Slaughter | Senile Delusions...

Response To Zakir Naik Part 2: The Oppressor, The Oppressed and A Sacrifice

Monday, January 12th, 2009

Read this and this first.

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In 60 AH, Yazid (L.A.), son of Muawiyah (L.A.), came to power. And the first step he took was to ask the Governor of Madinah, Walid bin Utba (L.A.), to get Imam Husain (A.S.) to pay allegiance to Yazeed (L.A.), or send his head to Damascus.

Imam Husain (A.S.) refused. He then packed up his belongings and left Madinah with his friends and family members, including his sisters, daughters and other Hashmiite women and children, to avoid bloodshed in the Prophet’s (S.A.W.W.) city. He travelled to Makkah where he stayed for four months.

At the time of Hajj, he received news that Yazeed’s men were moving around in Ahrams, pretending to be Hajis, hiding weapons and intending to kill him. So he converted his Hajj to Umrah and left Makkah to avoid the sanctity of the Haram being stained with his blood. His final destination was Karbala, Iraq. Find brief accounts here and here.

Now, Mr. Zakir Naik praised Yazeed as a Taba-e-Tabieen and appended R.A. to his name. He also called the battle of Karbala a political battle. Below are my thoughts on this.

Event of Karbala, the Political Battle

Karbala being a political battle implies that both Imam Husain (A.S.) and Yazeed (L.A.) were after the throne of the Muslim world. Yazeed (L.A.) was already the ruler, which in turn means that it was Imam Husain (A.S.) who demanded it from him. If we take a look at the deal between Imam Hasan (A.S.) and Muwaiyah (L.A.), it is an important point that the throne was to pass on to either Imam Hasan (A.S.) or Imam Husain (A.S.) after Muawiyah’s (L.A.) death. But instead of sticking to his word, Muawiyah (L.A.) passed it on to his son Yazeed (L.A.). Yet, Imam Husain (A.S.) did not ask for what was rightfully his. But Yazeed (L.A.) was not content with it and decided to go a step ahead and demand allegiance from Imam Husain (A.S.)!

Imam Husain’s (A.S.) journey from Madinah to Makkah, and then to Iraq stands testament to the fact that he did not want bloodshed. Moreover, he took women and children with him on his journey, which further strengthens the point that he did not intend to fight. Yet, Yazeed (L.A.) sent his forces after him. From this, I can only gather that it was Yazeed (L.A.) who was forcing a battle on the Husaini camp. Which in turn implies that it was Yazeed (L.A.) who had political motives, not Imam Husain (A.S.). When Imam Husain (A.S.) reached Karbala, he bought the land for sixty-thousand dirhams which made him the owner of the that land. Imam Husain (A.S.) was attacked and martyred on his own property!

The question here is then, why didn’t Imam Husain (A.S.) pay allegiance to Yazeed (L.A.)?

Translation: Verily those who plight their fealty to thee do no less than plight their fealty to Allah: the Hand of Allah is over their hands: then any one who violates his oath, does so to the harm of his own soul, and any one who fulfils what he has covenanted with Allah,- Allah will soon grant him a great Reward. (Al-Fatah: 10)

Notice the part: The hand of Allah is above all (does not pay allegiance to anyone)!

Allah has a hand? Where? Since he does not have a body and is not a physical entity, how does he have a hand then?

Since Rasoolullah (S.A.W.W.) was his representative in this world and as the system of Baiyat (paying allegiance) was introduced by Islam, therefore the hand of Allah meant here is the hand of Rasoolullah (S.A.W.W.) (see verse above). And according to a hadees in the previous post:

“Husain is from me and I am from Husain!”

Imam Husain (A.S.) in turn was a representative of Rasoolullah (S.A.W.W.). Which means that if Imam Husain (A.S.) had pledged allegiance to a drinking, sexually indulgent “kaafir” like Yazeed (L.A.), it would have been synonymous to accepting his claims that Allah did not exist, there had been no revelation and the Bani Hashim (A.S.) had lied about Muhammad’s (S.A.W.W.) prophethood. Moreover, this hadees also implies that Yazeed (L.A.) had in fact asked for allegiance from Rasoolullah (S.A.W.W.)!

Therefore, Imam Husain (A.S.) denied pledging allegiance to Yazeed (L.A.), and set on a journey to avoid bloodshed in the sacred lands and even asked Umar Ibne Saad Ibne Abi Waqas (L.A.), commander of the Yazeedi army in Karbala, to let him go to the Indian sub-continent and not smear his hands with the Prophet’s (S.A.W.W.) blood, but Ibne Saad rejected the offer.

Imam Husain (A.S.) had two choices:

Pledge allegiance to Yazeed (L.A.). This would have led to the death of Islam, and consequently to the death of Allah.
Sacrifice his life and family for Islam.

The chosen path of Imam Husain (A.S.) is known to everyone.

Now, it is evident that Imam Husain (A.S.) never asked for the throne. Rather, he chose to leave everything behind and move to a different land so Yazeed (L.A.) could have no danger from him, and bloodshed could be avoided. But Yazeed (L.A.) was after something else. After the battle of Karbala, when Imam Husain’s (A.S.) sister, Lady Zainab Binte Ali (S.A.) was brought to the court of Yazeed (L.A.), he made the following statement while playing with Imam Husain’s (A.S.) head with a stick:

“Had my ancestors been alive today, they would’ve been proud to see that I have avenged our losses in the battles to Muhammad!“

But Mr. Zakir Naik, perhaps, does not know that.

Yazeed, the Taba-i-Tabieen

The land of Hijaz (Makkah and Madinah), is one of the holiest lands of Islam, having two of the most sacred sites on Earth, the Ka’abah and the shrine of the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) himself. Shedding blood is prohibited within the boundaries of the Haram and the Mosque. Why did then Yazeed, a devout Taba-e-Tabieen, send his men to shed Husain’s (A.S.) blood on the sacred land?

Let’s go to Karbala and see how this Taba-e-Tabieen’s army violated the teachings of Islam, shall we?

On the 7th day of Muharram, water was stopped from reaching the Husaini camp by the Yazeedi forces. Where in Islam is it permissible to stop water on anyone?
Imam Husain (A.S.) and his followers were attacked by the Yazeedi army during the Fajr prayers. Is this according to the teachings of Islam?
If you take a look at the martyrs of Karbala, you’ll find that most of them are children of ages less than fifteen years. Is it permissible to kill children in any war?
Imam Husain’s (A.S.) six-month old was put to sleep by a three-headed arrow in his own arms. Does Islam permit killing a newborn? Forty years before Qayamat (Day of Judgment), women will stop giving birth so there is no sinless child on the planet on that day. This is the justice of Allah, would he be happy with the death of little Ali Asghar (A.S.)?
Imam Husain (A.S.) was beheaded at the time of Asr, in the state of prostration to Allah, as were all the other martyrs, including the six-month old, who was dug out of his small grave! All heads were mounted on spears. After that, all the bodies of the martyrs were trampled with horses and torn to pieces. Rasoolullah (S.A.W.W.) commanded 87 battles in his lifetime. Can someone show me one such instance where he ordered any of the above?
The tents of the Husaini camp were set on fire. The women were forced to come out of them, and then their veils (chadars) were snatched. Small children running out of the tents were trampled and killed by the riders of Yazeed’s army. All survivors were then tied with chains, their hands and necks bound tight. Husain’s (A.S.) sole surviving son, Ali Zain-ul-Abideen (A.S.) was forced to wear a stone neckbrace stretching from fingertip to fingertip with metal pricks in the neck-hole. His hands and legs were bound tied and he was forced to walk in this. Which one of the above attrocities does Islam preach? A piece of the stone neckbrace can be found hanging above the grave of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.
The prisoners were then marched off to Damascus, without food or water. The routes deliberately taken, went through bazaars and crowded places where people could have a good look at the prisoners. Please keep in mind that the Husaini women (read women of the Prophet’s (S.A.W.W.) household, including both of his granddaughters) were purdah-less. Does Islam teach to do this to it’s own founders family? Did Rasoolullah (S.A.W.W.) ever teach to disrespect any woman in this way? Husain’s (A.S.) son Ali Zain-ul-Abideen (A.S.) was asked, “Why do you cry so much? Shahadat (martyrdom) is your inheritance and destiny.” To which he replied, “You haven’t done justice to us. Shahadat is our inheritance but is it also our inheritance that our women and children are paraded bareheaded in the bazaars of Kufah and Damascus?”

