“I do not Care if AL-ZAHRA’ (A.S.) was Beaten and it is not Relevant to the Creed”

 

The same individual says that beating al-Zahra’ (A.S.), causing her to miscarry and breaking her rib is a “historical issue” and is not relevant to the creed. For this reason, he personally does not care about it. Whether the rib of al-Zahra’ (A.S.) was broken or not, this does not fall in the realm of his concerns as he himself says.

 

We would like to make the following observations:

 

1. If it does not fall within the realm of the concerns of this individual or of that, why does he take pains to collect “proofs” and “evidences” from every corner just to deny it or at least cast doubt about it? And why does he retreat and follow the taqiyya, as he himself says, when he is faced with a storm of outrage against him, then he goes back to stirring this matter anew with all his force and insistence, facing the challenges, causing problems, even accusing others of various types of accusations for merely asking him about his view in this regard and his reason for expressing it publicly in such a way, during such circumstances and at such a particular time, let alone objecting to him. So he accuses them of a “lack of understanding” and of their following demagogy, thus harming their reputation and hurting their feelings?

 

2. Why should he not be concerned about what happened to al-Zahra’ (A.S.)? Why should it be the same for him whether her rib was broken or not? Should we not be concerned about any “historical incident,” or should we take it out of our realm of concern?! Why did the Imams (A.S.) and the Prophet (A.S.) before them were concerned about what al-Zahra’ (A.S.) had to endure and what Imam al-Husain (A.S.) and his companions had to go through at Kerbala’?! Why should he himself be so much concerned about an event which took place years ago which may have some sort of connection to him, considering it among major Islamic affairs and events, then he pays no attention to other such incidents like the massacre at Mecca or the downing by the Americans of the Iranian passenger plane and killing all its three hundred innocent passengers? Likewise, he is not concerned about what may be regarded as the most decisive issue in the history of Islam, one which is directly related to Islam’s general march on all levels and in various fields: the beating of al-Zahra’ (A.S.) or breaking her rib.

 

3. Those who committed what they committed against al-Zahra’ (A.S.) had actually stood against the most sacred dignity after that of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) which is: the dignity of the Imamate and caliphate. Al-Shahristani has said, “The most serious dissension among the nation wherein a sword was unsheathed against a theological foundation took place when Imamate was assaulted in every period.”^[1]

Al-Khidri says that this issue^[2] was “the cause of most events which afflicted the Muslims, bringing on them what will bring you many norms of dissension and wars one after another. Hardly there would be time without such wars, be it between two households or two individuals.”^[3]

It is obvious that knowing those who pushed Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) away from their stations and removed them from the status wherein Allah placed them, and their plot became public, and the extent of their daring against Allah Almighty and against His Messenger (A.S.) became quite clear, is knowledge with which every Muslim should be familiar because it touches upon a most serious issue in the Islamic history.

To put it in clearer terms, the requirements of the event are the ones which are directly tied to the doctrine, and the said event is tied thereto. For example, when we read in the Qur’an that the wife of Prophet Lot (A.S.) informed her people, who pursued their lust, about her husband’s guests, we may be surprised and wonder thus: “Is it fit for the Qur’an to document for the people of Lot the particulars of such a low and very bad quality of conduct?”

How can anyone say that he does not personally care about such a “trivial” thing which is mentioned in the Qur’an? Or do we understand the issue in a different way, so we say that had Allah Almighty wanted to “document” what the people of Lot had done, He would have done so for all other peoples such as the Phoenicians, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Romans, Sassanids, and others? But we find Him mentioning many of their policies and affairs and the momentous and grave events they underwent. But this did not happen. Restricting the matter, in as far as the people of Lot are concerned, to the particulars of this issue leads us to conclude that it may have some bearing on the creed, or on the Shara`a, or on the moral concepts and everyday life in more than one field.

We will undoubtedly take the second course and search for all those requirements, for the outcomes and the hidden meanings which the Qur’an wants us to live, to turn our attention to, when it narrates to us the story of the wife of Lot and her people, are for the purpose that we should derive more knowledge from them and more awareness, more conviction and more moral purification and spiritual serenity.