Bismillah Hir Rehman
Nir Raheem
AS SALAM ALAIKUM MY DEAR SISTERS AND
BROTHERS IN ISLAM
After two months and eight days from
the beginning of Moharram onwards , that is after the great tragedy of Karbala
on the 10th of Moharram , are the days of mournings for all the devout sisters
and brothers in Islam . It is also not true that the mourning ends from this
day
onwards , For us muslims in the real sense every day is Aashurah and every
place
is karbala , the tragedy has been such that from the 10th of Muharram of the
61
Hijri every day of life for every momin is only to mourn the greatest day
events
which Allah had substituted for the sacrifice of Hazrat Ibraheem (a s ) to a
Zibhe Azeem. by his grand grandson Hazrat Imam Husain (a s ) That is how on
every one of our personal tragedy , even the death of our most loved once , we
on that occasion too, mourn only for the Husain (a s ) and his 72 companions. A
little difference to this situation is brought out by this day , on the 9th of
Rabil Awwal . This day particularly is one of the day of the
month in which on the 17th is regarded as the authentic day of the birth of
Holy Prophet (saaws) Some others assign other date but fortunately they are not
sure and say Kamli Wale Rasool Allah (saaws) was born on one of the days
between
1st to 12th and departed too during this period while we are sure of his ( aan
hazrat saaws) martyrdom on the 28th of Safar .
9th of Rab il Awwal , one of the
most important Eids that is the day of rejoicings, besides the Eidain of Fitr
and Azha , the Mubahela and Ghadeer , is this one celebrated on 9th of Rabil
Awwal on which particular day a faint smile was seen on the sacred face of the
4th Successor of the Prophet of Islam, Imam Zainul Aabedeen Alaihissalaat o
Salam son of Imam Husain (a s ), nephew of Imam Hasan (a s ) the 2nd successor
and the grandson of the Ist Imam Maulae Kainaat Hazrat Ali
Alaihissalaam.
There was a small boy son of a noble
called Saqafi Alahir rehmah , a Sahabi of Prophet of Islam (saaws) who was
sitting with him when his son passed by , A brightness appeared on the blessed
face of the Rasool e Akram (saaws) and he praised the boy and invoked Allah's
blessings for him . This surprised Saqafi and he asked to which the Prophet
told
him that a day will come when this fine gentleman , brave of the bravest will
pick up all the criminal killers of his grandson and punish them .
While equal revenge is permissible
and rightly so , the Prophet of Islam and his Wali Hazrat Ali most of the time
granted amnesty and forgiveness and the son of Imam Husain (a s ) after the
great tragedy never tried to organise an army to punish the culprits, Hazrat
Ameer e Mukhtar, the son of the great Sahabi , who could not offer his
sacrifice
defending the Imam at Karbala because of being put in jail as a precautionary
measure , after the great event when he was set free, started to put each
criminal of the Karbala one by one and put under the sword . On this joyous
occasion , Ameer Mukhtar's efforts culminated to the operation
slaughter of the Yazeed’s army , many of them were put to the end and this
information brought a faint smile on the face of the Imam , who could not even
bear the sight of the severed head of a goat on the butcher's
shelf.
Hazrat Amir e Mukhtar's love for his
master was such that to finish the criminals of Karbala, all of them, became
his life mission and though he missed the great sacrifice in Krbala , the
sacrifice he did give fighting the enemies of Islam and attained martyrdom with
his just 70 companions against the mighty army of the ruler, thus ultimately
meeting his master and must have brought a smile on the face of his master too
as well as on the face of his grandfather . So that is the story of this Eid ,
a
day of rejoicing which day is expressed by the name of Eid e Zehra (saa) , Eid
e
Shuja/a and also Naveen. Wallah Aalam but it is also said that Umar ibne Sa'ad
the great butcher was also sent to Jahannum on the same day.. Zindabad Hazrat
Ameer e Mukhtar e Saqafi Zindabad. Zaheer Husain Khan 1]Narrators of history
suggest four historic events which mark the day of 9th Rabi al-Awwal as
significant. Firstly, some historians are of the opinion that the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) was born on the 9th of Rabi al-Awwal. There are two other
opinions: 12th Rabi al-Awwal and 17th Rabi al-Awwal respectively. For the
Shia's, the most popular narration is the one which states that the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) was born on the 17th Rabi al-Awwal 570 AD.
