On the day of Ashura, perform Ghusl (a
complete bath); trim your nails, put on clean clothes and enable yourself to
enter a state of Ibaadat (worship of Allah). On this day, besides the
obligatory prayers, do some recitations of the Holy Quran, then read two cycles
of voluntary prayers by reciting in each cycle after the Surah Al-Fatiha, ten
times the Surah Al-Ikhlaas (Qul Huwallaaho Ahad…); After the prayer, read one
time the Verse of the Throne (Ayatul Qursi) and nine times the Darood Ibrahim
(which we read daily in our Salaat); afterwards ask of Allah whatever you want
(which is permissible in the eyes of Allah). Invoke Him with sincerity!
Hazrat Muhammad (Peace & Blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: “On the day of Ashura, the one who reads four voluntary cycles
of prayer, and in each cycle, after the Surah Al-Fatiha reads eleven times
Surah Al-Ikhlaas, Allah forgives him all his sins and will build for him an
illuminated minbar.” This form of prayer purifies a believer from all his
sins, and elevates him in his faith, and attracts on him the blessings of
Allah. It is recommended to observe two fasts, that is, the 9th and
the 10th day of Muharram. Hazrat Muhammad (Peace &
Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “After the obligatory fasting of
Ramadhan, comes the greatness of the Ashura fast, and the latter wash away the
sins of the preceding year.” It is also highly recommended on this day to perform
other forms of worship to seek the pleasure of Allah, for example: to help the
needy people in any way, to feed the poor, give away Sadqua (charity), etc.
The 10th of Muharram will always
remain engraved in the mind of each and every Muslim so that they may always
remember the drastic days which befell upon Hazrat Imam Hussein.
Before I expound on his life and his martyrdom, I will give a brief of what happened before he was martyred.
Before I expound on his life and his martyrdom, I will give a brief of what happened before he was martyred.
Imam Hassan and Ameer Muawiyah
And we must be aware also that, after the death of
Hazrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with him), the Muslims accepted Imam Hassan as
their Caliph. He became the Chief and the Commander of the Muslim army in Kufa.
But during the same period, Hazrat Ameer Muawiyah (May Allah be pleased
with him) took a Muslim army under his command, and came at Kufa. Upon reaching
there, he sent a message to Imam Hassan to tell him to accept him (Hazrat
Muawiyah) as the Caliph for as long as he is alive. Afterwards, as per his
conditions, after his death, it will be Imam Hassan who will become the next
Caliph. In this situation, Imam Hassan used his intellect; and to prevent
a severe confrontation between two Muslim groups, he accepted the proposal of
Muawiyah.
Upon signing this agreement, some Muslims who were in
the group of Imam Hassan got angry with him, and thereupon Imam Hassan
explained to them the prevailing situation; that he signed the agreement only
to prevent a conflict between the two Muslim groups.
The Caliphate of Imam Hassan (May Allah be pleased
with him) was of a duration of only six months. In these six months, he made
such accomplishments which became an example of each Muslim and especially for
the so-called Ulema. Everything was at his disposal and he used to control the
treasury. He was a great and brave warrior, and even his soldiers were brave
and they were ever ready to sacrifice their life for the cause of Allah.
Like we all know, it is the truthful ones, the pious
who work only for the pleasure of Allah; it is them who have lot of enemies. And it is the enemies who plotted to put poison in the
water bottle of Imam Hassan. That poison was so intense that when Imam Hassan
drank it, he felt all his insides tear in pieces. He then called his brother
Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) by his side. When Imam Hussein
(May Allah be pleased with him) saw his brother in such state, he immediately
understood that he has little time left to live. Thus, Imam Hussein consoled
him and told him: “Congratulations, soon you will be joining the Messenger of
Allah (Peace & Blessings of Allah be upon him), Hazrat Ali (May Allah be
pleased with him), Hazrat Bibi Fatima (May Allah be pleased with her), Hazrat
Hamza (May Allah be pleased with him) etc.”
Imam Hassan then told Imam Hussein:
“O my brother, I am seeing such creatures which I had never seen before.”
Afterwards, he told his brother (Imam Hussein) to have a lot of patience for
his turn will come when the inhabitants of Kufa will kill him (make him a
Martyr) at Karbala. Imam Hassan (May Allah be pleased with him) suffered
for many days. He died on the 5 Rabi’ul Awwal 49thHijri at the age
of 45 years 6 months and few days.
Dreams concerning Imam Hussein
Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him)
was born on the 5th Shabaan in the 4th Year
after Hijra at Madina Shareef. According to a Hadith, once, the paternal aunt
of the Messenger of Allah (Peace & Blessings of Allah be upon him), Hazrat
Ummal Fazal (May Allah be pleased with her) made a dream and she came to Hazrat
Muhammad (Peace & Blessings of Allah be upon him) to relate her dream. She
said: “O Messenger of Allah (Peace & Blessings of Allah be upon him), I
made a bad dream; I saw a piece of your body come off and it landed in my
arms.”
