SHAFAQNA- Alkafeel: The Supreme Religious Authority has stated that reviewing the Taf tragedy is important historically, socially and politically. Therefore, the brothers who competent should seek to know the repercussion of the tenth day of Muharram.
These were the important points highlighted in the second sermon of Friday prayer of the 25th of Muharram 1440 AH corresponding to the October 5, 2018, which was held in the holy shrine of Imam al-Hussayn (peace be upon him) and led by his eminence Sayed Ahmad al-Safi. In which he stated:
Imam as-Sajjad (peace be upon him) is the important figure after the martyrdom of Imam al-Hussayn (peace be upon him), and today we commemorate his martyrdom anniversary.
And reviewing the tragedy of Taf is important historically, socially and politically, therefore, the competent brothers have to seek to know the repercussions of the tenth of Muharram, as historians investigate about the introductions of each event, as many of them might be hidden.
And here we wonder, “Was the reformation, for which Imam Al-Hussayn (Peace be upon him) had risen, achieved or not?” We note here that Imam al-Hussayn (peace be upon him) has stated: “By God, I did not rise against the tyrannical rule of Bani Umayyad out of selfishness or with the aim of oppression or corruption! But rather, I rose to seek reform in my grandfather’s nation, I want to enjoin good and forbid evil. ”
Imam al-Hussayn (Peace be upon him) was a great personality, and he would never waste his life for a cause he was uncertain of, although death is inevitable for humankind. Imam Al-Hussayn (Peace be upon him) was fully aware of his cause; he rose for an objective he defined, And he was cognizant that his objective would not be achieved if he remained alive; he was aware that he would be murdered on the Day of Ashura. He nevertheless preserved his motto.
Thus, it is significant when a person, such as Imam Al-Hussayn (Peace be upon him) wants to achieve reformation; it ought to be achieved without failure, saying, “Imam Al-Hussayn (Peace be upon him) wanted to achieve reformation like prophet Noah (Peace be upon him), who remained among his nation for the time God wanted him, and tried to have people believe in God, but they – including his son – did not.
On the Day of Ashura, Imam Al-Hussayn (Peace be upon him) sacrificed himself to achieve his objective, which was to guide people righteously, and after his martyrdom, his reformation was strongly led by his son Imam Ali as-Sajjad (Peace be upon him).
One of the biggest challenges that Imam as-Sajjad (Peace be upon him) confronted was the misleading media, which had presented the community – the Imam faced – with a counterfeit Islam. The Damascus government disinformation played an influential role in misleading people and keeping them away from the true principles of Islam, and even wise individuals cannot do anything if the whole nation is misled, and such people did not give Imam Al-Hussayn (Peace be upon him) the opportunity to communicate with them on the Day of Ashura; they never listened to him and said to him, “You have exasperated us by attempting to coax us with many proofs of you are of truth,” and then closed their ears in order to not listen to him.
Here, we think also of the example of Khuwalla [or Khawli] who was assigned by Umar Ibn Saad to carry the head of Imam al-Hussayn (peace be upon him) to Ibn Ziyad in Kufa. To present the head of the Imam, he recited a poesy:
“O governor! You should fill my sacks with gold or silver!
I have killed the most honorable master.
The one who is best in genealogy
And who had the best father and mother.”
Ibn Ziyad said, “If you know he was like that, why did you kill him? By God, I am not going to give you anything!”
And the other example of the old man who came to Imam Sajjad and said, “Praise God that He perished you and made the leader overcome you!”
Imam as-Sajjad replied, “Have you ever read the Quran, O, old man?”
The old man answered, “Yes.”
Imam as-Sajjad asked, “Have you read the verse:
Say: I do not ask you any reward but love for the near in kin?”
He said, “Yes.”
Imam as-Sajjad asked, “Have you read the verse: So, give the near in kin their rights?”
He said, “Yes, of course.”
Imam as-Sajjad asked, “Have 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?”
The old man answered, “Yes, I have read all of these.”
Imam as-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?”
The old man answered, “Yes.”
Imam as-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 as-Sajjad said, “Yes, (I swear it) by our grandfather Prophet Mohammad. We are them without any doubt.”
The man fell to the ground, kissed Imam as-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 misleading media made that the people in the Levant were believing that the captives coming are the family of a rebellious person who rose against their prince. Therefore, Imam as-Sajjad (peace be upon him) used every opportunity to defame their fake mediatisation of the events.
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 as-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 cut. The head of Imam Al-Hussayn was in front of him. He looked at Numan Ibn Bashir and said, “Praise God that He killed him.”
Numan replied, “Muawiyah, your father, did not want to have Al-Hussayn killed.”
Yazid answered, “That was before Al-Hussayn’s movement. If Al-Hussayn had started his movement before, my father Muawiyah would have killed him.”
Then Yazid faced Imam as-Sajjad and said, “What do you think of what God has done to your father, Al-Hussayn’’
Imam as-Sajjad replied, “I saw what God has written.”
Yazid consulted with his advisors about killing Imam as-Sajjad and most of them agreed to having him killed.
Imam as-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 as-Sajjad asked him for permission to speak. Yazid said, “You may speak, but do not talk any nonsense.”
Imam as-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 as-Sajjad’s chains to be removed, then faced his royal announcers, and told them to praise Muawiyah and humiliate Al-Hussayn. When they continued cursing ′Ali and Al-Hussayn, Imam al-Sajjad interrupted them and yelled, “You are trying to please humans against God. You are going to end up in Hell!”
Then Imam al-Sajjad said calmly, “O, Yazid! Let me go stand in the same place as this man (the announcer) and say what would please God 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 al-Sajjad said, “Praise 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 is from our family, the friend, Siddiq Tayyar, the Lion of God and the lion of the Messenger, and the two grandsons of this nation.
O, people! Who knows me knows me, and who does not know me, I will tell him who I am in genealogy and character.
O, people! I am the son of Mecca and Mina. 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 [circumambulating 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 Buraq [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 fighters, the father of Al-Hassan and Al-Hussayn, ′Ali son of Abi Talib. I am the son of Fatimah al‑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 Karbāla’. I am the son of the one for whom the Jinn cried, and even the birds on the wind.”
When Imam al-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 Mu’adhen to recite the Adhan even though it was not prayer time.
The Mu’adhen yelled, “Allahu Akbar! (God is great)” and Imam al-Sajjad said, “God is greater and more honored than anything I fear!”
Then the Mu’adhen said, “Ashhadu anla ilaha ilallah [I bear witness that there is no god besides Allah]” and Imam al-Sajjad said, “Yes, I bear witness with everyone who witnesses that there is no god but Him!”
When the Mu’adhen said, “Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah [I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God]”, Imam as-Sajjad said to the Mu’adhen, “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 grandfather? 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.”
And we all know that kind media and publicity have existed throughout the ages.
We ask the Almighty Allah to cover us with His cover and protect all of us and our country from all evil. And the last of our prayers is praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and Allah’s prayers and peace be upon Mohammad and upon his pure and virtuous lineage.
Read more from Shafaqna: