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Ziyaarat al Arba'een https://youtu.be/weUSOGwNicw

The First Zair of Imam al-Husayn (a)

The relationship between the Holy Qur'an and Imam al-Husayn (a) https://youtu.be/uHOiS1cXFfY

Beyond Our Eyes - Imam Hussain in the eyes of non-Shia

Audhu Billahi Minash Shaithanir Rajee Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem Assalamu Alaikom So, last night I had a dream where I was travelling with a group of people through some small towns, where we entered a library. There was a part where nobody else went, containing Islamic books. The writing was in some Arabic or possibly Farsi/Urdu alphabet. I didn't pay attention to the lettering, I just knew what they were. Kneeled down beside me, was the grey outline of a man, who introduced himself as a martyr of Karbala. He also said he knew Imam Husayn (alaihe salam). Then he left, and I believe he left a green ring near the bookshelf. I continued travelling, but didn't speak for the reat of the journey. I only listened to one man, who I knew was a musician and alcoholic, plus friend of my family and a devout Christian. He seemed happy, but a little worryless. He was the only one I saw until I woke up. When I did wake up, the only names I could think of were Ali Akbar and Abdul Aala. What could this mean??? Thank you.

After discussing with other members, I have decided to share a chapter I am writing for my enlightenment class. The paper focuses on Karbala, and dissects the events through four main content areas: history, philosophy, art, and science (psychology). Here is the second chapter on philosophy: (I would appreciate advice) Chapter II: The Philosophy of Imam Husayn (as) ————————————————————————————————— Utilizing Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” found within The Republic, as an essential framework for deciphering and illuminating the philosophy of Imam Husayn (as), I will establish the historical and philosophical significance of Socrates’ teachings. Since one’s earliest upbringings, he/she remains stagnant, enraptured and entrapped by the confines of a societally constructed “cave,” compelled to perceive that which surfaces in palpable sight, a “screen” manipulated by “puppeteers,” the domineering figures of a societal submission (Plato 208). Languished in a stupor, entranced by “shadows” of reality, of a fabricated truth, resembling “strange prisoners,” individuals remain incapable of observing existence as it truly abides (Plato 208). Enlightened, the suffering inherent in said goal, “pain” the seeker as he/she perceives “more correctly,” “puzzled” by the obscurity of his/her past conceived truth (Plato 209). The upward ascent, the enlightening experience of Truth, manifests for the seeker in the witnessing of the sun in its entirety, completeness as its “reflection” wanes (Plato 210). Yet, inherent within the seeker’s quest remains the ultimate “suffering” endured by him/her as he/she confronts unyielding, unforgiving “ridicule,” lauded by the unawakened society, tested with physical violence if the distorted cave-dwellers permitted (Plato 210). Therefore, a reality, a counterfeit reality, comprised of and perceived through sight is akin to a “prison dwelling,” where the seeker must witness True reality through an “upward journey of the soul to the intelligible realm”—a pursuit of agonizing enlightenment (Plato 211). Yet, most pertinent to this analysis concerning Imam Husayn (as) remains Socrates’ ultimate philosophical goal, which will be dissected through parallels: in the knowable realm, the last thing to be seen is the form of the good, and it is seen with toil and trouble. Once one has seen it, however, one must infer that it is the cause of that is correct and beautiful in anything, that in the visible realm it produces both light and its source, and in the intelligible realm it controls and provides truth and understanding; and that anyone who is to act sensibly in private or public must see it. (Plato 211) Intrinsic to the liberating of Islam from said insipid desires, remains the concept of martyrdom. The notion of martyrdom, or shahada, is innately connected to the Islamic philosophy of “Holy Struggle,” or jihad (Ezzati 1). In the modern context, erroneously interweaved with militant organizations like ISIS or Boko Haram, jihad has mutated, deteriorated to the barbaric inclination of mass violence, terror, and accumulation of man as mere property—men, women, and children to be manipulated, battered, and disposed for the sake of worldly possessions and power. However, this notion of jihad deviates from its morally disposed doctrine—the notion and strive for “enjoining right and discovering wrong (al-amr bi’l-maruf)” (Ezzati 1). Islam, linguistically, equates to its Arabic derivatives of “surrender” and “peace;” thus, Islam is a manifestation and life of “submi[tting]” to the “will of Allah,” or God (Ezzi 1). Divergent from scholarly, popular, and Islamist conception, jihad does not denote “Holy War,” or arms for the sake of God (Ezzi 1). Martyrdom, therefore, cannot exist without “struggle” in the seeking of God, for the acquisition of Truth amid un-truth (Ezzati 2). From a examination of derivatives, martyrdom (shahada), translates to “see,” to “witness,” to “testify,” to transform into a “model and paradigm” (Ezzati 2). Thus, martyrdom linguistically and precisely denotes the perception of truth for the sake of instilling a paradigm, or exemplar, of absolute, unadulterated Truth. A “shahid,” an individual who perceives and “witnesses,” is compelled to not merely a verbal affirmation, but a physical assertion as well—he must be willing, yearning, to sacrifice his existence wholly for “truth,” transforming into a martyr (Ezzati 2). The emphasis of truth—of haqq—its “recognition” and “declaration,” straining for such, and the “preparedness to die for its sake,” thereby establishes “a model for seekers of truth,” and is the manifestation of martyrdom (Ezzati 2). Muhammad (pbuh), the seal of Islamic prophethood, embodies the “universal Message of Allah,” and the “incarnation,” the “model” (shahid) and “paradigm” (uswa), “attract[ing]” people towards the “truth” (Ezzati 3-4). Inherent within the Shi’ite comprehension of Islam remains the conception of the Immate—the “leading” and “guiding” of the Muslim Ummah (Ezzati 4). Therefore, Imam Husayn (as), reflects the concept of Truth amid un-truth akin to the seekers entrapped within the “cave”—the noble against the ignoble, the just against the tyrant. Rooted heavily in the philosophy of “Every day is Ashura,” and “every place is Karbala,” illustrates the poignant martyrdom of Imam Husayn (as) (Ezzati 5). To more comprehensively understand the intention of Imam Husayn (as), one must construct a parallel among the seeker of Socrates and the seeker Imam Husayn (as). The most eloquent and analogous words of Socrates occurs during his illustration of the ultimate goal of the enlightened to his philosopher companion Glaucon: You have forgotten again, my friend, that the law is not concerned with making any one class in the city do outstandingly well, but it is contriving to produce this condition in the city as a whole, harmonizing the citizens together through persuasion or compulsion, and making them share with each other the benefit they can confer on the community. It produces such men in the city, not in order to allow them to turn in whatever direction each one wants, but to make use of them to bind the city together. (Plato 213) This concept of “harmonizing” the community through “persuasion or compulsion,” to essentially “bind” the collective populace in tandem mirrors the distraught, yet steadfast supplication of Imam Husayn (as). Witnessing the bloodshed, mass calamity of the Battle of Karbala, near the closing of the tenth of Muharram, Imam Husayn (as) invoked the Muslim Ummah of “every generation,” of all victims oppressed by “Yazeedism”—the ideological representative of tyranny, repression of “justice, truth, morality” (Rashid 1): Is there anyone who will come to assist us? Is there anyone who will respond to our call for aid? (Rahim 1). Imploring for the perpetuation of “this jihad at the individual, social, and political levels,” Imam Husayn (as) sacrificed his physical existence for the amelioration of a regime devised on “nepotism and blood relationships” (Rahim 9). Prior to leaving Medinah, Imam Husayn (as) crafted a will delivering such to his brother Muhammad Hanifiya: “My mission is to reform the muslim community which I propose to do by amral bill ma’ruf and nahya anil munkar, inviting them to the good and advising them against evil. It is not my intention to set myself as an insolent or arrogant tyrant or mischief maker” (Rahim 9). Akin to the philosophy of Socrates, the Islamic ideology of shielding “truth,” blossoms from those “bred” to be “leaders and kings of

