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2007-10-17T06:10:00.001-04:00

The Attacks on Imam Al-Hadi (AS) and Imam Al-Askari (AS) Shrine

2007-06-13T15:28:00.000-04:00

The Two Minarets of Imam Al-Hadi (AS) and Imam Al-Askari (AS) Shrine were bombed on June/13/2007 at 9:00 A.M.

In The Name of Allah The Beneficent, The Merciful

“They desire to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, and Allah will not consent save to perfect His light, though the unbelievers are averse” (Holy Qur’an – 9:32- Repentance)

This morning at 9:00 AM, the evil hands have extended and dared to attack one of the holiest shrines and mosques in the world, the shrine of the tenth Imam, Imam Ali Al-Hadi (AS), and the eleventh Imam, Imam Hassan Al-Askari (AS) with explosives that were detonated, which damaged the two mi of the holy shrine and the area surrounding the shrine. Last year, on February 22, 2006, the shrine was attacked with explosives and it damaged the whole dome.

We send our condolences to the living Hujjah, the twelfth Imam, Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS) on this shocking event that occurred in the shrine of his father and grandfather. We ask Almighty Allah to hasten the reappearance of Imam Al-Mahdi (AS) to fill this world with justice as it is filled now with injustice.

We call the world to condemn this evil attack in the holy shrine of Imam Ali Al-Hadi (AS) and Imam Al-Hassan Al-Askari (AS) in Samarra and ask the United Nations to independently investigate in this issue, take the matter seriously, and put it on the top of their priorities list.
This evil attack have prooved to the world that the terrorists and murderers are neither Muslims or even people who regard holiness to such great sites.

This is not the first attack on our holy shrines that happened in the history. About 81 years ago, On Wednesday, April 21,1925, 8 Shawwal 1345 A.H., the mausoleums of Imam Hassan AlMujtaba (AS), Imam Ali ibn Al-Hussain Zaynul Abideen (AS), Imam Muhammed Al-Baqir, and Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq (AS) in Jannatul Baqi' in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarra were demolished by King ibn Saud, in the same year, other mausoleums of the mausoleums of the holy prophet Muhammed (PBUH) mother, wife, grandfather, and other ancestors were demolished by the Saudi Government and it is still demolished until now and we are banned from reestablishing the shrines by the same Saudi Government. We ask Almighty Allah to hasten the reappearance of Imam Al-Mahdi (AS) to fill this world with justice as it is filled now with injustice.

We urge all Muslims to follow the instructions of the senior-most religious authority (Al-Marji'iyyah Al-Diniyyah) in exercising restraint during these turbulent times.

Finally and most importantly, this direct attack emphasizes the need for the Muslim community to adhere to the advice of Imam Ali (p) in his last words where he urged for excelling in piety and organization of affairs.

The Holy Qur’an testifies
“and they devised plans and Allah too had arranged a plan; and Allah is the best of planners”.

Please don't forget us from your prayers

AlMujtaba Islamic Network
June 13, 2007

Prophet Muhammed (P) Season

2007-03-19T12:40:00.000-04:00

Recently @ AlMujtaba.Com
http://www.almujtaba.com

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We send our condolences to our twelfth Imam, Imam Al-Mahdi (AS), our righteous Ulama, and to the Muslim World on the martyrdom anniversary of the Prophet of Allah, the prophet of mercy, the messenger of peace, the last prophet and messenger of Allah, the greatest person in history, the most perfect and infallible person in history, and the father of Sayeda Fatimah Al-Zahra (AS)

Prophet Muhammed Son of Abdullah (P)

who was martyred on the twenty-eighth of Safar, Year 11 A.H. (632 A.D.)
On this tragic event, AlMujtaba Islamic Network has established a special season commemorating Prophet Muhammed (P) … Please visit http://www.almujtaba.com to view the special season

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We condole our twelfth Imam, the living Hujjah, Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS), our righteous scholars and Ulama, and to the Muslim world on the martyrdom anniversary of the fourth shining light that will never turn off, the shining star, the second Imam, and the fourth infallible,

Imam Hassan AlMujtaba (AS)

who was martyred on the seventh of Safar, Year 50 A.H. (670 A.D.) according to a narration and on the twenty-eighth of Safar, Year 50 A.H. (670 A.D.) according to another narrations
On this tragic event, AlMujtaba Islamic Network has established a special season commemorating Imam Hassan AlMujtaba (AS) … Please visit http://www.almujtaba.com to view the special season

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We send our condolences to our twelfth Imam, Imam Al-Mahdi (AS), our righteous Ulama, and to the Muslim World on the martyrdom anniversary of the tenth shining light that will never turn off, the shining star, the eighth Imam, and the tenth infallible,

Imam Ali Al-Ridha (AS)

who was born on the seventeenth of Safar 203 A.H. (818 A.D), and according to other narrations, the twenty-ninth of Safar 203 A.H. (818 A.D)
On this tragic event, AlMujtaba Islamic Network has established a special season commemorating Imam Ali Al-Ridha (AS) … Please visit http://www.almujtaba.com to view the special season

***

Thank you,
AlMujtaba.Com Administration
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Arba'een Season + Prcoessions

2007-03-10T08:44:00.000-05:00

Arba'een Season
Recently @ AlMujtaba Islamic Network
http://www.almujtaba.com

We send our condolences to our twelfth imam and the living Hujjah (Divine Proof), Imam Al-Mahdi Al-Muntathar (AS), the righteous scholars and Ulama, and to the world on the 40th day after the martyrdom of the symbol of justice, freedom, humanity, and human rights, the fifth infallible, the fifth shining light, the third Imam, the Divine Proof, the Master and King of Martyrs

Imam Hussain ibn Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS).

who was martyred on the plains and desert of Karbala, on the tenth of Muharram 61 A.H. (approximately October 20, 680 A.D.)

On this tragic occasion, AlMujtaba Islamic Network would like to invite you to visit its Arba'een Season @ http://www.almujtaba.com

Also, we would like to announce that there will be an Imam Hussain (AS) Arba'een Procession which will be held in Montreal, Canada on
Date: Sunday, March 11, 2007
Time: 1:00 PM
Place: Starting at Rene Levesque in corner with Peel
Dhuhr and Asr Prayer will be held at the same place.
PLEASE BE THERE!

And Another Imam Hussain (AS) Arba'een Procession in Windsor, Canada on
Date: Sunday, March 11, 2007
Time: 2:00 PM
Place: Starting at Imam Hussain (AS) Foundation
PLEASE BE THERE!

Don't forget us from your prayers,
AlMujtaba Islamic Network

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http://www.almujtaba.com

2007-02-14T23:26:00.001-05:00

Shafa'at Al-Hussain - Nazar Al-Qatari

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Shafa'at Al-Hussain (Intercession of Al-Hussain), a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Nazar Al-Qatari

2007-02-14T23:26:00.000-05:00

2007-01-29T17:56:00.004-05:00

Ideology Lessons - Dr. Sayed Fadhil Al-Milani - 6

Islamic Ideology (Aqaed) Lessons in Arabic by Dr. Sayed Fadhil Al-Milani used for Islamic Studies for Distance Learning. دروس في العقيدة الاسلامية لسماحة السيد فاضل الميلاني في جامعة العالمية للعلوم الاسلامية

2007-01-29T17:56:00.003-05:00

2007-01-29T17:56:00.002-05:00

Ideology Lessons - Dr. Sayed Fadhil Al-Milani - 5

Islamic Ideology (Aqaed) Lessons in Arabic by Dr. Sayed Fadhil Al-Milani used for Islamic Studies for Distance Learning. دروس في العقيدة الاسلامية لسماحة السيد فاضل الميلاني في جامعة العالمية للعلوم الاسلامية

2007-01-29T17:56:00.001-05:00

Ideology Lessons - Dr. Sayed Fadhil Al-Milani - 4

Islamic Ideology (Aqaed) Lessons in Arabic by Dr. Sayed Fadhil Al-Milani used for Islamic Studies for Distance Learning. دروس في العقيدة الاسلامية لسماحة السيد فاضل الميلاني في جامعة العالمية للعلوم الاسلامية

2007-01-29T17:56:00.000-05:00

Ideology Lessons - Dr. Sayed Fadhil Al-Milani - 3

Islamic Ideology (Aqaed) Lessons in Arabic by Dr. Sayed Fadhil Al-Milani used for Islamic Studies for Distance Learning. دروس في العقيدة الاسلامية لسماحة السيد فاضل الميلاني في جامعة العالمية للعلوم الاسلامية

2007-01-29T06:33:00.000-05:00

Ideology Lessons - Dr. Sayed Fadhil Al-Milani - 2

Islamic Ideology (Aqaed) Lessons in Arabic by Dr. Sayed Fadhil Al-Milani used for Islamic Studies for Distance Learning.

2007-01-29T06:32:00.000-05:00

Ideology Lessons - Dr. Sayed Fadhil Al-Milani - 1

Islamic Ideology (Aqaed) Lessons in Arabic by Dr. Sayed Fadhil Al-Milani used for Islamic Studies for Distance Learning.

2007-01-27T16:56:00.000-05:00

10 Muharram 1426 - Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Ana Al-Aqeela Yumma Ana Al-Aqeela - a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri

2007-01-27T16:55:00.000-05:00

10 Muharram 1426 - Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri - Part 2

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Abdullah Swabak Sawwabni - a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri

2007-01-27T16:54:00.001-05:00

10 Muharram 1426 - Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri - Part 1

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Kul Qatrat Dam Bishiryani Tihtif Bismak Ya Hussain - a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri

2007-01-27T16:54:00.000-05:00

Muharram 9 1426 - Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri - Part 3

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Muharram 9 1426 - a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri

2007-01-27T16:53:00.000-05:00

Muharram 9 1426 - Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri - Part 2

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Muharram 9 1426 - a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri

2007-01-27T16:52:00.001-05:00

Muharram 9 1426 - Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri - Part 1

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Muharram 9 1426 - a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri

2007-01-27T16:52:00.000-05:00

Muharram 5 1426 - Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri - Part 2

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Muslim Ya Muslim Khadi' Sumoodak, a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri

2007-01-27T16:51:00.000-05:00

Muharram 5 1426 - Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri - Part 1

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Muslim Ya Muslim Khadi' Sumoodak, a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri

2007-01-27T16:50:00.001-05:00

20 Safar 1426 - Arbaeen Procession - Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Zainab Wa Lil Taf Hidharna, a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri

2007-01-27T16:50:00.000-05:00

19 Safar 1426 - Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri - Part 2

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Zainab Wa Lil Taf Hidharna, a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri

2007-01-27T16:49:00.000-05:00

19 Safar 1426 - Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri - Part 1

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Zainab Wa Lil Taf Hidharna, a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Muhammed Nazar Al-Basri

Imam Hussain (AS) Procession

2007-01-27T16:38:00.000-05:00

Imam Hussain (AS) Procession
http://www.almujtaba.com

We send our condolences to our twelfth imam and the living Hujjah (Divine Proof), Imam Al-Mahdi Al-Muntathar (AS), the righteous scholars and Ulama, and to the world on the martyrdom of the symbol of justice, freedom, humanity, and human rights, the fifth infallible, the fifth shining light, the third Imam, the Divine Proof, the Master and King of Martyrs

Imam Hussain ibn Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS).

who was martyred on the plains and desert of Karbala, on the tenth of Muharram 61 A.H. (approximately October 20, 680 A.D.)

Announcement

Montreal, Canada - Imam Hussain (AS) Procession will be held on
Date: Sunday, January 28, 2007
Time: 12:00 PM
Place: Rene Levesque in corner with Peel
Dhuhr and Asr Prayer will be held at the same place.
PLEASE BE THERE!
We would like inform you that AlMujtaba Islamic Network has established a special season commemorating Imam Hussain (AS) and his companions.

To view this season, please visit http://www.almujtaba.com

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http://www.almujtaba.com

2007-01-10T20:28:00.000-05:00

Iqsid Ya Zayir Lil Ridha - Bassim Al-Karbalaei

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Al-Ridha (AS) in Arabic. Iqsid Ya Zayir Lil Ridha, a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Bassim Al-Karbalaei

2007-01-08T06:10:00.000-05:00

Yal Qasid Qabr Hussain - Bassim Al-Karbalaei

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Yal Qasid Qabr Hussain, a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Bassim Al-Karbalaei

2007-01-08T05:08:00.000-05:00

Ya Nazleen Ihnak - Nazar Al-Qatari

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Ya Nazleen Ihnak, a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Nazar Al-Qatari

2007-01-08T05:07:00.000-05:00

Ya AlGhalee Ya Ali Al-Akbar - Nazar Al-Qatari

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Ya AlGhalee Ya Ali Al-Akbar, a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Nazar Al-Qatari

2007-01-08T05:06:00.000-05:00

Ana Um Al-Baneen

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Ana Um Al-Baneen, a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Nazar Al-Qatari

2007-01-08T05:05:00.000-05:00

Abkee Ala Man Qatalooh

An Eulogy Mourning Imam Hussain (AS) in Arabic... Imam Hussain (AS) was killed in Karbala, Iraq by the army of Yazeed when he (AS) was fighting for freedom, justice, and humanity. Abkee Ala Man Qatalooh, a latmiyah, eulogy, nauha by Nazar Al-Qatari

2007-01-06T17:52:00.000-05:00

Tawasheeh On Imam Ali (AS) - Shaikh Abdul Hamid Al-Ghumgham

Tawasheeh, Hymns, Anasheed On Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) on 13 Rajab 1426 AH recited by Shaikh Abdul Hamid Al-Ghumgham in Mawkeb Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf, Masjid Al-Imam Al-Ridha (AS), Qum, Iran.

2007-01-06T17:51:00.000-05:00

Mawaleed on Imam Ali (AS) - Abbas Al-Kufi

Tawasheeh, Mawaleed, Hymns, and Anasheed by Abbas Al-Kufi on Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) Birth Anniversary, 13 Rajab 1426 A.H., in Mawkeb Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf, Masjid Al-Imam Al-Ridha (AS), Qum, Iran.

2007-01-05T17:24:00.001-05:00

Ali Aali - Bassim Al-Karbalaei

Ali Aali, a Hymn, Mawlood, Nasheed by Bassim Al-Karbalaei on his album Salawat

2007-01-05T17:24:00.000-05:00

Nadi Ali - Bassim Al-Karbalaei

Nadi Ali, a Hymn, Mawlood, Nasheed by Bassim Al-Karbalaei on his album Salawat

2007-01-05T14:18:00.000-05:00

Min Al-Thalith

Min Al-Thalith, A hymn, mawlood, nasheed by Bassim Al-Karbalaei from the album Salawat

2007-01-05T14:16:00.000-05:00

Salawat - Bassim Al-Karbalaei

Salawat, a hymn, Mawlood, Nasheed by Bassim Al-Karbalaei from Salawat album

2007-01-04T04:12:00.001-05:00

Rab Al-Jalalah - Bassim Al-Karbalaei

Rab Al-Jalalah a Hymn, Mawlood, Nasheed on the album Salawat by the Hussaini Radood Bassim Al-Karbalaei

2007-01-04T04:12:00.000-05:00

Laylat Eid Wa Anwar - Bassim Al-Karbalaei

Laylat Eid Wa Anwar - A Mawlood, Hymn, Nasheed in the Album Salawat by the Hussaini Radood, Bassim Al-Karbalaei

2007-01-03T19:46:00.000-05:00

Ahlulbayt - A Mercy to the Worlds

Ahlulbayt - A Mercy to the Worlds, a lecture by Sayed Jasim Al-Tuwairjawi on Sayeda Fatimah Al-Zahra (AS) Martyrdom Anniversary, Year 1425 A.H. in Musalla Al-Sayeda Zainab (AS)

2007-01-03T19:43:00.000-05:00

4 Muharram 1426 - A Lecture By Shaikh Ali Al-Shujaee

4 Muharram 1426 - A Lecture By Shaikh Ali Al-Shujaee in Mawkeb Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf, in Masjid Al-Imam Al-Ridha (AS), Qum, Iran

2006-12-28T22:08:00.000-05:00

10 Muharram 1426 - A Lecture By Shaikh Ali Al-Shujaee

10 Muharram 1426 - A Lecture By Shaikh Ali Al-Shujaee in Mawkeb Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf, in Masjid Al-Imam Al-Ridha (AS), Qum, Iran

2006-12-28T04:00:00.000-05:00

Maqtal Imam Hussain (P) with the voice of Sayed Al-Hakeem

Maqtal Imam Hussain (P) with the voice of Grand Ayatullah Sayed Muhammed Sa'eed Al-Hakeem

2006-12-28T03:39:00.001-05:00

Grand Ayatullah Sayed Al-Hakeem Leaving Damascus

His Eminence, Grand Ayatullah Sayed Muhammed Sa'eed Al-Hakeem Leaving Damascus, Syria to Najaf, Iraq

2006-12-28T03:39:00.000-05:00

The Return of Sayed Al-Hakeem From London to Damascus

The Return of His Eminence, Grand Ayatullah Sayed Muhammed Sa'eed Al-Hakeem From London, United Kingdom to Damascus, Syria

2006-12-28T03:36:00.000-05:00

Sayed Al-Hakeem Leading Congregational Prayer in Damascus

His Eminence, Grand Ayatullah Sayed Muhammed Sa'eed Al-Hakeem Leading Congregational Prayer in Sayeda Zainab (P) Shrine, Damascus, Syria ... (more)

2006-12-28T02:35:00.000-05:00

Grand Ayatullah Sayed Muhammed Sa'eed Al-Hakeem in Damascus

His Eminence, Grand Ayatullah Sayed Muhammed Sa'eed Al-Hakeem in Damascus, Syria...Religious, political leaders, and many people in Damascus are welcoming him.

2006-12-28T02:34:00.000-05:00

Sayed Al-Hakeem Giving a Speech to University Muslim Women

Sayed Al-Hakeem Giving a Speech to University Muslim Women in London, United Kingdom...He is also answering their questions

2006-12-28T02:33:00.000-05:00

Sayed Al-Hakeem Meeting With London's Youth - Part 2

Grand Ayatullah Sayed Muhammed Sa'eed Al-Hakeem meets with the Muslim youth in London, United Kingdom - Part 2 ...

2006-12-25T08:34:00.000-05:00

Sayed Al-Hakeem in Damascus on Imam Hassan Martyrdom Program

Grand Ayatullah Sayed Muhammed Sa'eed Al-Hakeem in Damascus, Syria giving a lecture at Imam AlHassan AlMujtaba (AS) Martyrdom Anniversary ...

2006-12-17T01:25:00.000-05:00

Sayed Al-Hakeem Meeting With London's Youth - Part 1

Grand Ayatullah Sayed Muhammed Sa'eed Al-Hakeem meets with the Muslim youth in London, United Kingdom - Part 1

2006-12-14T15:15:00.000-05:00

Arabic Poetry About Imam Ali (AS)

A Poem on Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) by Abu Hassan Keewan

2006-12-14T14:10:00.000-05:00

Poetry on Imam Ali (AS)

A Poem by Hussain Al-Aamiri on Imam Ali (AS), the Commander of Faithfuls.

2006-12-14T12:58:00.000-05:00

Imam Ali (AS), The Commander of Faithfuls

A lecture by Shaikh Hussain Al-Faqih on the birth anniversary of the Commander of Faithfuls, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS)

2006-12-14T03:48:00.000-05:00

Haidar Haidar Ya Ali Ya Ali

A Hymn, Nasheed, Mawlood on the Birth Anniversary of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS), the Commander of Faithfuls, the first Imam, the brother and successor of Prophet Muhammed (P)

2006-12-12T22:09:00.000-05:00

Fee Al-Intithar

A Hymn, Mawlood, Nasheed About Imam Al-Zaman, Imam Al-Mahdi (P), by Jaleel Al-Karbalaei in Arabic language.

2006-12-12T18:28:00.000-05:00

Chaf Al-Abbas

A Hymn, Mawlood, Nasheed in Arabic on The Birth Anniversary of Hadhrat Abul Fadhl Al-Abbas (AS) by Mulla Jaleel Al-Karbalaei

2006-12-12T15:58:00.000-05:00

Qulubuna Tahani Li Sahibil Zaman

A Hymn, Mawlood, Nasheed on the event of Sayeda Zahra (P) Birth Anniversary, recited by Radood Jaleel Al-Karbalaei

2006-12-12T14:46:00.000-05:00

Qad Ukmila Al-Deen Youmal Ghadeer

A Nasheed,Hymn, Mawlood about Eid Al-Ghadeer, the day which Prophet Muhammed (P) announced the Imamate of Imam Ali (P) infront of tens of thousands of Muslims. By Jaleel Al-Karbalaei

2006-12-12T14:23:00.000-05:00

Wulida Rasool Allah

A Hymn,Mawlood, Nasheed on the Birth Anniversary of Prophet Muhammed (P), the Best of Mankind, the Last Messenger and Prophet of Allah (God)

2006-12-12T02:50:00.000-05:00

The House of Imam Ali (AS)

A video that shows the house of Imam Ali (AS)

Tragedy of Al-Baqi' Season

2006-10-31T00:12:00.000-05:00

Tragedy of Al-Baqi' Season
Recently @ AlMujtaba Islamic Network
http://www.almujtaba.com

In The Name of Allah The Beneficent, The Merciful.

“They desire to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, and Allah will not consent save to perfect His light, though the unbelievers are averse”
(Holy Qur’an – 9:32- Repentance)

On 8 Shawwal, 1344 A.H. (April 21, 1925), the evil hands of Wahabis, with the help of Abdul Aziz Aal S'aud who is one of Saudi Arabia rulers, have extended and dared to attack and demolish one of the holiest shrines and mosques in the world, the shrine of Imam Al-Hassan AlMujtaba (AS), Imam Ali Zaynul Abideen (AS), Imam Muhammed Al-Baqir (AS), and Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (AS). In the same year, the Saudi government allowed and gave permission to Wahabis to demolish other mausoleums, like the mausoleums and shrines of the holy prophet Muhammed (PBUH) mother, wife, grandfather, and other ancestors. Also, they managed to erase the signs and demolish shrines of 200 companions and Sahabahs of prophet Muhammed (PBUH&HF). The Saudi government banned Muslims from reestablishing the shrines from that time till today.

We send our condolences to the living Hujjah, the twelfth Imam, Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS) on this miserable and unfortunate event that occurred in the shrines of his grandfathers. We ask Almighty Allah to hasten the reappearance of Imam Al-Mahdi (AS) to fill this world with justice as it is filled now with injustice.

Also, we send our condolences to our righteous scholars and Ulama and to the World on this tragedy and attack to the holy sites and shrines in Al-Baqee' Cemetery in Al-Madina Al-Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia.

We call the world to condemn this evil attack that caused the destruction of the holy shrine of Imam Al-Hassan AlMujtaba (AS), Imam Ali Zaynul Abideen (AS), Imam Muhammed Al-Baqir (AS), and Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (AS) in Al-Madina Al-Munawwara, Saudi Arabia, and ask the United Nations to allow Muslims to reestablish the shrine in Al-Madina Al-Munawwara, take the matter seriously, and put it on the top of their priorities list.

We urge all Muslims to follow the instructions of the senior-most religious authority (Al-Marji'iyyah Al-Diniyyah) always, especially during these turbulent times.

Finally and most importantly, this direct attack emphasizes the need for the Muslim community to adhere to the advice of Imam Ali (p) in his last words where he urged for excelling in piety and organization of affairs.

The Holy Qur’an testifies
“and they devised plans and Allah too had arranged a plan; and Allah is the best of planners”.

On this tragic occasion, AlMujtaba Islamic Network have established a special season concerning this issue. To view this special season, please visit http://www.almujtaba.com

Please don't forget us from your prayers

AlMujtaba Islamic Network

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Eid Al-Fitr Al-Mubarak Season

2006-10-24T02:35:00.000-04:00

Eid Al-Fitr Al-Mubarak Season

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We send our congratulations to our twelfth Imam, the living Hujjah, Imam Al-Mahdi (AS), our righteous scholars and Ulama, and to the Muslim world on the blessed and happy occasion of

Eid Al-Fitr Al-Mubarak.

May Allah shower you with his blessings and accept all your deeds in this glorious day. May you have a Happy Eid.

On this joyful and magnificent occasion, AlMujtaba Islamic Network have established a special season commemorating this celebration, Eid Al-Fitr.

To view this special season, please visit http://www.almujtaba.com

Please do not forget us from your prayers and duas

Thank you very much,

AlMujtaba Islamic Network

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Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS) Season

2006-10-12T10:35:00.000-04:00

Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS) Season
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- - - - We send our deepest condolences to the living Hujjah (Divine Proof), the twelfth Imam, Imam Al-Mahdi (AS), our righteous scholars, and the Muslim World on the martyrdom anniversary of the Commander of faithful, the vicegerent of AlMighty Allah, the first imam, the brother of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), the one and only born in Ka'ba, and the door to the city of knowledge of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH)
Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS)
who was martyred on 21 Ramadhan, 40 A.H. (661 AD)
On this tragic event, AlMujtaba Islamic Network has established a special season commemorating Imam Ali (AS).
To view this special season, please visit http://www.almujtaba.com
- - - - We have uploaded information and some amaal of Laylatul Qadr (Night of Predestination) inside the Holy Month of Ramadhan Season…Please check the season out @ http://www.almujtaba.com
- - - - Also, we would like to announce that AlMujtaba Islamic Network has produced a special album commemorating Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS) called
The Lion of God
With the voice of Ahmed Al-Karbalaei
To download the FULL-VERSION of the album, please visit http://www.almujtaba.com/sound/ahmed/album2

Thank you very much
Please do not forget us from your prayers,
AlMujtaba Islamic Network Administration

Imam Al-Hassan AlMujtaba (AS) Season

2006-10-08T13:06:00.000-04:00

Imam Al-Hassan AlMujtaba (AS) Season
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***** We send our congratulations to our twelfth Imam, Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS), our righteous Ulama, and to the Muslim World on the birth anniversary of the proof of Allah on humanity, the fourth shining light that will never turn off, the shining star, the second Imam, and the fourth infallible,

Imam AlHassan AlMujtaba (AS)

who was born on 15 Ramadhan, 3 A.H. (625 AD)

On this happy and glorious occasion, AlMujtaba Islamic Network have established a special season commemorating Imam Hassan (AS)

To view the special season, please visit http://www.almujtaba.com

***********************

COMING SOON... ONLY @
AlMujtaba Islamic Network

The Lion of God
By: Ahmed Al-Karbalaei

The Lion of God..... A combination of religious eulogies and latmiyat in English language

Click the link below to listen to a sample of the album

http://www.almujtaba.com/sound/ahmed/album2

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Please don't forget us from your prayers,

Thank you

AlMujtaba Islamic Network

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Holy Month of Ramadhan Season

2006-09-26T23:48:00.000-04:00

Holy Month of Ramadhan Season

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We congratulate our twelfth Imam, Imam Al-Mahdi (AS), the righteous scholars, and all the Muslim World upon the arrival of the month of Allah (SWT), the month of blessing, the spring for Quran, the holy month of Ramadan.

May Allah accept all our deeds and forgive all our sins and give us the power to use this big opportunity wisely.

Ramadhan Mubarak

On this special and blessed month, AlMujtaba Islamic Network have established a special season about this holy month of Ramadhan.

To visit this special season, please visit http://www.almujtaba.com

Please do not forget us from your duas and prayer on this blessed month,

Thank you,

AlMujtaba Islamic Network

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Birth Anniversary Of Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS) Season

2006-09-09T03:15:00.000-04:00

Birth Anniversary Of Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS) Season

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We congratulate the Noble Messenger of Allah, Muhammed (PBUH) and infallible and pure household (AS), our righteous Ulama, and the Muslim World on the birth anniversary of the Proof of Allah, the living Hujjah, the imam of our time, the 12th vicegerent of Prophet Muhammed, the twelfth imam, and the fourteenth infallible.

Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS)

who was born on the 15th of Shaban, Year 255 A.H. (869 A.D.)

And on this glorious, blessed, and happy occasions, AlMujtaba Islamic Network Team have established a special season commemorating Imam Al-Mahdi (AS).

To view this special season, please visit http://www.almujtaba.com

Please don't forget to pray for us on these special days of the holy month of Sha'ban.

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Imam Hussain's (A.S.) Sacred Mission

2006-08-30T12:46:00.000-04:00

Direct Link: http://almujtaba.com/articles/5/000642.html

Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S.) was born on the 3rd of Shaban 4th Hijrah in Medinah Munawarra. His father was Ali (A.S.) and mother was Fatimah (S.A.). When the Prophet (S.A.W.) heard the news of Imam Hussain's birth he (S.A.W.) became very happy and came to the house of Fatimah (S.A.). Asma, the maidservant of Hazrat Zahra covered the child in a white cloth and brought him to the Prophet (S.A.W.). The Prophet (S.A.W.), picked the child up in his lap and recited the Azaan in his right ear and Aqamat in the left one. As if, apparently, he (S.A.W.) made the ears of his son familiar and acquainted with the name of God for the first time. On the seventh day of the birth, an angel came from the God and he said, "Just as Haroon was the brother, sympathizer, and helper in each and every difficulty of Moosa (A.S.) similarly Ali (A.S.) is your sympathizer helper and brother in each and every matter of yours. Therefore, keep the name of this child upon the name of Haroon's son "Shabeer," which translated into Arabic becomes 'Hussain'. Thus the name of the second child of Fatimah (S.A.) was also selected by God. On the 7th day of the birth Hazrat Fatimah (S.A.) got a sheep slaughtered as the Aqeeqa and distributed it's meat among the needy and poor. The Prophet (S.A.W.) quite often hugged Hussain (A.S.) taking him into his lap and used to weep bitterly, saying, "A very big tragedy will be met by my son Hussain". The brutals and bloody men of Bani Omyaide will slay my dear son. I will not interces and mediate for them on the dooms day.

The Love of the Prophet (S.A.W.)
The Prophet (S.A.W.) loved Imam Hussain (A.S.) very much. His companion Salman Farsi describes, "I saw that the Prophet (S.A.W.) had picked up Imam Hussain (A.S.) upon his knee and was kissing him saying, "Oh son, you are the Imam son of Imams and father of nine Imams, who would be from your generation and the last one of them is Mehdi. "One can estimate and guess the amount of love the Prophet had with Imam Hussain (A.S.) from this sentence of his "Hussain is from me and I am from Hussain." The one who is the friend of Hassan and Hussain is my friend and the one who is their enemy, is my enemy.

Imam Hussain (A.S.) the Best Helper of his Father and Brother
Imam Hussain (A.S.) spent six years of his life with his grandfather the Prophet (S.A.W.) and thirty years along with his honorable father Ali (A.S.). He shared each and every problem and grief of his father. He always defended his father. Once he went to the mosque and saw Hazrat Omer delivering a speech on the tribune of his grandfather. He immediately said, "get down from the tribune of my grandfather and father. What have you got to do over there?"
During the reign of his father, Imam Hussain (A.S.) playing upon his life used to be busy defending Islam and fighting against the tyrants and brutal. He fought against the enemies by the side of his father like his brother Imam Hassan Mujtaba (A.S.) in the battles of Jamal, safeen, and Neherwan. He, after the martyrdom of his father, legally took the oath of allegiance for his brother and accepted him his leader and Imam. And whenever someone asked him a question he used to send him towards Imam Hassan (A.S.). And wherever he deemed suitable he himself would give the answer. Briefly speaking, he considered the defense of his brother something necessary for himself.

The Rule of Muawiyah
When Imam Hassan Mujtaba (A.S.) was martyred due to the conspiracies of Muawiyah, Imam Hussain (A.S.) got the post of Imamate and caliphate at the age of forty-six. Imam Hussain (A.S.) knew that all the miseries and sorrows of Muslims were due to Muawiyah who wanted to uproot Islam by his frauds, cunningness and craftiness. Therefore, Imam (AS.) did not think it was suitable to fight him openly, as Muawiyah was apparently Muslim and showed himself to be the supporter of Islam and Muslims. Therefore, Imam Hussain (A.S.) knew that if I declare a war upon him I would meet the same fate as my brother did. So he started the movement of awakening the people from the dream and slumbers of ignorance, and unawareness. So that they may turn towards him slowly and gradually, by getting aware and informed. Ultimately. Imam (A.S.) may make them work for the welfare of Islam. Along with the training of the Momins (faithful), with which Imam was busy, he occasionally opposed Muawiyah. And always gave teeth breaking and strong answer to his scurrilous language particularly when he started making people take the oath and allegiance of faithfulness for his ignorant, silly, impure, and bad character, degenerate, and undutiful son Yazeed. The Imam (A.S.) too started openly and publicly opposing him and wrote many such letters to Muawiyah by which he disgraced him very much. One of his letters reads:
i) Oh Muawiyah! You are the claimant of the caliphate and to be the successor of my grandfather? Did you not slay Hajar bin Addi and his companions in the land of Azra. You are a criminal, a killer. Then how do you claim to be the leader and caliph of my Ummah?
ii) Oh Muawiyah! Did you not declare Ziad publicly your brother and the illegitimate son of Abu Sufian about whose father the Muslims are unaware? (That who is his father and who is not?)
As such, by declaring him to be your brother, you have yourself admitted the dirtiness and uncleanness of your family. Then how can the caliphate be your right?
iii) Oh Muawiyah! The most shameful act of yours is that you have made such a silly, stupid unable and unworthy person a ruler of the Muslims whose characterless ness, excesses and aggressions are not hidden and concealed from anyone. As such, you want to destroy the religion of God and make the Muslim ummah a toy by forcibly making them take the oath of allegiance for him (Yazeed).

Imam Hussain (A.S.) and Yazeed
Although Imam Hussain (A.S.) did not leave any stone unturned in disgracing and belittling Muawiyah even then he did not fight or clashed with him. Nonetheless, after the death of Muawiyah his incapable son Yazeed being a proud and thickheaded person posed himself as the leader of the Muslims. And started making the Islamic personalities takes the oath of allegiance for the sake of establishing and strengthening his government. He wrote to the governors of the cities and as such wrote a letter to Waleed who was governor of Medinah that "Immediately take the oath of allegiance from Hussain (A.S.) And if he refuses to do that then cut down his head and send it to me". Muawiyah had several times insistedly warned him that you might dash against anybody except Hussain (A.S.), in which case you would get destroyed. The ruler of Medinah summoned Imam Hussain (A.S.) and informed him about the letter of Yazeed. He said "I am ready for the martyrdom because only Yazeed's becoming the caliph of Muslims is the death and disintegration of Islam". When Imam (A.S.) observed the worsened condition and atmosphere of Medinah he along with his companions migrated to Makka under the dark cover of the night. His mere act of migration from Medinah was a great objection upon the people's taking oath of allegiance for Yazeed. Imam's (A.S.) migration not only created a hue and cry in Medinah, but it also set up an atmosphere of discussion and objections against Yazeed in Makka. And the hue and cry raised to the climax when Imam (A.S.) addressing a gathering of the pilgrims raised his voice against the obnoxious, dirty, and impure government of Yazeed. This stand and pledge of Imam Hussain (A.S.) made the people of the whole area completely aware and understand that the caliphate of Yazeed is not correct and taking oath of allegiance for him is dishonesty to Islam and Muslims.

The Invitation of Kufis
When the news of the migration and objection of Imam Hussain (A.S.) upon the Yazeed's regime reached Kufa. All of them (Kufis) got themselves prepared to invite him to Kufa and elect him for the caliphate and the leadership of Islam. They sent messengers along with letters, rolls and scrolls, and formally invited Imam Hussain (A.S.) to visit Kufa. But, because of the fact that Imam (A.S.) knew about the unfaithfulness of the Kufis and he himself had witnessed their untruthfulness towards his father and brother so he sent his cousin 'Muslim bin Aqeel' to Kufa so that he might observe the whole affair closely and invite Imam (A.S.) if he deemed fit and suitable. Muslim bin Aqeel moved towards Kufa as desired and ordered by Imam (A.S.) and when he reached there he met a warm, noisy, grand welcome. Thousands of people took oath of allegiance and offered prayers behind him. Muslim bin Aqeel wrote a letter to Imam (A.S.) asking him to immediately move. Imam stayed back at makka uptill the 8th of Zil Hijj and spoke to the people and instigated and provoked them against Yazeed. Then he moved towards Iraq.

Termination of the Imam's Representative's Affair
When Yazeed got informed about the movement of Muslim bin Aqeel and oath of allegiance being taken by the Kufis, he at once sent Ibn-e-Ziad, who was the most dirty of his companions, to Kufa with full fledge powers. Ibn-e-Ziad, who completely knew about the spirit and the character of the people of Kufa, took advantage and made the most of the weakness and debility and feebleness of their faiths and double-faced ness hypocrisy and cowardice. And by terrifying and harassing scattered and dispersed them from around Muslim bin Aqeel. And turned the events to such an extent that even those who had written invitation letters to Imam (A.S.) put on the war dress and got ready to fight the representative of the Imam (A.S.). "Muslim bin Aqeel" was forced to fight the agents of Ibn-e-Ziad all alone. After showing surprising and astonishing bravery he was arrested and martyred. From the very night Imam Hussain (A.S.) had departed from Madinah he had been giving the news of martyrdom and said, "Whosoever is ready to lay his life on our way and make haste to meet God may join us." He again spoke to his friends and companions about Jehad, holy war, and martyrdom at Makka. To the extent that even when the poet Farzdak met him on the way and gave him the news of "Muslim bin Aqeel's" being martyred. He said, "Muslim bin Aqeel" has met the blessings of God and ended his mission and has laid the burden of the mission upon our shoulders. We hope to be able to carry this burden and weight up to its destination.

Imam Hussain's (A.S.) Sacred Mission
Hussain (A.S.) described his aim about this mission was to disgrace Yazid's regime and to uphold and put into practice (Amer bil Maroof and Nahi anil munkir), to order the correct and right and to stop and refrain from the evils and to stand up against the brutality and cruelty. This was the mission God had entrusted him. His grandfather the Prophet (S.A.W.) and his father Ali (A.S.) had several times described their son's is being martyred. Imam Hussain (A.S.) himself, by virtue of the knowledge of Imamate, knew that this journey would end with his martyrdom. But Hussain (A.S.) was not the one to be afraid of martyrdom and death, and overlook the command of God. He was the Imam who considered calamity as magnanimity and nobility and martyrdom as bliss and blessedness. Ultimately, he moved toward "Karbala" and he himself and his companions were all martyred. His family members were taken prisoners. But they gave the message of those martyred to the people in the streets, and bazars of the cities and thus put the agents and paid servants of the Bani Omayaid to disgrace and shame.

The face of Imam Hussain and his Companions on the Ashura Day
Hussain's (A.S.) face glittered and shone like light He gave hope and courage to his companions. The same Imam (A.S.) whose grandfather the Prophet (S.A.W.) said, "Hussain (A.S.) is the lamp of guidance and the escape boat of the ummah". Hussain (A.S.) spoke loudly, "Oh people of the world! You must know that I have not taken steps for the battle and did not draw my sword. An unclean, dirty character man from the criminal family of Omayde named "Yazeed" made me choose one of the two either I draw my sword and defend my honor and religion or surrender to shame and humility. But do know, beware! That surrendering with shame and humility is far away from our family. I am obliged to choose the first way. Then he stood by the soldiers of Yazeed forces and said, "It is not expedient and wise both for your world and religion (the justice day) to kill me and fight against me. So, if you have taken the decision to fight me. It is better to compose and form a committee and take views from everyone. Then see who says fight against the son of the Prophet (S.A.W.) who is the one gone astray and ill fated, miserable that accompanies and sides with you for killing me?
The governor of Iraq, son of Marjana, is an unclean and power seeking person. He wants to make you helpless. I know you will repent after my being martyred and will rebuke each other. Therefore, before taking steps for the battle, think and ponder about the result of your action. Be aware, God is my supporter and I am not harassed and bewildered by any coming event. I have heard from my grandfather that "World is the paradise of the infidel and the prison for the faithful." Death is the beginning of our joy but it is the start of your misery. There is only one bridge between this world and the other world and that is death. If you initiate and take steps towards battle, we would also stand up along with our friends and worthy sons for defense. If we are victorious it will not be anything new for us and if we are killed world knows that we are not defeated. "Oh helpless people! The informed and knowledge full people try and endeavor to provide themselves with a lamp, so that they do not loose their way, and I am the lamp of this ummah. But you want to put your lamp off. Do you know against whom do you fight? You are not fighting against me but you fight against God! Against your Prophet (S.A.W.)." After the speech of Imam Hussain (A.S.) an enthusiasm, humming, and murmuring movements took place in the army of the enemy. The war provokers saw that if they would not start the battle, Hussain (A.S.) will shatter the army by his speech and will finish all their planning. Therefore, the order for the battle to be started was issued. Hussain (A.S.) called out, "Oh my worthy and great friends rise up, this is the time for the combat. His friends like Habib and Zuhair were happy that Imam issued the order. Each one of them requested the other to be allowed to go for battle first, hence take the lead. The family members of Imam (A.S.) such as the Qamer-e-Bani Hashim (Abbas [A.S.]), Ali Akbar, Qasim and all the rest got prepared for the battle. They attacked the flanks of the enemy like tigers. Whosoever came their way would be killed. Imam Hussain (A.S.) himself showed such a bravery, courage and manhood that as Ibn Sheher Ashob wrote; he slew two thousand men of the enemy. Whenever and whichever of the friends and relatives was martyred, Hussain (A.S.) would become stronger, and more resolved and determined. One of the soldiers of the enemy said about the astonishments and wonders of Ashoora, "on the day of Ashoora instead of becoming broken and sorrowful whenever Hussain (A.S.) lost a person by martyrdom his face would glow and shine more than before and he became more determined and stronger in the battle and combat. The thirsty and hungry, but selfless and dedicated, holy warriors showed such bravery and ferocious fight that son of Saad the Commander of the enemy shouted, "If you want to fight like this, all of you will be killed by the swords of Hussain (A.S.) and his companions". Therefore, he ordered all the arrow men, who were nearly four thousand in number, to throw arrows simultaneously and harmoniously. The battle got flared up and reached a climax whosoever out of the Imam's companions would fall down he would utter these words, "Oh God do accept our sacrifice." The blessings of God be upon thou souls, oh movers and travelers of the way of God and Hussain (A.S.). Oh the venture some defender of the Quran's path. Hussain (A.S.), wherever blood flew out of his body, he would raise his hands towards the sky and say, Oh God, who is the source and stock of my hope and aspiration, I depend upon you. My hopes are focused upon you. Oh God! Accept these sacrifices from us." Finally, as per the tradition of Shiekh Mufid, Hussain (A.S.) and his great honorable companions were martyred on Saturday the 10th of Moharram, of 61 Hijrah, and laid to rest side by side, to each other. They gave the lesson of honor, dignity, manhood and bravery to the future generations.

Why Imam Hussain (A.S.) is not forgotten?
The one whose martyrdom, grief, pain, sorrows and children's captivity were all only for God will never fade out of the memories. Instead, by the pace of time and age his love, fascination, and charm will grow in the hearts of people. And each year the love and fascination of the people with respect to that "pure and chaste revolutionary" increases. Hussain (A.S.) spent 57 years of his prolific life for the sake of God's love and God's search. Many times he traveled, to the God's house for pilgrimage, on foot. He was very fond of prayers confessions and supplication talking intimately. So far so, that on the last night of his life, he asked for respite only that he might sit all alone and make confessions and supplications, to his God. One of his companions said about Arafat prayers and supplications of Imam Hussain (A.S.), On the 10th day of the month of Zil Hijj Imam Hussain stood in the burning and scorching desert of Arafat facing Holy Kaabah and prayed with painful and aching heart, "Oh God! I turn my face towards you (focus my attention) and give evidence about your being God. O God! You created me and continuously remained along with me and provided me with sustenance and livelihood with several kinds of blessings and bounties. Praise is for the God; nothing can change whose desire and stop His munificence and generosity." Oh God adjudge and fix in my soul the independence and freedom from desires and faith and confidence in my heart, and sincerity in my practice and light in my vision and awareness in my religion."

Imam Hussain (A.S.) in the Hearts of Friends
The respect and regard which people had and still have in their hearts for Hussain (A.S.) is due to this that he lived with the people and did not consider himself aloof and segregated from them. As such, one day, he was passing through a way, a group of poor, oppressed and afflicted people was sitting with a food cloth, spread with a certain quantity of dry bread upon it before them and they were eating it. They invited him to sit along with them and eat that food with them. Imam (A.S.) accepted their invitation and sat down besides the food cloth and took the bread with them.Saying, "God does not like the proud ones." Imam Hussain (A.S.) has hundreds of such examples and specimens of character, which keeps his memory and martyrdom alive in the memories of the people. With every passing year, people strengthen and deepen their relations with Hussain (A.S.). Otherwise Hussain (A.S.) did neither possess magnificent palaces nor had soldiers or many types of servants. He never closed and blocked the ways and roads to stop the movement of people like the tyrants and imperialists, and Shrine of Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) was never vacated for him. One of his friends said about him "Hussain (A.S.) had the signs of scars of callosity and hard flesh on his back" When his son Imam Zain ul Abidin was questioned about it he said, "These are the callosities and signs of hardened flesh which is due to my father's carrying sacks of food at night time, to the houses of widows and orphan children and poor families." One of the scholars says about Hussain (A.S.), "In the history of humanity we come across men who were prominent and distinguished in one human quality, a few in bravery, a group in piety and another one in generosity, but Hussain (A.S.) was not distinguished and eminent in one quality and few qualities instead he was distinguished in all the qualities and ethics and possessed all the human perfections and accomplishments included in his personality. Yes, such is the person who is the heir of Mohammad's (P.B.U.H.) Prophetic mission. Who is the heir of Ali's (A.S.) justice and bravery? Who is the heir of his mother Fatima's (S.A.) modesty and chastity?
He was the reflection of all the merits, accomplishments. Self sacrifices, piety and God's love.

What day is the Ashura?
Ashoora was a formal Arab Eid day in the days and era of ignorance. People used to keep fast and make merry, and hold ceremonies of joy in the same manner as Nauroze was considered to be the Eid day in Iran. In the Arab history, Ashoora day (10th of Moharram) was the historical and customary Eid, when the various tribes of Arab put on new clothes and decorate the cities. Still, a group of Arabs, who is known as the "Yazeedi" group celebrates this day as a joyous festival. When the incident and anguish of Karbala took place in the year 61 Hijrah, the mode and line of tendencies, and views of Arab and the Muslims was changed. Moharram, which was taken to be as one of the (Haram) prohibited months. War and killing was prohibited in it because the martyrdom day of the best of the sons of Adam i.e. Hussain Ibn-e-Ali (A.S.) and for the Shias it became a day of sorrow and grief, the day of honoring and celebrating the memories of the martyrs. In the very first year of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (A.S.) his friends nearly thousands in number gathered around his grave and recited alleges. From the ushering of the era of Bani Ommayide and Yazeed unto this day, hundreds of thousands of the friends of Ahl al-bayth (A.S.) celebrate the mourning meetings and caravans move towards Karbala. Those whose cities are away and at long distance from Karbala shape their cities as Karbala and hold mourning gatherings. The Fatimydes of the Egypt announced the Ashoora as the day of mourning of Imam Hussain (A.S.). As such, men and women gathered around the grave of Ome Kulsum (S.A.) and mourned and recited the alleges. All along the Fatimyde Era in Egypt Ashoora remained the official and formal day of mourning and grief. Moez ud duala Delmi ordered that Ashoora be celebrated officially in Iran and entire population and government officials must refrain from work and celebrate the mourning rituals. This is the very reason why the mourning rituals in Iran, Egypt, Iraq and India have brought about a spiritual movement and ideological change among the Muslim masses so that today's movement of Muslims is the sequence of the same. With every passing year, it is becoming more fruit full. Hoping that a day will come when people will mend their perverse nesses and misbehaviors and make up their deficiencies and faults and enhance their strength and values. One of the scholars says about it "Mosques are the relics and vestiges of the Prophet (S.A.W.) but the monasteries of mourning and Hussainias (centers of mourning) are the relics of the Ahl al-bayth (A.S.). The Shias prattle and tell their secrets to God in the mosques and in the mourning centers they prattle to the lovers of God and those who were martyred for Him and on His way. All along the passage of history no power could stop the movement of the Caravan of Hussain (A.S.) and history has shown that during the entire length of thirteen centuries this enthusiastic movement could not be hushed up and cooled down. For the same reason, because the martyrdom of Hussain (A.S.) and his friends took place on such a day then Joyous ceremonies and decorative measures, joyous and happy celebrations, and lightings and keeping of fast became prohibited and haram on that day. Ibn-e-Kaseer writes, "Ashoora was announced as the public and national mourning day in Baghdad in the approximates of 400 Hijrah. People used to keep cold water and cold drinks on the highways and through fares for the thirsty ones to drink and to commemorate the thirst of Hussain (A.S.) and people of Iraq used to become mournful on the Ashoora day just like the death day of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.).

Who was the Winner of the Karbala Movement?
Although a group of simple people think that Yazeed won the Ashoora battle and Hussain (A.S.) was defeated. But by studying the history deeply and thoroughly they would appreciate that the situation was reverse and opposite of it. For, winning and succeeding does not mean that a person must remain unharmed and intact and the enemy be killed. But it means success in achieving one's objects and goals and aspirations and ideology although one is killed. Defeat does not mean being killed and loosing life in the battlefield. But it means the death and annihilation of objective, aspiration and belief. Hussain (A.S.) himself and his friends were martyred in the Ashoora's tragic event, his family was taken prisoner, their properties were plundered and looted but the aim and objective of Hussain (A.S.) remained alive, because, his aim was the spreading and expansion of Islam and stopping the cruelty, tyranny and aggression, which has been carried forward during the entire length of history and millions of men are the holders and carriers of the flag of this belief and aspiration. Hut the aim of Yazeed was annihilated and perished; because his sole aim was not killing Hussain (A.S.) and his friends instead it was finishing Islam and the end and termination of the teachings of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) of Islam. Since Hussain (A.S.) was on that track and way, Yazeed thought by killing Hussain (A.S.) and taking his family as prisoner the story will finish and his ends will be achieved. Not knowing and unaware of this fact that God himself is the guard and custodian of Islam and Quran and the teachings of the Prophets. The tyrants, arrogant, and powerful of the history who always stood up against the Prophets and fought them, killed them or banished them, had the same obnoxious aim but none of them succeeded neither Nomrod and Pharos nor anyone else of them. What success can be better and clearer than this that many centuries have passed and there is no name and signs of those tyrants of the history among the people. But the Prophets of God and the, religious leaders still have their places in the depth of the hearts of the informed, aware, and human loving people. People praise them regarding their greatness and they do not cherish the memories of the kings. Today we observe that the graves of religious leaders and the real movement makers of history have got devoted lovers who travel long distances after bearing the inconveniences and discomforts, to bow down to their graves and tell their secrets to them. But the graves of the tyrants of history do not have any visitors because they do not have anything to give it to anyone. After, the catastrophe and calamity of Karbala the signs of the triumph of Hussain (A.S.) and defeat of Yazeed became evident and clear, because where ever the remaining family members of Hussain (A.S.) would set their feet people would exhibit their emotions, of love and attachment with them and curse their enemies, to such extent, that even the family members of Yazeed did not give him any respect. Instead, a few of his near relatives raised objection and rebuked, reproached and blamed him.

Source: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FourteenStars

Direct Link: http://almujtaba.com/articles/5/000642.html

Imam Ali (AS) Season

2006-08-08T03:36:00.000-04:00

Imam Ali (AS) Season

Recently @ http://www.almujtaba.com

We send our congratulations to Imam Muhammed AlMahdi (AS), our holy Ulama, and the Muslim World on the birth anniversary of the Commander of faithful, the vicegerent of AlMighty Allah, the first imam, the brother of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), the door to the city of knowledge of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), and the one and only born in Ka'ba,

Imam Ali Son Of Abi Talib (AS)

who was born on the 13th of Rajab, After the birth of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) by 30 years (600 A.D)

Notice: On this anniversary, please do not forget to pray for the brothers and sisters who are suffering in Iraq, Lebanon, and all the other parts of the world.

On this happy, blessed, and joyful anniversary, AlMujtaba Islamic Network have established a special season commemorating Imam Ali (AS) Birth Anniversary.

To visit this special season, please visit http://www.almujtaba.com

Please don’t forget us from your prayers

AlMujtaba Islamic Network Administration

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Imam Muhammed Al-Jawad (AS) Season

2006-08-05T21:02:00.000-04:00

Imam Muhammed Al-Jawad (AS) Season

Recently @ http://www.almujtaba.com

We send our congratulations to our twelfth Imam, Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS), our righteous Ulama, and to the Muslim World on the birth anniversary of the eleventh infallible, the eleventh shining star, the ninth Imam, the one known for his generosity, the infallible, the sinless, the one known for his knowledge, and the pious

Imam Muhammed Al-Jawad (AS)

who was born on 10, Rajab 195 A.H. (811 A.D.)

Notice: On this anniversary, please do not forget to pray for the brothers and sisters who are suffering in Iraq, Lebanon, and all the other parts of the world.

On this happy and blessed occasions, AlMujtaba Islamic Network have established a special season commemorating the birth anniversary of Imam Muhammed Al-Jawad (AS).

To visit this special season, please visit http://www.almujtaba.com

Please don’t forget us from your prayers

AlMujtaba.Com Administration

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Imam Ali Al-Hadi (AS) Season

2006-07-29T19:22:00.000-04:00

Imam Ali Al-Hadi (AS) Season
Recently @ http://www.almujtaba.com

We send our condolences to our twelfth Imam and the fourteenth infallible, the living Hujjah, Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS), our righteous scholars and ulama, and to the Muslim world on the martyrdom anniversary of the twelfth shining light that will never turn off, the shining star, the tenth Imam, and the twelfth infallible,

Imam Ali Al-Hadi (AS)

who was martyred on the third of Rajab, Year 254 A.H. (868 A.D.)

On this sad and tragic event, AlMujtaba Islamic Network have established a special season to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Ali Al-Hadi (AS)

To view this special season, please visit http://www.almujtaba.com

Also, please visit the page condemning the attacks on Imam Ali Al-Hadi (AS) and Imam Hassan Al-Askari (AS) Shrine in Samarra, Iraq on February 22, 2006 by visiting the page below:
http://www.almujtaba.com/statements/samarra

Please don't forget us from your prayers

AlMujtaba Islamic Network Team

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Imam Muhammed Al-Baqir (AS) Birth Anniversary Season

2006-07-27T07:25:00.000-04:00

Imam Muhammed Al-Baqir (AS) Birth Anniversary Season
Recently @ AlMujtaba.Com

We send our congratulations to our twelfth Imam, Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS), our righteous Ulama, and to the Muslim World on the birth anniversary of the seventh infallible, the seventh shining star, the fifth Imam, the one who has the knowledge of the prophet (P), the infallible, the sinless, the one known for his knowledge, the pious and the one who Rasool Allah (P) sent his salaams to,

Imam Muhammed Al-Baqir (AS)

who was born on 1, Rajab 57 A.H. (676 A.D.)

On this happy and joyful occasion, AlMujtaba Islamic Network have established a special season commemorating the fifth infallible and sinless Imam, Imam Muhammed Al-Baqir (AS)

To view this special season, please visit http://www.almujtaba.com

Please do not forget us from your prayers

AlMujtaba Islamic Network

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A GIFT FROM IMAM AL-HUSSEIN (A.S)

2006-07-22T05:46:00.000-04:00

Direct Link: http://almujtaba.com/articles/5/001065.html

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On the 10th day of Muharram, known as the day of ‘Aashura, in the year 61 A.H. when Imam Abu ‘Abdillahil Hussein (as) came into the tent to bid farewell to his family members, he held the hand of his sick son, Ali ibn al-Hussein (as) and pressed it against his chest. He (as) then said,

“O son ! I am teaching you a dua’ which you should remember. It was taught by angel Jibrail to my grandfather the messenger of Allah who passed it to my mother Fatima. Whenever you have a special need or are faced with any calamity or crises, or are inflicted with any grief or hardship, then recite the following supplication”:

BIHAQQI YASEEN WAL QUR-AANIL ‘HAKEEM

WA BIHAQQI TAA-HAA WAL QUR-AANIL ‘ADHEEM

YAA MAN YAQDIRU ‘ALAA ‘HAWAA-IJIS-SAA-ILEEN

YAA MAN YA’LAMU MAA FID-DHAMEER

YAA MUNAFFISAN ‘ANIL MAKROOBEEN

YAA MUFARRIJAN ‘ANIL MAGHMOOMEEN

YAA RAA-‘HIM AL-SHAYKHIL KABEER

YAA RAAZIQAT TIFLIS-SAGHEER

YAA MAN LAA YAHTAAJU ILAT-TAFSEER

SALLI ‘ALAA MUHAMMADIN WA AALI MUHAMMADIN

WAF-‘AL BEE …….(mention your wishes)

By the truth of Yaseen (a title of the Holy Prophet) and the Quran full of wisdom

And for the sake of Taa-haa (another title of the Holy Prophet) and the great Quran

O he Who is able to fulfil the desires of those ask. O He Who knows what is in the heart. O He Who banishes sorrow from the sorrowful. O He Who dispels grief from those who grieve. O He Who is merciful to old men. O He Who provides for infants. O He Who needs not to be explained. Send blessings upon Muhammad and his progeny and fulfil for me…(mention your wishes)

The above dua’ can be found in Mafateeh al-Jinaan, page no.380

Late Ahmed Hussein Sheriff in his book “Imam Hussein (as), as his words potray”

comments on the above dua’ as thus:

This dua’ in fact is meant to be a lesson to us not to get shaken in faith even under most trying circumstances. The words contained in the dua’ are meant to convey to us that Allah (SWT) is fully aware of what is going on in our hearts. He is capable of dispelling our sorrows and griefs and He is the only One Who can fulfil all our desires. What is required of us is always to have full trust in Him and rely upon Him and Him alone.

He further adds:

As such, we are taught to present our desires and our problems through intermediaries and with the recommendations of the divinely chosen personalities in the persons of Muhammad (saww) and his progeny. We are therefore required to invoke blessings upon Muhammad (saww) and his progeny whilst invoking to Almighty God.

Mulla Mujaheedali Sheriff

mulla@almahdi.org.uk

Source: http://almahdi.org.uk

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Sayeda Fatimah Al-Zahra (AS) Season

2006-07-15T18:05:00.000-04:00

Sayeda Fatimah Al-Zahra (AS) Season

Recently @ AlMujtaba.Com

We send our congratulations to our twelfth Imam, Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS), our righteous Ulama, and to the Muslim World on the birth anniversary of the only daughter of prophet Muhammed (PBUH), The Mistress of all women from the beginning to the end, the wife of Imam Ali (AS), the mother of the Imams (AS), the proof of Allah upon His creatures, the infallible, the chaste, the honest, the blessed one, the virtuous, the gratified one, the one who well-pleases Allah, and the mother of her father,

Sayeda Fatimah Al-Zahra (AS)

who was born according to a narration on 20 Jamadi Al-Thani 5 A.H. (615 A.D), and according to another narration on 20, Jamadi Al-Thani 5 years before Hijrah of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) (605 A.D.)

On this happy and joyful occasion, AlMujtaba Islamic Network have established a special season commemorating the Mistress of the women of the world, Sayeda Fatimah Al-Zahra (AS)

To view this special season, please visit http://www.almujtaba.com

Please do not forget us from your prayers

AlMujtaba Islamic Network

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Third Al-Fatimiyah Season

2006-07-01T02:34:00.000-04:00

Third Al-Fatimiyah Season

Martyrdom Anniversary of Sayeda Fatimah Al-Zahra (AS)

Recently @ http://www.almujtaba.com

We send our condolences to our twelfth Imam, Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS), our righteous Ulama, and to the Muslim World on the martyrdom anniversary of the only daughter of prophet Muhammed (PBUH), The Mistress of all women from the beginning to the end, the wife of Imam Ali (AS), the mother of the Imams (AS), the proof of Allah upon His creatures, the infallible, the chaste, the honest, the blessed one, the virtuous, the gratified one, the one who well-pleases Allah, and the mother of her father,

Sayeda Fatimah Al-Zahra (AS)

who was martyred according to a narration on 3, Jamadi Al-Thani 11 A.H. (632 A.D), and according to another narration on 8 Rabi Al-Thani 11 A.H. (632 A.D), and according a third narration on 13. Jamadi Al-Awwal 11 A.H. (632 A.D)).

On this sad and tragic event, AlMujtaba Islamic Network Team have established a special season commemorating Hazrat Fatimah Al-Zahra (AS)

To view this season…Please visit http://www.almujtaba.com

Also, we would like to notify you that AlMujtaba Islamic Network have published it first English eulogies and latmiyat album with the voice of Ahmed Al-Karbalaei…Download the FULL-VERSION at http://www.almujtaba.com/sound/ahmed/album1/index.html

Please don't forget us from your prayers

AlMujtaba Islamic Network Team

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Second Al-Fatimiyah Season

2006-06-09T11:36:00.000-04:00

Second Al-Fatimiyah Season

Martyrdom Anniversary of Sayeda Fatimah Al-Zahra (AS)
Recently @ http://www.almujtaba.com

We send our condolences to our twelfth Imam, Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS), our righteous Ulama, and to the Muslim World on the martyrdom anniversary of the only daughter of prophet Muhammed (PBUH), The Mistress of all women from the beginning to the end, the wife of Imam Ali (AS), the mother of the Imams (AS), the proof of Allah upon His creatures, the infallible, the chaste, the honest, the blessed one, the virtuous, the gratified one, the one who well-pleases Allah, and the mother of her father,

Sayeda Fatimah Al-Zahra (AS)

who was martyred according to a narration on 13. Jamadi Al-Awwal 11 A.H. (632 A.D), and according to another narration on 8 Rabi Al-Thani 11 A.H. (632 A.D), and according a third narration on 3, Jamadi Al-Thani 11 A.H. (632 A.D).

On this sad and tragic event, AlMujtaba Islamic Network Team have established a special season commemorating Hazrat Fatimah Al-Zahra (AS)

To view this season…Please visit http://www.almujtaba.com

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AlMujtaba Islamic Network Team

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Sayeda Zainab (AS) Season

2006-06-02T21:36:00.000-04:00

Sayeda Zainab (AS) Season
Recently At AlMujtaba.Com

*** We send our congratulations to Imam Muhammed Al-Mahdi (AS), our holy ulama, and the Muslim world on the birth anniversary of the greatest messenger of the Hussaini Revolution, and the daughter of Ameer-ul-Mo'mineen Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS),

Sayeda Zainab Al-Kubra (AS)

who was born on 5 Jamadi Al-Awwal, Year 5 A.H. according to a narration and on 1 Sha'ban, Year 5 A.H. according to another narration

On this happy occasion, AlMujtaba Islamic Network has established a special season commemorating Sayeda Zainab Al-Kubra (AS).

To view the season, visit http://www.almujtaba.com

*** Also, we would like to notify you that the season established to condemn the attacks on one of the holiest shrines in the world, the shrine of Imam Ali Al-Hadi (AS) and Imam Al-Hassan Al-Askari (AS) in Samarra, Iraq and the season established to condemn the cartoons against Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) published in a Danish newspaper are still open.

Please visit the Askariyyain Shrine Condemnation page on http://www.almujtaba.com/statements/samarra

Please visit the Cartoon Condemnation page on http://almujtaba.com/denmark

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AlMujtaba Islamic Network Team

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TELLING THE TRUTH

2006-05-22T01:46:00.000-04:00

Telling the truth is a very good habit. If you always speak the truth, you can save yourself from a lot of trouble! Here is a story of a man who did a lot of bad things, but his promise to tell the truth saved him.

Once a man came to the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) and said, "Oh prophet of Allah, I have many bad habits. Which one of them should I give up first?" The prophet said, "Give up telling lies first and always speak the truth." The man promised to do so and went home.

At night the man was about to go out to steal. Before setting out, he thought for a moment about the promise he made with the prophet. "If tomorrow the prophet asks me where have I been, what shall I say? Shall I say that I went out stealing? No, I cannot say that. But nor can I lie. If I tell the truth, everyone will start hating me and call me a thief. I would be punished for stealing."

So the man decided not to steal that night, and gave up this bad habit.

Next day, he felt like drinking wine, when he was about to do so, he said to himself, "What shall I say to the prophet if he asks me what did I do during the day? I cannot tell a lie, and if I speak the truth people will hate me, because a Muslim is not allowed to drink wine." And so he gave up the idea of drinking wine.

In this way, whenever the man thought of doing something bad, he remembered his promise to tell the truth at all times. One by one, he gave up all his bad habits and became a good Muslim and a very good person.

If you always speak the truth, you can be a good person, a good Muslim whom Allah likes and favors. If Allah - our Creator - is pleased with us, He will reward us with HEAVEN, which is a place of happiness and joy.

Make a promise: I shall always speak the truth.

AlMujtaba.Com is back up

2006-05-20T20:22:00.000-04:00

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We would like to inform you that AlMujtaba Islamic Network is back up and the technical problems are now fixed and the site is being daily updated as usual.

Please visit http://www.almujtaba.com to view the site and view the latest updates.

Latest Updates:

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The Throne

2006-05-20T04:15:00.000-04:00

Holy Qur’an:

“God is He Who raised the Heavens without any pillars that yea can see; is firmly established on the throne of Authority.”

Rad verse 2
Holy Qur’an:

“And is firmly established on the throne of authority, regulating and governing all things.”

Yunus, Verse 3
Holy Qur’an:

But if they turn away, Say: “God suffices me; there is not god but He; On Him is my trust, He is the Lord of the Throne of Glory!”

Tawba, verse 129
Holy Qur’an:

“God! There is no god but He, the Living, the Self Subsistent, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He Permits? He knows what appears to His creatures as before or after or behind them. Nor shall they ought His knowledge except as He wills. His throne does extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feels fatigue in guarding and preserving them. For He is the most high and the supreme in glory.”

God’s Throne is mentioned many times in the Holy Qur’an. His Throne does not signify any place but is used as a symbol to describe His Definite control over everything. God’s Throne is one of the many things that people don’t know in reality but only by name. The Throne is also used to describe might, power and authority, and dominion. Many people think that God sits on His Throne and controls everything. Nowhere in the Qur’an does it say the God sits on the Throne.

The same misunderstanding exists with regard to kursi (chair, seat, or throne), which also supposed by material thing. The Throne of Allah, therefore, stands only for His Supreme Power and Authority and not as a Throne that is in the Heavens that the Creator sits on.

By: Azhar Nasser

Source: http://www.fabonline.com

Zawahir al-Qur'an: The Authority of the Book's Literal Meanings

2006-05-16T23:46:00.000-04:00

by Ayatullah al-`Uzma al-Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Khu'i

Translated from the Arabic by Mujahid Husayn

The author is one of the maraji (legal authorities) of the Shi'i world and one of the most eminent figures in the world of contemporary Islamic scholarship. The translation given here is that of two chapters from his work on Qur'anic exegesis, al-Bayan fi tafsir al-Qur'an : "hujjiyat zawahir al-Qur'an," (the authority of the Qur'anic zawahir), and "usul al-tafsir" (the principles of exegesis).

Two terms need to be understood in regard to the Qur'anic meaning: nusus (sing, nass) and zawahir (sing. zahir). By nusus is meant those Quranic texts which are absolutely clear, being of a single meaning, about which there is no ambiguity whatsoever. The term zawahir refers to those meanings which are the most obvious, although the text may have another, less probable, meaning besides its apparent sense. Although zawahir has been translated here as 'literal meanings' which applies to nusus as well the difference between nusus and zawahir should be noted.

There is no doubt that the Prophet (S) did not innovate any special method for conveying his message; he spoke to the people by applying the modes of expression to which they were habituated. He brought the Qur'an to them that they may understand it, contemplate over its verses, follow its commands and refrain from what it prohibits. This message often recurs in the verses of the Qur'an:

What, do they not contemplate over the Qur'an? Or is it that there are locks upon their hearts? (47:24)

Indeed we have struck for the people in this Qur'an every manner of similitude; haply they will remember. (39:27)

Truly it is the revelation of the Lord of all Being, brought down by the Trustworthy Spirit upon thy heart in a clear Arabic language, that thou mayest be one of the warners. (26:192-195)

This is an exposition for mankind, and a guidance and admonition for the God-fearing. (3:138)

Thus have We made it easy on your tongue, that haply they may remember. (44:58)

And We have made the Qur'an easy for remembrance. Is there any one that will remember? (54:17)

And what, do they not contemplate over the Qur'an? And had it been from someone other than God, they would have found in it much inconsistency. (4:82)

Apart from these verses, there are other verses as well which prove the obligatoriness (wujub) of acting in accordance with the contents of the Qur'an and the necessity of accepting the literal meanings of its verses.

Following arguments prove the authoritativeness (hujjiyyah) of the literal meanings of the Qur'an as comprehended by the Arabs.

1. The Qur'an's revelation as a proof of prophethood and the Prophet's (S) challenge to all mankind to bring a single surah of its kind, both imply that the Arabs used to understand the literal meaning of the Qur'an. Had the Qur'an spoken in riddles, it wouldn't have been correct to challenge them regarding it, nor its miraculous character would have been proved to them, because they could not have understood it. It would have also contradicted the purpose for which the Qur'an was revealed and its invitation to mankind to believe in it.

2. There are ample traditions commanding adherence to `the two Weighty Things' (al-Thaqalayn, which are the Qur'an and the Ahl al Bayt,) that the Prophet (S) left behind for the Muslims. Here, evidently, the meaning of adhering to the Qur'an is to grasp its message and to act in accordance with it, and there is no other meaning apart from this.

3. There are mutawatir traditions (i.e. traditions narrated by so many different chains of transmission as to establish their authenticity beyond doubt) which order that traditions be checked against the Qur'an; those which contradict it should be rejected as invalid or false, as those whose acceptance is prohibited, because they are not the words of ( the Prophet [ S ] or) the Imams (A). These traditions categorically prove the canonical authority of the literal meanings of the Qur'an, i.e. the meanings as understood by the ordinary speakers of the language familiar with the literary (fasih) Arabic language. To this category also belong those traditions which order the correlation of contractual conditions with the Qur'an and rejection of those opposing it.

4. The arguments of the Imams (A) regarding some rules of the Shari'ah, as well as other things, in which they have argued by applying the verses of the Qur'an. Following are some examples.

a. There is the exposition of al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A) when Zurarah questioned him, "How do you understand that mash, (the ritual wiping, of the head or the feet during wudu') of (only) a part of the head is required?" The Imam (A) replied, "From the ba'," in the verse

b. Another example, is his prohibiting Hisham al-Dawaniqi from accepting a slanderer's report, because such a person is a fasiq (evildoer), and the Qur'an says:

If an ungodly (fasiq) person comes to you with a tiding, verify it ... (49:6)

c. Among the arguments is his (A) warning a person who had prolonged his stay in the toilet to listen to prohibited music, on the excuse that he had not intentionally come for listening to it, by observing, "Have you not heard the words of God Almighty,

Surely the hearing and sight and the heart will all be questioned?" (17:36)

d. Another instance is the Imam's telling his (A) son, Isma'il, "When believers give evidence before you, endorse its verity," quoting as a proof the verse:

He (the Prophet (S) believes in God and believes the believers. (9:61)

e. Concerning the validity of a slave being a muhallil for a woman divorced thrice, he (A) observes: "He is considered (fit to be) a husband, and God Almighty says in the Qur'an:

... Unless she marries another husband .... (2:230)

f. Another such argument is where the Imam (A) observes that a triple divorcee will not become halal again (for the husband who divorces her) through a temporary marriage (mut`ah), because God Almighty says:

Thus if he divorces her, there is no blame on the two if they reunite.(2:230)

And there is no divorce in mut`ah

g. Similarly, concerning a person who had tripped and lost a nail and then bandaged the toe, he (A) said: "A person's duty in this and other similar instances is known from the Qur'an, which declares:

God has not ordained any hardship for you in the religion. "(22:78)

Then he (A) said: "Perform the mash over it" (the bandage).

h. The Imam (A) brings proof regarding the permissibility of marriage with a certain woman by quoting this verse from the Qur'an:

And other than those mentioned (as prohibited) have been made halal for you. (4:24)

i. Of such arguments is the one of the Imam (A) concerning the invalidity of a slave's marriage, because the Qur'an says:

An owned slave having no authority over anything .... (16:75)

j. The Imam (A) cites the following verse from the Qur'an as a proof of the permissibility of (eating the flesh of) certain species of animals:

Say: I do not end in that which has been revealed to me anything forbidden for an eater to eat .... (6:45)

There are many other similar arguments of the Imams (A) that are based on Qur'anic verses, and these are scattered through the different chapters of fiqh and other subjects.

Arguments against the authority of the Zawahir

A group of traditionists have rejected the authority of the literal meanings of the Qur'an, refusing to act on them for following reasons.

1. The understanding of the Qur'an is limited to a selected few:

They argue that the ability to understand the Qur'an is limited to those who have been addressed by it. The protagonists of this view rely as their proof on a number of traditions concerning this issue, such as the mursal tradition of Shu`ayb ibn Anas narrated from al-'Imam al Sadiq (A), reporting that the Imam (A) said to Abu Hanifah:

"Are you the faqih of the people of Iraq?" He replied: "Yes, I am." The Imam (A) said: "On what basis do you pronounce your fatwa for them?" He replied: "On the basis of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet." The Imam said: "O Abu Hanifah, do you comprehend the Qur'an the way it should be comprehended, and do you recognize the nasikh and the mansukh?" He replied, "Yes." The Imam (A) said: "O Abu Hanifah, you certainly profess having knowledge! Woe to you! God has not kept this knowledge except with the people of the Book and they on whom it has been sent down (i.e. the Ahl al-Bayt). Woe to you! This knowledge is with none except the chosen of our Prophet's (S) progeny, and God has not bequeathed a word to you from His Book."

The following tradition is narrated by Zayd al-Shahham in this relation:

Qatadah visited Abu Ja'far (A) and the Imam (A) asked him: "Are you the faqih of the people of Basrah?" He replied: "This is what they think." The Imam (A) then said: "I have come to know that you expound (tufassiru) the Qur'an." He replied: "Yes, I do." (The tradition continues until where) the Imam (A) said:"O Qatadah, if you have expounded the Qur'an in accordance with your own views, then you have certainly perished and have also caused others to perish, and if you have expounded it in accordance with the views of others, then you have perished and have caused others to perish. Woe to you! No one knows the Qur'an except those who have been addressed by it."

