بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

 

Friday Sermon

 

HAZRAT AMIR’UL MOMENEEN MUHYI-UD-DIN

AL KHALIFATULLAH

 

Munir Ahmad Azim

 

 

17 December 2010

 

(10 Muharram 1432 Hijri)

 

(Summary of Friday Sermon)

 

After having greeted everybody with the Salutations of Peace, the Messiah (Massih’ullah) read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and then he said:

 

My sermon will be centred on the event which happened on the tenth of Muharram. I had already talked in my previous sermons about this date and how it will remain engraved in the mind of each Muslim of the world. When we reflect on what has transpired on the tenth of Muharram in the history of Islam, this saddens us and the pain cannot be easily soothes from our heart, for those who was martyred for the cause of Allah.

 

This sermon is a continuation of what I already talked in my previous sermons (which is available on our website).

 

In 61 Hijri, the tenth of Muharram was a Friday. Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) and his companions performed the Fajr prayer in congregation. This prayer was the last done in congregation for many among them. After the prayer, Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) addressed himself to his family members and told them that was inevitable and that they must bear it all with patience and courage for they very well knew that it is them who were on the right path.

 

On the other hand, the enemies were already ready to begin war and they began approaching themselves to the tent of Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him).

 

One among the companions of Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) was Hazrat Muslim bin Rausa (May Allah be pleased with him). This companion was so angry by the mockeries of the enemies that he was ever ready to fight them but Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) forbid him to do so. Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) raised his hands and invoked Allah, and through his invocation, Allah punished the enemies who were making mockeries of all sorts. One of the enemies was overturned by his horse and rejected on the soil and when falling, he got into a hole and his leg was broken and he died there. A second enemy began insulting Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him), and through the Imam’s invocation to Allah, a scorpion pricked him and the pain was so violent that he found death in this state of agony.

 

A third person from among the enemies ridiculed the family of the prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) – the Ahlul Bait – for the latter did not have access to the water of the Euphrates for drinking. Upon his remarks, his horse began a crazy gallop and he had to run after his horse so much so that he got thirsty but did not have any opportunity to taste a drop of water for death overtook him before he could do that. These are the situations which Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) had to go through at the plain of Karbala.

 

Despite the dishonourable deaths of the three enemies, the latter’s allies did not learn any lesson from what happened to them. In the vicinity of Karbala, the inhabitants learnt that Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) and his family was in danger; and among them, there are some who came to join the ranks of the army of Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him). These people told Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) that for as long as there be blood circulating in their bodies, they would fight in the path of Allah.

 

The companions of Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) fought the enemies till they tasted martyrdom, but as long as they were alive, they did not let any harm touch the family of the Prophet (peace be upon him). But after their martyrdom, the family of the prophet (peace be upon him), one by one had to take part in the war and in their turn they were martyred. Before tasting death, they fought with exemplary courage and succeeded in killing many soldiers in the rank of the army of Yazid.

 

Among the companions who tasted martyrdom were:

 

1. Hazrat Imam Muslim bin Awsajah (May Allah be pleased with him), who was a student of Hazrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with him).

 

2. Hazrat Walid bin Abdullah (May Allah be pleased with him), a young man and unique son for his mother who was martyred only 17 days after his wedding.

 

3. Hazrat Noor (May Allah be pleased with him) who was previously a general in the army of Yazid, but afterwards he changed his position and came to support Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him).

 

Among the family of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who tasted martyrdom were:

 

1. Hazrat Qasim (May Allah be pleased with him) son of Imam Hassan (May Allah be pleased with him) and Hazrat Abbas bin Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) the brother of Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him).

 

2. Hazrat Ali Akbar (May Allah be pleased with him), the son of Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) who was 18 years old.

 

3. Hazrat Ali Asghar (May Allah be pleased with him), the son of Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) who was still an infant.

 

4. Awlaade Aqeel: Hazrat Abdullah (May Allah be pleased with him), Abdur Rahman (May Allah be pleased with him) et Jufar (May Allah be pleased with him).

 

Martyrdom of Hazrat Qasim (May Allah be pleased with him), the son of Imam Hassan (May Allah be pleased with him): He was 19 years old and was already promised Hazrat Bibi Sakina (May Allah be pleased with her) to be married to the daughter of Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him). He asked Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) permission to go to war. He wanted to get the good fortune of being made a martyr in the cause of Allah. Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) tried to dissuade him by telling him that he was the living memory of his elder brother, so how could he possibly let him go to war? But Hazrat Qasim insisted till Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) permitted him to go.

 

When he reached the army of Yazid, he said: “I am Qasim bin Hassan bin Ali. Send anybody you like to fight me.” Amar bin Sa’ad called a syrian warrior to go and fight him. The warrior going by the name of Arzak did not want to fight him for according to him, Qasim was still a child, but Ibn Saad told him not to think that, and that Qasim was the son of Hassan (May Allah be pleased with him) and grandson of Ali (May Allah be pleased with him). Thereupon Arzak called for his four sons to kill (behead) Hazrat Qasim (May Allah be pleased with him).

 

But Imam Qasim (May Allah be pleased with him) in a few minutes killed all four sons of his enemy, one by one and afterwards fought with their father and killed him too.

 

In this spirit, Hazrat Qasim (May Allah be pleased with him) killed one by one several soldiers in the army of Yazid. Hazrat Qasim (May Allah be pleased with him) ran to the tent of Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) and told him that he was thirsty, but with tears in his eyes, Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) comforted Hazrat Qasim (May Allah be pleased with him) and told him affectionately that the water of Kawthar was waiting for him. Hazrat Qasim (May Allah be pleased with him) bid him and his family a last salutation of peace and went back to the battle. Ibn Saad ordained his troop to surround him for when combating him one by one, the task proved difficult, thus, he commanded that his soldiers surround Hazrat Qasim (May Allah be pleased with him) and kill him. Even in this condition Hazrat Qasim (May Allah be pleased with him) fought, receiving more than 27 wounds and in the end he fell off his horse and his enemies killed him. Before he was made a martyr, he loudly called for his uncle to come and hold him and thus Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) came to hold him until his soul left his body – reaching martyrdom.

 

Martyrdom of Hazrat Abbas Ibn Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) : Hazrat Abbas Ibn Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) was the one to hold the flag of Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him). When he saw that the children in the tent were without a drop of water, he asked permission to go and bring water for them from the Euphrates. He mounted his horse and succeeded in travelling past the enemy camp and reached the Euphrates. He personally was thirsty also and made a move to drink some water when he reflected upon the thirst of the family of the Prophet of Allah (Ahlul Bait) who were waiting for him and thus, he discarded the water and thought: “If Imam Hussein and the Ahlul Bait are without a drop of water, how can I then quench my thirst!” Therefore, he filled in a bottle of water and made his way back to the tent.

 

In his way back, the enemies stopped him and he fought them till he lost his two arms. But he held firmly to the bottle of water with his mouth but the enemy targeted him with their arrows and the bottle got pierced. In the end not a drop of this water reached the tent of Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) because of the way Hazrat Abbas Ibn Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) was made to be martyred.

 

Martyrdom of Hazrat Ali Akbar (May Allah be pleased with him), the son of Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) who was 18 years old. He asked his father’s permission to fight the enemy. Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) looked at him with paternal affection and told him: “O my son, how can I give you permission to give up your life? Let me go for it is I they want.” But Hazrat Ali Akbar (May Allah be pleased with him) told him: “O father, for as long as I am alive, I cannot let you come to any trouble. Give me permission to go to Paradise, so that I may meet the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Hazrat Fatima (May Allah be pleased with her), Hazrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with him)...” etc.

 

At last Hazrat Ali Akbar (May Allah be pleased with him) was permitted to go to war and Hazrat Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) prepared him with his own hands by making him mount his horse and put the helmet on his head and gave him his sword and lance.

 

The young Ali Akbar (May Allah be pleased with him) looked at his father for the last time and bid him Salaam and went to war. The young warrior who resembled the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) took the enemy by surprise when he came before them, because for a moment they thought that it was the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) who was before them. But despite their fright, the love for the world was greater in them. Without hesitation, they started to fight. Despite not drinking water for three days, Hazrat Ali Akbar (May Allah be pleased with him) fought them but the army of Yazid did not have the courage to fight him one by one. In the end, Ibn Saad commanded his troop to surround him and send their lances and arrows in his direction till he died.

 

The martyrdom of Hazrat Ali Asghar (May Allah be pleased with him) the son of Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) who was still drinking his mother’s milk:

 

He was so thirsty that his throat got dry and he did not have voice to cry. His mother did not have any milk to give him and thus she asked Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) to take the baby and bring him before the army of Yazid in the hope that they take pity on the baby. At the insistence of his wife, despite knowing that the army of Yazid did not have any pity in them, he brought the baby before his enemies and told them: “What has this baby done to you? It is I whom you want, have some pity on him and give him some water; even if he gets water, he will not get enough energy to fight you.”

 

The enemy without pity threw arrows in the direction of Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) and an arrow pierced the throat of Hazrat Ali Asghar (May Allah be pleased with him). In this way, the baby also was made a martyr. Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) lifted his eyes towards the sky and invoked Allah as thus: “O Allah, accept also this small sacrifice in Your path. O Allah, I am satisfied with you.”

 

« Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raajioune »

 

After the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali Asghar (May Allah be pleased with him), it was the turn of Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) to prepare himself for his final war whereby he attached the headscarf of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) around his head, he took the sword of Hazrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) and also the shield of Hazrat Hamza (May Allah be pleased with him) and afterwards (before going in the battlefield) he addressed the members of his family one last time and advised them to be patient and his family members looked at him for the last time with sadness and tears in the eyes.

 

When he went into the battlefield, he talked with the army of Yazid and gave them a great warning, but the latter discarded the warning and began fighting with him with violence, like I explained in my previous sermons. Imam Hussein received 72 wounds and his enemies pierced a lance in his stomach and beheaded Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him). The beheading was done by Khouli bin Yazid, Shabil bin Yazid or Shimr, and Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) became the last martyr on the Karbala soil. It was a Friday, tenth of Muharram and Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) was 56 years, 5 months and 5 days old.