Whatever the case, the date does not make a big difference. Because Ayatullah
Ruhullah Musawi al-Khomeini (ra), the founder of the Islamic revolution had
declared the week between 9th and 17th Rabi al-Awwal as "Usboo al-Wahda"
meaning "the week of unity amongst Muslims." Muslims all over the world are
urged to get together and celebrate (Eid-E-Milad un Nabi) the birth of the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) for the
whole week
2.Secondly, in regards to the importance of this day, it is noted that the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself was seen smiling and 'celebrating' once in the
gathering in the city of Madinah on this day while in the presence of Imams
Ali, Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain (as) and said, "It is on this day that Allah
(SWT) will destroy your enemies and the enemies of your grandfather and it is
on this day when Allah (SWT) will accept the actions of your Shia and those who
love you. This is the day when the words of Allah (SWT) came true where He said
(in the Glorious Qur'an): 'So those are the houses fallen down because they
were unjust ...' (27:52). And this is the day when the Pharaoh (Firawn) of the
time of the Ahlul Bayt was destroyed ..."
3.Thirdly, the 9th of Rabi al-Awwal is also known as Eid-E-Zahra meaning the
festival of Fatima al-Zahra (sa), because 3 to 4 years after the tragedy of
Karbala, it was on
this day that joy and happiness was restored in the family of Ahlul Bayt (as).
From the tragedy of Karbala in 61 AH till this day, the family members of the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had continuously mourned and grieved the martyrdom of
Imam Hussain (as).
Then Mukhtar ibn Ubaydullah al-Thaqafi, together with Ibrahim ibn Malik
al-Ashtar and others rose to avenge the blood of Imam Hussain (as). They
arrested every killer of karbala and executed them. Finally, Mukhtar arrested
Umar ibn Saad ibn abi Waqqas (commander-in-chief of Yazeed's army at Karbala)
and Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad (governor of Yazeed in Kufa). He beheaded them and
sent their heads to Imam Ali ibn al-Hussain al-Zainul Abideen (as) in Madina.
These two heads reached the Imam Ali ibn al-Hussain al-Zainul Abideen (as) on
the 9th Rabi al-Awwal and on seeing them, Imam (as) went into prostration
(Sajda-E-Shukr) and said, "I thank Allah (SWT) who kept me alive to this day so
that I could see
the heads of the tyrants who killed my father." Imam Ali ibn al-Hussain
al-Zainul Abideen (as) then instructed the members of his family to remove the
clothes of mourning, adorn themselves and celebrate the day with joy and
happiness.
Umar ibn Saad ibn abi Waqqas (la), the killer of Imam Hussain (as) was the
wretched criminal who was the first one to shoot an arrow towards Imam Hussain
(as) on the 9th of Muharram al-Haram 61 AH, thus formally starting the war
against Imam Hussain (as)! And he proclaimed, "O people of Kufa and Shaam, be
witness hereto on the Day of Judgment, that I am the one who is the first to
shoot an arrow at Hussain"! And saying this, he shot the arrow! Later, Imam
Hussain (as) told them [the army of Yezeed whose commander-in-chief was this
Umar ibn Saad ibn abi Waqqas (la)] after delivering an eye-opening Khutbah
(sermon), that he needs to have a night for prayers!
