Calamities vs. Divine Beauty

Have we ever wondered why we praise Allah for the calamities that befell the warriors of Karbala as we conclude the sacred ziyaara of ‘Ashura? We say: Allahumma laka al-hamdu hamda al-shaakirini laka ‘ala musaabihim; alhamdu lilLahi ‘ala ‘azeemi raziyyati… (O Allah, praise be to You, the praise of those who thank You, for the calamities that befell them (the martyrs). Praise be to Allah, for my great loss…”

One of the possible interpretations of these brilliant verses is that we praise and thank Allah for having conferred Imam al-Husayn (‘a) and his companions the succor of bearing the great calamities that befell them.

Another interpretation is to thank Allah for the kernel and reality of these calamities, which as the daughter of Ali al-Murtadha (‘a) explicitly said, was nothing save beauty.

Consequently, it is a call for every reciter of this ziyara to spiritually prepare himself to appreciate this reality in order to be able to naturally express the same. Whereas undoubtedly Bibi Zaynab (‘a) did encounter the hardships of this material world and tangibly felt the same, her penetrating spirit, understood how victorious her brother and the valiant martyrs of Karbala were.

Therefore one should not misconceive and think that there is no need for us to mourn and lament for what transpired in the plains of Karbala. Rather, as the 12th Holy Imam (‘a) is reported to have said in his well-known Ziyarat al-Naahiya: “…I will, therefore, lament you morning and evening, and will weep blood in place of tears, out of my anguish for you and my sorrow for all that befell you, until I meet death from the pain of the catastrophe and the choking grief…”.

In fact there are many traditions that encourage us to weep and lament, and thus we should remove the misconception from our minds. However, what is important for us to realize is that, as expounded by the Holy Qur’an, traditions of the Ahl al-bayt (‘a), and Divine theosophy, the world of reality consists of a hierarchy of existence, and the result of what transpires in the lower realms is exhibited in the higher realms.
Karbala had visionaries who could comprehend this tangibly. In one of the salutational recitations (ziyaraat) we address them saying: ‘…I bear witness that most surely Allah unveiled for you the curtain….’
And in a tradition Imam Husayn (‘a) reports that the Holy Prophet (s) said to him: “…And surely you shall be martyred there (in Karbala) together with a group among your companions who would not sense the pain of the touch of iron. Then he read the verse: ‘O Fire, be cool and peaceful for Ibrahim (21:69)’. The war [similarly] will be cool and peaceful on you and them.”

Small wonder it is that some traditions clearly indicate that the martyrs of Karbala would warmly welcome the arrows that were rained at them. Again one must not misconstrue and think that the companions were death lovers per se.

It was rather their unwavering stance of not submitting to Yazid and his forces that brought them to the state of confronting death, which when they encountered was “sweeter than honey”.

In the well-known Ziyarat Waarith we employ expressions such as Ahibbaa’ Allah (heart lovers of Allah) and Awidda’ Allah (constant lovers of Allah) for them. They were virtually drunk and intoxicated with the wine of Divine love. It seems that the cup-bearer (saaqi) constantly availed them with sips of sharaaban tahoora (wine of purity).
The Holy Qur’an speaks of the near ones that, “Wa saqaahum Rabbuhum sharaaban tahoora” (And their Lord made them drink a pure sharaab (76:21)).

According to a tradition narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) this pure drink is such that “yutahhiruhum ‘an kulli shay’in ma siwa Allah” (it purifies them from everything other than Allah).

If Allah himself is the intoxicator (saqaahum Rabbuhum), when would the lover ever return to the state of consciousness?

Here I am transported to the brilliant poetry of Mulla Ahmad Narraqi in his poetical masterpiece Mathnawiye Taaqdees when speaking about the great spiritual state of annihilation in God (al-fana fi Allah):

In fanaaye bande dar mawla buwad (this is the annihilation of the servant in his Master);
In fanaa az sad baqaa awla buwad (this annihilation is better than hundred kinds of subsistence);
Fahme un khwaahi boro taa Karbala (if you would like to know the reality of this then go to Karbala)
[Mathnawiye Taaqdees, p.273].