Answer: The meaning of these and similar traditions is that the comprehension of the Qur'an mentioned in them implies comprehending it completely, knowing both its literal and hidden meanings, along with its nasikh and mansukh, and this is limited to those who have been addressed by it. The first tradition explicitly conveys this meaning. Thus the question asked in this tradition was about the full comprehension of the Qur'an and about differentiating between the nasikh and the mansukh. The Imam's (A) censure of Abu Hanifah was due to his claim of possessing that knowledge. As to the second tradition, it contains the word `tafsir' which means `unveiling' (kashf al-qina'), and therefore it does not include the acceptance of literal meanings, because they are not concealed so as to require unveiling. This is also borne out by the explicit traditions mentioned earlier that understanding of the Qur'an is not limited to the Infallible Imams (A). Moreover the Imam's statement in the mursal tradition (of Shu'ayb ibn Anas) in which he says (God Almighty has not bequeathed to you a word from His Book), also proves the same, for it means that God has chosen the Awsiya' (A) of His prophet (S) for inheriting the Qur'an, and this is the meaning of the verse.

Then We bequeathed the Book on those of Our servants We chose ....(35:32)

Therefore, the knowledge of the Qur'an's reality is exclusively with the Imams (A) and others do not have a share in it. This is the meaning of the mursal tradition (of Shu'ayb ibn Anas); otherwise, would it he reasonable to think that Abu Hanifah did not comprehend anything of the Qur'an including and other similar other verses which are explicit in their meaning? There is really a very large number of traditions which prove that such complete knowledge is particular to the Imams (A), and some of them have been mentioned earlier.

2. The prohibition of tafsir bi al-ray:

It is argued that the acceptance of the Qur'an's meanings is tantamount to tafsir bi al-ray (interpreting the Qur'an according to subjective opinion), and there are mutawattir traditions, narrated both by Sunnis and Shi'ah, which forbid such a practice.

Answer: As said, `tafsir' implies unveiling, and this does not include the taking of literal meanings of the verses, because such a meaning is not something hidden that has to be uncovered. Moreover, even of we should consider this as tafsir, it is not tafsir bi al-ray for it to come in the purview of the mutawatir traditions forbidding it. On the contrary, it is a tafsir in accordance with the common usage of words. Therefore, one who, for example, translates a sermon of Nahj al-balaghah in accordance with the ordinarily understood meanings of its words and by using the indications available in the sermon and outside it, his doing so will not be considered tafsir bi al-ray, and al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A) points this out when he says: "People have solely perished on account of the mutashabih, because they could not comprehend its meaning and reality, interpreting its meaning in accordance with their views and seeking thereby to relieve themselves of the need to ask the Awsiya', who could have informed them." It is probable that the meaning of tafsir bi al-ray is independence from referring to the Imams (A) in giving fatwa, although they are companions to the Qur'an in regard to the obligation of adherence to the two and as the ultimate authority.

Therefore, if a person acts in accordance with the general statements (al-`umum) of the Qur'an without accepting the views of the Imams (A) in determining and limiting (taqyid and takhsis) the jurisdiction of these statements, it will be considered as tafsir bi al-ra'y. On the whole, the adoption of literal meanings after a due search for internal and external indications (qara'in) present in the Qur'an and the traditions, or for a rational proof, can not only be not considered tafsir bi al ra'y, it cannot be considered `tafsir' as such. As mentioned earlier, the aforementioned traditions indicate that the Qur'an should be referred to and acted upon, and it is evident that such reference implies the acceptance of its literal meanings. Accordingly, when the relevant traditions are reconciled, tafsir bi al-ray ought to be understood as implying something other than acting in accordance with the literal meanings.

3. The mystery of the meanings of the Qur'an:

It is said that the Qur'an contains sublime and mysterious meanings and this quality of it is a hurdle in comprehending its meanings and fully grasping its import. To be certain, there are some books of the ancients whose meanings cannot be comprehended except by knowledgeable experts; accordingly, how could the Qur'an, which contains all the knowledge regarding both the past and the future, be understood?

Answer: It is true that the Qur'an certainly contains the knowledge of the past and the future, and comprehending it from the Qur'an is doubtlessly restricted to the Ahl al-Bayt (A). However, this does not contravene the fact that the Qur'an has literal meanings understandable by anyone acquainted with the Arabic language and its rules, which one may act upon once they become clear after due research for supporting indications.

4. The knowledge that the literal meaning is not intended:

It may be said that we know in a mujmal way (i.e. without knowing all the specific details) that there exist restrictive proofs (mukhassisat and muqayyidat) which limit the application of the general statements (`umumat and itlaqat) of the Qur'an. This means that some of its literal meanings are certainly not what are intended, for such general statements have been restricted in their jurisdiction. However, those literal meanings which are not intended are not specifically known so as to enable us to confine us to those particular instances. As a result of this, all the literal meanings of the Qur'an and all its general statements become indistinct (mujmal) incidentally, though they are not in fact such essentially. Consequently, it is not valid to act according to them, as a measure of caution against acting in violation of the real (commands of God).

Answer: This mujmal knowledge (that there are some general statements whose literal meaning is not the intended one) can act as a hindrance to accepting all the literal meanings when one resolves to act in accordance with them without a due investigation regarding their real import. But after the mukallaf (a person responsible for his religious duties) investigates and discovers such instances to the extent of gaining a mujmal knowledge of their presence in the Qur'an, the hindrance posed by the prior mujmal knowledge is removed, and it fails to have any effect. Thereupon, there remains no hindrance to acting upon the literal meanings. The same thing is true of the Sunnah, where we also know that there are proofs which limit the jurisdiction of its general statements. Hence, had the mujmal knowledge (regarding the zawahir of the Qur'an) been a hindrance in the way of accepting its literal meanings even after such knowledge is rendered ineffective, it would also be a hindrance in accepting the literal meanings of traditions. Not only that, it would stop us from applying the Rule of Bara'ah (the presumption of absence of duty) in situations where doubts concerning the presence of a duty (al-shubuhat al-hukmiyyah) arise in the obligatoriness (wujub) or imperamissibility (hurmah) of something. This because every mukallaf knows is a mujmal way the presence of compulsory duties in the Shari'ah, and this mujmal knowledge (in accordance with the reasoning of the opponents of zawahir) could result in applying caution (ihtiyat) in all doubtful cases of duties pertaining to obligations and prohibitions. However, we know for certain that caution is not wajib in them. It is true that age group of traditionists have considered caution wajib in cases of doubts concerning the presence of prohibition (al-shubuhat al-tahrimiyyah) because they imagined that the traditions ordering restraint and caution prove restraint and caution in cases of al-shubuhat al-tahrimiyyah. But this opinion of theirs is not based on the mujmal knowledge warding the presence of compulsory duties in the Shari'ah, because if it were so they would have considered caution obligatory in case of doubt regarding the obligatoriness of something (al-shubuhat al-wujubiyyah) as well. However, as far as we know, no one has considered caution compulsory in such cases. The sole secret of caution not being wajib in these and other similar instances is that mujmal knowledge is at times `dissolved' as a result of success in acquiring the knowledge (of specifics), and the dissolution of the mujmal knowledge renders it ineffective. For a further explanation, the reader should refer to our book ajwad al-taqrirat.

5. The prohibition of following the mutashabihat:

The opponents of acting on the zawahir point out that the Qur'anic `verses forbid the following of the mutashabihat. God Almighty says:

In it are muhkam (clear) verses which are the foundation of the Book, and other verses which are mutashabih. As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they follow its mutashabih (ambiguous) verses .... (3:7)

The term mutashabih also includes literal meanings or, at least, the possibility of its including literal meanings makes them incapable of being accepted as authority.

Answer: The word mutashabih has a perspicuous meaning, and there is no ambiguity or vagueness in it. It means a word having two or more meanings that stand in the same degree of nearness in relation to that word. Thus when such a word is used in a verse, the possibility arises that any one of these meanings may be actually intended. For this reason, it is wajib to observe restraint in giving a judgement in favour of any of the meanings unless there is an indication to specify it. Accordingly, a word having a single literal meaning is not considered mutashabih.

If we condescend to accept that the word mutashabih is itself ambiguous, and that there exists a possibility of its including literal meanings, our doing so does not prevent us from acting in accordance with the literal meanings. This is after the practice of rational persons (sirat al-`uqala) which sanctions the acceptance of the literal meaning of a speech or writing. Therefore, a sole possibility is incapable of preventing this practice from being acted upon, for it requires a categorical proof in order to do so. Otherwise, this practice will undoubtedly be followed. For this reason, a master is able to prove his servant's fault if the latter acts against the literal meanings of the former's speech, and it is valid for the master to punish him for the violation. Similarly, the servant may justify himself vis-a-vis his master if he has acted in accordance with the literal meaning of his master's words where it is opposed to his real intent. On the whole, this practice is followed in accepting the literal meanings, unless there exists a categorical proof against it.

6. The occurrence of tahrif in the Qur'an:

The occurrence of tahrif (textual corruption, or loss) in the Qur'an prevents us from accepting the literal meanings because a possibility of there being, alongside the literal meanings, helping indications determining their real intent exists, and these indications might have been lost due to tahrif

Answer: We reject the claim of occurrence of tahrif in the Qur'an, and have earlier presented our argument concerning it. [1] There we said that the traditions commanding us to refer to the Qur'an are by themselves a proof negating tahrif. Even if we condescend to presume the occurrence of tahrif, we are obliged by these traditions to act in accordance with the Qur'an even after the presumption of occurrence of tahrif. The conclusion that follows from this discussion is that it is necessary to act on the literal meanings of the Qur'an; that the Qur'an is the basis of the Shari'ah; and that the narrated Sunnah will not be acted upon when it opposes the Qur'an.

The Methodology of Tafsir:

`Tafsir' means the elucidation of the intent of God Almighty in the Holy Qur'an. Therefore, it is neither permissible in this regard to rely on conjectures (zunun) or on one's preferences (istihsan), nor on anything whose validity has not been established by reason or the Shari'ah. This is because following conjectures and attributing anything to God without His permission is forbidden. God Almighty says:

Say: `Has God permitted you, or do you forge a lie against God?' (10:59)

And follow not that of which you have no knowledge. (17:36)

There are other such verses and traditions that forbid acting without knowledge, and there are a sufficiently large (mustafidah) number of traditions from both Sunni and Shi'ah sources forbidding tafsir bi al-ray.

This makes it clear that it is not valid to follow the tafsir of any exegete, irrespective of his being rightful in his creed or otherwise, because it amounts to following conjecture, and conjecture is not a substitute for knowledge.

The Sources of Tafsir:

It is necessary for an exegete to: follow the literal meanings as understood by a linguistically competent Arab (and we have already explained that literal meanings are authoritative), or follow the dictates of sound reason, for reason is an inward authority in the same way as the Prophet (S) is an outward authority (hujjah), or follow the traditions established to have been narrated from the Mu'sumun (the Prophet [S], Fatimah [A] , and the Imams [A] ), because they are the authorities to be referred to in the religion (al-maraji` fi al-Din). The Prophet (S) declared the duty of making recourse to them when he said.

Verily, I am leaving behind two weighty things amongst you: the Book of God and my Family, my Ahl al-Bayt. If you hold on to them, you will never go astray after me. [2]

There is no doubt that the statements of the Imams (A) are established when narrated through a definite chain of transmission free from doubt. Similarly, there is no doubt that they are not proved when narrated by a weak (daif) chain which does not possess the requirements of credibility. Are their (A) statements proven through a chain creating presumption (tariq zanni) when supported by a definite proof (dalil qati)? The scholars differ in this regard.

A doubt is raised here concerning the authority of khabar al wahid (a tradition which is not mutawatir) narrated by trustworthy narrators from the Ma'sumun (A) regarding the tafsir of the Qur'an. The reason offered is that the implication, of the authority of khabar al-wahid, or some other proof (dalil) leading to presumption (zann), is that it is obligatory to follow it in a case when one is ignorant about the actual law as if the law were known for certain. Such an approach is applicable nowhere except in regard to a hadith concerning a law of the Shari'ah or a subject relating to such a law. This condition is at times not present in a khabar al-wahid narrated from the Ma'sumun (A) in regard to tafsir (for such traditions may relate to subjects having no relation whatsoever with the laws of the Shari'ah, such as doctrines, historical events, etc.).

This objection is contrary to fact. It has been explained in discussions on usul al-fiqh that the meaning of the authority (hujjiyyah) of the proofs that bring only presumption (and not certainty) about the actual fact, is that such presumptive proofs have been made binding substitutes for definite proofs by the Lawgiver (this is called certainty through ta`abbud, i.e. in observance of Divine sanction). Thus, a channel whose credibility is approved by the Lawgiver's sanction is as good as a source resulting in certainty, despite the fact that it lacks the intrinsic capacity to produce certainty. Hence all the effects of certain knowledge will follow from this channel, and it will be as correct to report (regarding non-legal matters) on its authority as it is correct to do so on the basis of actual knowledge; it will not be considered a statement without knowledge.

We are led to this conclusion by the practice prevalent among all reasonable persons ( `uqala'). Such persons consider a channel of approved credibility similar to actual knowledge, without making any difference between the effects of the rule. For instance, the possession, of a thing by someone is regarded as a proof of his ownership by the people, despite the fact that it can give rise only to presumption that the possessor is its owner, and they allow on its basis all the effects of ownership, and report without deserving any blame that he is the owner of that thing. And this common practice has not been disapproved by the Lawgiver.

Of course, it is true that a trustworthy tradition or any other credible channel should possess all the conditions of credibility. Among such conditions is that the tradition should not be of known falsity, because something known to be false cannot reasonably possess the marks of credibility or enjoy the Lawgiver's sanction. Therefore, those traditions which are contrary to consensus or definite Sunnah, or the Qur'an, or the dictates of sound reason, will certainly not be considered credible, although they may possess other requirements of credibility. There is also no difference here between traditions relating to a rule of the Shari'ah and those relating to non-legal subjects.

The basis of this argument against the credibility of khabar al wahid is that however trustworthy a narrator may be, the tradition narrated by him is not secure from being contrary to the truth, because there is at least a possibility of his having made a mistake, especially where there are a large number of links in the chain of transmission. Hence, it is necessary to have some grounds establishing credibility that remove such a possibility, making it as if non-existent. However, in the case of certainty about the falsity of a tradition, which is known to be contrary to the truth, such a certainty cannot be evaded on the basis of the Lawgiver's sanction (ta`abbud ), for the intrinsic quality of certainty is to reveal the truth and its validity is established as necessary by reason.

Therefore it is necessary to limit the grounds of the credibility of khabar al-wahid to those traditions which are not known to be false or contrary to the truth. The same rule applies to other reliable channels of information. This issue has a bearing upon many other issues of the kind, and on it are based replies to many doubts and criticisms. The reader should understand it well.

Limiting the Jurisdiction of the Qur'an by Khabar al-Wahid:

When the credibility of khabar al-wahid has been established by a definite proof (dalil qati), is it possible to limit the jurisdiction of the general statements of the Holy Qur'an by a khabar al-wahid? The prevalent (mashhur) view among the scholars considers it valid. A group of Sunni scholars opposes this view, and some of them reject it unconditionally. `Isa ibn Aban states: "If a general statement of the Qur'an has already been limited by a definite proof, it is valid to further limit it by a khabar al-wahid; otherwise it is not valid." Al-Karkhi states: "If the Book's general statement has been limited by a separate proof (dalil munfasil) it is valid to limit it further by a khabar al-wahid and not otherwise." Al-Qadi Abu Bakr has refrained from giving an opinion in this regard. [3]

We accept the prevalent view, and the ground for doing so is, the khabar al-wahid as presumed enjoys definite credibility, and this implies that it is wajib to act according to it as long as there is no hindrance to doing so.

Doubts and Opinions:

The imagined hindrance to acting in accordance with khabar al wahid is not based on valid reasons. Some main objections and the replies to them are mentioned below.

1. It is argued that the Holy Qur'an is the word of God Almighty which has been revealed to His Noble Prophet (S); this is a definite fact and beyond doubt. However, a khabar al-wahid has no certainty of being in accordance with the truth, nor is there a guarantee of its contents being the authentic word of the Ma'sum, because there is at least a possibility of the narrator's mistake. In the light of this, it is not reasonable to abandon a thing which is certain for a proof containing a possibility of error.

The reply to this is that although the authenticity of the Qur'an is definite, it is not certain whether its general statements represent the actual law. It is obligatory to act in accordance with the general statements because they are the literal meanings, and it is accepted as a reasonable practice not disapproved by the Lawgiver to follow literal imports. It is quite obvious that this common practice, which proves the authority of literal meanings, is limited to cases where there exists no indication (qarinah) contrary to the literal import, irrespective of whether the indication is attached (muttasil) to the general statement or is separate (munfasil) from it. Therefore, when there is an indication conflicting with the literal import, it is obligatory to forgo the literal meaning and to act in accordance with the indication. Hence there is no other alternative to limiting the general statements of the Qur'an by khabar al-wahid after a definite proof of its credibility. It means that the khabar al-wahid has originated from the Ma'sum, though its authenticity is based on ta`abbud and not on fact. In other words, we may say, though the authenticity of the Qur'an is certain, we have only presumption regarding its real intent, and there is no reasonable impediment to forgoing a proof which gives presumption for another similar proof whose credibility is known for certain.

2. It is argued that authentic traditions of the Ma'sumun (A) command us to compare the traditions with the Qur'an, and that those which oppose it should be discarded and not considered their word. A limiting tradition (al-khabar al-khass) conflicting with a general statement of the Qur'an comes within the purview of such traditions; thus it becomes obligatory to discard it as unauthentic.

The reply to this is that, first, we should clarify the meaning of `contradiction' and `opposition.' Customary indications applied in comprehending the intent of the Qur'an are not considered by custom as opposing the Qur'an in any manner, and a limiting proof (al-dalil al khass) is an indication which elucidates the intent of a general proof. Two statements contradict each other when people are unable to understand from them the intent of their speaker if both the statements come from him. On this basis, a limiting khabar al-wahid cannot be considered as contradicting a general statement of the Qur'an; rather, it elucidates its intent.

This is also further confirmed by our knowledge that a large number of traditions have been issued by the Ma'sumun (A) that limit the general statements of the Qur'an. Now, should this limiting be considered as contradiction to the Qur'an, the following words of the Ma'sumun (A) will be incorrect:

That which opposes the word of our Lord, has not been said by us. It is absurd or false.

This statement of them (A) proves that the limiting of the jurisdiction of the general statements of the Qur'an does not involve any contradiction.

Furthermore, the Ma'sumun (A) have laid down agreement with the Qur'an of one of two contradicting traditions as a criterion for preferring one of them to the other. This implies, that a tradition which is not in consonance with the literal general statements of the Qur'an is creditable in itself, for it is obvious that if this tradition were opposed to the Qur'an in a manner that reconciliation were impossible, it would fail to be credible in itself, and thereby leave no room for conflict and preference. Therefore, there is no alternative to accepting that the meaning of a tradition's not being in consonance with the Qur'an is that it is possible to reconcile the two in an acceptable manner by limiting the general Qur'anic statements.

The conclusion is that a tradition limiting the general Qur'anic statements is in itself credible and it is necessary to act in accordance with it, except when it is faced with another tradition contradicting it.

3. It is argued that if it is valid to limit Qur'anic statements with khabar al-wahid, it will also be valid to abrogate the Qur'an with it. But since to do so is certainly not valid, it follows that limiting the Qur'anic statements with it is also invalid. The basis of such a logical linkage is that abrogation (as explained in the chapter on naskh) means limiting the Qur'anic statements with respect to a specific period of time, which ends with the arrival of the abrogating proof (al-dalil al nasikh). Consequently the abrogation of a Qur'anic statement does not mean its actual annulment, but only a formal extrinsic abolition. The limiting of the jurisdiction of general Qur'anic laws in regard to the instances of its application is similar to limiting it to a particular period, both being forms of limitation. Therefore, if the first is valid, the second, too, would be valid.

The reply to this is that the difference between the two forms of limitation is the presence of, a definite consensus (al-'ijma` al-qati) prohibiting the abrogation of general Qur'anic laws by khabar al-wahid and had it not been for this ijma`, the abrogation of Qur'anic statements by a trustworthy khabar al-wahid would have been as valid as the limiting of the general jurisdiction of Qur'anic statements. We have mentioned earlier that though the Qur'an enjoys definite authenticity of source (qati al-sanad), its actual import is not known for certain, and there is no impediment to forgoing it by accepting a khabar al-wahid whose credibility is definitely known.

It is to be noted that the above mentioned ijma` is not based on mere ta`abbud, but rests on a rational basis. This is because some matters are such that should they be true in external reality, they are bound to be widely reported (mutawatir), and if a matter of great significance is reported only by some, it is evidence of the falsity or error of the report. The proofs in favour of the reliability of khabar al-wahid do not apply to such reports. It is on this basis that we said that a text is not proved to be a part of the Qur'an on the basis of khabar al-wahid. For there is no doubt that the abrogation of the Qur'an is not an affair limited to a particular group of Muslims to the exclusion of others. Hence, had abrogation occurred, a very large number of traditions (akhbar mutawatirah) would have narrated it. Now, if a single tradition reports it, it will be the proof of its falsity or error. With this exposition, the difference between the limitation of the Qur'anic statements by khabar al-wahid and the abrogation of them by such traditions becomes obvious, and the logical linkage claimed between the two is thereby refuted.

Notes

[1]. The author has discussed in detail the issue of tahrif in this book (al-Bayan fi tafsir al-Qur an) in the chapter "siyanat al-Qur an min al-tahrif" pp. 197-285.

[2]. For the Sunni sources containing Hadith al-Thaqalayn, see: Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, part iii, pp. 14, 17, 26, 59 from Abu Said al-Khudri; iv, pp. 366, 371 from Zayd ibn Arqam; v, pp. 182, 189 from Zayd ibn Thabit. See also al-Darimi, Sunan, "kitab fada'il al-Qur'an," ii, 431; al-Suyuti in al-Jami 'al-saghir, from al Tabarani, from Zayd ibn Thabit, evaluates it as sahih ; al-`Allamah al-Manawi, Sharh, ii, p.15; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, iii, 109, from Zayd ibn Arqam, evaluates it as sahih; al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al-'ummal, "bab al-i'tisam bi al-Kitab wa al-Sunnah, " Da'irat al-Ma'arif al-`Uthmaniyyah, i, 253, 332. Others who have reported it are Muslim in his Sahih; Abu Ya'la, al-Hafiz `Abd al-`Aziz ibn al-'Akhdar, and many others. For a detailed study of its sources see Hamid Husayn al-Hindi, `Abaqat al anwar.

[3]. Al-'Amidi, Usul al- 'ahkam, ii, 472.

Source: http://www.al-islam.org

Blessings of Having Daughters

2006-05-14T18:14:00.000-04:00

Imam Sadeq (AS) has said:

* * *

“Surely Prophet Ibrahim (AS) called on God to give him a daughter to weep after his death.”
The Holy Prophet (SAW) has said:

* * *

“What good offspring are the girls! For they are kind, obedient, sympathetic and having blessing with them.”

* * *

“Whoever curses his child, God will afflict him with poverty.”
Imam Sadeq (AS) has also said:

* * *

“Girls are as benefaction but boys are as riches. On the Day of Judgment, there will be reward for the benefaction but riches will be questioned of.”
The holy Prophet (SAW) has said:

* * *

“Whoever has three daughters or three sons, paradise is his due.”
It was asked: O Messenger of Allah, how about two? The Holy Prophet (SAW) said:
“The same is true with two.” It was asked: O Messenger of Allah, how about one? The Holy Prophet said:
“The same is true with one.”
The Holy Prophet (SAW) has also said:
“Whoever has three daughters or sisters and is patient in taking care of them until they get married or die he and me are as these two fingers on paradise - at this time, the Holy Prophet referred to his index and middle fingers.”
It was asked: O Messenger of Allah, what happens if they are two? The Holy Prophet (SAW) said:
“The same is true with two.” It was asked, how about one?
The Holy Prophet said: “The same is true with one.”
A man to whom a baby girl was born and seeing he was angry, Imam Sadeq (AS) said:

* * *

“What will you do if God says to you: Shall I choose. The Imam said:

* * *

“Now God has chosen a girl for you.
About the boy whom Khidr killed as mentioned in verse 81 of the Quranic Chapter, the Cave:

* * *

“So we desired that their Lord might give them in his place one better than him in purity and nearer to having compassion.”
Imam Sadeq (AS) said instead of that son God gave them a daughter from whose generation, seventy prophets came.
4-Kinsfolk
The Holy Prophet (SAW) has said:

* * *

“I recommend ties of kinship to those who are present or absent and every one of my Ummah being in the loins of men and wombs of women till the Day of Judgment even if there is a gap as long as a year between them, for ties of kinship is part of religion.”
The Holy Prophet (SAW) has also said:

* * *

“One side of Sarat (bridge which the righteous only can cross on the road to paradise) on the Day of Judgment is trustworthiness and the other is ties of kinsfolk. One who has been trustworthy and has observed ties of kinsfolk, crosses the bridge and goes to paradise, however, one who breaches the trust and is heedless of relatives can not cross the bridge, for his other deeds will not avail him and Sarat will throw him.

Source:
Oddatatol Daee
(The Asset of Supplicant)

Source: http://www.imamreza.net

Ali: The Voice of Human Justice

2006-05-13T09:54:00.000-04:00

Out of the persons who have narrated the attributes of Imam Ali son of Abu Talib the author of Zakhair al-Uqba writes thus: "His stature was moderate and slightly short. His skin was of wheaten colour and his beard was white and long. His eyes were large and black. He had a cheerful face and was good-natured. His neck was long like a goblet made of silver. His shoulders were broad. The joints of his hands were like those of a roaring lion, because his hands and wrists were completely joined with each other and distinction could hardly be made between them. His hands and fingers were strong, moderately fat and fleshy. His arms were also fleshy in a similar manner. He walked calmly like the prophet. However, as and when he proceeded to give a fight he walked briskly and did not turn his head to see anything else. His bodily strength was unimaginable. He usually picked up the fighters whom he laid his hands on and threw them on the ground without any difficulty or effort, as if they were small children. And if he held the arm of any warrior in his hand the latter could not even breathe. It is well-known that he did not fight with anyone whom he did not vanquish, even though he might have been very strong and a renowned champion. At times he picked up a big gate, which a number of strong persons could not even close, or open, and used it as a shield to defend himself. On some occasions he threw away with one hand, a stone, which could not even be shaken by a number of men. At times he roared in the battlefield so loudly that the bravest men got frightened although their number might be quite large. He possessed such a great power to bear hardships that he did not fear any harm from heat or coldness.
Once a man lodged a complaint against Ali with Umar who was then the caliph. Umar summoned both of them and said: "O Abul Hasan! Stand side by side with the other party. Signs of displeasure appeared on the face of Ali. Thereupon Umar asked him whether he did not wish to stand by the side of the other person. Ali replied: "No. That is not so. However, I have observed that you have not maintained equality between me and my opponent. You have addressed me with my Kuniyah and thus shown me respect whereas you have not meted out the same treatment to him. (1)

It is very difficult to explain fully the nature and habits of human beings and especially of great personalities because personal qualities of men are related with one another and every one of them influences others. Every quality is related with another quality and every habit is the cause of another habit and the result of a third one, or two of them are effect of another and so on and so forth. Hence, I propose to study a few of the personal qualities of Ali from different angles and to compare them within one and the same personality so as to arrive at some conclusions by means of this intellectual analysis. In the first instance I shall briefly present the various qualities of Ali by deducing them from his simple dealings and well-known actions so that his nature, habits and disposition are known and our detailed discussion in the following chapters may be limited to those qualities and characteristics.

We now commence the discussion with reference to his acts of worship.

Ali was well-known for his piety and continence. He did many things for his own self as well as for his own people and others, as he was extremely pious. I believe that Ali's piety was not the outcome of circumstances like that of other pious persons, who engage themselves in worship on account of the weakness of their souls, or to escape the vicissitudes of life and to keep aloof from the people, or in imitation of their ancestors, and the effects of the events of life confirm it, because as a rule people accord respect to ancestral customs and traditions. (2)

The fact is that the piety of the Imam Ali was based on a firm footing and was linked with the mutual tie that exists in all parts of the creation and has bound the sky and the earth with each other. His worship was in fact a continuous effort and a campaign against mischief for the sake of human life and prosperity. He fought against all aspects of evil and wickedness. On the one hand he fought against hypocrisy and selfishness and on the other hand against dastardliness, abjectness meanness, helplessness and other bad qualities that the people had acquired during those evil days. According to Ali the essence of piety is to sacrifice one's life for the sake of truth and justice. He has said: "Your faith should be at such a level that you should prefer truth to falsehood even though it may cause you loss and falsehood may bring you gained".

His piety was of the same type as defined by him. He was martyred on account of this very truthfulness, and if it be possible to give the title of "Martyr to living persons it may be said that even while alive he was a martyr in the path of truth and righteousness.

If a person studies the piety of the Imam carefully it will become known to him that even in politics and governments he had a special method in the matter of worship which he pursued firmly. When he stood before the Almighty God he made his supplications with full attention, just as a poet is lost in the beauties of nature. The following remark of Ali is very instructive for those who worship God and observe piety: "One group worships God to be favoured with His blessings. This is the worship of the tradesmen. Another group worships Him on account of His fear. This is the worship of the slaves. A third group worships Him by way of thanksgiving. This is the worship of the free man".

Unlike many persons the Imam's worship was not on account of fear, and it was also not a tradesman-like worship with the hope of acquiring Paradise. On the other hand when great men stand before the Almighty God they find themselves meek and obliged to consider themselves His worst slaves. The basis of this worship is reason, conscience, and spiritual perfection.
One who accords the same position to worship as was accorded by Ali will certainly view life in the same manner in which it was viewed by Ali. Such a person does not seek life for worldly gains and transient pleasures. On the other hand he seeks it to attain high morals and to achieve the ends which are compatible with his nature. It was for this reason that Ali chose piety in the world and did not seek fame and ostentation. He was true in the matter of piety in the same way in which he was true in the matter of his actions, words and intentions. He was disinclined towards the pleasures of life in the same way in which he was disinterested in rulership, and other things, which were so much coveted by others. He lived with the members of his family in a hut which was also his seat of government. His rulership was not in the form of kingship but in the form of caliphate. He ate barley bread prepared from the flour ground by his wife. Of course his governors and officials availed of the luxuries which became available from Syria, Egypt and Iraq. Often he did not make his wife take the trouble of grinding the mill and did this job himself. Although he was the Commander of the Faithful he ate bread which was so dry and' hard that it could be broken by pressing it with the knee. When it was very cold during winter he did not have any clothes for that season and contented himself with thin summer clothes.

Harun son of Antara relates thus from his father: "I went in the presence of Ali in Khurnaq Palace in winter season and saw that he was wearing an old cloak and was trembling with cold. I said to him: "O Commander of the Faithful! God has fixed a share for you also in the public treasury and in spite of that you are living in this condition". He replied: "I swear by God that I do not take anything out of your (i.e. public) property and this cloak is the same which I brought from Madina".

He spent his days in the small house with perfect contentment till he was martyred at the hands of Ibn Muljim. Although he was the caliph there was none amongst the Muslims who lived as simple and contented a life as he did.

In fact this lack of interest on his part in worldly comforts was related with his valour. Some persons think that these two qualities are apart from each other, but this view is not correct. Really speaking his valour consisted of the greatness of his soul and his efforts to achieve great objects and to help the poor and the needy without caring for his own benefit. The fact is that he was not prepared to enjoy the pleasure of life while living in a city in which many helpless and indigent persons were also residing.

Umar son of Abdul Aziz was a caliph of the family of Bani Umayyah. This family was inimical towards Ali, slandered him and abused him from the pulpit. In spite of this he was obliged to remark thus keeping in view the sublime conduct of Ali: "The most chaste and pious person in the world was Ali son of Abu Talib.

It is said that Ali did not place either a stone on a stone or a brick on a brick and did not also join a reed with a reed. In other words he did not construct for himself even a house made of reeds. Although the White Palace had been constructed for him he did not occupy it because he did not wish to live in a house which was better than the huts made of wood occupied by the poor people. The manner in which Ali led his life is reflected in his well-known remark: "Should I content myself with this that the people call me the Commander of the Faithful and I should not share the vicissitudes of life with them?

Ibn Athir has narrated that when Ali married the Prophet's daughter Fatima their bed consisted only of the hide of a sheep. They used it as a mattress during night and placed fodder on it during the daytime to feed their camel. They did not have more than one servant. During the caliphate of Ali some property was received from Isfahan. It was divided by him into seven parts. It also included a loaf of bread and he broke that also into seven pieces.

Manliness was incarnated in Ali in all respects and included every quality necessary for it. Broad mindedness and forgiveness are the necessary concomitants of manliness and they were ingrained in the Imam s nature. It was on this account that he did not even think of harming any person although he might have harmed him, and did not oppress a person about whom he knew that he wanted to kill him. Bani Umayyah abused and slandered him hut he did not retaliate in the same manner because magnanimous persons do not abuse a person who abuses them. Imam Ali prohibited his own companions from abusing Bani Umayyah. At the time of the Battle of Siffin he was informed that some of his companions were abusing Bani Umayyah, upon this he said: "I do not like that you should be one of those who use abusive language. However, if you mention their misdeeds and their behaviour you will be justified in doing so and will be pronouncing an ultimatum. In reply to their abuses you should say: "O Lord! Protect our blood as well as theirs. Relieve our and their hearts of deviation, and guide us so that he who has not recognized the truth should recognize it, and he who is involved in injustice and deviation should forsake it".

He has no peer in history in the matter of forgiveness and connivance, and there are innumerable incidents which throw light on these qualities of his. It is said in this connection that on the occasion of a battle he gave inter alia the following instructions to his soldiers: "Don't kill an enemy who runs away. Don't withhold assistance from one who is helpless and wounded. Don't strip any one. Don't take the property of anyone by force".

At the conclusion of the Battle of the Camel he offered funeral prayers for the enemies who had been killed and prayed to God for their forgiveness. When he gained control over his fell enemies like Abdullah son of Zubayr, Marwan son of Hakam, and Sa'id son of Aas, he forgave them, behaved with them kindly and prohibited his companions from punishing them although he was in a position to give them a harsh treatment, and they too did not hope that they would be set free. Another example of his connivance is this that when he gained the upper hand on Amr Aas he turned his face aside and let him go, although he was by no means a lesser danger for Ali than Mu awiya and remained inimical towards him even after this kindness. When he saw Zulfiqar (Ali's sword) on his head he committed a particular act and hoped that if he did so Ali would shut his eyes and leave him (3). If Ali had killed Amr bin Aas at that time fraud would have been eliminated and Mu'awiya's army, too, would have been destroyed.

In the Battle of Siffin Mu'awiya and his supporters decided to overcome Ali by subjecting him and his companions to thirst. For some days, therefore, they blocked his way to the Euphrates and threatened that they would not allow his army to utilize the water and would make them die of thirst. However, Ali's army launched an attack and gained control of the bank of the river. But Ali behaved with Mu'awiya in a different manner. Notwithstanding the fact that he could stop supply of water to the Syrian army as a measure of retaliation he allowed them to utilize water in the same way in which his own men were utilizing it.

Once he was given to understand that two persons were accusing Ayesha of having started the Battle of the Camel and of plotting to kill him. He ordered that each of them might be administered one hundred lashes by way of punishment.

After achieving victory in the Battle of the Camel he sent Ayesha back to Madina with due honour and respect. He accompanied her up to a few miles distance and also sent some persons with her so that they might serve her on the way, and she might reach Madina comfortably.

In spite of his being so brave Ali avoided being oppressive. The narrators and historians are agreed that he hated warfare and did not resort to it except when no other alternative was left. He always tried that matters might be settled with the enemies without bloodshed and fighting. He used to advise his son Hasan not to invite anyone to fighting. He was always sincere in what he said and followed the policy which he recommended to his son till he was obliged to act otherwise.

For example when Kharijites were equipping themselves for warfare the companions of Ali suggested to him that he should attack them (i.e. Kharijites) before they became ready to wage a war. Ali, however, replied: "I shall not start fighting till they begin the battle themselves". His faith and human attributes compelled him to keep the people from deviation by means of advice. One day he was delivering a sermon to a gathering and many Kharijites who considered him to be an infidel were also present and were hearing him. One of them who was wondering at his sweet language and eloquence said: "May God kill this infidel! How wise and intelligent he is! The followers of Ali wished to kill that man. He, however, said to them: "He has done something wrong with his tongue. You should, therefore, either take revenge from him with the tongue or forgive him".

We have already mentioned above that Mu'awiya's army blacked the path of Ali's army to the Euphrates so that they might surrender on account of thirst but when Ali gained control of the bark of the river he did not stop Mu'awiya's army from utilizing the water. Many other similar incidents took place so far as Mu'awiya was concerned, but it is not possible to give their details here. All these events show that as demanded by his angelic soul he was kind even to his enemies and was just and magnanimous to all. A historian narrates thus with reference to the Battle of Siffin: "A man named Kareez son of Sabah Humeri came out of Mu'awiya's army into the battlefield and said standing between the armies. Is there anyone who may come and fight with me? one of the soldiers of Ali's army went to combat with him and was killed. He again asked for an adversary. Another man went but he too was killed and still another person also met death at the hands of Kareez. When he demanded an adversary for the fourth time none went to oppose him. The men in the first row stepped hack. Ali felt that there was a danger of his army becoming demoralized. He, therefore, went himself to give a fight to Kareez and killed him. Then he killed another man and thereafter a third man also met the same fate. After having killed three warriors Ali said loudly these words which were heard by all: "If you had not started the battle we would not have fought with you". Having said this he returned to his place".

It is also related in connection with the Battle of the Camel that when the enemies gathered for an attack, Ali also arrayed his troops hut said to them: "Don't throw an arrow nor make an attack with a spear or a sword until we have first invited them to peace". He did not wish that a battle should take place resulting in blood shed and loss of life. After a moment some one belonging to the opposite army shot an arrow which struck a companion of Ali and killed him. Ali said: "O Lord! Bear witness". Then another arrow came and killed another man. He said again: "O Lord! Bear witness". Then an arrow struck Abdullah son of Badil and his brother brought him before Ali. Ali again said "O Lord! Bear witness". And then the battle started.

To shun cruelty and oppression was a moral principle of Ali and formed part of his nature and disposition. He never broke covenants and was not inimical towards his former friends unless they themselves broke the covenants and showed enmity in reply to kindness.

The best form of friendship and the meaning of fidelity is that a warrior, while standing in the battlefield should look at the former friends who may have come to fight in the capacity of enemies, with the same brotherly eye, should invite them to peace and remind them of former love and friendship, so that they may possibly refrain from breach of covenant and treachery, or should take away the arms from their hands and solve the difficult problems by negotiations and peace talks. Fighting with a former friend should not he started all at once, because it is possible that he may be reminded of former relations and may refrain from fighting and opposition.

If keeping promises and regard for former friendship had not dominated the spirit of Ali he would not have depended on them for warding off the enemies.

The Imam's firmness in keeping the promises is evident from the treatment which he meted out to Zubayr son of Awam and Talha son of Ubaidullah. These two persons separated the Imam s friends and helpers from him and took them to his enemies. They also misguided Ayesha and made her come up as opponent of Ali.

Those who were present on the spot whether they were friends or enemies, have reported that when Talha and Zubayr decided to fight against Ali, broke the oath of allegiance and displayed their evil intentions in the Battle of the Camel, Ali went to them bare-headed and without wearing any armour or coat of mail, meaning thereby that he had come with peaceful intentions. He then called Zubayr saying: "O Zubayr! come to me . Zubayr came fully armed. When Ayesha heard about it she cried: "What a pity it is that there should be a combat"!

She said this because she knew that whoever went to fight against Ali would be killed, however brave and strong he might be. And it may be said with certainty that Zubayr could not have saved himself if he had fought with Ali. However Ali embraced Zubayr. Ayesha and her supporters were very much upset to see this. Ali said in a tone of love:

"O Zubayr! Why have you come to fight against me? Zubayr replied: "To avenge the murder of Uthman". Ali said: "May God kill that person who has been responsible for the murder of Uthman".

Then Ali reminded Zubayr of past companionship and brotherhood and wept a number of times while talking. However, Zubayr was bent upon fighting and opposed the Imam till he (i.e. Zubayr) was killed. Ali, who attached great importance to the tie of friendship, was very much grieved when Zubayr met his death. Ali did not withhold his suggestions from the former caliphs and assisted them in their words and actions. (4)

Although this magnanimous person was steadfast in his friendship, his friends did not accord due respect to his friendship, because they did not expect that he would act contrary to his nature and let their hands loose to usurp the rights of others.

Imam Ali has been reported to have said: "Even if all the seven regions of the world and whatever is under the sky is offered to me so that I may disobey God and take away unjustly the husk of barley from an ant I shall not do so. In my eyes this entire world is inferior to a leaf which may be pressed in the mouth of a locust".

In this matter Ali's words and actions conformed with each other. He was not like others who indulge in tall talk which their actions belie. He was prompted to say these words by his nature which formed the basis of his character. Ali was more kind to the people than anyone else and refrained from harming any person. He became obvious of his own self in order to assist others and considered this self-abnegation to be a part and parcel of his life. His entire life was dedicated to the support of the oppressed and the helpless so that he might realize their rights from the tyrants who considered themselves entitled to usurp the rights of others on account of noble descent and racial discrimination.

Ali opposed the Quraysh and fought with them, because they coveted the caliphate for the sake of personal gain and in order to acquire position, wealth and rulership.

He renounced the caliphate and even the worldly life and forsook everything because he could not act like worldly persons and could not agree to allow them to exploit the weak and the helpless.

Ali was so kind to the common man that when his brother Aqeel requested him to give him something more from the public treasury' than, his due share, he turned down his request and as a consequence thereof Aqeel went away to Mu'awiya. Ali tolerated separation from his brother but did not agree to give him anything from the public treasury of the Muslims without entitlement.

Ali was like a kind father for all human beings. He gave directions to the officers and governors to behave with the people gently. He behaved harshly with those who oppressed the people and warned them severe consequences. The following directions given by him reached the ears of the governors continuously: "Redress the grievances of the people and meet their needs because you derive our capital from them. Do not deprive anyone of what he needs, and do not obstruct him from attaining his object. Do not sell the summer or winter dress of anyone to realize revenue. Do not take away from any person a quadruped which is required by him for his buisness and do not whip a person for even a penny.

Alii was the person who wrote an excellent testament tor Malik Ashtar Nakha'i at the time of appointing him the governor of Egypt and the adjoining areas. He wrote: "Do not live with people like ferocious animals, and do not treat their sustenance to be war booty, because the Egyptians fall under one of the two categories: either they are your brethren-in-faith from the point of view of religion or your equals because of their being human beings. Ignore their shortcomings and forgive their mistakes, just as you hope that God wi1l forgive your crimes and sins. Do not regret your forgiving a person and do not insist upon awarding punishment

He added: "Prohibit hoarding". Ali strictly forbade hoarding, which was the main reason for Mu'awiya and his party opposing him, because they wanted the country, the wealth and the war booty for themselves whereas Mi wanted them for all human beings.

Ali was so kind to' human beings that, as we shall mention in detail later, he ordered that his murderer, the wicked Ibn Muljim might be treated kindly.

In the recommendations made by him to his sons Hasan and Husayn he said: "Be enemies of the oppressors and supporters of the oppressed". He also said: "Be enemies of the oppressor even though he may be your near relative and support the oppressed person even though he may not be related to you and may be a stranger". He always endeavoured to punish the oppressors and relieve the people of their wickedness. To achieve this purpose he used his heart, tongue, sword and blood. He always remained a helper of the oppressed and an enemy of the oppressors. Following this path he never relaxed till the end of his life.

One should not be surprised that Ali was just. It would have been a matter of surprise if he had not been just. The instances of his justice, which have been narrated, are the most valuable assets in human history and man should be proud of them.

His brother Aqeel asked him to grant him a special pension out of the public treasury, but he refused to accede to his request saying: "It is not my personal property that I may give it to anyone I like. There are also other helpless and needy persons, who are more deserving than you are, and I must be mindful of them". Aqeel said: "If you do not allow me a pension out of this property I shall go to Mu'awiya".
However, Ali did not care for what he said, and did not revise his decision.
His brother went away and joined Mu'awiya and used to say: "Mu'awiya is better for my world", Mu'awiya's treatment satisfied him, because the public treasury was a tool in his hands with which he strengthened his kingdom, achieved his objects and wanted to revive the past politics and importance of Bani Umayyah.
The Imam did not claim any privileges vis-à-vis his subjects and appeared in the courts as their equal. This was so because the spirit of justice had penetrated into the depth of his heart.
Once Ali saw his coat of mail in the possession of a Christian. He took him in the court of a judge named Shurayh so that he might give a decision regarding its ownership. When both of them appeared before the judge Ali said: "This coat of mail is mine. I have neither sold nor gifted it to anyone". The judge asked the other person: "What have you to say about the claim made by the Commander of the Faithful? The Christian said: This coat of mail is mine. In spite of this, however, I do not consider the Commander of the Faithful to be a liar then the judge Shurayh turned to Ali and said: "Can you produce any witness who should depose that this coat of mail is yours? Ali smiled and said: "Shurayh is right. I cannot produce any such witness".

The judge gave a judgment in favour of the Christian who took the coat of mail and departed. The Commander of the Faithful kept looking at him from behind. After having gone a few steps, however, he returned and said:

"I testify that such an order resembles the order of the prophets, because one who is the Commander of the Faithful has appeared along with a person like myself in the court of the judge who is also his subordinate and the judge has given a judgment against him". (5) Then he added: "O Commander of the Faithful! I swear by God that this coat of mail is yours and my claim was false".

Later the people saw that Christian serving in the army of Ali as a faithful soldier and he fought most enthusiastically against Kharijites in the Battle of Nahrawan.

Ibn Abi Rafe' has narrated thus: "I was the administrator of the public treasury during the period of the caliphate of Ali and was also his scribe. The property received from Basra for the public treasury included a pearl necklace. The daughter of Ali sent word to me saying: "I understand that there is a pearl necklace in the public treasury which is controlled by you. Send that necklace to me on loan so that I may wear it on Eid al-Azha day. Thereafter I shall return it".

I sent the necklace to her on the conditions that she would be responsible if it was lost or damaged, and that she would return it within three days. She accepted these conditions.

By chance the eyes of the Commander of the Faithful fell on the necklace and he recognized it. He asked his daughter as to where she had obtained it from. She replied: "I have taken it on loan from Ibn Abi Rafe' the in charge of the public treasury to wear it on Eid al-Azha day and have promised to return it to him within three days".

The Commander of the Faithful summoned me and said; "Do you consider it lawful to commit breach of trust with the Muslims"? I replied: "May God forbid that I may commit treachery with the Muslims". Thereupon he said: "Then why did you lend such and such necklace to my daughter without obtaining my permission and without the concurrence of the Muslims"?

I replied: "O Commander of the Faithful! She is your daughter. She borrowed it to adorn herself and guaranteed its safe return so that 1 might restore it to its proper place". Ali said: "Take it back today and do not do so in future otherwise I shall punish you".

When Ali's daughter came to know about it she said to him: "O father! I am your dear daughter. Who else is more entitled to wear this necklace"?

Ali replied: "O daughter of Abu Talib! Don't deviate from the right path. Can you tell me how many Muhajir and Ansar women adorn themselves with such necklaces"?

Eventually I took back the necklace from the daughter of the Commander of the Faithful and restored it to its proper place.

Ali observed justice even in small and insignificant matters. If it became necessary for him to divide something with others he gave the right of selection to the other party so that people might not think that discrimination was being made in the matter of division between the persons in authority and the subordinates.

One day he went to the shop of a draper named Abu al-Nawar accompanied by his slave and purchased two dresses. Then he asked his slave to choose one out of the two dresses. The slave picked up one of them and Ali retained the other. (6)

All the orders and letters that he sent to the governors and other officials rotate on the pivot of justice.

Ali's near ones as well as others joined hands in opposing him. It was on account of the fact that he did not give them preference from the point of view of equity and justice, and did not grant any concession to his relatives. He was not influenced by anyone and accepted only the right things from others.

When Uthman son of Affan became caliph, he gave full freedom to his relatives, friends and associates to accumulate wealth, and he followed those who gave him wrong advice. Marwan had the greatest influence on him. He did not benefit from the wise recommendation which Ahu Bakr had made to Umar. Abu Bakr had said:

"Don't be in proximity to those persons who are eager to fill their bellies and acquire position and wealth. Don't be enamoured of the fact that they have associated with the prophet and served him. Assess the nature of every person and find out what sort of man he is".

Ali hated such greedy persons. Hence when he became the caliph he decided to deal with them justly. He therefore dismissed some of them and checked the greed of others for position and wealth.

There was a group of persons who wanted to give the principles of Islam a new form and make them a means of acquisition of position and wealth and to treat the Islamic territories a hereditary property of their family. Ali fought against them and said to them in loud words: "I know what can keep you from rebellion and mischief, but the thing which is a source of happiness for you is the means of evil for me". The stage at which Ali's dealing with such people reached is well-known. When the oppressors were defeated they resorted to deceit and the spirit of justice succeeded in the hearts of Ali and his followers, although apparently they were the sufferers. When Ali met martyrdom at the hands of Ibn Muljim, a Nakh'ii woman named Ummul Haisham wrote an elegy for him. A verse of that elegy goes to show the opinion of the people about his character and justice: "He established truth and entertained no doubt about it. He behaved justly with his kinsmen as well as strangers".

Sincerity and intrepidity are the qualities of great men and they were possessed by Ali par excellence. Sincerity, truthfulness, intrepidity and manliness and all other similar qualities are inter-connected. Hence he did not express anything which was opposed to his real intention and determination. He did not practice deceit, although he knew very well that by doing so he could get rid of the mischief of the enemies.

What has been said above about the truthfulness and character of the Imam fully proves his sincerity and intrepidity.

One of his principles and morals consisted of simplicity in everything. He hated formality very much and used to say: "The worst brother is he for whom one has to involve oneself in trouble". He also used to say: "If a believer observes formality with his brother it means that he has separated himself from him. If he expressed an opinion or tendered an advice or gave some present, then this act of his was not tainted with ostentation. This habit was so much ingrained in his nature that the selfish people could not make him act according to their wishes, and the flatterers should not hope to attract his attention. These people used to say that the Imam was hard-hearted, ill natured and proud. However, the Imam was neither hard-hearted nor ill natured nor proud. On the contrary, as demanded by his nature, he said whatever he had to say without any formality or deceit.

A large number of persons who gathered around him coveted personal gains. Ali became suspicious about them and did not conceal his misgiving. Expression of his views about them cannot be called pride or rudeness.

Ali hated pride and was absolutely free from egotism. He also forbade his children, companions and officials to show pride and practice egotism. While giving them advice he used to say: "Shun egotism. You should know that egotism is a bad quality and a calamity for reason He hated formality. He also restrained the people from going to the extreme while praising him and told them: "I am lesser than what you say".

At times it so happened that he considered the person concerned to be his enemy. On such occasion he did not refrain from mentioning the mental condition of that person of which he was aware and told him: "I am better than what you believe about me in your heart".

Ali disliked some of his friends exalting him too much in the same manner in which he disliked his being belittled by his enemies. He has said: "Persons of two types have been destroyed on account of their attitude towards me - The friends who have exaggerated my qualities and the spiteful enemies". He neither showed pride nor humiliated himself unnecessarily; he presented himself as he was. He was free from affectation and hypocrisy. It is difficult to find a straightforward man like him. He purchased a bagful of palm-dates and was carrying them home. Some persons observed this and volunteered to carry the bag for him. He, however, told them frankly that the head of the family was more responsible to carry it.

It is said erroneously that artificial humility and meekness constitute good qualities. In fact it is falsehood and mere affectation that one should pose to he inferior to what one actually is. Ali was not humble in that sense and he was also not proud. He displayed himself as he actually was without any meekness or pride, because these two things are not the qualities of manly persons. The writer of 'Abqari'atul Imam' says: "Ali entered the battlefield bare-headed to fight against the enemies where as they were completely covered with steel and iron. How can it be said that this action of his was based on hypocrisy"?

Another attribute of Ali was his noble disposition. He did not entertain grudge in his heart against anybody, even though he might be his fell enemy. As we have already mentioned he directed his Sons and friends not to kill his murderer (Ibn Muljim). Although Talha had come as an enemy to kill him, he wept on his dead body and recited a heart-felt elegy for him. Although the Kharijites were his deadly enemies and had fought against him, and his murderer was also one of them, and in fact they had not given him lesser trouble as compared with Mu'awiya and Amr bin Aas, but he advised his friends and followers not to fight against them. He gave this direction because he knew that those people had fallen prey to misunderstanding and had been misguided. [hey were seekers of truth but had been mistaken in the matter of its assessment as opposed to Mu'awiya and his companions who were seekers of falsehood and succeeded in acquiring it.

Nothing can be seen in the biography of Ali which may go to show that he was revengeful. In all circumstances he showed truthfulness, honesty', straightforwardness and swordsmanship.

Magnanimous persons are not revengeful and do not also tolerate injustice and oppression. They get annoyed with one who oppresses others.

Although Ali did not entertain any' grudge in his heart against anyone, he had to face a spiteful group. His meaningful words show how grieved he was. His grief was such as arose from sympathy and kindness. He was grieved to see that people harmed themselves.

Another quality which distinguished him from others and was complementary to his other attributes was his perfect faith in his actions and beliefs, and whenever he did anything he believed in its correctness and in his being on the right path. When he decided to fight against Amr son of Abd-awudd, the famous champion of Arabia he was warned by the prophet and his companions about the consequences. He however, decided to fight because besides being brave he possessed enthusiasm to support Islam.

We repeat that when the enemies had encircled Ali from all sides he busied himself in offering prayers without there being any guard to protect him from the mischief of those enemies, and consequently Ibn Muljim succeeded in wounding him with his poisoned sword. This very thing is a great proof of the fact that he was certain of the correctness of what he did, because a righteous person does not fear anything.

All the words and acts of Ali go to prove that he had perfect and firm faith in his actions. This was so because all his actions emanated from wisdom and capability. (7)

When the people were divided into two groups in their attitude towards him (i.e. friends and enemies) he did not become afraid of the enemies and did not lay down arms before them, because he had perfect faith in his own truthfulness and justice and correctness of his actions. It was in this context that he said: "Even if I strike on the nose of a believer so that he may become my enemy he will not become my enemy and even if I shower all the bounties of the earth on him so that he may become friendly towards me he will not become my friend". He has also said in this behalf. "I am not afraid of fighting against these people alone even though the entire world may join their army".

When he came to know that a group of the people of Madina had joined Mu'a-wiya he wrote to Sehl son of Hanif the governor of Madina: "I understand that a group of the inhabitants of your city has secretly joined Mu'awiya. However, you should not be worried on this account that some persons will leave you and will not assist you. I swear by God that these persons have not forsaken injustice and oppression and have not stuck to equity and justice".

Notes:

1- The Arabs did not consider it proper to address the respectable persons with their real names. In case, therefore, they wished to accord respect to someone they addressed him with his Kuniyah.

2- According to the Christians worship' consists of sequestered and monastic life. However, monasticism is not permissible in Islam. It was for this reason that the pious Muslims neither avoided effort in life nor kept aloof from other human beings. On the other hand at times they heroically staked their very lives even when it was expedient to remain silent (and they do so even in these times).

3- It is said that when Amr b. Aas came to fight against Ali in the Battle of Siffin he was very much afraid. He could think of no other alternative except that he should lie on the ground and uncover his private parts so that Ali might shut his eyes, and he himself might escape. He, therefore, did so and thus saved his life.

4- Ali assisted the caliphs because every action of his was for the sake of the benefit of Islam and he did not let the interests of the religion suffer in order to acquire his own right.

5- In the free countries of the modern world the court and judges have been made permanent and none can remove them from their office. This has been done, so that they may take decision without any fear or favour, and may give judgment against influential persons and even against the members of government.

6- Such incidents show that the leaders of the faith were very mindful of the rights of their subordinates. Those who make a show of supporting the helpless persons, and accuse religion of being an impediment in the matter of weak persons getting their due rights have not done as much for their subordinates as Imam Ali did.

7- Its reason was that Imam Ali was infallible and he said and did everything in accordance with the inspiration and traditions of the prophet of Islam. Hence, he did not entertain any doubt about his views and actions.

The Voice of Human Justice, by George Jordac

Source: http://www.tebyan.net

A Unique Leader in the History of Mankind

2006-05-12T08:22:00.000-04:00

By: Dr. S.A. Shahrokhi,
Professor - Khorramabad University.

The history of mankind has witnessed many leaders over the ages. Many of these leaders achieved leadership through might or inheritance and some were chosen as leaders because of certain outstanding qualities that they possessed. Among the latter group there have also emerged some leaders whose works and contribution to humanity cannot be limited to any particular time or place and their life-styles, their works and the sayings of such heroes continue to inspire and motivate people, generation after generation.
Amir al-Muminin, Ali ibn Abu Talib (AS) is unique leader who stands out among all other leaders. Besides Shi'as who believe in his Imamate and Vilayat, many non-Muslims have praised his personality and unique qualities and made attempts to highlight certain aspects of the personality of this everlasting leader of ages and have written hundreds of books and research papers about him.
Imam Ali (AS) was brought up by the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and under his guardianship and was elevated to such a stage that it would be no exaggeration to say that he is Islam's gift to the world of humanity.
Imam Ali's (AS) life was not the repetition of other people's life, rather his life shed light on certain aspect of human life which had so far been undiscovered. He was born in Allah's House (Ka'ba) and was martyred in Allah's house (mosque) and his main principle throughout his life was winning Allah's Satisfaction. Hence, one would not be wrong to say that any research on Imam Ali's (AS) life and personality would highlight an aspect of his life that could be taken up as a role model for the people who seek truth; Muslim or otherwise.

Imam Ali (AS) from Birth to the Dawn of Islam:
Ali (AS) was the son of Abu Talib ibn-e Mutallib and Fatima bint Asad ibn-e Hashim. He was born on the 13th Rajab, 30 years after Amal-Fil. His life began in the Holy Ka'ba, 1 which became the Qiblah of Muslims and ended in the Mosque of Kufa (Iraq).
It was Allah's Will that from the early days of his life the Prophet of Allah (SAW) became his guardian and Ali (AS) came to be brought up on his lap. Mecca and Quraysh were struck by famine. Muhammad (SAW) met his other paternal uncle Abbas who was a wealthy man and made a suggestion to him to support Abu Talib (AS) by taking up the guardianship of some of his children. Abbas welcomed the suggestion and they met Abu Talib (AS) and informed him of their intention. Abu Talib (SA) said: "Leave Aqil for me and the...." Muhammad (SAW) chose Ali (AS) and Abbas took Ja'far. 2 Later on, the Messenger of Allah (SAW) is known to have said: "I chose the one Allah had chosen for me." 3
Some writers are of the opinion that by accepting Imam Ali's (AS) guardianship, the Prophet (SAW) meant to compensate for the favors he had received from Abu Talib and Fatima (Ali's parents), who looked after him like their own children during his childhood. However, from what the Prophet (SAW) had said and from Ali's (AS) behavior - it is quite clear that it was Allah's Will that Ali (AS) should grow up with the Prophet (SAW) and under his guardianship.
The young Ali's (AS) personality was being shaped by Muhammad (SAW), when the latter declared his prophethood. According to most historians, Ali (AS) was the first among the men to embrace Islam4 Ali (AS) was the only disciple of the Prophet (SAW) who had never bowed before or worshipped idols. He had no other ideal but to seek Allah and His Prophet's (SAW) satisfaction, and his sincerity, steadfastness, sacrifice, and bravery in supporting `Tawhid' were some of his outstanding qualities no one can ever deny.

From the Dawn of Islam to the Prophet's (SAW) Demise:
The Dawn of Islam in Arabia, which was stricken with ignorance (Jahiliyah) and superstitions, not only changed the course of history in that land but also influenced other nations and peoples of the world. Savage customs that were considered as values in those times - communal rivalries, dacoity, burying baby-girls alive, etc., were rendered as disgraceful and inhuman by the new religion of Islam. This change in the social and individual beliefs and customs was the fruit of the years of struggle and endeavor by the Prophet (SAW) and his close and sincere companions of which Ali (AS) played the greatest role. His contribution to the spread of Islam was exemplary and he is the greatest gift of Islam and its Prophet (SAW) to humanity. A voluminous book is required to write about Imam Ali's (AS) contribution towards the establishment of Islam but in this discussion, we shall confine ourselves to reviewing only a few of them.

1. Important Incidents that took place in Mecca:
a) Yom al-Anzar
After the verse "... and warn your nearest relations ...," 5 was revealed, the Prophet (SAW) was commissioned by Allah to make public, the invitation to accept Islam. Thus, he asked Ali (AS) to prepare a meal and invited his close relatives over. After the meal he publicly announced his Prophethood and asked: "Which one of you will support me in my mission to be my brother, successor and caliph?" Only Ali (AS) stood up to swear allegiance, and the Prophet (SAW) introduced him as his successor and caliph. 6
b) Laylatul-Mabit
Despite all the efforts by Quraysh to prevent Islam from spreading, the people of "Yathreb" embraced Islam and swore allegiance to protect it with their swords. This news outraged the Quraysh who in an emergency meeting decided to assassinate the Prophet (SAW) collectively. On uncovering this devious plot, the Prophet (SAW) requested Ali (AS) to wear his mantle and to sleep in his place 7, in order to foil the evil plans of the enemies of Islam and to facilitate his `Hejira' (Migration) from Mecca to Medina. It was after this incident that reflected the deep devotion, courage and commitment of Imam Ali (AS) towards the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and his divine mission, that Jibrail (AS) conveyed the news: "O' son of Abu Talib, there is none like you; Allah boasts to the angels of the seven heavens about you!" 8

2- Important Events in Medina:
The Prophet's (SAW) migration to Medina is a turning point in the history of Islam after which it went through a lot of ups and downs. Ali (AS) had an outstanding role in the events that followed the Prophet's (SAW) migration, a few of which are mentioned hereunder:
a) Ali's (AS) Marriage with Fatima (SA)
After Prophet's (SAW) migration, Imam Ali (AS) was given the responsibility of bringing Hazrat Fatima (SA), the beloved and devoted daughter of the Prophet (SAW), to Medina. A few months later Ali (AS) married Fatima (SA). Ya`qubi, the Muslim historian writes:
"A group of `Muhajers' (those who had migrated from Mecca to Medina) had proposed for Fatima's (SA) hand in marriage. On hearing about her marriage with Ali (AS), some of them raised objections. In reply to their objections, the Prophet of Allah (SAW) said: “I did not marry Fatima to Ali, rather it was Allah Who married her to Ali.” 9 Interestingly, the Prophet's (SAW) lineage has been through Fatima (SA) and Ali (AS).
b) Brotherhood with the Prophet (SAW)
To bring the Muhajers and Ansars closer to each other, the Prophet (SAW) decreed that the Muhajers and Ansars should make brotherhood pacts among themselves; in pairs. However, he chose Imam Ali (AS) as his brother and said to him: "You are my brother, successor and inheritor and I inherit from you." 10
c) The Prophet's (SAW) Description of the Manner of Ali's Martyrdom
During the Battle of Lat al-Ashira, that took place in the second year of Hejira, the Prophet (SAW) sent Ali (AS) and Ammar on a mission. After some time the Prophet (SAW) joined them and found them sleeping. After waking them up he said: "Should I inform you about the two most wretched men of all people?" On receiving their positive response he then added: `The man who slew Saleh's camel and the man who will hit you (Ali) on the head and will make your blood flow to your beard." 11
d) Ali's Unique Bravery in the Battles
Except for the Battle of Tabuk in which Ali (AS) remained in Medina on the Prophet's (SAW) order, he had participated actively in all the battles and played a decisive role in all of them. Although it is not possible to discuss Ali's (AS) role in all these battles, we shall attempt to highlight a few of them.
i) Ali's role in the battle of Badr cannot be comparable to any of the other companions. As written by some historians, he killed 32 enemy soldiers single-handedly. 12 Interestingly, 33 years later when Ali (AS) was forced to accept the caliphate, a group of Quraysh like Sa`id ibn-e Aas and Walid ibn-e Aqrabeh, who later on participated in the battles of Jamal and Siffin against Imam Ali (AS), were hesitant to swear allegiance because he had killed their fathers in the Battle of Badr. 13
ii) Imam Ali (AS) was the only companion of the Prophet of Allah (SAW) who never fled from the battlefield. History has recorded that many of the close companions of the Prophet (SAW) fled during the battles of Uhud, Kheybar and Hunayn.
e) Imam Ali (AS) was appointed to communicate `Surat al-Bara'at'
After the revelation of `Surat al-Bara'at', the Prophet (SAW) appointed one of his companions to communicate the messages to the unbelievers. However, before this companion reached Mecca, the Prophet (SAW) sent Imam Ali (AS) to take the newly-revealed verse from him and to personally communicate it to the unbelievers. On their return to Medina this companion asked the Prophet (SAW) for the reason of this change of decree, to which the Prophet (SAW) replied: "It was Allah's will that it should be communicated by a member of my Household." 14
f) A Judge in Yemen during the last few years of the Prophet's (SAW) Life.
After the Prophet's (SAW) migration to Medina from Mecca, Islam spread rapidly in the Arabian Peninsula as a result of which Imam Ali (AS) was often sent by the Prophet (SAW) to propagate Islam in different regions. However, what is of great importance is the mission that was not given to any other companion. Towards the end of his life, the Prophet of Allah (SAW), asked Imam Ali (AS) to go to Yemen which was a rather civilized society in those days, to discharge the duties of a judge (qazi). It has been narrated that Imam Ali (AS) told the Prophet (SAW): "I am young and do not know about judgement." The Prophet of Allah (SAW) put his hand on the young Ali's (AS) chest and prayed: "O Allah! Guide his heart and make him articulate in judgement." Here Belazari has quoted Imam Ali (AS) as saying: "I swear by Allah that I have never been in doubt while passing a judgement between the disputing parties."15
After the Prophet's (SAW) demise, the caliphs and particularly the second caliph frequently asked for Ali's (AS) opinion on various issues and in their judgements.
g) Ghadir-e-Khumm
Both the Sunni and Shi'a sources have narrated a number of incidents that highlight the status and position of Imam Ali (AS). However, undoubtedly one of the most important incidents is the `Ghadir-e-Khom'. On his return from Hajjatul-Vida at a location famous as `Ghadir-e-Khom, the Prophet (SAW) delivered a very important sermon and while holding and lifting the hand of Imam Ali (AS), clearly asked the people gathered there:
"O people! Is it not true that my `Vilayat' over you (believers) is of more importance than your `Vilayat' over yourselves?" To this question, the people answered in the affirmative. Then the Prophet (SAW) announced: "The one whose Mawla (Master) I am, Ali is his Master. O Allah! Love him who loves Ali, and be the enemy of the enemy of Ali...." 16
In that gathering at Ghadir-e-Khom, the Prophet (SAW) also spoke regarding other important matters that stress on the importance of Imamate and Vilayat in the Islamic context. One of his important announcements was as follows:
"O people! I shall soon be departing from your midst. And you will meet me at the Pond of `Kawthar'. Then I will ask you about two precious things (Thaqalayn). So be careful as to how you treat these two, after my demise."
Then the people inquired from the Prophet (SAW) regarding the "two precious things" which he had referred to. The Prophet (SAW) explained: "One of them is the Qur'an - one end of which is in Allah's Hand and the other is in yours. So stick on tightly to it so that you protect yourself from being misled. And the second one is my Pure Household." 17
At the end of the Prophet's (SAW) sermon, many of the people came forward to congratulate Ali (AS) and to extend their hands in allegiance to him. While yet others, were confounded with doubt and ambiguity. However, as per reliable Islamic sources, this incident has strong recorded evidence and it has been narrated through many chains of transmission of both Shi'a and Sunni schools of thought.

Source: http://www.imamreza.net

Fatimah Az-Zahra (AS)

2006-05-11T08:07:00.000-04:00

Woman in the Mirror of History

From the study of history we find the fact that in the previous age woman was considered to be a part of wealth and property. She used to be sold and purchased like any property or animal. Illiterate Arabs of the pre-Islamic era considered woman the cause of bad luck and misfortune and buried the innocent girls alive. But Islam declared this consideration and notion wrong and unjustified. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) fought strongly against such wrong conceptions. He considered woman as a human being like the man and that she too has the human, freedom and social rights. No body has the right to insult and look down upon her.

Regretfully, the Western countries and capitalists even today imagine her to be the medium of enjoyment and time passing. On the other hand, woman in a few Islamic countries have been restrictively chained up which is also against the law of Islam, such as, they do not allow her to go to schools or visit the libraries and they do not have any ties and relations with the society, with the exception of their attending the mourning ceremonies of Imam Hussain (A.S.).

Consequently, such absurdities and superstitions came into existence pushing woman into the cave of ignorance and darkness. This is the very reason why, when the imperialism raised the slogan of woman freedom, she could not conceive and understand what kind of voice it was? From where it is originated? What was the meaning of this slogan?

Therefore, immodesty and impudency was thought to be the evolution of culture. When she saw that her previous problems were solved she forgot everything and, so to say, became free. But instead of getting free from the superstitions she got free from modesty and piety. She moved ahead in this very immodesty and deviation to the extent to become a commercial item, and became the tool of the imperialism, which may be used in any way as per its choice. She was a stooge and an agent without eyes, ears or any will and intention. This is the condition of today's women.

But, Islam by the training provided by ladies such as Khatija (S.A.), Fatima (S.A.) Zainub (S.A.) highlighted the greatness of woman, explaining and illustrating the meaning of woman's life and turned it into an example and specimen for the future races.

We are going to present the brief life history of one of the ladies Hazrat Fatima Zahra (S.A.), daughter of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.), Wife of Imam Ali (A.S.), mother of Imam Hassan (A.S.) and Imam Hussain (A.S.), the chiefs of the youth of Paradise, and Zainub-e-Kubra (S.A.) so that, it is understood and evident that how should an exemplary woman be."

Birth

When Hazrat Fatima's (S.A.) birth was to take place, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) told Khatija (S.A.) "Jabriel has given me the good news that this child which is going to be born is a daughter and all the infallible Imams will be from her generation.

Hazrat Fatima Zahra (S.A.) was born on Friday the 20th of Jamadi ussani, the fifth year of Hijrah, when Quraish were busy in constructing the building of Khana-e-Kaabah.

Training and Fostering

Fatima (S.A.) was brought up and trained in the family of Prophet (P.B.U.H) and took advantage and share of the knowledge and wisdom of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). She heard the recitation of Quran from the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) and leant it by heart, and got busy with the idea and concept of self training and becoming a complete and real human.

She extremely loved her honorable father and the Holy Quran. She took advantage and portion from the blessings of her father's existence. These were the perfections due to which the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) loved her to the extreme.

Once his wife Ayesha (R.A.) asked him, "Do you love Fatima Zahra so much, that when she arrives you get up from your place to give respect to her and kiss her hands and make her sit next to yourself?"

He replied, "Oh Ayesha! If you come to know why I love Fatima so much, you shall also love her." He considered her the part and parcel of his life, and used to say repeatedly, "Fatima (S.A.) is a piece of me, whosoever tortures her he has tortured me, and whoever pleases her has pleased me." One day, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) of Islam said, "Oh Fatima God gets pleased on your being pleased and gets furious due to your unhappiness and displeasure.

Resemblance

Fatima Zahra (S.A.), most of all resembled her father in her looks, character, behavior and conduct. Ome Salma the wife of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) said, "Fatima Zahra resembled the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) most of all the people."

The Father-Daughter Relation

The love between the father and daughter was not a one-way process; instead, Fatima (S.A.) too immensely loved her father (Prophet) like he loved her. When Hazrat Khatija (S.A.) died, she was not more than six years of age. After the death of her mother, She always looked after the comfort of her father at home. Fatima (S.A.) was such a daughter who constantly and stably followed the footsteps of her father. The streets and Masjid-e-Haram of Mecca were full of those who teased, insulted and tortured the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). Whenever her respect worthy father returned home in the injured condition, she would wash the blood off his sacred face and dress his wounds and encouraged him with her sweet conversation.

At such times, when her father was a stranger in his own land and among his own people and he was all alone with all the relatives present, and secluded and lonely among all those who spoke the same language he spoke. Moreover, he was all-alone during his struggle and combat against ignorance, idol worshipping and he was carrying the heavy responsibility of preaching on his own.

Then it was only and only Fatima (S.A.) who pleased and consoled the heart of her father with her sincere love and affection. She by accepting the Prophecy of her father strengthened his hopes. That is the reason why the Prophet used to say, "May your father sacrifice his life upon you" or that he would call her the "mother of her father". Because, she was like a mother for her father.

Marriage

When she attained the age of puberty, it became necessary for her to marry. But she needed a person who must be her match. So that he would appreciate her status and perfection and maturity of virtues and he would know what was the real value and virtue of a human being. This is the very aim of Islam, which as a result strengthens the marital relations.

When she became marriage bound many men including Abu Bakar and Umar sent their messages for asking her hand in marriage. But the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) said, "I am waiting for the revelation in this connection."

The revelation came and Fatima's husband was also nominated. God ordered the Prophet (P.B.U.H.), "Oh my prophet get the light (Noor) married to the light i.e., get Fatima (S.A.) married with Ali (A.S.)."

When Ali (A.S.) approached the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) to request the hand of Fatima (S.A.) in marriage, although he had nothing with him from the wealth of the world, yet he possessed a gem, which was the reflection of every thing including piety and human nobility.

The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) having acceded to his request entered the house to ask Fatima (S.A.) her opinion about it. He said to her "Oh daughter you know fully well that Ali (A.S.) is the one who was the first ever faithful out of the lot. I had prayed to God, to give the best husband for you. Therefore, God has selected Ali (A.S.) for your husband, so what is your opinion?"

Fatima (S.A.) remained silent. The father took her silence as the token of her being agreed and got her married with him.

The Marriage Ceremonies

After the aggregation of the tribe of Bani Hashim and the friends and relations by the order of Prophet (P.B.U.H.) took place, he (P.B.U.H.) delivered a Khutba (religious speech), sermon, and got Fatima (S.A.) married to Ali (A.S.) over a dowry equivalent to four hundred Masqal Silver (one Masqal comes to nearly 3.45 grams).