If all the above are Islamic teachings, why do we blame the West for making fun of us then? We have disgraced our religion ourselves.

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Quoting once again from a previous post:

“Qul La As-alukum Alaihin Ajran Illal Mawaddata Fil Qurba!“

“Say: I do not ask of you (followers) any return for it (teachings) but love for my near relatives.”

(Holy Quraan, 42:23)

The verse is popularly known as the Ayah-e-Mawaddah (Verse of Mawaddat or the Verse of Devotion)

The term “Al-Qurba” in this verse, based on the traditions narrated from the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.), embraces only “Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husain and no one else”.

The tradition from Ibne Abbas has it that when the “mawaddat ul-qurba” verse was revealed, the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) was asked: “O messenger, who are your near relatives who should be loved?”

He stated: “Ali, Fatimah, and their sons!”

This tradition has been narrated by Muhib Tabari in “Zakhair al-`Uqba” 25/1; Ibn Hanbal in “Manaqib” 110; Mo’min Shabilenji “Nural-Absar” 101; and Zamakhshari in “Kashshaf” as annotation to the said verse.

In the “Tafsir al-Kabir”, Fakhr Razi has related the said narration from “Kashshaf” and has said that based on this verse, Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husain should be revered and sanctified. He has also cited lines of verse from the Shafii’ Imam, Muhammad bin Idris Shafii’ in this regard. A line of it is as follows:

“If love for the members of the Household of the Holy Prophet is heresy, then the world should stand witness that I am a heretic.“

Now, in light of the above verse and traditions, would Allah be happy with Imam Husain’s (A.S.) killers? If Allah is demanding in the Quran that people love Imam Husain (A.S.), was Yazeed (L.A.), the Taba-e-Tabieen, one of them?

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In a recent program on ARY (sometime around the riots in Karachi), in the program Aghaz with Aniq Ahmed, Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman narrated a hadees, the idea of which was “If there is a murder or crime on Muslim land, the ruler is responsible.” Now I don’t know why but this hadees makes me blame Yazeed (L.A.) for Imam Husain’s (A.S.) martyrdom. Does it do the same to you?

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Are we blind enough to not see that Islam, our dear religion, whom we all aspire to follow truly and dearly (and fail miserably), would not have been here save for one man’s sacrifice, and that of his family and friends? They stood up to a tyrant, fought valiantly and gave up their lives for but one cause: save Allah’s name on this planet. They sacrificed every thing they had but did not falter in their stand. That lone man picked up seventy-two bodies from Fajr to Asr, including those of his nephews, brothers and sons, one of whom completely resembled the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) himself. This son of his was eighteen year old and breathed his last in his father’s arms. Which father has the heart to bear this? As if this was not enough, his six-month old was slaughtered in his arms too. Yet he did not give up. He had to save his grandfather’s hard work of twenty three years. He had to save all those who were to come. He had to save us!

And look how we have repayed him. We try to turn his sacrifice into a political war. We uphold his murderer as the devout follower and consider it taboo to mention his own name. Yet we aspire to follow what he saved. Talk about thanklessness. Way to go, Zakir Naik!

Sometimes, I’m just ashamed at our condition. We are a nation of idiots and bastards!

But hell, I can already foresee a few comments here. “Stop preaching Shia values!”, “Yazeed and Muawiyah were good this way and that way”, “Bani Umayyah were the best of the best” – Bullshit!

انسان کو بیدار تو ہو لینے دو

ہر قوم پکارے گی ہمارے ہین حسین

علامہ اقبال

Doesn’t look likely Iqbal, our nation has taken sleeping pills. Humanity will wake up but Muslims will keep on sleeping. You do not know of our response to the Israeli barbarism, do you? You left this world even before Israel came into existence. Lucky you, our condition today would’ve killed you multiple times.

How can we condemn the Israeli barbarism today, when we fail to condemn the barbaric acts 1369 years ago?

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“Fourteen hundred years of Muslim literature has passed a verdict that Husain was good and Yazeed was bad. Zakir Naik can not change that.”

Allama Dr. Syed Zameer Akhtar Naqvi

شاہ است حسین ، پادشاہ است حسین

دین است حسین، دیں پناہ است حسین

سر داد نہ داد دست در دستِ یزید

حقّا کہ بناءِ “لا الھ” است حسین

خواجہ معین الدّین چشتی اجمیری

Translation:

Emperor is Husain, King is Husain,

Religion is Husain, the shield of religion is Husain,

Gave his head but did not give his hand to Yazeed,

True that the basis of La Ilaha Ill Allah is Husain!

Don’t blame me for the verse, it’s the Sufi saint Moeen-ud-din Chishti Ajmeri’s. And I believe he was a better Muslim than all of us, don’t you think? Plus Emperor is not the correct translation of Shah. ‘Shah’ means one who commands land as well as the skies and even beyond that.

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P.S. Sorry for the personal rant in between. I meant to write a conclusion but emotions took control.

12.01.2009 Ali(A.S.), Captives of Karbala(A.S.), Enemies of the Ahle Bayt (A.S.), Fatimah Zehra(S.A.), General Knowledge, Hasan(A.S.), History, Husain(A.S), Martyrs Of Karbala(A.S.), Muhammad(S.A.W.W.), Rants, Reflections, Religious, Women, Zain-ul-Abideen(A.S.) 20 Comments

I’m Not A Mushrik, Just Trying To Think…

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

Please read my previous post before reading this.

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The Prophet Eesa (A.S.) was walking with his followers when on their way they passed a house where a wedding was to take place and celebrations were underway. He addressed his followers that when they would return the house would be filled with mourning as the bride would be dead.

But when they returned, the celebrations had not ceased.

The Prophet was extremely bewildered by this. He entered the house and found the bride in her room. He asked whether she had moved anywhere.

She replied that a beggar had come to the door but due to the celebrations nobody had heard him except her. Since no one had responded to his cries, she had gone and gotten him a flour bag and he went away happy.

After hearing this, Eesa (A.S.) quickly removed her pillow from the bed and beneath that, was a black snake!

Her good deed had saved her life, even when she was supposed to die.

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There are 124,000 prophets and all were given separate parts of ‘knowledge’. That is, they knew a lot but they didn’t know it ‘all’.

A popular example can be seen in the Quraan where Hazrat Musa (A.S.) learns a lot from Hazrat Khizr (A.S.)

The only prophet who was given the knowledge of “All To Happen” and the power to change that was our beloved Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W.), the reason for the creation of this Universe.

In the case above, Hazrat Eesa (A.S.) knew that the bride would die but what he didn’t know was the fact that she would give food to the beggar and it would change her destiny i.e. Loh.

But who changes that destiny? Who has the power to alter the Loh? Who has the power to change the Universe, yet keep it in a perfect state?

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Sadqa (صدقہ) is the averter of calamities and that is why we hear ‘Sadqa Rad-de-Bala Hai’ (صدقہ ردِّ بلا ہے)!

The Universe is perfect. Allah made it so. It will achieve whatever it’s ultimate objective is. And it will follow the Loh.