Mukhtar ibn Ubaydullah al-Thaqafi announced the aims of his revolution in
Masjid-E-Kufa, "I will conform to Allah's Book and to His Prophet's Sunnah. I
will take the revenge on Imam Hussain's killers. I will fight against those who
have broken Allah's laws. I will defend the weak against the strong." It is
only the lucky ones who have the opportunity to celebrate this Eid! This was
the day; when for the first time after the massacre of his father Imam Hussain
(as) and his companions that our 4th Imam, Imam Ali ibn al-Hussain al-Zainul
Abideen (as) smiled! Is this not enough an excuse to celebrate? For, our joys
are with the joys of Masoomeen (infallible) and our grief and sorrows are for
them alone!
Hence, 9th of Rabi al-Awwal is the day of glory, honour, dignity
and blessings. It is a great Eid day also named as "Eid-E-Shuja."
4.Fourth or finally, 9th Rabi al-Awwal is the first day of the Imamate of our
living Imam, al-Hujjat ibn Hassan al-Askari [may Allah (SWT) hasten his return]
- a day of rejoicing and celebration.
It is true that an Imam is an Imam from birth but every Imam assumed the
official role of his Imamate after the death of the previous Imam. The reason
why we celebrate, in particular, the Imamate of our living Imam, al-Hujjat ibn
Hassan al-Askari [may Allah (SWT) hasten his return] is to perhaps remind
ourselves of his presence and about our responsibilities towards him. His
father and our 11th Imam, Imam Hassan Askari (as) passed away on the 8th of
Rabi al-Awwal 260 AH and our 12th Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi [may Allah (SWT)
hasten his return] assumed his Imamate formally at a young age of 5 years on
the 9th Rabi al-Awwal 260 AH.
We pray to Allah (SWT) to keep us
firm on His path, and to always protect us from negligence in discharging our
duties towards Him and our living Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi [may Allah (SWT)
hasten his return], and to also include us among the Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi
[may Allah (SWT) hasten his return] helpers and companions - Elahi Ameen.
One of the ways which we can strive to be amongst the companions of our living
Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi [may Allah (SWT) hasten his return] is to follow the
responsibilities which rest upon us, including the recitation of Dua al-Ahd
(the Pledge) every morning in which we proclaim: "O' Allah, truly I renew on
the dawn of this day and all the days of the remainder of my life my pledge,
covenant and allegiance to him, as my obligation, which I shall neither
contravene, nor neglect ... O' Allah include me among his helpers, defenders,
those fulfilling his wishes and commands, his defenders, the fore-runners to
carry out his intentions and those to be
martyred in his presence ... O' Allah: make him the refuge for Your oppressed
servants; a helper for him who has no other helper besides You; the reviver of
the commandments of Your book which have been neglected; the strengthener of
the sciences in Your religion, and the traditions of Your Prophet. May Allah's
blessing be upon him and his progeny."
Hadith about Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi [may Allah (SWT) hasten his return]:"The
world will not come to an end," said the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), "until a man
from my family (Ahlul Bayt) and of my name shall be master of the world, When
you see a green ensign coming from the direction of Khorasan, then join them,
for the Imam of God will be with the standards who will be called Al-Mahdi."
Last but not least: Ahmad ibn Ishaq al-Qummi was a great companion of our 11th
Imam, Imam Hassan Askari (as). On the 9th Rabi al-Awwal, Muhammad Hamadani and
Yahya Baghdadi came to visit him and were informed
that Ahmad ibn Ishaq al-Qummi was busy performing Ghusl (Ablution) for that
day. When they inquired what the Ghusl was about, they were told that Ahmad ibn
Ishaq al-Qummi had heard from 10th Imam, Imam Hadi (as), who said: "9th of Rabi
al-Awwal is the day of Eid. It is our greatest Eid and the Eid of our
followers."
After performing his Ghusl Ahmad ibn Ishaq al-Qummi said to the two visiting
men: "I have performed Ghusl because today is the Eid of 9th Rabi al-Awwal. I
visited Imam Hassan Askari (as) on this day and noticed that his ring was
shinning. The people of his household wore new clothes and had applied perfume.
When I asked the reason, Imam Hassan Askari (as) said, 'Today is 9th Rabi
al-Awwal. It is the day of Eid for us and for our followers'". (Chauda Sitaare)
ILTEMAS E DUA
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