Ten years ago, I was blessed to go for hajj. Unlike some people who think and prepare for a lifetime before going, my hajj came to me unanticipated. I had found Islam less than five years prior, and I was just out of college without any savings to spend on such a journey. Further, the very concept of hajj was alien - no one in my family had ever traveled out of the country - none of us even had passports - and my non-Muslim family had a very hard time with the whole idea, not understanding its purpose and finding the idea very frightening, potentially dangerous. All they could see was their daughter going off to the middle east with people they didn't know and so they were very worried. But I guess it was meant to be, because somehow everything worked out and I was soon in Saudi Arabia with millions of other pilgrims.
What follows are a few things from my hajj that have stayed with me a decade later.
1. I will never forget the feeling of tranquility and holiness around the Prophet's (saw) mosque and Janatul Baqi in Medina. The desolate, desecrated nature of the graves in Baqi was disconcordant with the holiness that permeated the air and earth in that place. Everyone in our caravan felt very much at home and thoughts of family, jobs, or anything back in North America never had room for entry - it was if a previous life had ended, we had all been reborn, and were living a new life, the real life, finally.
2. I met more Muslims and made more lasting connections on hajj than any other experience. Random Iranian Shia strangers would bestow gifts and kindnesses upon discovering a fellow Shia from another country - even though it was not their country, I often felt like I was being hosted by them, rather than the Saudis; it seemed to me more than it was their place even though they were journeyers like myself. The Saudis I met were excited to see an American, sure I had lots of money to spend that I was holding back on, and if they were Shia, were very cautious about showing any aspect of their belief. The people in my caravan took care of me - I would have been totally lost without their companionship and guidance, as many of them had performed hajj before and always seemed to know where to go and what to do next.
3. Before going for hajj, I had no particular emotional reaction to seeing images of the kaba; but when I actually saw it for the first time in person, I was in tears awestruck. I was just amazed to be there, so far from home, with millions of people from all over the world, and with physical structures that connected me to imams and prophets (as). I knew it was a gift and a miracle to be there.
4. I learned a level of patience and tolerance that I never even thought about before. I saw real poverty for the first time and remember thinking often about the throngs of people who had no accommodations and were just sleeping on the streets, even in dumpsters, and yet, like me, this was a journey of a life time for them, and they'd probably worked much harder to get there than I had. The poverty in Saudi Arabia outside of the main areas pilgrims frequented was stark in contrast to the sometimes gaudy excessiveness that sat right next to it. A pilgrim is not in control during hajj,he or she is just another drop in a sea, and learns to just wait, just endure, just exist, just feel, just be. While in one sense the journey is a very selfish one - one is striving to have this deed accepted and not wasted, you're very special, called there by God while many others were not able to make it - in another sense, the individuality fades away. You're not special on hajj, but rather you're totally unimportant and not unique from anyone else around you - you're focused on the Creator and the spiritual tasks with very little thought of the world, of comfort or discomfort.
4. I remember being really quite surprised to discover that Safa and Marwa were not mountains but smoothed small hills and under a roof at that. Incongruities and surprises like that happened constantly - one minute all would be holy and peaceful, the next you would be jarred by someone's hostility in the crowd, one sight would be as you expect, the next would be entirely different. While the haram was an amazing place, the most memorable experience for me in Mecca was the evening when several thousand Shias filled a plaza to perform Dua Kumayl, courageously organized by Iranian pilgrims. Saudi police in riot gear surrounded us, but the gathering began and ended without incident. Anything is possible with God, and nothing is possible without God - hajj showed me that repeatedly.
5. Coming home from hajj was the hardest part of the journey. Readjusting to normal life was very difficult, because it was like accepting a fake, two-dimensional reality after seeing the real, 3D HD world for the first time. But I could no more explain my physical and spiritual journey to my non-Muslim family than a land-dwelling animal could describe its world to a fish who lived confined to the depths of the sea. I didn't feel glad to be back, and while my parents were so relieved to have me back, I was not the same me that had left them. I discovered the real challenge of hajj came after it was over. When you're back in your ordinary, mundane life, can you hold on to the lessons, relationships, feelings, and spiritual gains outside of that focused, spiritually-charged environment? Or will you let the old you come back and take over?
If not everyone can go for hajj, perhaps everyone can create or find some spiritually-charged environment to be a humble pilgrim in now and then - a conference, a retreat, or a special prayer room in your home with guests that inspire you spiritually. I think we all need to be pilgrims from this world from time to time to help us not get lost in it.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Happy Birthday of Imam Reza (as)
I bear witness that there is no God save Allah, the One; and there is no partner to share with Him.
I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger, verily, he is the lord of the ancients and the moderns, verily, he is the head of the Prophets and the Messengers.
O Allah send blessing on Muhammad, Thy servant, Thy Messenger and Thy Prophet, the chief of all that has been created by Thee, blessings which no one is able to measure other than Thee.
O Allah send blessings on the Ameer ul Moomineen, Ali ibna Abi Talib, Thy servant, the brother of Thy Messenger, whom Thou elected to have Thy Knowledge, made him a guide to show the right path to those of Thy servants who want to be led aright, an evident proof for those who pay careful attention to Thy Message, he managed the affairs of the religion according to Thy system of justice, made application of Thy commands to settle the issues which cropped up among the people, and let Thy will and command rule supreme in all matters; peace be on him, also mercy and blessings of Allah.
O Allah send blessings on Fatimah, the daughter of Thy Prophet, the wife of Thy friend, the mother of the two sons, Hasan and Husayn, the prime leaders of the people of Paradise, she is pure, purified, pious content, wise leader of all the women of the Paradise,
blessings which no one is able to measure other than Thee.
O Allah send blessings on Hasan and Husayn, the two sons of Thy Prophet, the prime leaders of the people of Paradise, Thy established authority among the people, Thy two evident proofs for those who pay careful attention to Thy Message, who managed the affairs of the religion according to Thy system of justice, and made application of Thy commands to settle the issues which cropped up among the people.
O Allah send blessings on Ali bin Husayn, Thy servant, Thy established authority among the people, Thy evident proof for those who pay careful attention to Thy Message, who managed the affairs of the religion according to Thy system of justice, and made application of Thy commands to settle the issues which cropped up among the people, the lord among Thy adorers.
O Allah send blessings on Muhammad bin Ali, Thy servant, Thy representative in the earth, the deeply versed in the knowledge of Prophets. O Allah send blessings on Jaa'-far bin Muhammad, the truthful, Thy servant, the defender of Thy religion, Thy decisive argument over the mankind, the truthful, the just.
O Allah send blessings on Moosa bin Jaa'-far, Thy upright servant, Thy approved spokesman among Thy people, Thy decisive argument over the mankind.
O Allah send blessings on Ali bin Moosa who please Thee most, the chosen, Thy servant, the defender of Thy religion, rightly and justly established by Thee as an authority who made earnest presentation of arguments to promote Thy religion which is the religion of his truthful ancestors, blessings which no one is able to measure other than Thee.
O Allah send blessings on Muhammad bin Ali, Thy servant, Thy chosen representative, appointed by Thy command, who invited people Thy path.
O Allah send blessings on Ali bin Muhammad, Thy servant, the defender of Thy religion.
O Allah send blessings on Hasan bin Ali who put Thy system into practice, the established authority among the people, Thy demonstrator who carried out the mission of Thy Prophet, Thy witness over the mankind, distinguished with Thy excellence, who reminded people to obey Thee and Thy Messenger. Thy blessings be on all of them.
O Allah send blessings on Thy demonstrator, Thy established representative among the people, perfect, growing and everlasting blessings expedite his arrival
and help him, let us be with him in this world and in the Hereafter.
O Allah I seek Thy nearness through my love for them. I make friends with their friends, I oppose their enemies, so, on account of them, give me good of this world and the Hereafter, keep away from me the evil of this world and the Hereafter, the dreadful fright on the Day of Judgement.
Peace be on you, O the representative of Allah!Peace be on you, O the evident proof of Allah!
Peace be on you, O the light of Allah in the darkness of this (ignorant) world!
Peace be on you, O the mainstay of the religion!
Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Adam, the sincerely attached friend of Allah!
Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Nooh, the Prophet of Allah!
Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Ibrahim, the intimate friend of Allah!
Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Ismaeel, the sacrifice offered to Allah!
Peace be on you,O the Inheritor of Moosa, who spoke to Allah!
Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Eesaa, who received mercy , joy and ease from Allah!
Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah!
Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of the Ameer ul Moomineen, the representative of Allah, the executor of the will of the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds!
Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Faatimah Zahra!
Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Hasan and Husayn, the prime leaders of the people of Paradise!
Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Ali bin Husayn, the pride of the worshippers!
Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Muhammad bin Ali, the deeply versed in the wisdom of the ancients and moderns!
Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Jaa'-far bin Muhammad, the truthful, the virtuous!
Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Moosa bin Jaa'-far! Peace be on you, O the virtuous and pious guardian!
I bear witness that, verily, you established the prayers, gave the prescribed share to the needy, commanded to do that which is right and lawful, not to do that which is wrong and unlawful, sincerely served Allah, till the inevitable came unto you
Peace be on you, O Abal Hasan, and mercy and blessings of Allah be on you.
O Allah I had left my place of domicile to go towards Thee, and crossed many a town in the hope of getting Thy mercy, therefore, do not disappoint me, do not send me away without awarding that which I need, have mercy on my restless agitation near the son of Thy Messenger's brother, Thy blessings be on him and on his children.
My father and mother are at your disposal O my Mawlaa! I have come to visit you, adore you and take refuge with you from the excesses I indulged into, from the burden of sins I carry on my back, so, in the day of distress, be my advocate before Allah, because you enjoy special privileges in the presence of Allah, and He shows respect for you and brings honour to you.
O Allah I seek Thy nearness through my love and friendship for them (the Ahlul Bayt), I love each and every one of them, from the first to the last, and avoid intimate association with anyone other than the Ahlul Bayt Curse of Allah be on those who subverted Thy "Favour" suspected Thy Prophet to be guilty of falsehood, denied Thy revelation, laugh at Thy representatives, and gave preference to nonentities over the "Aali Muhammad.
O Allah I seek Thy nearness by calling down curses on them, I keep myself aloof from them in this world and in the Hereafter, O Beneficent!
Blessings of Allah be on you, O Abal Hasan!
Blessings of Allah be on your soul and your body! You suffered patiently and exercised self-control, (although) you were truthful and your truthfulness had been confirmed; Allah destroyed him who gave the orders to kill you, and him who carried it out.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Shrine of Lady Masooma (as), Dua Tawassul
Dua Tawassul is being recited in the video.
"This is video footage of the Shrine of the Holy Lady Fatima Masooma [s] who is buried in the Holy city of Qum, where many pilgrims go for ziyarat.
The value of making a pilgrimage(the ziarat) to the shrine of Masooma-e-Qum is observed by the words of the holy Imams [a]:
1.Imam Al Baqir [a] has said:Whoever performs the Ziarat of Masooma-e-Qum will be rewarded by a place in Heaven.
2.Imam Al Sadiq [a] has said: If you want to earn a place in heaven then perform the Ziarat of Masooma-e-Qum.
3.Imam Al Ridha [a] has said: Whoever attends the Ziarat of my sister is like he has performed my Ziarat and indeed he/she will be rewarded a place in Paradise.