Hazrat Muhammad (Peace & Blessings of Allah be upon him) told her:
“O Aunt, you made a good dream. This is indicating to you that my daughter
Fatima will give birth to a boy and this boy will grow in your arms.”
Ummul Fazal (May Allah be pleased with her) relates
that true to the word of the Holy Prophet (Peace & Blessings of Allah be
upon him), Hazrat Fatima (May Allah be pleased with her) gave birth to Imam
Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him). After some time she came to visit the Prophet (Peace & Blessings
of Allah be upon him). Hazrat Muhammad (Peace & Blessings of Allah be upon
him) took Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) and put him in her arms,
but while he was putting him in her arm, his tears were rolling down his
cheeks. Upon seeing this, Ummul Fazal asked the Holy Prophet (Peace &
Blessings of Allah be upon him): “O Messenger of Allah (Peace & Blessings
of Allah be upon him)! Why are you crying?”
The Holy Prophet (Peace &
Blessings of Allah be upon him) replied: “Hazrat Jibreel (on him be peace) came
to inform me that my Ummah will assassinate this child and Jibreel (on him be
peace) brought some of the soil where Hussein will be martyred.”
This Hadith
indicates us clearly that Almighty Allah gave the knowledge of the invisible (Ilmé
Ghaib) to the Messenger of Allah (Peace & Blessings of Allah be
upon him), whereby he came to know from Him that Hazrat Fatima (May Allah be
pleased with her) will give birth to a son.
Yazid, the Accursed
Hazrat Ameer Muawiyah like I just told you what type
of person he was, but unfortunately among his children, there was one who was
known as “Yazid”, and Yazid was the opposite of his father. He was a person who
possessed all sorts of vices, bad character, bad manners and his life is
engraved in history as a great criminal towards Islam.
In a Hadith, Hazrat Muhammad (Peace & Blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: “The first person in my Ummah who will destroy my
Sunnah will be a person from Banu Ummayya.” This prediction of the Holy Prophet (Peace &
Blessings of Allah be upon him) was without doubt concerning Yazid, who was
from the Ummayya family. Yazid was born in the 25th year after
Hijra.
After the death of Ameer Muawiyah (Yazid’s father) in
the month of Rajab in 60 Hijri in Damas, at the age of 70 years, Yazid took the
Caliphate in his hands and in his letter, he told the concerned governor, to
make all people accept him, Yazid, as Caliph and to coax them into taking the
pact of allegiance in his hands. Moreover, Yazid précised that such
eminent people like Imam Hussein, Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr, Abdullah bin Umar,
and Abdullah bin Zubeir must at all cost take the pact of allegiance from his
hands, because these people were liable to become Chief as they are well
educated, possess good character and they are not arrogant.
Under the command of Yazid, Walid bin Uqba called Imam
Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) in the governor’s house, where he read
out Yazid’s letter in the presence of Imam Hussein. Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) refused
categorically to accept Yazid as his Caliph; thus, the Governor of Madina
called Marwaan bin Hakam for advice. Marwaan told him that if they refuse to
make the pact of allegiance in Yazid’s hand; thus kill them!
Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) knew very
well the danger which awaits him if he refuses Yazid as Caliph. Yazid and his
group represented a great threat to him and the other Muslims, but
nevertheless, he did not hesitate to refuse Yazid as Chief. The Governor told
him that if he does not accept Yazid as his Chief, then severe sanctions will
be taken against him.
When the Governor of Madina informed Yazid about the
refusal of Imam Hussein, Yazid became red with anger and he ordained that Imam
Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) be killed. The Governor informed Imam
Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) about the decision of Yazid, but Imam
Hussein maintained his position and refused firmly to accept Yazid as Chief. In
the meantime he contacted the Companions of the Holy Prophet (Peace &
Blessings of Allah be upon him) to leave Madina for Mecca. The inhabitants of Madina were
very sad when they got the news that Imam Hussein and his family were leaving
Madina. When Hazrat Imam Hussein and his family reached Mecca, they lived there
for some time in peace and joy along with its inhabitants.
Invitation to Kufa
Afterwards, Imam Hussein received a letter from Hazrat
Imam Muslim, which is informing him and his family that the situation in Kufa
is really good; thus Imam Hussein decided to go there along with his family.
There were eighty-two persons in all, and amongst them there were old people,
young girls, children, babies and young boys.
Along the way to Kufa, the caravan of Imam Hussein met
with several other people who came from Kufa and were heading towards Mecca.
They advised Imam Hussein not to go to Kufa, for the situation has changed and
now it is very dangerous there. But Imam Hussein insisted to go there for he
feared that the inhabitants of Kufa may lose their faith by the reign of Yazid.
Still on the way there, Imam Hussein got the sad news of the martyrdom of Imam
Muslim and his two sons. This was shocking news for him and for his family
members. But more determined than ever, they continued their way to Kufa, till
they arrived on its borders.
Upon reaching there, Ubaidullah bin Ziyad already
sent an army to hinder the way Imam Hussein and his caravan from entering Kufa.