By the Loh, if someone is to be killed by a snake, then it will happen. But Sadqa is something that can prevent that. Giving sadqa will avert any misfortunes coming one’s way but that would require changes in the Loh. And Allah is the only one who can do that. So the proof of Allah’s existence or that Allah is still alive is that he still interferes in the affairs of the Universe by editing the Loh and sadqa is the only thing that guarantees it. There are countless examples available through out our books.

Miracles and prayers can be said to change fate, but they don’t guarantee it. Sadqa does.

But is it also written in the Loh that the person will give sadqa?

That would mean the Loh is evolving. So what is the future of the Loh?

Only Allah knows, or Muhammad (S.A.W.W.).

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The Sadqa of Islam

اسلام کا صدقہ

In 61 AH, Islam was a relatively young religion, an infant, and it wouldn’t be absurd to say that it hadn’t even crawled on all fours till then. It was a new faith with shallow roots and was still taking over people’s hearts and lives. It was at that time that a tyrant came to power after his father’s death.

He made the claim that there was no Allah, no heaven nor hell and that Prophethood was just a drama by the Bani Hashim (A.S.). He claimed that no revelations had occurred, no angel had come and that Muhammad (S.A.W.W.) had deceived all. The infant Islam was in grave danger. ‘Allah’ was in danger!

After making these claims, he decided to drive the nail into the coffin and force the heir of Muhammad (S.A.W.W.) to swear allegiance to him as the rightful ruler and accept his claims. A “hand or head” offer was extended to that heir.

The heir rejected to provide his hand in allegiance and set forth on a journey with his entire family to Makkah. The tyrant dispatched his men to try and kill the heir during Hajj.

The heir came to know of this and changed his Hajj to an Umrah. Then he left the city of Makkah in order to preserve it’s Holiness and to prevent bloodshed within the boundaries of the Haram. His final destination became the desert land that Muhammad (S.A.W.W.) had promised would be the grounds of his slaughter.

There he stopped and set up camp. Forces of the tyrant started to arrive soon after. They forced the heir to move his camp away from the water and blocked it.

Children in the heir’s camp started crying and begging for water. Even the six-month old had nothing to drink.

Three days later, all men were cut to pieces, including many children and even the six-month old was butchered from ear to ear by a three-pronged arrow. The heir sacrificed every thing and everyone for the sake of truth, then offered himself. He fought valiantly and reduced the tyrants massive army to countable numbers. When it was the time of Asr, he put his sword back in it’s sheath, was pierced by arrows from every direction and then bowed to Allah. His head was cut off in the state of Sajdah. The remaining man, women and children were captured and subjected to the most inhuman tortures possible.

All martyrs gave their lives to prove that Muhammad (S.A.W.W.) was right, there had been revelations, there are heaven and hell and that it was worth dying for. They showed the world the difference between right and wrong.

They offered their lives as Sadqa over Islam and Islam’s fate changed!

The heir saved the religion of Allah. Now Islam has grown into a 1400 year old, mature religion with roots deep into people’s lives. It is the fastest growing religion of all. Allah is still alive in the minds of Muslims everywhere.

And so is Husain…

انسان کو بیدار تو ہو لینے دو

ہر قوم پکارے گی ہمارے ہیں حسین

اسلام کے دامن میں بس اس کے سوا کیا ہے

اِک ضربِ یداللّہی ، اِک سجدہءِ شبّیری

شاعر: علامہ محمد اقبال

Yadullah is the title of Hazrat Ali (A.S.) meaning the hand of Allah while Shabbir is the title of Imam Husain (A.S.).

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SAWJ’s Note: This is a post written on the go, without any planning. If you disagree, try to be polite!

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People Who Almost Got The Answer: Adnan, Saadat.

People Who Wasted My Time In Trying To Prove The Question Wrong: Absar, Brickwall.