The background track that I have included is the musibat of Fatima [s], the daughter of the Prophet [p]. There are narrations which indicate that one who wishes to do ziyarat of Fatima [s] should pay visit to Masooma e Qum [s].
May Allah accept our ziyarat and may He give us the ability to serve the Master of age Al Mahdi [aj]. "
Here is another video of Dua Tawassul:
"This is video footage of the Shrine of the Holy Lady Fatima Masooma [s] who is buried in the Holy city of Qum, where many pilgrims go for ziyarat.
The value of making a pilgrimage(the ziarat) to the shrine of Masooma-e-Qum is observed by the words of the holy Imams [a]:
1.Imam Al Baqir [a] has said:Whoever performs the Ziarat of Masooma-e-Qum will be rewarded by a place in Heaven.
2.Imam Al Sadiq [a] has said: If you want to earn a place in heaven then perform the Ziarat of Masooma-e-Qum.
3.Imam Al Ridha [a] has said: Whoever attends the Ziarat of my sister is like he has performed my Ziarat and indeed he/she will be rewarded a place in Paradise.
The background track that I have included is the musibat of Fatima [s], the daughter of the Prophet [p]. There are narrations which indicate that one who wishes to do ziyarat of Fatima [s] should pay visit to Masooma e Qum [s].
May Allah accept our ziyarat and may He give us the ability to serve the Master of age Al Mahdi [aj]. "
Here is another video of Dua Tawassul:
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Lady Masooma (as)
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE ALL-BENEFICENT, THE ALL-MERCIFUL
FELICITATIONS TO YOU ALL ON THE OCCASION OF THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTHDAY OF HADHRAT FATIMA MA'SUMA (PEACE BE UPON HER)
10 DAYS OF NOBILITY:
The first ten days of the lunar month of Dhul Qa’dah are celebrated in some Muslim countries like Iran as Daheye Karamat (ten days of nobility). This is because they start with the birthday of Hadhrat Ma’suma (‘a) on the 1st of Dhul Qa’da [173 AH] and meet with the birthday of her sibling, Imam al-Ridha (‘a) on the 11th [148 AH] of the same month. Both are epitomes of spiritual greatness and nobility. Their life histories are brim with lessons for us to learn and emulate. Celebrating such occasions is to remember their personalities and instill in us the spirit of obedience to Almighty Allah. When one beholds the tomb of Hadhrat Ma’suma (‘a) in the holy city of Qum, which in reality serves as its fundamental source of light, one should be overtaken with the purity it exemplifies. Her radiant shrine constantly echoes a very important message for all her lovers: protect yourself from sin and struggle for infallibility. She was known as al-Ma’suma by her infallible brother Imam al-Ridha (‘a) due to her immaculate personality. If we are receptive enough to absorb her message, we would struggle for purity. Celebration in reality is an act of commitment and pledge. We must resolve to flee from sin, in order to celebrate this occasion of joy. Imam al-Ridha (‘a) likewise gives a similar message but in another language: the language of Divine pleasure. The word al-Ridhaa connotes both al-Raadhi (the pleased one) and al-Mardhi (the one whom one is pleased with). In other words He is pleased with what Allah does, and Allah is pleased with Him. He thus enjoys the state of a contented soul (al-nafs al-mutma’inna), whose status is so high, that Almighty Allah addresses it thus: “O soul at peace! Return to your Lord, pleased, pleasing! Then enter among My servants! And enter My paradise!” (89:27-30)The word “jannati” (my Paradise) in the verse refers to the loftiest kind of Paradise, which scholars of authority call “Jannat al-Liqa’”(the Paradise of encountering Allah). Such a station is what has to be experienced and words do not qualify to express. Fortunate are those who are able to visit the radiant shrines of Imam al-Ridha (‘a) and her noble sister Hadhrat Ma’suma (‘a). Mere visitation, however, is not enough. We need reflective minds who are able to draw a world of information by beholding such edifices of light, that can transport every receptive heart to the true meaning of belief, action, love, steadfastness, extinction in the Divine, absorption, revolution, emancipation, concern, etc.
Salams and Du'as
Holy Proximity of Hadhrat Ma'suma ('A) (From Muhammad Khalfan)
Please visit imamreza.net to read more about Lady Masooma (as). Also, here is a book about her at al-islam.org.
Her Ziarat, given to us by her brother, Imam Reza (as):
Allah is the great
Glory be to Allah
Praise be to Allah
Peace be on Adam, the Choice of Allah! Peace be on Noah, the Prophet of Allah,
Peace be on Ibraheem, the Friend of Allah, Peace be on Mosa who spoke to Allah, Peace be on Isa, the Spirit of Allah.
Peace be on you, O Messenger of Allah, Peace be on you, O the best of the Mankind
Peace be on you, O Choice of Allah! Peace be on you. O Mohammed bin Abdullah, the last of the Prophets!
Peace be on you, O Ali bin Abi Talib, Commander of the faithful and the Successor of the Messenger of Allah.
Peace be on you, O Fatimah, the Leader of the women of the worlds,
Peace be on you, O the grandsons of the Prophet of Mercy, and the leaders of the youth of Paradise
Peace be on you, O Ali bin Husain, the leader of worshippers, O Coolness of investigating eyes,
Peace be on you, O Mohammed bin Ali, O the explorer of the knowledge
Peace be on you, O Jafar bin Mohammed, the truthful the benign, the trustworthy,
Peace be on you, O Mosa bin Jafar, the pure, the purified,
Peace be on you, O Ali bin Mosa, the pleased, the gratified,
Peace be on you, O Mohammed bin Ali, the pious one Peace be on you, O Ali bin Mohammed, the pure, the advising guardian, and the trustworthy
Peace be on Hasan bin Ali, Peace be on the successor after him
O Allah, bless your light, the successor and vicegerent of Thy Messenger and Thy decisive argument over mankind
Peace be on you, O daughter of the Messenger of Allah! Peace be on you, O, daughter of Fatimah and Khadeejah!
