SERMON OF ABU ABDILLAHIL HUSSAYN (A.S.) ON
ASHURAH
On the day of Ashurah, when Imam Hussayn
(as) saw the gathering of the enemies against him which was like a
torrent, he raised both his hands towards the sky and prayed,
O’ my Lord ! You are my haven in every mishap, my hope in every
predicament, my refuge and defender in every ordeal. How many a distress
that weakens the heart, makes the enemy rejoice at the misfortune. When
I entrusted it to You out of preference over others, You did not let me
down and had driven away and eliminated all these distressing things.
You are the Giver of every boon and the ultimate source of every wish to
be granted.
Convinced about the enemy’s
determination to to fight him, Imam Abu Abdillah (as) asked for his
horse and mounted it; then addressing the enemies in a high voice, he
began his sermon:
O’ people! Listen to my
speech and do not get restless until I preach you as I see it my duty
towards you and until I explain why I came to you. If you accept my
reasoning, believe in my speech and are fair to yourselves and me, then
you will be happier and you will have no reason to attack me. Otherwise,
resolve upon your affair and (gather) your associates, let not your
affair be in darkness to you, then have it executed against me and do
not reflect (any further). Allah is my Helper and He is the Guardian of
the righteous.
It is reported that when the
womenfolk in the tents heard Imam Hussayn (as) say this, they raised
their voices screaming and crying. He sent his brother Abbas and his son
Ali Akber to the women to calm them down and remarked, “Alas! They will
be crying a lot”
O’people! Allah created this world and
made it an abode of destruction and transience, taking its inhabitants
from one phase to another. It deceives the conceited and seduces the
wretched. Let not this world deceive you for it is capable of dashing
the hopes of those who put their trust in it and let down those who are
greedy for its riches. I can see that you agreed on an affair capable of
bringing the wrath of Allah upon you, causing Him to turn His face away
from you, spread amongst you His revenge. Glory be to our Lord, and woe
to you. You pledged allegiance (to Allah) and believed in the Messenger
Muhammad (saw), then ganged up against his progeny intent on killing
them. Satan has taken hold over you, precipitating you to forget the
remembrance of the Almighty. May evil befall you and may your aspiration
come to nothing. From Allah we come and unto Him we return. Those are
the people who disbelieved after they had believed; so away with the
unjust people.
O’people! Track my lineage. Relate to me and consider who I am. Then
look back and remonstrate with yourselves. Consider whether it is right
for you to kill me andencroach upon my integrity. Am I not the son of
your Prophet’s daughter and the son of his vicegerant and cousin, the
first of the believers in Allah and His Messenger? Was not Hamza, the
master of martyrs, the uncle of my father? Was not the winged Ja’ffar my
uncle? Have you not heard of the tradition of the Prophet (saw)
concerning myself and my brother,
“These are the
two leaders of the youth of the inhabitants of paradise.”
Whether you believe in what I say –and it is the truth, for I swear by
the Almighty I have never told a lie since I learnt that Allah hated
people who told them – or you regard me as a liar, and choose not to
believe in my statement, there are amongst you who, if you asked them,
would tell you! Ask Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari, Aba Sa’ed al-Khudri,
Sahl bin Sa’ad al-Sa’idi, Zayd bin Arqam and Anas bin Malik to tell you
that they heard these words from the Messenger of Allah (saw) in favour
of me and my brother. Is there not (sufficient) deterrent in this to
prevent you from shedding my blood?
At this point, Shimr bin
Dhiljoshan interrupted saying, “If I understand what you are saying then
I only worship God very shakily on the edge.” Habeeb ibn Mudhahir
responded, “I do think that you worship God very shakily on several
edges and I testify that you are right. You do not understand what he (Hussayn)
is saying for God has impressed ignorance upon your heart.” Imam Hussayn
(as) then continued:
You are in doubt
that I am the son of the daughter of your Prophet? By God there is no
son of the Prophet other than me amongst you and amongst the people from
East to West. Shame on you, are you seeking retribution from me for one
of your dead I have killed, or for property of yours I expropriated, or
for a wound I have inflicted?
When no one responded, Imam (as) then
called out the names of few people preent amongst the enemies
O’ Shabath bin Rab’I, Hajjar bin Abjar, Qays
bin al-Ash’ath, Yazeed bin al-Harith, didn’t you write (to me) that:
The fruit has ripened; the dates are ready for picking; come to an army
which has been gathered for you??
“We don’t know what you are
talking about” said Qays bin al-Ash’ath. Submit to the authority of your
kinsmen (the Umayyad). They have never treated you with anything but
what you liked.” Imam (as) responded by saying:
By God, I will never give you
my hand like a man who has been humiliated; nor will I flee like a
slave. O’ servants of God, I take refuge in my Lord and your Lord from
your stoning. I take refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every haughty
man who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning.
Mulla Mujaheedali Sheriff
Mulla@almahdi.org.uk |