

Imam Hussain, the Ahlul Bayt

and ultimately Allah.

The Basmala

Finally, the topic of saying

“Bismillah hir Rahman nir

Raheem” (the Basmala) has

been addressed in more detail

in the article “In the Name of


58

Allah“. It is enough to quote

the following narration by

Imam Ali that ties the Basma-

la to him: “Know that all the

secrets in the divine books are

in the Qur’an. All that is in the

Qur’an is in al-Fatiha. All that

is in al-Fatiha is in the Basma-

la. All that is in the Basmala is

in the ‘Baa’ [of ‘Bism’]. All that

is in the ‘Baa’ is in the dot

under the ‘Baa’. And I am the

dot under the ‘Baa’.” (Yana-

bee al-Mawadda)

The Intersection Point

The completion of the religion

of Islam was the Wilaya of

Imam Ali (a.s.) and his

successors. From the above

discussion, it is clear that

these signs listed by Imam

Hasan al-Askari, in one way or

another, lead us back to our

infallible Imams. These signs

are a source of blessings and

they are signs of followers of

Prophet Mohammad and his

holy family.

In order to be included among

those followers, we should

start incorporating these signs

into our lives. Wear a ring in

the right hand – it is such a

simple task to make a habit

of. Start to pray the optional

prayers – the Ghufayla prayer

and Salat al-Layl is a great

place to begin. Prostrate on a

Turba from Karbala, as it is

widely practiced by the

followers of the Ahlul Bayt,

and so is the loud recitation of

the Basmala.

On the day of Arba’een, the

number of visitors to Karbala

has exceeded 10 million

people and Insh’Allah will

continue to increase. We

should be putting in the effort

not to miss out on these great

blessings. Along the way, we

should always remember our

Imams, especially Imam Ali

(a.s.) and Imam Hussain

(a.s.), both of whom these

five signs seem to remind us

of the most. Let us hold tight

onto these signs and let us do

our best to be among the true

believers, in this world and

the Hereafter.

��


59

Kids Corner

Shahadat Bibi Sakina Bint Al-Hussain (AS)

Syeda Sakina Bint al-Husayn

(AS) was the daughter of

Imam Hussain ibn Ali (AS).

She was the most beloved

daughter of Imam Hussain

(AS). Being the daughter of

the third Imam, she was

different from other

children of her age in many

ways. She was very religious

and enjoyed reading the

Holy Quran and never

missed her prayers. From a

very early age, she took

great care to make sure

that her head and body were

properly covered when in

public. Imam Hussain (AS)

was often heard saying, "A

house without Sakina (SA)

would not be worth living in".

Throughout the event of

Karbala, Sakina's personality

shines like a star. On the

10th of Muharram, the kids

spoke nothing but Al-Atash

Al-Atash. Then came the

time when the earth shook

and Bibi Sakina (SA) became

an orphan! She was crying

for her father. Instead of

comforting words, Shimr

(L.A), the most evil of

Yazid's men, slapped Sa-

kina's face and pulled off

earrings from her ears.

Little Sakina's ears were

bleeding. All Sakina wanted

was her dear father. She

ran to the battlefield

screaming: "Father, where

are you? Father, father,

speak to me father."

When she was running

aimlessly in the desert she

heard her father's voice

telling her where he was.

She followed the voice and

found her father lying in the

desert.

The hardships for Sakina

never ceased even after


60

Karbala. From Karbala to

Kufa and from Kufa to Syria,

she went through continuous

torture and misery.

When Yazid heard the news

of the caravan reaching the

outskirts of Damascus, he

ordered them to stop, while

he and the people of Damas-

cus prepared for celebra-

tions and jubilations. This

caravan of holy prisoners

was made to wait outside

Damascus for four days.

They were treated like

animals, with their hands

tied; and no food or water

was given.