Peace be on you, O, daughter of the Commander of the faithful! Peace be on you, O, daughter of Hasan and Husain!
Peace be on you, O, daughter of the vicegerent of Allah! Peace be on you, O, sister of the vicegerent of Allah! Peace be on you, O, Aunt of the vicegerent of Allah!
Peace be on you, O, daughter of Mosa bin Jafar! May Allah confer His Mercy and blessing on you!
Peace be on you May Allah grant us your companionship on the day of Judgment
and guide us to follow your footsteps and lead us to your grandfather's fountain andquench our thirst out of it, with Mohammed's own cup in Ali's hand,
Allah bless you All. I ask Allah to grant us, through you, happiness, ease and your companionship,
together with your grandfather on the day of Judgment
and not to deprive us from understanding you. Indeed, He is Protector and Powerful on everything.
O Allah, I seek Thy nearness through my love for you, my enmity for your enemies and my surrender to Allah willingly, not arrogantly my acceptance,
with unshaken faith, what He communicated to Mohammed seeking in that Thy Face! Thy satisfaction, and the next world.
O Master! Stand by us when Allah sits in judgment over us, O intimate of Allah,
O Allah, I ask Thee to make my ending happy, and not to take away what you have given me
There is neither might nor power but with Allah, the Great, the Exalted.
So by Thy generosity, might Mercy and bounteousness, comply with our supplication,
Allah, bless Mohammed, and his pious and pure Progeny and give them abundant peace! O the most Merciful of the Merciful.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Peace be upon Imam Jafar as Sadiq (as)
Excerpts from his Lantern of the Path:
Thankfulness
With every breath you take, a thanksgiving is incumbent upon you, indeed, a thousand thanks or more. The lowest level of gratitude is to see that the blessing comes from Allah irrespective of the cause for it, and without the heart being attached to that cause. It consists of being satisfied with what is given; it means not disobeying Him with regard to His blessing, or opposing Him in any of His commands and prohibitions because of His blessing.
Be a grateful bondsman to Allah in every way, and you will find that Allah is a generous Lord in every way. If there were a way of worshipping Allah for His sincerest bondsman to follow more excellent than giving thanks at every instance, He would have ascribed to them the name of this worship above the rest of creation. Since there is no form of worship better than that, He has singled out this kind of worship from other kinds of worship, and has singled out those who practise this kind of worship, saying,
وَقَلِيلٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُورُ
Very few of my servants are grateful. (34:13)
Complete thankfulness is to sincerely repent your inability to convey the least amount of gratitude, and expressing this by means of your sincere glorification of Allah. This is because fitting thanks is itself a blessing bestowed upon the bondsman for which he must also give thanks; it is of greater merit and of a higher state than the original blessing which caused him to respond with thanks in the first place. Therefore, every time one gives thanks one is obliged to give yet greater thanks, and so on ad infinitum, and this while absorbed in His blessings and unable to achieve the ultimate state of gratitude. For how can the bondsman match with gratitude the blessings of Allah, and when will he match his own action with Allah's while all along the bondsman is weak and has no power whatsoever, except from Allah?
Allah is not in need of the obedience of His bondsmen, for He has the power to increase blessings forever. Therefore be a grateful bondsman to Allah, and in this manner you will see wonders.
Enjoining what is Good and Forbidding what is Evil
Whoever has not thrown off his anxieties, been purified of the evils of his self and its appetites, defeated Satan, and entered under the guardianship of Allah and the security of His protection, cannot properly enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil; and since he has not attained these aforementioned qualities, whatever affair he tackles in attempting to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil will be a proof against him, and people will not benefit from it.
أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ
Allah said, What! Do you enjoin men to be good and neglect your own souls? (2:44)
Anyone who does that is called upon thus: Oh- traitor! Do you demand from My creation that which you have rejected for yourself and have slackened the reins [in this regard] upon yourself?
It is related that Tha'labah al-Asadi asked the Messenger of Allah about this verse:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْ لاَ يَضُرُّكُم مَّن ضَلَّ إِذَا اهْتَدَيْتُمْ
O you who believe! Take care of your souls; he who errs cannot hurt you when you are on the right way. (5:105)
The Messenger of Allah said, 'Enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, and be forbearing in whatever afflicts you, until such time when you see meanness obeyed and passions followed, and when everyone will have conceit about their own opinion, then you should concern yourself only with yourself, and ignore the affairs of the common people.'
A person who enjoins what is good needs to be knowledgeable about what is permissible and what is forbidden; he must be free from his personal inclinations regarding what he enjoins and forbids, give good counsel to people, be merciful and compassionate to them, and call them with gentleness in a very clear manner, while recognizing their different characters so that he can put each in his proper place.
He must see the intrigues of the self and the machinations of Satan. He must be patient in whatever befalls him, and must not seek compensation from people for that which he instructs them in, nor complain about them. He should not make use of vehemence or passion. He should not become angry for his own sake. He should make his intention purely for Allah, and seek His help and desire Him. But if people oppose him and are harsh to him, he must be patient; and if they agree with him and accept his verdict, he must be thankful, entrusting his affair to Allah and looking to his own faults.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Laylatul Qadr Qur'an
I like this recitation - it is clear and beautiful to me.