A companion (Sahabi) stated, "The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) got a sheep slaughtered and invited a few persons and made them witnesses upon the marriage.

After one month of the marriage in the 2nd Hijra on the night of "zaffaf" (marriage night) the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) held Fatima (S.A.) by her hand and handing her hand over to Ali (A.S.) said, "Oh Ali, Fatima is the best wife for you." There after, he addressed Fatima and said "Oh Fatima, Ali is a good husband for you." Then he said. "Now, both of you move towards your real home."

The women of Bani Hashim, Ansar and Muhajireen, after taking their dinner, rode Fatima (S.A.) on the camel of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) and took her along to Ali's (A.S.) house with great fervor. Ali and Fatima started living near Quba mosque at a distance of eight kilometers from Medina where the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) had stayed on migration from Mecca and had waited a week for Ali (A.S.) to join him.

After some time Ali (A.S.) came to the city and selected a house adjacent to the house of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). Because the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) could not tolerate the separation of Ali and Fatima, since, it was a great shock for him. The house of Ali (A.S.) which was made of mud and date timber was exactly opposite to the window of the Prophet's (P.B.U.H.) house so that he could daily see them.

This was the same house of Ah-le-bait of Purity and piety, which was praised by the Holy Quran and was away from all kinds of impurity (sins). The house wherein Ali (A.S.) was the father, Fatima Zabra (S.A.) the mother and Zainub, Kulsoom, Hassan and Hussain (A.S.) were the children. This home is a memorial one for all the races of every age.

Blessed Relation

Fatima Zahra (S.A.) had grown up along with Ali (A.S.) and considered Ali (A.S.) as best husband and the lover and devotee of his father. The fate's hand had joined these two blessed persons in such a special way, which did not have any example in that period of darkness and ignorance.

Fatima (S.A.) knew that although Ali (A.S.) does not possess any thing from the wealth of the world but he has the great treasure of self sacrifice and devotedness of which he had given proof to fulfill the aspirations of her father (P.B.U.H.). She was aware that all the youth period of her husband was spent defending Islam and in Jehad. He did not think anything except the service to Islam and it's welfare.

Fatima (S.A.) never thought that since she was the daughter of a Prophet (P.B.U.H.) and leader therefore, she must have maidservants at her home. Nay, instead she performed all the domestic works with her own hands for instance grinding the wheat with millstone, baking bread, looking after the children etc. But, she, leaving aside everything would only think about God. She was always in search of a life giving and radiant education.

Fatima (S.A.) was such a tree, which must only breed and grow in the shade of revelation and bring the fruits of freedom and justice in its deep shadow. This is the very root and origin of the tree of purity.

An Exemplary Family

The lives of Ali (A.S.) and Fatima (S.A.) are a school of thought for the next generations so that the people may learn a lesson from them. They had such coordination that when Ali (A.S.) got free from the work outside the house, he used to lend a helping hand to Fatima (S.A.). On the other hand, the daughter of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) also, always tried to keep Abul Hassan (Ali) (A.S.) happy. Both led such a life full of love and affection that they never called each other by their names, rather, whenever Ali (A.S.) called her he addressed her by "Daughter of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.)" and Fatima (S.A.) would address him as "Ameer ul Momineen" (the Chief of the Faithfuls).

They never neglected the training of their children. They always gave their response with love and affection. They loved their children too much, so far so, that they never got angry with them & rebuke them and never said anything to them, which may annoy or case their sorrow.

The Fruit of the Marriage

In the 3rd year of Hijrah the first son was born to Fatima (S.A.), who was named "Hasan (A.S.)." The birth of this child saved the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) from the torture of the enemies and the sorrow of the separation of friends. He (P.B.U.H.) happily and joyfully visited Fatima's (S.A.) house and took Imam Hassan (A.S.) into his lap and recited Azan and Aqamat in his ears. Then he gave some silver, which was equal in weight of the hair of the child, as alms.

One year after the birth of Imam Hassan (A.S.), Imam Hussain (A.S.) was born. Now the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) got the substitutes for his sons Qasim and Tahir who had died in the childhood, so that God had decided that the race of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.), persists and survives through her daughter.

The dawn of these two stars brought a new horizon in existence wherein the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). Ali (A.S.) and Fatima (S.A.) saw themselves.

The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) thanking God and considering those two children as the substitute of his sons, loved them very much that the world was astonished.

One day, when he (P.B.U.H.) visited Fatima's (S.A.) house he (P.B.U.H.) saw that Ali (A.S.) and Fatima (S.A.) were sleeping and Imam Hassan (A.S.) was weeping due to hunger. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) slowly picked up the pot, milked the goat, and fed the child who then became silent.

Once, he (P.B.U.H.) was passing by the house of Fatima (S.A.) when suddenly he (P.B.U.H.) heard Imam Hussain (A.S.) crying. He came back to her home and said, "Oh Fatima! Don't you know that I get upset by the weeping of this child?"

One year after the birth of Imam Hussain (A.S.), a female baby was born, who was named "Zainub" and even after another year another female baby, who was named "Ome Kulsum."

"Zainub" and "Kulsum" were the names of the daughter's of Prophet (P.B.U.H.) who died before 8th Hijra. In the 8th year of Hijra a son named Ibrahim was born to the Prophet (P.B.U.H.), who died after one year of his birth.

Now, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) was only left over with Fatima (S.A.) and her children. He (P.B.U.H.) loved his grandchildren to such an extent that he (P.B.U.H.) never tolerated to get separated from them. Whenever he (P.B.U.H.) went out of the house, he (P.B.U.H.) would always carry one of them on his shoulders.

The Superiority of Fatima (S.A.)

No one has the right in Islam to burry a dead body in the mosque. Masjid-e-Haram is the most superior of all the mosques, being the Qibla of all the mosques of the world.

A lady named Hajir is burned there. God has ordered all the human being to visit Mecca and perform the circumambulation of her grave. But Fatima's (S.A.) status is much sublime and higher than the lady who has been laid to rest in Kaabah.

Fatima (S.A.) is one of the four superior most and virtuous ladies i.e., Mariam, Asiyah, Khatija, Fatima. Which Fatima (S.A.)? Fatima (S.A.) is the heir of all the honors and virtues. Who is the one continuing the great race originating and beginning with Adam (A.S.), Ibrahim (A.S.), Moosa (A.S.), Essa [Christ] (A.S.) and reaching Mohammad (P.B.U.H.).

Fatima (S.A.) besides father's bed

The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) was on the bed of ailment and illness. His head was in the lap of Ali (A.S.) and Fatima (S.A.) was weeping holding the hand of her father. Suddenly, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) opened his eyes and when he saw her weeping. He (P.B.U.H.) said, "Oh daughter! Recite the holy Quran for me." Fatima (S.A.) recited a few verses from the holy Quran. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) by getting her dear daughter recite the verses meant to listen her voice in the last moments of his life. No sooner, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) passed away the house turned into a mourning house. The delicate heart of Fatima (S.A.) took a deep effect by her father's death.

Only a few hours later, another big grief took shape i.e., the right of her husband was extorted and usurped. Fatima (S.A.), with the help of a few faithful companions of his father, defended the right of her husband strongly. So far so, that one day she went to the Prophet's mosque along with the women of Bani Hashirn and Ansar and by delivering a speech described her object and point of view. So that, all the audience started weeping. But there was no body to give a positive response to the voice of Fatima (S.A.).

They were no longer true and faithful. Their faces were covered with the dust of abjectness, misery and misfortune. She returned to her house with a heave and grieved heart and said to Ali (A.S.), "Oh Abul Hassan why have you sit down with your hands upon each other like weak, feeble, powerless and unable men and why don't you defend your right?" Ali (A.S.) said, "Oh the daughter of Prophet (P.B.U.H.) Do you not want that your father's name be pronounced in the mosque? Don't you have the desire that the cause and mission of your father remains alive? Fatima (S.A.) said, "Why not?"

Then he said, "If I draw the sword today (as the enemy wishes) the efforts of your father will be finished and we will become unsuccessful. On hearing this, Fatima (S.A.) got silent and thereafter, she did not utter any word. She started her silent war in the same manner as her husband Ali (A.S.) spent twenty-five years in a great-oppressed state.

Death

Fatima (S.A.) was sure that none of her plans can mature in connection with Ali (A.S.). Therefore, she did every thing possible so that a wrong foundation for the caliphate is not laid. But evidently and obviously she could not succeed in her efforts and was compelled to face hopelessness and dismay.

After that, it became hard for her to live and she became fed up with the world and day by day got keen and restless for her death.

Till at last, on Monday the 3rd of Jamadi ussani, 11th of Hijra, She bade fare well to her children and husband and passed away. She died in the same year as her father had died.

At the time of her sorrowful demise Imam Hassan (A.S.) was 7 years of age, Imam Hussain (A.S.) was 6 years, Zainub (S.A.) was 5 years and Ome Kulsum (S.A.) was 3 years of age. God knows, how shocking and painful was the separation of Fatima (S.A.) for her children and husband.

When her death time came near she asked the maidservant to bring her water for taking a bath and putting on new clothes. Because, the time for her to meet her father was at hand. The maidservant brought her the water and she put on new clothes after taking a bath and laid down upon the bed facing Kaabah. After a short while, her eyes closed down and lips became silent and motionless and she proceeded towards the paradise.

"Innalil laha ina ilayha rajaoon".

Imam Ali (A.S.), as per her last will, bathed her and gave her the coffin and buried her in the darkness of the night. Her grave was kept secret and still it is not known and is hidden. So nobody could know where she was buried. Because, the political figures of that period were bent upon opening her grave apart and offer the death prayers again. A negative combat about her grave is going on from that time to the day and from now onwards for the future days to come.

The testament and will of Fatima (S.A.) made is clear and evident for the races of those days and all the races to come that the daughter of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) was subjected to oppression. Fatima (S.A.) remained unhappy and annoyed with those oppressors up to her death. Therefore, those should remain ready for vengenence and revenge.

After Fatima (S.A.) passed away Ali (A.S.) and the children became secluded and lonely. Ali (A.S.) sat by her grave and repeated a few sentences in a low voice and then facing the grave of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) he said, "Oh Prophet (P.B.U.H.) of God! I am returning to you that one which you had entrusted me. O Lord! Ask Fatima what happened with us. She will tell you all about it."

Source: http://www.shiasource.com

Fatimeh (peace be upon her)

2006-05-10T02:53:00.000-04:00

In the meaning that the chief of the Muslim Women, Fatima, is an exemplary character for them, all over the world! 1. Mary is respectable for one relationship; That is, of Jesus Christ But Fatima is respectable For three relationships. 2. Firstly, she was a daughter of the Holy Prophet, Who is a Guide For the first and the last people. 3. Who infused a new Spire into the Body of the world, And created a new Age, With a new Constitution*! 4. Secondly, she was the wife of the Prince of "Hal-Ata" With whom Allah is pleased; Who was a helper of the oppressed, And who was a "Lion of Allah" 5. He was a King, whose Place Was a Hut, And whose asset never A Sword and a Coat-of-Mail! 6. Thirdly, she was the mother Of that Central Point Of the Compasses of Love, And the Chief of the Caravan Of Love; 7. Who was a Candle In the Might Chamber Of Ka'ba, And who was a defender Of the Unity of the Muslims! 8. Just to avoid a conflict Between the Muslims, He rejected the Crown And the Signet! 9. She was also the mother Of another worthy son, Who was a Friend of the Pious And who was a Strength For the arms of all Freedom-loving people! 10. In fact, it was Hussain, Who imparted Pathos To the Tune of Life, And it was Hussain, Who taught a lesson of "Freedoms" To the followers of "Truth"! 11. So, the real builders Of the character of Sons Are mothers, And the qualities Of "Truth" and "Purity" in them, Can be developed by mothers! 12. Fatima is the Harvest Of the Field of Submission To the Will of God; And she is a perfect pattern For all the Muslim Women! 13. To help a beggar, Her heart became tender To such a degree, That she sold her mantle To a Jew! 14. Angels as well as genni Were obedient to her! Her will was lost In the will of her husband" 15. Since she was instructed With Patience and Submission To the Will of God, She recited the Holy Quran, While she was busy With the hand-mill! 16. She didn't weep With the fear of Allah, While lying on the bed, But wept during her Prayer! 17. So Gabriel picked up Her Tears from the earth, And scattered them Like the Dew-drops Upon the Divine Throne 18. I am bound to the Divine Law, And I have a great regard For the order Of the Holy Prophet; 19. Otherwise, I would have Encompassed her grave, And would do obeisance To the same!

Source: http://www.fabonline.com

Hijab Discrimination: It happened to me...

2006-05-06T09:38:00.000-04:00

By: Farwa Ansar

Discrimination is an action, treatment or outlook that is formed without just grounds or insufficient knowledge. Since the Hijab (headgear) is both a manifest sign of Islam and adherence to Islam, Muslim women are often vulnerable of being unjustly discriminated against.

It happened to me on Monday, August 18th 2003 after having decided to apply for a cut-out job advertisement that said it required sales assistants, cashiers and packers in Carrefour Hypermarket. It was a great opportunity for me as I have been desperately searching for a job. I mentally prepared myself for the walk-in-interview all the while making sure my resume was with me.

I had been to the business district before but going there alone and thinking about what questions would be asked made the trip rather uncomfortable. I was only eighteen at that time and when I looked at the big, tall buildings and the people, I all of a sudden felt so small. Since I haven’t worked before I wasn’t that confident so I recited some prayers while making my way to the building.

As I got there, I saw a row of seats with people waiting for their turn to be interviewed. The lady at the reception glanced at me and then my resume and she muttered, “No working experience.” My heart sank when she said this but she nonetheless handed me a form to fill in.

I joined the people who were patiently waiting for their turns, entertaining themselves with their cell phones. I remembered I observed a lot at that waiting room. There was certainly a major difference between me and the people there as I was the only with the Hijab. But it was not like I was the only Muslim girl there, there were others too but they didn’t wear the scarf.

I also remembered being really tired of waiting as almost 1 ½ hours went by before my name was finally called up. As I was escorted into the other room I gasped in admiration as the place looked like a ballroom. As I approached the tables and chairs for the interviewer and the interviewee I began again to pray silently. I sat down opposite the man who was reading my resume. The man looked up and he smiled at me and I in turn returned a smile. The first few minutes of the interview session was easy and comfortable. I was very happy with the way things were going and thought I had the job.

But then I was suddenly taken by surprise by his statement:

“We have a dress code here; you have to take off that headgear if you want this job. This is an international company, those Muslims girls who worked here, they also took off their headgears and they only put it on when going home.”

The world, like my heart, seemed to have stopped for a second. Everything had suddenly gone hazy. I tried to compose myself but I couldn’t help but just stare at him. I tried to find words and when I did, the words somehow became stuck in my throat. My hopes were dashed. I couldn’t get the job, and I knew that for certain. Fortunately, I did manage to compose myself enough to respond:

“No, I can’t go against my own religion. I can’t take off my hijab”

I could feel the cheerfulness drain out from my face.

The man smiled. I couldn’t make what kind of smile he was trying to convey. I just knew that he stabbed my heart with such a statement. If that was not bad enough though, the next thing he said ensured my heart stayed broken:

“You don’t want to consider?”

That was it. I just shook my head. I could feel the tears brimming in my eyelids. I didn’t look at him. I just stood up and left. I didn’t know where I was going, I just walked and walked. Then my cell phone rang and when I looked down, it was my dad. My tears just fell as I answered the call. My dad came to fetch me and when I told him what had happened, he got really angry and I was crying too. He said that we won't ever step into Carrefour again and we will boycott their goods.

It was my first time being discriminated against because of my hijab. My dad told me not to cry because there is nothing I should regret. By Allah, I did not regret anything but I was really shocked and hurt by how they treated me.

When I got home, I cried again. My family knew about the incident and they were there to comfort me. Every time when I recited Sura Al-Kafirun, I burst into tears as the incident kept playing in my mind. Then I realized that I was not the only Muslim girl to be discriminated against because of the Hijab. Many have been treated like this before me and worse too. They actually banned the Hijab in schools and even governments places. What has the world come to? What does my Hijab have to do with my work?

But having been through all that, by the grace of Allah SWT, I am now blessed with a job, a job which allows me to observe my Hijab and do my prayers in the office building, something that I could never have done two years ago.

Yet there is no doubt, the world is going through tremendous injustice but Alhamdulillah for Allah is our Witness.

Source: http://www.almujtaba.com

Contribution of Islam to Medicine

2006-05-05T12:46:00.000-04:00

Ezzat Abouleish , M. D.

DEDICATION
This paper is dedicated to those who contributed to the well being of mankind and have done their best to make our journey on this planet more pleasant; to all of them, irrespective of their race, religion or country of origin.

Introduction
Medicine, as it stands today, did not develop overnight. It is the culmination of efforts of millions of people, some we know and others we do not. The flame of civilization, including medicine, started thousands of years ago. The flame has been handed over from one generation to another, and from one country to the other. Depending on who took the sacred responsibility of hosting it, sometimes it got brighter and sometimes it got dimmer. However, it never died away, because if it did, it would have been too hard to start all over again.
Between the ancient civilizations, namely the Egyptians, Greek, Roman, Persian, Indian, and Chinese, and the Renaissance era in Europe, there was a gap, commonly called "the dark ages", during which the flame was hosted, not by the West, but by another culture and people called the Arabs or the Moslems. The nomenclature, "the dark ages" reflects the civilization in Europe between the 7th and 13th centuries, but by no means it expresses the state of affairs in the Arab world or the Islamic Empire at that time when an and science were as bright as the midday sun. That era, unjustifiably, has been commonly neglected and overpassed, as if nothing happened. This paper is an effort to elude to the important events which took place and the significant physicians who lived during that period.

The Spread of Islam
In order to understand how medicine developed in the middle ages, we have to look back at the history and find out the important things that happened during the Seventh Century.
In 570 A.D., a man was born in a small city in the Arabian peninsula, called Mecca (Haykal 1976), his name was Mohammed. In 610 A.D. he declared a new religion, Islam. In 632 A.D., he died after uniting the Arab tribes who had been torn by revenge, rivalry, and internal fights. Out of these mostly illiterate nomadic people, he produced a strong nation that encountered and conquered, simultaneously, the two known empires at that time, namely, the Persian and Byzantine Empires.
In a man's life-time, the Islamic Empire extended from the Atlantic Ocean on the West, to the borders of China on the East. In 711 A.D., only 80 years after the death of their prophet, the Arabs crossed to Europe to rule Spain for more than 700 years. In 732 A.D., they threatened Paris and their thrust was stopped at Tours and Poiter (Eigeland 1976). In 831 A.D., the Moslems of North Africa invaded Sicily and ruled it for 200 years. By 846 A.D., they controlled the southern part of Italy and encountered Rome (Hitti 1977).
The hold of the Moslems over Italy remained so firm that Pope John VIII (872-882 A.D.) deemed it prudent to pay tribute for two years (Hitti 1977) In 869 A.D., the Arabs captured Malta (Ibn-Khaldun). In the tenth century, from Italy and Spain, the Arabs extended their raids through the Alpine passages into mid-Europe. In the Alps, there are a number of castles and walls which tourists guides attribute to the invasion of the Moslems of Sicily. In the southern part of Italy and in Sicily, a great civilization was established and through which the torch of knowledge spread to Europe, mainly through the University of Salerno in the southern part of Italy (Hitti 1977, Parente 1967).
The expansion of the Moslems in Europe was not limited to those from North Africa and Spain. The Moslems, under the Ottoman Empire, invaded Europe from the East. They occupied a good part of Middle Europe and besieged Vienna twice, once during the reign of Sulayman 1 (1520-1566 A.D.) and the other during the reign of Mohammed IV (1648-1687 A.D.) (Hitti 1977).

Islam and the Promotion of Culture and Science
As the Moslems challenged the civilized world at that time, they preserved the cultures of the conquered countries. On the other hand, when the Islamic Empire became weak, most of the Islamic contributions in art and science were destroyed. This was done by the Mongols who, out of barbarism, burnt Baghdad (1258 A.D.), and by the Spaniards, who out of hatred, demolished most of the Arabic heritage in Spain. The difference between the Arabs and these was the teachings of Islam which:
1. Stressed the importance and respect of learning. For example, the first word revealed to the Moslems' prophet Mohammed was "Read". In Mohammed's era, a captured enemy was freed if he paid a ransom or taught ten Moslems writing and reading. In their holy book, the Qur'an, the importance of knowledge has been repeatedly stressed as it says "Those who know and those who do not are not equal." The prophet Mohammed stressed learning by saying. "One hour of teaching is better than a night of praying." One of the early princes, Khalid fbn Yazid (end of the 7th century), gave up his treasure for the study of medicine and chemistry. He studied medicine under John the Grammarian of Alexandria, and chemistry under Merrinos the Greek (Haddad 1942). He also encouraged several Greek and Coptic medical books to be translated into Arabic.
2. Forbade destruction. On conquering Mecca, the prophet Mohammed strongly stated that no homes, animals, or trees should be destroyed. His followers abided with these principles when conquering other countries.
3. Encouraged cleanliness and personal hygiene. Islam instructed them to approach God in their prayers five times a day with bodies and clothes spotlessly clean.
4. Developed in them the respect of authority and discipline. For example, realizing the scourges and terror of plague, their prophet Mohammed (p.b.u.h.) decreed that "no man may enter or leave a town in which plague broke out." And to make this law all the more binding and effective, he promised the blessing of heaven to those who die of plague by stating that if a man died of plague he would be considered a martyr (Haddad 1942). Thus Mohammed (p.b.u.h.) laid for the Moslems the laws governing corden and quarantine for the first time in history and made it work.
5. Tolerated other religions. The Islamic religion recognizes Christianity and Judaism and considers their followers to be people with holy books like Moslems. Moreover, they candidly treated the Jews at an era when the latter were persecuted in Europe. Dr. Jacob Minkin, a reputable Rabbi and scholar says "It was Mohammadan Spain, the only land of freedom the Jews knew in nearly a thousand years of their dispersion...
While during the Crusades, the armored Knights of the Cross spread death and devastation in the Jewish communities of the countries through which they passed, Jews were safe under the sign of the Crescent. They were not only safe in life and possessions, but were given the opportunity to live their own lives and develop a culture so unique and striking that it went down in history as the 'Golden Ages'. The Moors, the Muslim conquerors of Spain in 711, were not religious fanatics. They were strong in their faith but generous with regard to the religious convictions of others....
"The Ranaissance of Art in Italy, says George A. Dorsey, has blinded us to the Renaissance of Science in Spain, which fostered science, promoted culture, encouraged learning, and set a premium on intellectual pursuits, no matter whether the intellect was Moslem, Christian or Jew. Not since the days of Greece had the world known such thirst for knowledge, such passion for learning, such spirit shared by the prince and the courtien alike" (Minkin 1968).
The Arabs were assimilated by the vast new countries they reached. From this marriage of genuine characters and righteousness with the ancient and well established civilizations, a great new nation was born. It is difficult to identify this new breed as Arabs, because although the language was Arabic, all the scientists were not necessarily from the Arabian Peninsula. It is also equally difficult to describe it as Islamic, because although the majority of the scientists were Moslems, sponsored by Moslem rulers, and governed by the Islamic law, yet some scientists were Christians or Jews, especially at the early phase of the lslamic civilization: the translation period to Arabic, and the decline part: the translation period to Latin and Hebrew. Therefore, in this article, the adjectives Arabic or Islamic will be used as synonyms.

Medicine Before Islam
In order to comprehend the contributions of Arabs to medicine,we must have in our minds a picture of the condition of medicine before they arrived to the scene. Generally speaking, two elements are required for medical practice:

Manpower and hospitals
A. Manpower before Islam:
There were medical centers in different parts of the world which were later either under control of the Arabs or in touch with them. For example, in Syria, medicine was advanced and was greatly influenced by the Byzantine civilization which affected also the economic and administrative systems (Hammameh 1962). From the fifth century on, the Greek was the language of learning in Syria. The knowledge of the Arabs of the Greek civilization was mainly through the Syrian scholars who translated it into Arabic.
In Egypt, Alexandria was another center for culture. The Arabs got in touch with both the ancient Egyptian and Greek civilizations through the Egyptian scholars. In Persia, there was a medical school in a city called Jundi-Shapur in which medicine was highly developed. The Abbasi Caliphs during the 8th century encouraged the Persian physicians to translate into Arabic the medical knowledge therein, to build medical centers in Baghdad, the capital of their empire, and to run newly built hospitals. With further expansion east, the Arabs through contacts with India and China, brought ideas and methods, not only in medicine, but also in mathematics, chemistry, philosophy, etc.
B. Hospitals Before Islam:
Hospitals as we know them now probably were not present. True, there were places for the sick to stay, but these were mainly temples or annexes to temples that were run by priests. Gods were supposed to play a major role in the art of healing. For example, the Goddess Toueris was the Egyptian symbol of fecundity and protectress of the pregnant and parturient. She was shown as a standing pregnant hippopotamus carrying the hicroglyph meaning protection in one paw, and the sign of life in the other. Small figures of Toucris were popular as amulets (Speert 1973). In those days, sanctuary, prayers, inactation, and hypnosis were integral parts of the therapy.