While the Ahlulbait were in

prison, Yazeed ordered

Imam Hussain [AS]'s head

to be sent to the dungeons

so that the continuous

wailing may stop for some

time. Janabe Sakina after

receiving the head of her

father sees him in a dream,

in her dream He tells that

he will be here soon. She

wakes up searching for him

but, realizes he is gone.

Sakina was silent for a long

time lying with the head.

Imam Sajjad (AS) noticed

and went to her to feel her

forehead. It was cold. It

was one of the toughest

times for our Imam to

declare that her 4 year old

sister had passed away in

the dungeons of Syria.

Bibi Zaynab (SA) held the

still child as Imam Sajjad

(AS) dug a grave for her

sister. Syeda Sakina's

clothes were burnt in

Karbala, and due to injuries,

had intermingled with her

flesh. Therefore, she was

buried in the same burnt,

ripped clothes right there in

the Dungeon of Syria. As

the grave was being filled up

after the burial the mother

let out a scream. All the

ladies huddled around her,

and the prison walls began to

shake with the cry, “Ya

Sakina, Ya Mazloomah (O

Sakina! O Oppressed one!)”.

��


61

Hazrat Zainab (S.A.):

The Honorable Daugh-

ter of Imam Ali (A.S.)

After the tragedy of Karba-

la, Lady Zainab (S.A.) and

the other captives were

brought to the palace of Ibn

Ziyad. There, Lady Zainab

(S.A.) disguised herself

among the other women.

Once Ibn Ziyad noticed her,

he asked: “Who is that

disguised woman?” No one

answered him; so he repeat-

ed his question. Then, one of

his servants replied: “She is

Zainab, the daughter of

Fatimah, daughter of the

Messenger of Allah”.

Ibn Ziyad recognized this

honored Lady, and decided

to express his joy of victory

in front of the honorable

daughter of Imam Ali (A.S.).

Through addressing Lady

Zainab (S.A.) he planned to

take advantage of the

opportunity and advertise

the cruel and disgraced

tyranny of Yazid. He howev-

er, failed to realize that the

Lady he was addressing

happened to be the one who

would disgrace Yazid and all

other oppressors through

her firm logic. Ibn Ziyad

rudely said: “Praise be to

Allah who disgraced you, and

revealed your sayings as

false.”

Perhaps Ibn Ziyad thought

that one who is martyred in

the way of fighting falsity is

in fact disgraced, and his or

her sayings are proven as

false. Or maybe he knew the

truth, but spoke as such in

order to deviate the mind of

people and invert the reali-

ties, knowing that he at-

tributed his sayings to Allah

(SWT). In spite of that,

Lady Zainab (S.A.) immedi-

ately frustrated his conspir-

acy by replying: “Praise be to

Allah who has honored us

with His Messenger, and

purified us from impurity.

The one who is disgraced is

certainly the libertine, and

the one who lies is the lewd;


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and we are not such people.

Praise be to Allah.”

Ibn Zyad, who never ex-

pected to be talking to such a

knowledgeable and coura-

geous woman, changed the

subject and said: “How did

you find the way Allah treat-

ed your brother and your

family?” Lady Zainab (S.A.),

with a tone full of pride and

power, indicating her faith

and submission towards Allah

(SWT), answered:

“I saw nothing but beauty.

…They rushed towards their

graves (with honor). But

know that Allah will judge

between you and them, and

He will call you to account; so

be worried about the winner

at that day (either it will be

you or them). O son of

Marjanah! May your mother

be mournful for you.”

These few statements were

so powerful that as the

historians mention, they

made Ibn Ziyad so angry

that he decided to kill Lady

Zainab (S.A.). He however

ceased to do such as one of

his army generals, who was

present there, calmed him

down and prevented him

from doing so.

��

Arba'een

Aamal & Ziyarat

20th Safar is the day of

Arba'een, the 40th day

after the martyrdom of

Imam Hussain (a.s.), his

friends and relatives in

Karbala on 10th Muharram.