Recommended for reciting on Laylatul Qadr:
Surah Qadr (short Surah, recommended to recite many times)
Surah 44 - The Smoke
Surah 30 - The Romans
Surah 29 - The Spider
Surah 36 - YaSin (Recommended to recite 3 times - here with transliteration - follow along if you wish, insha'allah)
As an aside, I decided the main focus of my prayers, aside from asking for the well-being of my family and loved ones, is simply for contentment in all occasions. I pray for increased gratitude to Allah swt, guidance and forgiveness for those who seek them, blessings on the Prophet (saw) and the Ahlulbayt (sa), good of this world and Hereafter for all believers in all times and places.
Recommended for reciting on Laylatul Qadr:
Surah Qadr (short Surah, recommended to recite many times)
Surah 44 - The Smoke
Surah 30 - The Romans
Surah 29 - The Spider
Surah 36 - YaSin (Recommended to recite 3 times - here with transliteration - follow along if you wish, insha'allah)
As an aside, I decided the main focus of my prayers, aside from asking for the well-being of my family and loved ones, is simply for contentment in all occasions. I pray for increased gratitude to Allah swt, guidance and forgiveness for those who seek them, blessings on the Prophet (saw) and the Ahlulbayt (sa), good of this world and Hereafter for all believers in all times and places.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Martyrdom Imam 'Ali (as)
Restatement of History of Islam
The Assassination of Ali
FROM THE SECOND HALF OF 658, MUAWIYA, the governor of Syria, had been steadily escalating violence against the dominions of Ali. Some of his inroads reached Ain-at-Tamar and Anbar, only 170 miles north of Kufa. The men of Kufa were so unwilling to fight against the Syrians that Ali found it impossible to take effective punitive action. Muawiya himself led a raid right across the Jazira from Raqqa to Mosul, and met no resistance anywhere. At last, Ali declared in the mosque of Kufa that he would leave the city with the few of his faithful followers in an attempt to halt the Syrian aggression against Iraq, even if it cost him his life. This threat awakened the citizens of Kufa to the specter of being left leaderless if Ali was killed fighting against the Syrians. They were stung into action and they began to mobilize for defense.
The battle of Siffin had been the first trial of strength between Ali and Muawiya. Militarily, the battle had been a near-victory for Ali, but politically, it had become a stalemate. After some time, it began to appear that Ali would take up the challenge of Muawiya. But just then Ali was assassinated in the mosque of Kufa, and the second trial of strength never took place.
According to the historical accounts some of which are quite plausible, three Kharjis met in Kufa (some say in Makkah) to hatch a conspiracy. Each of them volunteered to kill each of the three leading political figures of the Dar-ul-Islam – Ali, Muawiya and Amr bin Aas. By killing them, it is alleged, they hoped to put an end to civil wars in Islam, and to restore peace to the Muslim umma.
One of the three conspirators was a certain Abdur Rahman bin Muljam. He stayed in Kufa to kill Ali, and the other two went to Syria and Egypt to kill Muawiya and Amr bin Aas. The plans of the would-be assassins of Muawiya and Amr bin Aas, according to the stories in circulation, went awry, and they were captured and were executed.
The Kharjis had been defeated at Nehrwan, and most of them had perished in the battle but a few had escaped. Abdur Rahman bin Muljam was one of those who had escaped. He was consumed with the desire to kill Ali, and was in quest of an opportunity to do so. By a coincidence, he met a Kharji woman, one Qattama, whose father and brothers had also been killed in Nehrwan, and she too had nursed an undying hatred of Ali.
Abdur Rahman fell in love with Qattama, and proposed marriage to her. She told him that the price of her hand was the head of Ali ibn Abi Talib. This only strengthened Abdur Rahman in his resolution. He promised his inamorata the moon if she asked for it, but she said that nothing was of interest to her if she could not get the head of Ali ibn Abi Talib!
Abdur Rahman bin Muljam carefully worked out his plans to kill Ali. A few other trusted Kharjis also volunteered their services to him, and together they rehearsed the assassination. Abdur Rahman bin Muljam took one extra precaution – he put his sword in deadly poison, and let it soak in it for three days.
On the morning of the 19th of Ramadan of the year 40 A.H., Ali came into the Great Mosque of Kufa, and called Adhan (the call to prayer). He took his place in the alcove, and moments later, the worshippers began to arrive. They stood behind him in serried ranks, and the prayer began. Standing in the front row, with other worshippers, were Abdur Rahman bin Muljam and his confederates. They were watching Ali's movements. In the folds of their cloaks, they were carrying swords burnished to a high sheen, and soaked in poison.
Just when Ali touched the ground with his forehead for sajda, Abdur Rahman bin Muljam stepped out of his row, and crept into the alcove. And just when Ali lifted his head from the ground, ibn Muljam struck the fatal blow at his forehead with such deadly force that it split open.
Blood squirted from Ali's forehead in several jets, and he exclaimed:
"By the Lord of the Kaaba, I am successful!"
The members of the congregation realized what had happened, and as soon as they concluded the prayer, they surrounded him. His sons, Hasan and Husain, carried him to his house. A physician came, and tried to dress the ghastly wound but could not stop the bleeding. The blow of the sword was fatal anyway, but the poison from its blade was also spreading rapidly in his body. The Arab historians say that it was the second time that Ali was wounded in the forehead, the first time being when, in the battle of the Trench fought in 627, the sword of Amr bin Abd Wudd cut through his shield and helmet, and struck it. His forehead still bore the scar left by the sword of Amr.
This is the account left by the Arab historians of the assassination of Ali, and it has been accepted as authentic by the vast majority of the Muslims.
Though this account has the authority of "consensus" of the historians behind it, its authenticity, nevertheless, is suspect on the grounds of "circumstantial evidence." There are too many "coincidences" in it.
No one questions the fact that it was Ibn Muljam who killed Ali. But was it his own idea to kill him? It is quite probable that the idea was planted in his mind by someone else who used subliminal techniques for doing so. Ibn Muljam didn't know that he was only a cat's paw, and he went ahead and killed Ali.
At this time no one in Dar-ul-Islam was more interested in the assassination of Ali than Muawiya. The plot to kill Ali, the skill displayed in its execution, and its success, show the touch of consummate subtlety and a high degree of professionalism which were characteristic of Muawiya alone, whereas Ibn Muljam was nothing more than a bumpkin. Muawiya employed the same "skill" in removing from the scene, real or fancied threats to his own security and power, on numerous other occasions in later times, with the same results.
Muawiya's spies had informed him that Ali was making preparations for the invasion of Syria. In the battle of Siffin, Muawiya had not responded to chivalrous treatment by Ali. This time, therefore, Ali had decided, not to fight a lingering action but a swift one that would quell Muawiya's rebellion, and would restore peace to the embattled empire of the Muslims. Muawiya also knew that Ali had, this time, both the ability and the resolution, to bring the conflict to a speedy and successful conclusion. His only hope, therefore, for his safety in future, as in the past, lay in the succor that he could get from his old and trusted "allies" – treachery and intrigue. He, therefore, mobilized them, and they didn't disappoint him.
Muawiya made the act of the assassination of Ali look absolutely spontaneous and convincing by making himself and his crony, Amr bin Aas, the potential and intended "victims" of the conspiracy and fanaticism of the Kharji anarchists. But both of them "escaped" assassination by a rare "stroke of good luck." One of them "fell ill" on the day he was to be "assassinated," and did not go into the mosque; the other did not fall ill, but went into the mosque wearing his armor under his cloak. He was "attacked" by his "assassin" but was "saved" by his armor. "Falling ill" would have been an indiscreet act, and would have exposed both "victims." In this manner, "illness" and the armor "saved" both Muawiya and Amr bin Aas from the daggers of their Kharji "assassins."
But Ali was not so "lucky." He did not fall ill, and he did not put on his armor when entering the mosque. In the mosque, Ibn Muljam was awaiting him with a sword soaked in poison. When Ali rose from sajda, he struck at his forehead, and cleft it. The blow proved to be fatal.
Most of the Arab historians wrote histories which were "inspired" by Muawiya and his successors. He was of course free to inject any account into those histories. He, therefore, managed to save himself and Amr bin Aas from the indictment of history, and it was Ibn Muljam alone who went down in history books as the real and the only villain of the crime.
By a coincidence, the assassination of Ali took place on the eve of his invasion of Syria.
Though the Kharji anarchists had aimed their daggers at all three of the leading political figures of the Muslim world, viz., Ali, Muawiya and Amr bin Aas, by a coincidence, the latter two escaped the attempts on their lives, and Ali alone was killed.
By still another coincidence, the two men who escaped, i.e., Muawiya and Amr bin Aas, were intimate friends of each other, and both of them were – coincidence again – the mortal enemies of the third, i.e., Ali, who was the only one to be killed.
There are too many mysterious coincidences that saved the lives of Muawiya and Amr bin Aas but took the life of Ali.
Ali spent the time still left to him in prayer and devotions; in dictating his will; in giving instructions to his sons, ministers and generals regarding the conduct of the government; and in urging them all never to forget the old, the sick, the poor, the widows and the orphans at any time.
Ali declared that his elder son, Hasan, would succeed him as the head of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, and as the sovereign of all Muslims.
Though Ali was steadily weakening from the loss of blood and from the action of poison, all his faculties were sharp and clear right to the last moment. To all those people who came to see him, he said that they ought to be aware, at all times, of the presence of their Creator in their lives, to love Him, to serve Him, and to serve His Creation.
The poison had done its work, and on the morning of the 21st of Ramadan of 40 A.H., Ali ibn Abi Talib left this world to go into the presence of his Creator whom he had loved and served all his life. He was "God-intoxicated." His greatest ambition in life was to wait upon his Creator, every moment of his existence, and he realized it, and this is the meaning of his exclamation in the alcove of the mosque when he felt the edge of the sword at his forehead: "By the Lord of the Kaaba, I am successful."
Hasan and Husain washed the body of their father, draped it in a shroud, offered the funeral prayers for it, and then buried it silently at midnight at Najaf Ashraf, at some distance from Kufa. No markings were placed on the grave, and the grave-site was kept a secret, as desired by Ali himself.
Ali, Islam's greatest saint, hero, statesman, philosopher and martyr, had left this world, and the world was not to find a man sublime like him to all eternity.
Many among the Muslims were the mourners of Ali's death but none mourned him more dolorously than the Dhimmis (the Jews, the Christians, and the Magians). They were utterly heart-broken. And when the sick, the disabled, the cripples, the orphans and the widows in the empire heard that he had died, they felt that their world had collapsed. He had been a father to them all. He had taken them all by the hand. He had taken them all into his prayers. Many among them did not know until after his death that it was he who had fed them and had taken care of them. He had taken all mankind into his grasp.
Whereas Ali was accessible at all times to the poor and the weak, his own greatest anxiety and fear were lest any of them be inaccessible to him. It was only in his dominion that the Dhimmis (non-Muslims), the powerless and the defenseless enjoyed complete security. No one could terrorize them or exploit them. With his death, their security was gone forever!
It is a truism that exercise of power cannot be combined with saintly purity, since once a man assumes responsibility for public affairs, the moral simplicities within which it is just possible, with luck, to be able to lead a private life, are soon hideously complicated to an extent that precludes all clear distinctions between right and wrong. This truism, however, has its own exception – in Ali. He upheld principle, in public life as in private, regardless of cost. He invariably put the right thing ahead of the smart thing, regardless of cost. The source of the principles which guided his private and public life, was Al-Qur’an al-Majid as it was also the source of his political philosophy.