There is often a tendency in people to distance themselves from the acts they perceive to be dishonourable, disloyal etc. However, it is also common for human being to see the twig in another’s eye, and forget the log in their own. In these days, as we remember the trials that the family of Prophet Muhammad faced, and the statements that were made those days, it is quite easy to convince oneself that they would indeed have been “with” and his companion and achieved thefawzan adheema (great success) with them. However, we must also ask ourselves, were there no Muslims at the time of Imam Husayn? Were there no people who claimed to love them but then deserted them when the call of Imam Husayn was made. Imam Husayn (as) stood on the plains of Karbala that day, and said it aloud, so that history would record that the ummah had deserted the family of the Prophet, and he asked, facing different directions: “Is there anyone who will come to assist us? Is there anyone who will respond to our call for aid?” It was not only Imam Husayn who asked these questions to the ummah. Our lady Zaynab (sa) similarly asked of the people of Kufa: "Woe upon you O people of Kufa. Do you realise which piece of Muhammad's heart you have severed! Which pledge you have broken! Whose blood you have shed! Whose honour you have desecrated!. It is not just Hussain whose headless body lies unburied on the sands of Kerbala. It is the heart of the Holy Prophet. It is the very soul of Islam!" Often, in shia communities, you will find reference is made to the treachery of Ahl Kufa because of this statement. However, the people of Kufah represent an ideology that is present within us, within our societies, and one which we must fight or else fall in the same group. When we fail in our duty towards justice within our wider global community, it is we who are silent to the call of Imam Husayn, and it is us he asked that day, as he turned in different directions and asked “Hal min naas...” Next time we are Ziyarat Waaritha and repeat the words: “And I make Allah, His angels, His prophets, and His messengers, witnesses to the fact that I believe in Imam Hussain and in my return to Allah. I also believe in the laws of Allah and in the consequences of human actions. I have subordinated the desires of my heart to his (Imam Hussain's) heart and I sincerely submit to him and (promise to follow his commands)." We must make sure that we mean the words we say, and it is not just an annual ritual we go through, like Hey! Time to get the black clothes out and attend the social events and cry some, then live our normal lives, not changing or incorporating any part of Hussainiyat in them. Each season of azadari (mourning for Imam) must be a season of life changing, a formal commitment, and continuation of a pledge to distance oneself from all injustice, starting with, but not limited to the injustice against the self (sin). Imam Khumayni in his will states a valuable point about mourning. He says: "The memory of this great epic event (Ashura) must be kept alive. Remember, the cries of damnation and all the curses that are rightfully raised against the cruelty of the Bani Umayyayah caliphs towards the Holy Imams, are reflected in the heroic protests against cruel despots by the nations through the centuries. It is the perpetuation of such protests that shatter oppression and cruelty. It is necessary that the crimes of the tyrants in each age and era be indicated in the cries of lamentation and in the recitals of elegies held for the Holy Imams." I end my entry today with a reminder about a noble man who dedicated his life towards serving Imam Husayn (as). This man is Habib ibn Madhahir, one of the faithful and loyal companions who stood that day, to the last moment and guaranteed his path to jannah by his blood. After the events of the day of Ashura, and the rest of the camp of Imam Husayn (as) were taken captive and paraded through the cities, there was one unique thing about the decapitated head of Habib. Unlike the others which were mounted on spears, history tells us his head was tied to a horse and dragged around. It is said that while in Kufah, a young boy called Qasim followed the horse around whose neck his head was tied. Finally, the rider of the horse asked the boy: “Why are you following me around? What do you want?” Qasim was silent. Again the man asked, “Why are you staring at the head?” and Qasim replied: This is the head of my father, Habib ibn Madhaahir. Please give it to me so that I may bury it…” May Allah make us among those who realise who the call was made to, and who was asked for help and take up the worship of loyally serving and dedicating our lives to the Imam of our time, so as not leave him lonely as he wanders, seeking the avengers of the blood of his forefathers and their loyal companions. Source: Inspired To Servitude Blog