20.11.2008 Captives of Karbala(A.S.), Enemies of the Ahle Bayt (A.S.), Facts, General Knowledge, History, Husain(A.S), Martyrs Of Karbala(A.S.), Muhammad(S.A.W.W.), Reflections, Religious 66 Comments

HAS PAKISTAN COME?

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

Col. Jafri witnessed this story. Tell our children that we didn’t get Pakistan cheap.

By COL. RIAZ JAFRI (RETD.)

Thursday, 14 August 2008.

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — I don’t think I will ever forget what I witnessed as a young man of 17 on an early night of late August 1947 at Bahawal Nagar railway station in the then Bahawalpur state.

I do not remember the exact date but it certainly fell in the later part of the month – around 27^th or so. The subcontinent received its independence from Britain and Pakistan and Bharat emerged as independent states, resulting in the largest exodus of refugees in the history of the mankind. Over fifteen million people were displaced on both sides of the border.

Thousands of families had been torn apart from their dear and near ones in the wake of the bloodiest communal riots that had not seen its parallel before. To the horror of all, religious frenzy turned the erstwhile good neighbors mad and hostile towards each other for no other apparent reason. Though there were a few instances of human compassion between the neighbors on both sides – some even at the risk of their lives – but these were far and few in between. Mostly, while the men folk were mowed down the women were taken alive. Many a wife, daughter, sister or a young mother had been left behind by the fleeing refugees who out of sheer desperation, honor and shame preferred them to be believed dead than alive and kidnapped.

East Punjab Muslims had been the worst hit victims of the communal carnage. They were not only mowed and mauled, cut to pieces by the kirpans and daggers, lances and axes, tokas and gandasas but the beast in the man had ebbed to such abysmal low that the innocent infants were tossed up in the air and their small falling bodies with fluttering arms and legs were plucked and pricked by the sharp shiny lances underneath. Many a young flowering toddler was fried in the boiling oil of the most heinous cauldron of madness in front of the eyes of their helpless mothers and parents. It was also not an uncommon practice to cut open the womb of the pregnant mother to put the unborn to the sword with a most pagan like ritual of shouting and dancing to have eliminated yet another Muslim in the making. Severing of the breasts of the women so that they would not nurse their lactating babies and shearing of the genitals, with at times Kirpans left inside them, rendering them unable to procreate further was considered a methodology of finishing a race. It is not that I recount such atrocities with a view to fanning and fuelling the hatred but to apprise the younger generation of today of the extreme sacrifices made by their elders and the creators of Pakistan.

Bahawal Nagar was the nearest sizeable town with a district headquarters after Mcleod Ganj Road – a small border town with India. Delhi – Bhatinda – Bahawal Nagar – Multan was the shortest route to Lahore and Karachi for the trains to carry the ill-fated refugees and the beleaguered staff escorting and entrusted with the official records of the newly born state from India (Delhi) to Pakistan (Karachi). Bahawal Nagar, as such, was the first place where they could find some solace and succor in their arduous journey to freedom.

I had just passed my matriculation examination from Bahawal Inter College, Bahawal Nagar and in the hindsight I can only pay a rich tribute to the otherwise oft-condemned British Raj, for not only holding the exams in time but also announcing the results on the dot when everything in the subcontinent was in the biggest turmoil that one could imagine. Quite a few of us students had formed impromptu social work groups, with make shift equipment and apparatuses to render whatever help we could to the refugees and immigrants and whenever a train was to arrive we used to gather at the railway station.

On the fateful evening, word went round that a train was arriving around 9 p.m. What we didn’t know was that it had been attacked near Fazilka (India) by the miscreants and most of the refugees on it were in a very bad shape. Blood was all over the compartments, many lay dead, most unconscious breathing heavily and a few were half conscious. We were frantically trying to save as many lives as possible. All we could do was to carry the unconscious and the semi conscious on our makeshift stretchers to the waiting tongas and a very few vehicles (no ambulances) to be transported to the district hospital.

It was here that when we were carrying an old man – badly battered bruised and injured and barely conscious, that he opened his half closed hazy eyes and asked me in a barely audible low voice but with an expectant look, “Putr, Pakistan — aa gia hai?” (Son, has Pakistan come?)

I replied enthusiastically, “Yes Baba, yes. You are in Pakistan and everything will be alright now.” Hearing it his head slid to the side and the Baba had gone. To me it appeared as if he was just waiting and trying to keep himself alive to reach Pakistan – reach Pakistan to take a breath or two of the free air of the free state of Pakistan. And having fulfilled his desire he contentedly left for his heavenly abode.

It was some 61 years ago, but Baba’s last words still haunt me. Yes Baba, Pakistan has come. Yes Baba, we lost half of it too in 1971. Yes Baba, we are hollowing the foundations of the remaining Pakistan too by looting and plundering it every day. We are doing all that what our Quaid asked us not to. We have thrown to the winds his Unity, Faith and Discipline. Yes Baba, Pakistan had come. Pray Baba, it doesn’t go!

Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd) is based in Rawalpindi. His commentary appears frequently in several national Pakistani dailies. He can be reached at jafri@rifiela.com

14.08.2008 Pakistan, Reflections, Society, World 2 Comments

Date of Birth of the Six Month Old Martyr (A.S.)

Monday, July 14th, 2008

9th of Rajab, 60 AH, is the date of birth of Hazrat Ali Asghar (A.S.), the youngest son of Imam Husain (A.S.), the younger grandson of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W.). Born ‘Ali’ from Bibi Umm-e-Rubab (S.A.), he was the youngest of Imam Husain’s (A.S.) three sons, all named Ali, and six daughters, all named Fatimah. He was given the title Asghar to differentiate him from his brothers, who were given the titles Zain-ul-Abideen (oldest son and fourth Imam) and Akbar. Apart from Ali Asghar (A.S.), Bibi Umm-e-Rubab had a daughter Sakinah (S.A.). Both children went to Karbala with Imam Husain (A.S.) and never returned to Madinah. Six month old Ali Asghar (A.S.) was put to sleep by a three pronged arrow in Karbala while four year old Sakinah went to sleep in the dungeon in Damascus.

Courtesy: Syed Awn Husain Rizvi

It is a day of joy, the birth of the youngest martyr of Karbala, but what happy moments can be narrated from such a short life, put to an abrupt end in such an inhuman way! The accounts of his martyrdom overshadow all other aspects of his life as such barbaric behavior had never been seen before, that too from Muslims towards their own Prophet’s (S.A.W.W.) family! So here I go with the brief description of his martyrdom.

Asghar (A.S.) was six months old when the caravan of Imam Husain (A.S.) arrived in Karbala on the second of Muharram, 61 AH. Note here, it’s caravan, not army, because there were more women and children present than the men. History tells that there were more than 240 children present but only around five returned to Madinah alive.

Husain’s camp was forced to move away from the river on the 4th of Muharram by Yazid’s (L.A.) army and on the 7th, water supply to the camp was cut off. Children were seen running from tent to tent, crying ‘Al-At’ash’, begging for water to satiate their thirsts.

Sakinah (S.A.) narrates:

“[on the 10th of Muharram, the day of Ashurah] I was running from tent to tent, begging for water, with all the children running after me in the hopes that if I found water, they would be able to drink some too. I couldn’t find water anywhere, so I decided to go to Aunt Zainab’s (S.A.) [Imam Husain's youngest sister, elder of two] tent. When I reached there and I went in, I couldn’t muster the strength to ask for water as I saw her holding my younger brother, Asghar (A.S.), who was squirming with thirst and crying. My aunt tried to calm him by standing up, holding him close, sitting down, walking but nothing seemed to ease his suffering. My mother looked on, painfully. I did not ask for water, neither did the other children, when we realized that there wasn’t even enough for a six month old.”