Ali has many critics and enemies but they cannot point out a single instance when he deviated from a principle. They cannot point out any conflict between his thought and speech on the one hand, or between his speech and deed on the other. He was consistently consistent in thought, speech and action.
Ali represented the ultimate triumph of character and ideology. He was a rare combination of love of God, devotion to duty, strength tempered with tenderness, symmetry of disposition, and inflexible integrity. His greatest legacy to the world of Islam will remain forever his sublime character.
The Assassination of Ali
FROM THE SECOND HALF OF 658, MUAWIYA, the governor of Syria, had been steadily escalating violence against the dominions of Ali. Some of his inroads reached Ain-at-Tamar and Anbar, only 170 miles north of Kufa. The men of Kufa were so unwilling to fight against the Syrians that Ali found it impossible to take effective punitive action. Muawiya himself led a raid right across the Jazira from Raqqa to Mosul, and met no resistance anywhere. At last, Ali declared in the mosque of Kufa that he would leave the city with the few of his faithful followers in an attempt to halt the Syrian aggression against Iraq, even if it cost him his life. This threat awakened the citizens of Kufa to the specter of being left leaderless if Ali was killed fighting against the Syrians. They were stung into action and they began to mobilize for defense.
The battle of Siffin had been the first trial of strength between Ali and Muawiya. Militarily, the battle had been a near-victory for Ali, but politically, it had become a stalemate. After some time, it began to appear that Ali would take up the challenge of Muawiya. But just then Ali was assassinated in the mosque of Kufa, and the second trial of strength never took place.
According to the historical accounts some of which are quite plausible, three Kharjis met in Kufa (some say in Makkah) to hatch a conspiracy. Each of them volunteered to kill each of the three leading political figures of the Dar-ul-Islam – Ali, Muawiya and Amr bin Aas. By killing them, it is alleged, they hoped to put an end to civil wars in Islam, and to restore peace to the Muslim umma.
One of the three conspirators was a certain Abdur Rahman bin Muljam. He stayed in Kufa to kill Ali, and the other two went to Syria and Egypt to kill Muawiya and Amr bin Aas. The plans of the would-be assassins of Muawiya and Amr bin Aas, according to the stories in circulation, went awry, and they were captured and were executed.
The Kharjis had been defeated at Nehrwan, and most of them had perished in the battle but a few had escaped. Abdur Rahman bin Muljam was one of those who had escaped. He was consumed with the desire to kill Ali, and was in quest of an opportunity to do so. By a coincidence, he met a Kharji woman, one Qattama, whose father and brothers had also been killed in Nehrwan, and she too had nursed an undying hatred of Ali.
Abdur Rahman fell in love with Qattama, and proposed marriage to her. She told him that the price of her hand was the head of Ali ibn Abi Talib. This only strengthened Abdur Rahman in his resolution. He promised his inamorata the moon if she asked for it, but she said that nothing was of interest to her if she could not get the head of Ali ibn Abi Talib!
Abdur Rahman bin Muljam carefully worked out his plans to kill Ali. A few other trusted Kharjis also volunteered their services to him, and together they rehearsed the assassination. Abdur Rahman bin Muljam took one extra precaution – he put his sword in deadly poison, and let it soak in it for three days.
On the morning of the 19th of Ramadan of the year 40 A.H., Ali came into the Great Mosque of Kufa, and called Adhan (the call to prayer). He took his place in the alcove, and moments later, the worshippers began to arrive. They stood behind him in serried ranks, and the prayer began. Standing in the front row, with other worshippers, were Abdur Rahman bin Muljam and his confederates. They were watching Ali's movements. In the folds of their cloaks, they were carrying swords burnished to a high sheen, and soaked in poison.
Just when Ali touched the ground with his forehead for sajda, Abdur Rahman bin Muljam stepped out of his row, and crept into the alcove. And just when Ali lifted his head from the ground, ibn Muljam struck the fatal blow at his forehead with such deadly force that it split open.
Blood squirted from Ali's forehead in several jets, and he exclaimed:
"By the Lord of the Kaaba, I am successful!"
The members of the congregation realized what had happened, and as soon as they concluded the prayer, they surrounded him. His sons, Hasan and Husain, carried him to his house. A physician came, and tried to dress the ghastly wound but could not stop the bleeding. The blow of the sword was fatal anyway, but the poison from its blade was also spreading rapidly in his body. The Arab historians say that it was the second time that Ali was wounded in the forehead, the first time being when, in the battle of the Trench fought in 627, the sword of Amr bin Abd Wudd cut through his shield and helmet, and struck it. His forehead still bore the scar left by the sword of Amr.
This is the account left by the Arab historians of the assassination of Ali, and it has been accepted as authentic by the vast majority of the Muslims.
Though this account has the authority of "consensus" of the historians behind it, its authenticity, nevertheless, is suspect on the grounds of "circumstantial evidence." There are too many "coincidences" in it.
No one questions the fact that it was Ibn Muljam who killed Ali. But was it his own idea to kill him? It is quite probable that the idea was planted in his mind by someone else who used subliminal techniques for doing so. Ibn Muljam didn't know that he was only a cat's paw, and he went ahead and killed Ali.
At this time no one in Dar-ul-Islam was more interested in the assassination of Ali than Muawiya. The plot to kill Ali, the skill displayed in its execution, and its success, show the touch of consummate subtlety and a high degree of professionalism which were characteristic of Muawiya alone, whereas Ibn Muljam was nothing more than a bumpkin. Muawiya employed the same "skill" in removing from the scene, real or fancied threats to his own security and power, on numerous other occasions in later times, with the same results.
Muawiya's spies had informed him that Ali was making preparations for the invasion of Syria. In the battle of Siffin, Muawiya had not responded to chivalrous treatment by Ali. This time, therefore, Ali had decided, not to fight a lingering action but a swift one that would quell Muawiya's rebellion, and would restore peace to the embattled empire of the Muslims. Muawiya also knew that Ali had, this time, both the ability and the resolution, to bring the conflict to a speedy and successful conclusion. His only hope, therefore, for his safety in future, as in the past, lay in the succor that he could get from his old and trusted "allies" – treachery and intrigue. He, therefore, mobilized them, and they didn't disappoint him.
Muawiya made the act of the assassination of Ali look absolutely spontaneous and convincing by making himself and his crony, Amr bin Aas, the potential and intended "victims" of the conspiracy and fanaticism of the Kharji anarchists. But both of them "escaped" assassination by a rare "stroke of good luck." One of them "fell ill" on the day he was to be "assassinated," and did not go into the mosque; the other did not fall ill, but went into the mosque wearing his armor under his cloak. He was "attacked" by his "assassin" but was "saved" by his armor. "Falling ill" would have been an indiscreet act, and would have exposed both "victims." In this manner, "illness" and the armor "saved" both Muawiya and Amr bin Aas from the daggers of their Kharji "assassins."
But Ali was not so "lucky." He did not fall ill, and he did not put on his armor when entering the mosque. In the mosque, Ibn Muljam was awaiting him with a sword soaked in poison. When Ali rose from sajda, he struck at his forehead, and cleft it. The blow proved to be fatal.
Most of the Arab historians wrote histories which were "inspired" by Muawiya and his successors. He was of course free to inject any account into those histories. He, therefore, managed to save himself and Amr bin Aas from the indictment of history, and it was Ibn Muljam alone who went down in history books as the real and the only villain of the crime.
By a coincidence, the assassination of Ali took place on the eve of his invasion of Syria.
Though the Kharji anarchists had aimed their daggers at all three of the leading political figures of the Muslim world, viz., Ali, Muawiya and Amr bin Aas, by a coincidence, the latter two escaped the attempts on their lives, and Ali alone was killed.
By still another coincidence, the two men who escaped, i.e., Muawiya and Amr bin Aas, were intimate friends of each other, and both of them were – coincidence again – the mortal enemies of the third, i.e., Ali, who was the only one to be killed.
There are too many mysterious coincidences that saved the lives of Muawiya and Amr bin Aas but took the life of Ali.
Ali spent the time still left to him in prayer and devotions; in dictating his will; in giving instructions to his sons, ministers and generals regarding the conduct of the government; and in urging them all never to forget the old, the sick, the poor, the widows and the orphans at any time.
Ali declared that his elder son, Hasan, would succeed him as the head of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, and as the sovereign of all Muslims.
Though Ali was steadily weakening from the loss of blood and from the action of poison, all his faculties were sharp and clear right to the last moment. To all those people who came to see him, he said that they ought to be aware, at all times, of the presence of their Creator in their lives, to love Him, to serve Him, and to serve His Creation.
The poison had done its work, and on the morning of the 21st of Ramadan of 40 A.H., Ali ibn Abi Talib left this world to go into the presence of his Creator whom he had loved and served all his life. He was "God-intoxicated." His greatest ambition in life was to wait upon his Creator, every moment of his existence, and he realized it, and this is the meaning of his exclamation in the alcove of the mosque when he felt the edge of the sword at his forehead: "By the Lord of the Kaaba, I am successful."
Hasan and Husain washed the body of their father, draped it in a shroud, offered the funeral prayers for it, and then buried it silently at midnight at Najaf Ashraf, at some distance from Kufa. No markings were placed on the grave, and the grave-site was kept a secret, as desired by Ali himself.
Ali, Islam's greatest saint, hero, statesman, philosopher and martyr, had left this world, and the world was not to find a man sublime like him to all eternity.
Many among the Muslims were the mourners of Ali's death but none mourned him more dolorously than the Dhimmis (the Jews, the Christians, and the Magians). They were utterly heart-broken. And when the sick, the disabled, the cripples, the orphans and the widows in the empire heard that he had died, they felt that their world had collapsed. He had been a father to them all. He had taken them all by the hand. He had taken them all into his prayers. Many among them did not know until after his death that it was he who had fed them and had taken care of them. He had taken all mankind into his grasp.
Whereas Ali was accessible at all times to the poor and the weak, his own greatest anxiety and fear were lest any of them be inaccessible to him. It was only in his dominion that the Dhimmis (non-Muslims), the powerless and the defenseless enjoyed complete security. No one could terrorize them or exploit them. With his death, their security was gone forever!
It is a truism that exercise of power cannot be combined with saintly purity, since once a man assumes responsibility for public affairs, the moral simplicities within which it is just possible, with luck, to be able to lead a private life, are soon hideously complicated to an extent that precludes all clear distinctions between right and wrong. This truism, however, has its own exception – in Ali. He upheld principle, in public life as in private, regardless of cost. He invariably put the right thing ahead of the smart thing, regardless of cost. The source of the principles which guided his private and public life, was Al-Qur’an al-Majid as it was also the source of his political philosophy.
Ali has many critics and enemies but they cannot point out a single instance when he deviated from a principle. They cannot point out any conflict between his thought and speech on the one hand, or between his speech and deed on the other. He was consistently consistent in thought, speech and action.
Ali represented the ultimate triumph of character and ideology. He was a rare combination of love of God, devotion to duty, strength tempered with tenderness, symmetry of disposition, and inflexible integrity. His greatest legacy to the world of Islam will remain forever his sublime character.
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