Al-Naraaqi would like to tell us that the most suitable arena for this kind of exalted spiritual state of beholding the fact that only the Beloved Exists, is Karbala.

In the end I would like to quote the words of Ayatullah Maliki Tabrizi about the bilateral experience of Sayyid al-Shuhada. He says in his Al-Muraqibat that although Imam al-Husayn (‘a) was apparently struck with such injuries that no Prophet, Divine Successor, or human being, is heard to have encountered, such as his thirst which cannot be intellectually apprehended, his spirit would experience, the delights of the manifestations of the lights of Divine Beauty and the Revelation of Divine Majesty, as well as the eagerness to meet and reach the proximity of God.
All this would diminish those difficulties; rather, it would change their severity into pleasure.


by Sh Muhammad Khalfan

Shaykh Mufid's meeting with Umar Al Khattab

with regards to Abubakr in the cave with Rasulallah (saw)


Al-Karajaki has reported that once Sheikh Mufid saw a dream, and then dictated it to his companions and disciples. He said: I dreamt that as I was passing through a street, I saw a large crowd gathered around someone.
On enquiry, I was told that they had surrounded Umar b. al-Khattab, the second Caliph. I pushed myself forward, and when I came near him, I said: "O Sheikh, do you allow me to ask a question?" He said: "Ask."
So I said: "Would you explain me how is the excellence of your friend Abu Bakr established by the Ayah in which Allah says: 'the second of the two, when they were in the cave'. Your friends are making too much out of it."


He said: "This Ayah proves Abu Bakr's excellence in six ways:
1. Allah mentions the Prophet, peace be upon him, and then mentions Abu Bakr with him, as his second of the two;
2. Allah mentions them as being together at one place; which is a sign of mutual affinity;
3. Allah adds further quality of being the Prophet's "SAHIB", the Companion;
4. Allah relates how kind and caring the Prophet was towards Abu Bakr when he told him, "Don't grieve";
5. Where the Prophet assured Abu Bakr that "Allah is with us" meaning that He will help both of them simultaneously;
6. Allah revealed that He will send down AS-SAKINAH (serenity) upon Abu Bakr because as far as the Prophet was concerned, AS SAKINAH never parted from him
These are six proofs of Abu Bakr's excellence from the mentioned Ayah."


Sheikh Mufid says: "I told him that he had indeed made a good effort to make his point, and had left no room for any other person to be a better advocate for his friend. But I was going to demolish the arguments, making it like ashes blown away by the fast wind."