According to Imam Hassan

al-Askari (a.s.) the signs of a

believer are five things:

1. Performing 51 rakats of salat daily (17 rakat wajib & 34 rakat nafilah)

2. Reciting Ziyarat (of Imam Hussain [a.s.]) on Arba’een.

3. Wearing a ring in the right hand.

4. Placing the forehead on dust.

5. Saying "Bismillah Hir Rahman Nir Raheem" aloud in Namaz.

��


63

28th Safar - Martyr-dom of Prophet Mu-hammad (S) & Imam Hasan Mujtaba (A.S.)

28th Safar is the grim date

on the Islamic calendar that

represents the passing away

of Prophet Muhammad (S)

and his grandson Imam Hasan

ibn Ali (A.S). No words can

ever do justice to the life

and character of Prophet

Muhammad (S). Through him,

Allah showered his kindness

and blessings on the people

of this world. There is no

way to sum up the life of

Muhammad (S) except

perhaps by a Hadith narrat-

ed by himself when a group

of companions asked him to

curse the infidels, and his

response was: "I am not sent

for this; nor was I sent but

as mercy to mankind."

Prophet Muhammad (S)

spent his entire life for the

cause of Islam. His exempla-

ry character throughout his

life inspired people in the

hundreds. Even though he

possessed the highest

status of all men, he was

humble and as simple as a

common man.

In his last moments, Prophet

Muhammad (S) was in the

company of Hazrat Fatima

(S.A). She heard a knock on

the door and someone sought

permission to enter. Bibi

Fatima (S.A) said, "I am busy

talking to my father. Don`t

disturb us". The visitor

knocked again, and got the

same answer. The third time

when this happened, the

Prophet (S) said to Bibi

Fatima (S.A) "O my dear

daughter, the angel of death

is on the door and it is a

great privilege of your house

and of you that he is seeking

your permission to do what

he has been ordered by Allah

to do. He does not seek

permission from anyone else.

O my daughter, my time to

leave this earth has come

and I must answer the call of

Allah and submit to His will.

Please allow the angel of


64

death to enter and carry out

his task." Bibi Fatima (S.A)

started weeping and the

Prophet (S) departed leaving

her in tears.

What was more troublesome

was that after the Prophet

(S) passed away, only a

handful of followers were

present at his Namaz e

Janaza, and the rest were

busy deciding succession of

the caliphate of Islam. Such

is the story of Islam after

Prophet Muhammad (S),

where his Ahl e Bait (A.S)

were constantly denied their

rights and oppressed.

Several years later on 28th

Safar 50 Hijri, Imam Hasan

(A.S) embraced martyrdom.

Imam Hasan (A.S) had a

wife named Jada binte

Ash’as bin Qais. She was

bribed to poison the Imam

on promise of a handsome

amount of cash and marriage

with Yazid (L.A). She poi-

soned Imam Hasan (A.S) in

milk with a poison called

"Hilahil" and while Imam

(A.S) was drinking it, his

liver tore its pieces fell into

the milk pot.

After his martyrdom, he was

not allowed to be buried

close to the Prophet Mu-

hammad (S) despite that

being his will. His janaza was

stopped by a group of Bani

Umayyah. The followers of

Imam Ali (A.S) tried to take

his janaza several times to

the Hujra of Prophet Mo-

hammad (S) for burial but

they could not. In the final

effort, the janaza was

attacked by arrows and

according to a tradition, 70

arrows pierced in the body

of Imam Hasan (A.S).

Finally, he had to be buried

in the darkness of the night

in Jannat-ul-Baqi.

May Allah (S.W.T.) curse

the enemies of Ahl e Bait

(A.S), and give us the

courage to honor the life of

Prophet Muhammad (S) by

shaping our lives according

to his Sunnah. Ameen.

��


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the message - safar-ul-muzaffar 1438 ah - zahra...

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