One of the Chief Commanders of the army, whose name was Hoor, came before Imam
Hussein along with a thousand soldiers. It was the first of Muharram of the
Year 61 Hijri. Imam Hussein told Hoor that many people from Kufa sent
him letters to ask him to come to Kufa so that they may not lose their faith.
When he presented the letter to Hoor, some of the names mentioned in the
letters were the names of some of the soldiers in the rank of the army of Hoor. The concerned soldiers’
face were full of shame when they found out that Hoor came to know of it,
because it was too late for them! Hoor said that he was not at all aware that
such a letter was written to the attention of Imam Hussein. The order which he
received was that not to let Imam Hussein enter Kufa.
Imam Hussein then took his caravan to Karbala and by
then, Hoor received a letter from Ibn Ziyad which stipulated not to let Imam
Hussein go any further and to make him stop on a land where there were neither
food, water nor protection. When the family and wives of Imam Hussein heard this,
they began to cry for they knew of the prophecy of the Messenger of Allah
(Peace & Blessings of Allah be upon him) concerning the martyrdom of Imam
Hussein in this very land.
Martyrdom at Karbala
When Imam Hussein observed that war was inevitable, on
the 10th Muharram 61 Hijri, a Friday, after they have all
performed their Salaat Fajr in congregation, he made a discourse in which he
said that their martyrdom was without any doubt written in the hands of their
enemies. He told his family and companions that he gives them permission to go
back home and that there will be no blame on them if they go back home. He told
them that the enemies wanted only him; not them! After his martyrdom, they
would be left in peace.
At this moment, Hazrat Abbas and his brothers in
unison said: “Can we truthfully go away and after your martyrdom live in peace?
No! O Almighty Allah, do not show us this day! We promise in the name of Allah
that we will fight with the enemies till we give our lives.”
The companions of Imam Hussein fought bravely along
with Imam Hussein till all of them were martyred (with the exception of Ali bin
Hussein, also known as “Zainul Abedeen” (The Best of Worshippers) who was ill,
and did not participate in the war). They also fought and killed many of the
soldiers of the army of Yazid. After many of them were martyred, then came the turn
of Hazrat Imam Hussein. Before he went to war, he tied the turban of the
Messenger of Allah (Peace & Blessings of Allah be upon him) around his
head, then took the sword of Hazrat Ali (his father), and also the shield of
Hazrat Hamza; thus he prepared himself fully and courageously to be martyred.
Ibn Ziyad sent a great and arrogant Syrian soldier to
kill Imam Hussein. He took his sword in his hand to finish Imam Hussein, but
Imam Hussein was quicker than him. He attacked that Syrian soldier in a flash
and decapitated him and let him fall in the mud. Other great soldiers came to
kill him, but even though Imam Hussein did not eat or drink for so many days,
he fought with them till he killed one by one.
Ibn Sa’ad observed the tactics of Imam Hussein, and
realised that if they continue to fight with him one by one, then all will be
killed. Thus he devised a plan whereby a group of soldiers will encircle him
and kill him. Thus, they executed their plan and rained many arrows on him, and
his body was hurt and lots of blood oozed out of him. In his state of suffering
a malefactor came and planted an arrow in his forehead. Filled with blood, Imam
Hussein received in all seventy-two wounds on his body, and thus he fell on the
ground completely out. Seizing this situation, another soldier came and planted
a spear in to his stomach.
Imam Hussein fell into prostration and at this moment
a soldier by the name of Nadhir Ibn Kharshah approached him to separate his
head from his body, but his hands quavered till his sword fell on the ground.
Another soldier by the name of Khuli bin Yazid, Shabil bin Yazid or Shimr
came to decapitate him. Hazrat Imam Hussein became the last martyr on the land
of Karbala. It was a Friday 10th of Muharram and Imam Hussein
was 56 years, 5 months and 5 days old. Inna lillahé wa inna ilayhi raajioune. The enemies put the heads of the martyrs at the top of
the spears and began to beat the drums to manifest their joy on the victory of
Yazid in this war. And they put the head of Imam Hussein on a tray and
presented it to Ibn Ziyad, and the latter took a stick and beat the lips of
Imam Hussein Shaheed with it.
Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him)
along with his family and companions got martyred in Karbala on the day of
Ashura; they spread their blood for the sake of Islam, and it is through
their sacrifices, that Islam has spread to the four corners of the world. Allah blessed this Ummah
and engraved their names in history as the heroes of Islam, and Insha-Allah,
Islam will continue to spread to the four corners of the world in spite of the
plots of the enemies of Islam. (Inset: Shrine of Imam Hussein at Karbala).
And I tell you O enemies of Islam; continue to
terrorize the true Muslim believers (Islam), but there will come a day where
Allah and His sincere servants will be victorious, not you! Destruction over
destruction from Allah will befall you. Ameen. And also concerning that which you are doing with our
brothers and sisters of Palestine, I am warning you O Israel and all those who
support you in this crime, you will be not be able to finish the religion of
Allah. Allah’s punishment will befall you quickly. Insha-Allah.
- Friday Sermon of 09 January 2009 delivered by Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius.