An Example and a Witness

 

We would like here to mention two testimonies which enter into the sphere of what we have mentioned of the responsibility of the Prophet (A.S.) and of the Imam (A.S.) to safeguard the nation against falling a victim to media forgery. They are:

 

FIRST: The Prophet (A.S.) had asked, on his sick bed, for a deer’s shoulder and an ink-pot to write for them something whereby they would never stray after his demise, although he had already named Ali (A.S.) as the Imam on various occasions and stands prior to that, especially on the Ghadir Day where he (A.S.) secured for him (A.S.) the oath of allegiance from the people. But he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, wanted to protect the nation against falling prey to forgery so that it would not be said that the Prophet (A.S.) changed his mind, and new things came up and new circumstances which necessitated excluding Ali (A.S.) from that issue.

This initiative by the Prophet (A.S.) revealed the truth of what someone was hiding within himself and what intentions he was harboring towards this issue in particular when he said, and the Prophet (A.S.) heard it, that the Prophet (A.S.) was “hallucinating,” or something like that. There was no room after that to make the excuse that his sahaba were sincere in their piety, were respectful towards the Prophet (A.S.) and interested in carrying out his orders and earn his pleasure. His statement that the Prophet (A.S.) was “hallucinating” exposed the extent of his insolence against the Holy Prophet (A.S.). So, if their ambitions and interests prompted them to face the greatest Prophet with such daring, and if they were treating the greatest of all Prophets (A.S.) with such a crude conduct, would they hesitate to beat women or hide the truth in order to achieve their objectives?!

 

SECOND: Al-Husain (A.S.) transported with him the women and the children to Kerbala’ so that the criminal rulers might not claim that highway robbers killed al-Husain (A.S.) or that he was lost in the desert, so he died of thirst there, as actually took place to the road guides of Muslim ibn `Aqal, or that wild beasts feasted on him, or anything like that. Then came those who forge the facts to bury his coffin with respect and veneration, pretending to be grieving for having thus lost him, deceiving people like that and underscoring their method of deviation and crimes.

For the same reason, Ali (A.S.) went out of Mecca on the day of tarwiya, although he was supposed to go that day to `Arafa. Al-Husain (A.S.) was the only remaining offspring of the Prophet (A.S.) and the symbol seen by people as responsible for safeguarding and looking after this religion and for teaching them its tenets. So, how could he thus leave and abandon them on a day when one of the greatest Islamic rituals was to be observed?! Instead of going to `Arafa, he went somewhere else! This would attract the attention of many and would stir numerous questions.

He left Mecca going somewhere else, from the ever-beating heart of Islam which embraced the greatest of Islamic holy places to another place free of any holy places. And he did so during the pilgrimage season rather than during ordinary times and, particularly interesting, on the very first day of such a season. He was supposed to be the leader of the people and the authority to whom they referred so that he would teach them the injunctions of their pilgrimage and its tenets.

Al-Husain (A.S.) is the same person whom the hearts and the eyes longed to see, though once in a lifetime, in addition to the overwhelming happiness enjoyed by any Muslim for talking to him and sitting near him. Then he announced to all people to tell them that it was the Will of Allah to see him killed and his women taken captive.

There is a crime, then, an unusual crime, the crime of killing a magnanimous person during unusual circumstances. It is a crime that sought, at the time, the greatest human being on the face of earth and killing him in a devastating war wherein men, all men, from the Prophet’s offspring, and everyone with them, and the daughters who were born at homes where revelation used to descend, as well as the Prophet’s family, would all be taken captive.

So, people had to wonder about who the criminal was, and what kind of stand they should take, what responsibilities they shouldered in the face of such a very serious and bitter situation. And they were to wait for the news of the crime patiently.

Al-Husain’s departure was not for the sake of a worldly glory or for authority, nor was it fleeing from a danger, nor to go on a vacation and have fun. Rather, it was for the sake of confronting danger of the greatest proportions and to face the challenge.

Those who heard al-Husain (A.S.) say so and who confronted such an event came from all Islamic lands, perhaps from every city and village, quarter and street, and they would return with impressive memories, emotions, faith that would shake their conscience and stir their awareness. They would tell those who visit them about such memories which would still be beating with life because, since their inception, they made them live in apprehension and anticipation.

All this would render the power of the oppressive authorities too weak to forge the truth no matter how hard they tried. And the doubts and big question marks would face such a forgery strongly no matter how devious and cunning it might be. So blessings of Allah be upon al-Husain (A.S.), and upon the offspring of al-Husain (A.S.), and upon the companions of al-Husain (A.S.).