When all men in Imam Husain’s (A.S.) caravan had been killed, he brought out Asghar (A.S.) in front of Yazid’s (L.A.) army and asked for water for the thirsty child. Husain (A.S.) told the Yazidis (L.A.) that if they thought he was going to drink water instead of his son, he will put him on the burning ground and walk away.

Even after Imam Husain (A.S.) did this, nobody from Yazid’s (L.A.) army moved. Imam Husain (A.S.) picked up Ali Asghar (A.S.) and told him to fulfill his legacy. Asghar (A.S.) then swept his dry tongue over his drier lips.

On watching this, men in the ranks of Yazid’s (L.A.) army started sobbing. Umar, son of, Saad, son of the father of Waqaas (Umar-ibne-Saad-ibne-Abi-Waqaas) (L.A.), the commander of the Yazidi forces, felt the tables turning and ordered Hurmala (L.A.), a famous archer, marksman and hunter, to silence Husain.

Hurmula (L.A.) put a three pronged arrow, used for killing horses and elephants, in his bow and took aim at Asghar (A.S.). The arrow hit its target and pierced Husain’s (A.S.) arm through Asghar (A.S.).

Someone asked Imam Muhammad Baqar (A.S.), “Where did the arrow hit Asghar?”

Imam (A.S.) replied, crying, “It hit him such that he was slaughtered from ear to ear!”

How Imam Husain (A.S.) took Asghar’s (A.S.) body back to his camp to face his mother, Bibi Umm-e-Rubab (S.A.), and how she held her infant son’s dead body while his father dug his grave is not in my power to write. But one thing that she said upon looking at her son’s body is:

Are children of this age also slaughtered in Arab?

The exact word she used is Nahar which is used for the process of striking at a camel’s neck with a sword in order to bring it down. Translation to English has reduced it’s severity.

The Yazidi (L.A.) army did not stop at this. After Imam Husain (A.S.) had been martyred, the tents of the women burned, their veils and headcloths snatched away, Sakinah’s earrings ripped off her ears, bodies of the Husaini men trampled by running horses over them, along with the many children trying to find a place to hide, the heads of the martyrs were cut off and put on spears.

When Umar, son of Saad, (L.A.) counted the heads, he said that one was missing. It was announced that Husain had been seen burying something behind the tents. So, Ali Asghar’s (A.S.) grave was dug up, his body pulled out and a six month old head was cut off and raised on a spike, right in front of his arrested, helpless mother.

چھہ ماہ کا وہ ننّھا مجاہد علی اصغر

جو سن میں تو چھوٹا تھا مگر عزم میں اکبر

اِک تیرِ ستم جس کے لگا حلق پہ آکر

جو بزمِ شہا دت میں ہے عباس کا ہمسر

علامہ سیّد ضمیر اختر نقوی

Today was an occasion of happiness, but I couldn’t find anything to write instead of the events of martyrdom, and this was only a summary. Please forgive me if I have made you cry, and appreciate the immense patience and desire of sacrifice of Imam Husain, and his family and friends, in Karbala that they went through the harshest test of Will ever by Allah and shined through it without a single speck of complain.

Question to Zakir Naik and his followers:

Dismissing Imam Husain’s Magnificent Sacrifice in Karbala as a mere political battle with Yazid, how do you explain the motivation behind the slaughter of an infant? What was his sin? Was he a threat to Yazid’s throne? Is Yazid worthy of being called Razi Allah Ta’ala after this?

Women will stop giving birth forty years before the day of Judgement as Allah will not inflict His wrath on his creation with innocent children alive. Keeping this in mind, do you think that Allah will be happy and ‘Raazi’ with Yazid for the slaughter of Asghar?

14.07.2008 Captives of Karbala(A.S.), General Knowledge, History, Husain(A.S), Martyrs Of Karbala(A.S.), Muhammad Baqar(A.S.), Muhammad(S.A.W.W.), Reflections, Religious, Women, Zain-ul-Abideen(A.S.) 2 Comments