Sheikh said:
1. "When you say that Allah has mentioned the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, and then mentioned Abu Bakr as his second, I do not see anything extraordinary in that. For if you ponder over it, you will find that Allah was only revealing the number of persons present in the cave. They were two; there could have been a Mo'min and a Kafir and they would still be two."
2. "And when you talk of they being together at one place, it is again as simple as the first case. If there was one place only, it could have been occupied by a Mo'min and a disbeliever also. The Mosque of the Prophet is definitely a better place than the cave, and yet it was a gathering place for the believers and the hypocrites. The Ark of Prophet Noah carried the Prophet Noah, together with Satan and the animals. So being together at one place is no virtue."
3. "And when you talk about the added quality of being 'SAHIB', the companion, this indeed is a weaker point than the first two, because a believer and a disbeliever can both be in the company of each other. Allah, Most High, used the word 'SAHIB' in the following Ayah: 'His "SAHIB" (companion) said to him while he was conversing with him: Have you disbelieved in the One Who created you from soil and then from a small quantity of sperm, then fashioned you harmoniously as a man?' (al-KAHF V. 37). Further, we find in Arabic literature that the word "SAHIB" is used for the accompanying donkey, and also for the sword. So, if the term can be used between a Momin and a Kafir, between a man and his animal, and between a living and an inanimate object, then what is so special in it about your friend?"
4. "And the words 'Don't grieve' were not meant for any solace;. Because it was a statement forbidding an act. In Arabic, we have 'donts' and 'dos' as imperative verbs. Now, the grief expressed by Abu Bakr was either an act of obedience or disobedience. If it was obedience, the Prophet would not have forbidden it, therefore it is proved that it was an act of sin and disobedience."
5. "As for the assurance that 'Allah is with us', the pronoun 'us' was used by the Prophet for himself The use of plural pronoun for oneself is a sign of ones elevated status. Allah says: 'Indeed, We are the One who has revealed the Quran, and We will most surely preserve it.' (Al-Hijr V.9). And again: 'We are the One who gives life and ordains death, and We are the inheritor' (al-Hijr V.23). And the Shias have their own version, which does not seem far-fetched. They say that Abu Bakr told the Prophet that his grief was for Ali b. Abi Talib (who was left behind in Makkah), and the Prophet replied: 'Do not grieve, surely, Allah is with us' meaning; with me and my brother, Ali b. Abi Talib."
6. "Your claim that AS-SAKINAH (serenity) was sent down to Abu Bakr is indeed outrageous. Because the verse clearly states that the serenity came unto him who was helped with the unseen army.
The Ayah says:
'... Then Allah sent down on him His serenity and strengthened him with unseen forces' (al-Tawbah: 40).
So if AS-SAKINAH had descended upon Abu Bakr, he would have received the support of the unseen army. In fact, it would have been better if you had not attributed this to Abu Bakr. For according to Quran, this serenity was sent down on the Prophet twice:
'Then Allah sent down His serenity upon His messenger and the believers, and sent down forces which you did not see ...'. (al Taubah:V.26).
'Then Allah sent down His serenity upon His Messenger and the believers, and adhered them to the word of piety' (al-Fath: V. 26).
In both places, the believers shared the serenity with the Prophet, but in this event of the cave, serenity was sent down to the Prophet alone, excluding Abu Bakr. This may be a pointer to the fact that Abu Bakr was not among the believers!"


Sheikh Mufid says that Umar made no reply to my arguments, and as people around him scattered, he woke up from his sleep.

Sunnah of the Aimmah ('as) for the Hujjah ('aj)

Allamah Amini in Al Ghadeer narrates,
'It was narrated that when Da'abal read his poems before Imam Ridha (as) and mentioned the Hujjah (may our souls be sacrificed for him) by his saying:
If not because of he whom I hope for his coming today and tomorrow;
My soul could have cut off due to sadness;
There is no doubt in the coming out of the Imam;
He shall rise by the name of Allah and His blessings.
Imam Ridha (as) would lay his hand on his head and respectfully stand up to pray for his quick relief and reappearance.


It was narrated from our master Imam Al Ridha (as) in his seating in Khurasan, when he stood up when the word 'Al Qaaim' was mentioned resting his head on his honourable head, saying,
O Allah, may You hasten his relief and make his coming very easy' and he also mentioned some of the significance of his government.


Muhadith Nuri mentioned in his book 'Annajmu Thaqib': this type of dignity when this name is mentioned is usual between the shiah all over the world especially within the Arabs, non Arabs, Turkish, Indians, and others, even among our Sunni brothers. [Ilzamu Nnasib 1:271]


Imam Sadiq (as) was once asked the reason for standing up when the word 'Al Qaaim' (the nickname of the Imam) is mentioned and he said,
'...because he shall have a long occultation and due to his much kindness to his wellwishers, he looks at whoever remembered him with his nickname, as the symbol of his government and lost for his loneliness. It is among respect to him by standing up in humbleness before him and seeking from Allah (swt) the quick relief and appearance of the Imam.' [Ilzamu Nnasib]


Sayed Murtada Mujtahidi Sistani
Sahifah al-Mahdiya

An Important Rule Often Neglected 20

Islamic Laws : Congregational prayers » Rules of congregational prayers
Fatawa of Ayatullah al Uzama Syed Ali al-Husaini Seestani
1475. [IN SALATUL JAMA'AH] The follower should not recite Surah al-Hamd and Surah in the first and second Rak'ats of Zuhr and Asr prayers and it is Mustahab that instead of them he should recite Zikr.