Characteristic Features of Hospitals in the Islamic Civilization
During the Islamic civilization, hospitals had much developed and attained specific characteristics:
1. Secular: Hospitals served all peoples irrespective of color, religion, or background. They were run by the government rather than by the church, and their Directors were commonly physicians assisted by persons who had no religious color. In hospitals, physicians of all faiths worked together with one aim in common: the well-being of patients.
2. Separate wards: Patients of different sexes occupied separate wards. Also different diseases especially infectious ones, were allocated different wards.
3. Separate nurses: Male nurses were to take care of male patients, and vice versa.
4. Baths and water supplies: Praying five times a day is an important pillar of Islam. Sick or healthy, it is an Islamic obligation; of course physical performance depends on one's health, even he can pray while laying in bed. Before praying, washing of face, head, hands, and feet must be done, if possible. For certain conditions, a bath is obligatory. Therefore, these hospitals had to provide the patients and employees with plentiful water supply and with bathing facilities.
5. Practicing physicians: Only qualified physicians were allowed by law to practice medicine. In 931 A.D., the Caliph Al-Mugtadir from the Abbasid dynasty, ordered the Chief Court-Physician Sinan Ibn-Thabit to screen the 860 physicians-of Baghdad, and only those qualified were granted license to practice (Hamarneh 1962). The counterpart of Ibn- Tbabit, Abu-Osman Sai'd Ibn-Yaqub was ordered to do the same in Damascus, Mecca, and Medina. The latter two cities were in need for such an act because of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims visiting them every year. This was to prevent taking advantage of these pilgrims and to curb the spread of diseases among them.
6. Rather medical schools: The hospital was not only a place for treating patients, but also for educating medical students, interchanging medical knowledge, and developing medicine as a whole. To the main hospitals, there were attached expensive libraries containing the most up-to-date books, auditoria for meetings and lectures, and housing for students and house-staff.
7.Proper records of patients: For the first time in history, these hospitals kept records of patients and their medical care.
8. Pharmacy: During the Islamic era, the science and the profession of pharmacy had developed to an outstanding degree. The Arabic materia medica became so rich and new drugs and compounds were introduced because the Muslims had contact with almost all the known world at that time, either through control or trade. Their ships sailed to China and the Philippines, and their convoys made trades with black Africa, Europe and Asia. Chemistry became an advanced science, and there were means and need for a specialization called pharmacy.
Thus, the main Arabian hospitals were models for medieval hospitals built later in Europe. They were rather medical schools to which those seeking advanced medical knowledge, from the East or West, attended.

The Reasons for the High Standard of Islamic Hospitals
In the Islamic Empire, the hospitals attained a golden era unsurpassed in previous history. The reasons behind such a high standard include:
1. Being part of a civilization as a whole:The people were prosperous; thus, they were capable of taking care of their health and of seeking the best available treatment. Also, lslam stresses the necessity of seeking treatment of every disease; the Prophet says "For every disease, God created a cure." The required sciences for good medical care were at a high standard e.g. the Arabs were advanced in chemistry, mathematics, administration, pharmacy, medicine, etc. They gave the world the system of numbering which have replaced the cumbersome Roman numerals.
The world owes to them the knowledge of the following chemical reactions, namely sublimation, precipitation, filtration, distillation, etc. The great Arab chemist Jabir Ibn- Hayan discovered sulphuric and nitric acids. According to Webster Dictionary, the words sugar, alcohol, alkali, syrup, coffee, cotton, all are Arabic words. Fielding H. Garrison, the author of the well-known work on the "History of Medicine" said: "...The Saracens themselves were the originators not only of algebra, chemistry, and geology, but of many of the so- called improvements or refinements of civilization, such as street lamps, window-panes, firework, stringed instruments, cultivated fruits, perfumes, spices, etc... "
2. High prestige of physicians: The physicians in this era earned a high prestige. Although anyone, irrespective of his social status, can study medicine, yet the route was long and tedious. He had to finish Islamic studies, philosophy, astronomy, art, chemistry, etc. before being accepted as a medical student. Therefore, the physician was a cultured person who had wisdom and knowledge. In fact, the Arabic translation of a physician is "Hakim" which means sage. In the 9th and 10th century, the Court- Physician was in the protocol ahead of the Chief-Justice. Many eminent physicians, as we will discuss later, showed enough talent, social knowledge, political capabilities, and wisdom to be appointed by the Caliphs as prime ministers (Visiers). Owing to the high prestige and connections of physicians, generous funds for hospitals were easily obtained.
3. Rulers' involvement in public services: The Caliphs of the Islamic empire built magnificent hospitals for one or more of the following reasons:
a. Religion: Their religion stated that money spent on charity is a good investment for Judgment Day.
b. Eternity: The Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt sought eternity by building pyramids, the rulers of Islam sought the same thing by building mosques, hospitals, and schools carrying their names.
c. Politics: To show their people that they cared, and were interested in them, the rulers built hospitals.
Whatever the motive of the ruler, the population benefited and good hospitals were erected.
4. Adequate financing to run the hospitals:The rulers set aside generous funds to run these hospitals. Also the philanthropists gave generously, thus following their religious beliefs and imitating their rulers. In Islam, there is a special system called Al-Waqf. A person can donate part or all of this wealth to charity. The government takes care of such a donation, and its revenues help to maintain and build mosques, hospitals, and schools. Another source of funds and an important pillar of Islam is alms-giving (2 1/2% of property value). Collected alms goes to the state treasury which takes care of charitable organizations. Very few hospitals in the Islamic era were private. Thus, patients fees constituted an unimportant source of funding.

Specific Hospitals
The capital of the Islamic empire kept changing from one dynasty to the other. In each capital, an important medical center developed. Thus, by the end of the 13th century, there were many medical centers spread throughout the Arab world. Space does not allow the description of all the hospitals built throughout these centuries. We, therefore, chose some of the important ones which will be described according to the region where they were developed.
1. In El-Sham
El-Sham at that time included what is known now as Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine, Damascus and Jerusalem were the important cities.
a. In Damascus: The first known hospital in Islam was built in Damascus in 706 A.D. by the Umayyad Caliph, Al-Walid (Hamarneh 1962). The most important hospital built in Damascus in the middle ages was named Al-Nuri Hospital, after King Nur Al-Din Zinki, in 1 156. This hospital was built during the Crusade Wars to fulfill a need for a well-equipped and well-staffed hospital. It turned out to be not only a first class hospital, but also a first class medical school.
The king donated to the hospital a whole library rich in medical books. It is important to understand why books were expensive and limited in number in the middle ages. This was because they were hand-written as printing was not used until the middle of the fifteenth century. The hospital adopted medical records, probably the first first in history. From its medical school, many eminent physicians graduated, an example is Ibn Al-Nafis, the scholar who discovered the pulmonary circulation as will be discussed. The hospital served the people for seven centuries and parts of it still exist.
b. In Jerusalem: In 1055 A.D., the Crusaders built Saint John Hospital. By the end of the eleventh century, it grew to such an extent to include a hospital, a palace for knights, and a convent for the nursing sisters. The medical activities of the hospital were tremendous because of the large number of daily admissions of patients, pilgrims, and wounded soldiers. After the liberation of Jerusalem by Salah Al-Din in 1187 A.D., the hospital name was changed into Al-Salahani Hopital. He expanded the hospital which continued to serve the people until its destruction by an earthquake in 1458 A.D.
2. In Iraq and Persia: In 750 A.D., Baghdad was built to be the capital of the Abbasid dynasty by the Calip Abu-Gaifar Al- Mansur. In 766 A.D., he assigned the dean of the medical school of Jindi Shapur, Judis Ibn-Babtishu', to be the Court- Physician and to establish hospitals proportionate to the glory and prosperity of Baghdad.
When Harun Al-Rashid followed (786-809 A.D.), he ordered the grandson of Ibn-Bahtishu and his Court-Physician, Jibril, to build a special hospital named Baghdad Hospital. This hospital developed into an important medic center. One of its chiefs was Al-Razi, the eminent Internist.
In 918 A.D., the Caliph Al-Mugtadir built two hospitals in Baghdad. One was on the east side of the city which he named Al-Sayyidah Hospital, after his mother. The other was on the west side which he named, Al- Mugtadiri Hospital, after himself.
Another important hospital was named Al-Adudi Hospital. It was built in 981 A.D. after King Adud Al-Dawlah. It was the most magnificent hospital built in Baghdad before modern time. The Caliph wanted to outdo his predecessors. It was furnished with the best equipment and supplies known at the time. It had interns, residents, and 24 consultants attending its professional activities. Haly Abbas, who wrote the famous book "Liber Regius (Al-Malaki)", was one of the staff. It was destroyed in 1258 when the Mongols, led by Holagu the grandson of Ghingiz Khan, invaded Baghdad.
3. In Egypt:
In 872 A.D., Ahmed Ibn-Tulun built a hospital called Al-Fusta Hospital in the City Al-Fustat which is now in old Cairo. It served the growing Cairo population for six centuries. It was divided into separate wards. On admission, the patients were given special apparel while their clothes, money, and valuables were stored until the time of their discharge.
In 1284 A.D., King Al-Mansur Qalawun built an important hospital named Al-MansuriHospital . The story behind its construction is interesting. King Al-Mansur Qalawun was an officer in the Arabian army fighting the Crusaders. While in the Holy Land, he fell sick and was admitted to Al- Nuri Hospital. On recovery, he vowed that if he ever became the ruler of Egypt, he would build a great hospital in Cairo even more magnificent than Al-Nuri Hospital for, the sick. poor, and rich alike. At the dedication ceremony, he asked for a cup of wine from the pharmacy. After drinking it he declared that by taking that portion as a medication, he was signifying that the hospital was serving all people. from the king to the least of his subjects (Hamarneh 1962).
e. It was the best hospital built then as reported by the contemporary historians such as Ibn-Battota and El-Kalkashandi. It had different sections for different diseases. Music therapy was used as a line of treatment for psychiatric patients. It served 4,000 patients daily. The patient's stay in the hospital was free moreover on his discharge, the patient was given food and money for compensation for being out of work during his hospital stay. Al-Mansuri Hospital has served Cairo for seven centuries since it has been built. It is now used for ophthalmology and called Mustashfa Qalawun. Its ancient door is preserved in the Islamic Museum of Cairo.
4. In North Africa (Al-Maghrib Al-Arabi):
a. Tunisia: In 830 A.D., Prince Ziyadat Allah I, built Al-Qayrawan Hospital in a district of the Qayrawan city called Al-Dimnah. Subsequently all hospitals in Tunisia were called Dimnah instead of Bimaristan as they were called in the East, which is a Persian word meaning a hospital. The Qayrawan Hospital was characterized by spacious separate wards waiting rooms for visitors and patients, and female nurses from Sudan, an event representing the first use of nursing in Arabic history. The hospital also included a chapel for prayers.
b. Morocco: In 1190 A.D., the king Al-Mansur Ya'qub Ibn-Yusuf, built a hospital in the capital city, Marakesh, named it the Marakesh Hospital. It was a huge hospital beautifully landscaped with fruit trees and flowers. Water was brought by aqueducts to all sections. Patients were provided with special apparel: one for winter and another for summer. The pharmacy was taken care of by specialists called the Sayadlah. There was an expensive private section where a patient was charged what is equivalent to $ 1501 day. One thousand years ago, this fee was quite expensive.
5. Al-Andalus (Spain):
In 1366 A.D., Prince Muhammed Ibn-Yusuf Ibn Nasr, built the Granada Hospital in the city of Granada which had expanded to half a million population. The hospital represented the beauty of the Arabic architecture in Spain and served the people until the fall of Granada in 1492 A.D.

Method of Therapy in Islamic Medicine
The patients were treated through a scheme starting with physiotherapy and diet; if this failed, drugs were used, and at last, surgery would be resorted to. The physiotherapy included exercises and water baths. The Arabs had an elaborate system of dieting and were aware of food deficiencies. Proper nutrition was an important item of treatment.
Drugs were divided into two groups: simple and compound drugs. They were aware of the interaction between drugs; thus, they used simple drugs first. If these failed, compound drugs were used which are made from two or more compounds. If these conservative measures failed, surgery was undertaken.

Medical Ethics in Islam
The medical profession was a well respected specialty and its Ieaders kept it this way by laying down proper ethics. Al-Tabari, the chief physician in 970 A.D., described the Islamic code of ethics as follows (Hamamch 1971, Levy 1967):
I. Personal characters of the physician:
The Physician ought to be modest, virtuous, merciful, and un addicted to liquor. He should wear clean clothes, be dignified, and have well- groomed hair and beard. He should not join the ungodly and scaffers, nor sit at their table. He should select his company to be persons of good reputation. He should be careful of what he says and should not hesitate to ask forgiveness if he has made an error. He should be forgiving and never seek revenge. He should be friendly and peacemaker. He should not make jokes or laugh at the improper time or place.
II. His obligation towards patients:
He should avoid predicting whether a patient will live or die, only God (Allah) knows. He ought not loose his temper when his patient keeps asking questions, but should answer gently and compassionately. He should treat alike the rich and the poor, the master and the servant, the powerful and the powerless, the elite and the illiterate. God will reward him if he helps the needy. The physician should not be late for his rounds or his house calls. He should be punctual and reliable. He should not wrangle about his fees. If the patient is very ill or in an emergency, he should be thankful, no matter how much he is paid. He should not give drugs to a pregnant woman for an abortion unless necessary for the mother's health. If the physician prescribes a drug orally, he should make sure that the patient understands the name correctly, in case he would ask for the wrong drug and get worse instead of better. He should be decent towards women and should not divulge the secrets of his patients.
III. His obligation towards the community:
The physician should speak no evil of reputable men of the community or be critical of any one's religious belief.
IV. His obligations towards his colleagues:
The physician should speak well of his acquaintances and colleagues. He should not honor himself by shaming others. If another physician has been called to treat his patient, the family doctor should not criticize his colleague even if the diagnosis and the recommendations of the latter differ from his own. However, be has the obligation to explain what each point of view may lead to since his duty is to counsel the patient as best as he can. He must warn him that combining different types of therapy may be dangerous because the actions of different drugs may be incompatible and injurious.
V. His obligations towards his assistants:
If his subordinate does wrong, the physician should not rebuke him in front of others, but privately and cordially.

ISLAMIC PHYSICIANS
Medicine in Islam passed through three stages:
I. The first stage is the stage of translation of foreign sources into Arabic. It extended mainly during the seventh and eighth centuries.
II. The second stage is the stage of excellence and genuine contribution in which the Islamic physicians were the leaders and the source of new chapters to medicine. This stage extended during the ninth through the thirteenth centuries.
III. The third stage is the stage of decline where medicine, as well as other branches of science, became stagnant and deteriorated. The stage started mainly after the thirteenth century.
During the first stage, Syrian and Persian scholars did a marvelous job by translating honestly the ancient literature from Greek and Syriac in Arabic. Thcy translated different branches of science including philosophy astrology, and medicine. The works of Hippocratcs (460-370 BC), Aristototle (384-322 BC), and Galen (131-210 A.D.) were among those translated From Arabic, the classic Greek literature was translated into Latin, then into Greek because most of the original scripts were lost and the only source was the Arabic translation.
If the Arabs did only one thing, namely, preserving the ancient literature and handing it honestly to Europe, that would have been a sufficient contribution in itself. The Moslem rulers encouraged translation, e.g. Khalif Al-Mamun Al-Abbassi paid the translator the weight of his translation in gold (Haddad 1942). Among the eminent physicians who took part in the first stage were Jurjis lbn-Bakhtisliu, his grandson Jibril, Yuhanna Ibn-Masawaya, and Hunain Ibn-Ishak; most of them were Christians, yet they were respected and well treated by the Moslem rulers.
It is said, rightly or wrongly, that the history of a nation is the sum total of the history of a few of its individuals. Ths is particularly true in the history of medicine during the Arab period. In every stage of its development we find men of outstanding repute, the sum total of whose efforts has constituted this magnificent chapter. It is impossible to give an account of all the important physicians of Islwn. We thus are going to discuss some of those who were known to Medieval Europe and whose books affected its thinking and practice for centuries (Table 1), I chose an internist, Al-Razi (Razes); a surgeon, Al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis); the physician-philosopher of Islam, Ibn-Sina (Avicenna); the philosopher-physician of Islam, Ibn-Rushd (Averroes); a pioneer in physiology, Ibn-Al-Nafis; and a Jewish Arab, Ibn- Maimon (Maimonides).
AL-RAZI (RAZES) 841-926 A.D.
His full name is Abu-Bakr Mohammaed Ibn-Zakaria Al-Razi, known to the Western World as Razes. He was born in Ray, a suburb of Tehran, the capital of modern Persia (Profile of Iran 1977, Sarton 1950). He first studied music which was his main interest in his early life. He was a skillful player on the lute. He then studied philosophy, and later medicine. But he was a better physician than a philosopher ,
He first became the Court-Physician of Prince Abu Saleh Al-Mansur, the ruler of Khorosan. Then he moved to Baghdad where he became the Chief Physician of the Baghdad Hospital and the Court-Physician of the Caliph. He had a good basis of physics and chemistry as well as medicine.
He published several books which were translated into Latin, French, Italian, Hebrew, and Greek. One of his main books is "Al-Mansuri" (Liber Al-Mansofis) which he dedicated to his patron Prince Al-Mansur. It was composed of ten treatises and included all aspects of health and disease. He defined medicine as "the art concerned in preserving healthy bodies, in combating disease, and in restoring health to the sick." He thus showed the three aspects of medicine namely, public health, preventive medicine, and treatment of specific diseases. he listed seven principles for the preservation of health:
1. Moderation and balance in motion and rest.
2. Moderation in eating and drinking.
3. Elimination of superfluities.
4. Improvement and regulation of dwelling places.
5. Avoidance of excessive evil happenings before they become uncontrollable.
6. Maintenance of harmony in ambitions and resolutions.
7. Acquisition of reticence through possession of good habits including exercise.
He also published another book called "Al-Murshid". In it, he emphasized the important lines of therapy that we mentioned earlier. He described the different types of fever including continuous, relapsing, and hectic. He stated that fever can be a symptom of a disease or a disease in itself. He introduced mercury as a therapeutic drug for the first time in history, which was later adopted in Europe. He realized that a man normally does not want to get sick, and he wants to recover as soon as possible. However, if a patient does not have the will or the desire to get well, the physician's hands are tied and cannot help him. He stressed the continued medical education of the physician. He advised him to record his own observations. He encouraged him to meet with other physicians to discuss medical problems. He recommended that the physicians should try solving these problems rather than depending on others for finding solutions.
Another book written by Al-Razi was named "Al-Hawi", which means the complete text. It was composed of 22 volumes. It was one of the main text books in the medical school in Paris, especially its 9th volume on pharmacology.
He wrote a treatise on measles and smallpox called "de Peste or de Pestilentia" which was translated to Latin in 1565 A.D. It is a masterpiece in clinical medicine (Browne 1962). It describes the clinical difference between the two diseases so vividly that nothing since has been added (Keys 1971).

AL-ZAHRAWI
(ABULCASIS, BUCASIS, ALZAHRAVIUS) 930-1013 A.D.
His full name is Abu-Al-Qasim Khalaf Ibn'Abbas Al-Zahrawi. He had been known in the Western World as Abulcasis, Bucasis or Alzahravius. He is the famous surgeon of the Arabs. In 930 A.D., he was born in Al-Zahra, a suburb of Cordova. He attended the University of Cordova which had been established for one and a half centuries. At that time Cordova had a population of one million (Hitti 1977). It was the magnificent capital of Al- Andalus where culture and science were at their peak in Europe. In military power the Moslems also reached their zenith, not only in Spain but also throughout Europe after King Abdel-Rahman III defeated the Spanish kings of Navarre, Castile, and Leon at the north in 997 A.D.
Al-Zahrawi became an eminent surgeon. lie was appointed as the Court-Physician of King Abdel-Rahman III. He spent a productive life in Practicing medicine, especialy in surgery and medical writings. He died at the age of 83.
He wrote mainly four books. One of them is "Al-Tastif Liman Ajiz'an Al-Ta'lif' which is the best medieval surgical encyclopedia. It was used in Europe until the 17th century. He stressed the importance of basic sciences: "... Before practicing, one should be familiar with the science of anatomy and the functions of organs so that he will understand them, recognize their shape, understand their connections, and know their borders. Also he should know the bones, nerves, and muscles, their numbers, their origin and insertions, the arteries and the veins, their start and end. These anatomical and physiological bases are important, and as said by Hippocrates: 'These are many physicians by title and a few by practice.' ... If one does not comprehend the anatomy and physiology, he may commit a mistake that can kill the patient. I have seen someone, who pretended to be a surgeon, incised an aneurysm in the neck of a woman , mistaking it for an abscess.The woman bled to death."
Heller stated that Al-Zahrawi described the ligature of arteries long before Ambrose Pare (Khairallah 1942). Al-Zahrawi also used cautery to control bleeding. He used wax and alcohol to stop bleeding from the skull during cranial surgery. Sprengel said that Al-Zahrawi was the first to teach the lithotomy position for vaginal operations (Khairallah 1942). Al-Zahrawi also described the tracheotomy operation and performed it as an emergency on one of his servants. He was the first to write on orthodontia. He showed evidence of great experience from details of clinical picture and surgical procedures e.g. his description of varicose veins stripping, even after ten centuries, is almost like modern surgery (Al-Okbi 1971): "... Have the leg shaved if it is much hairy.
The patient gets a bath and his leg is kept in hot water until it becomes red and the veins dilate; or he exercises vigorously. Incise the skin opposite the varicose vein longitudinally either at the ankle or at the knee. Keep the skin opened by hooks. Expose, dissect, and separate the vein. Introducc a spatula underneath it. When the vein is elevated above the skin level, hang it with a blunt rounded hook. Repeat the procedure about three fingers from the previous site and hang the vein with another hook as previously done. Repeat the procedure at as many sites along the varicose vein as necessary. At the ankle, ligate and strip it by pulling it from the incision just above. When it reaches there, repeat at the higher incision until all of it is stripped.
Ligate the vein and then excise it. If difficulty is encountered in pulling it, ligate its terminal part with a string and pass it under the spatula and dissect it further. Pull gently and avoid its tearing because if it does, it becomes difficult to strip all of it and can cause harm to the patient. When you have stripped it all, put alcohol spanges at the sites of the skin incisions and take care of the incisions until they heal. If the varicose vein is tortuous, you have to incise the skin more frequently, at each change of direction. Dissect it and hang it with the hooks and strip it as previously described. Do not tear the vein or injure it. If this happens, it becomes difficult to strip it. The hooks used should be blunt, eyeless, and rounded, otherwise it can injure the vein".
He also wrote about fracture of the skull (Al-Okbi 197 1): "... The types of skull fractures are numerous, their shapes are different, and their causes are many. For example, some skull fractures are due to a blow by a sword that splits the whole skull and reaches the dura, the same as the ax does to the wood, therefore it is called axial fracture. Sometimes the sword does not split the skull completely, it is thus called incomplete axial fracture. Such a fracture can be small or big. Another type is comminuted fracture Which can be due to a hit by a stone or a fall on a stone; and this fracture can reach the dura or only be limited to the outer part of the bone. This fracture can also be small or big. A third type is the hairy type of skull fracture which is so tiny and linear like a hair.
A fourth type is the depressed fracture which occurs due to a fail or a blow so the bone is depressed like a brass jar when hit by a blunt instrument. This usually happens when the bone is soft as children. The types of these fractures are diagnosed by examining the wound, removing the debris and contused pan of the scalp, exposing the skull, and feeling it by the spatulas. The hairy fracture is difficult to discover and can be diagnosed by exposing the skull, and smearing it with ink; the linear fracture thus appears stained."
In the treatment of fractures of the skull, Al- Zahrawi wrote: "... If the patient shows serious signs such as high fever, repeated vomiting, exophthalmos, convulsions, and coma, do not touch him because he is probably going to die. Otherwise, treat him as follows: first shave the patient's head. In comminuted depressed fractures, these pieces of bone should be removed as will be explained. If in the process of the patient's examination or during surgery bleeding occurs, it can be controlled by pressure using towels soaked in alcohol and by wax. Then after control of the bleeding, the small pieces of bone are removed using special forceps .
To remove the depressed fracture, first, make trephines in the healthy bone around it. These trephine instruments should not penetrate beyond the skull into the soft tissues underneath, thus they are called non penetrating trephines. They have a rounded ring in their proximal end to prevent them from penetrating beyond certain depths. You should have a number of these trephines that can stop at different depths depending on the thickness of the skull. Connect the holes in the skull using special saws. First, use a fine small saw, then larger ones. These should be sharp and made of steel. Avoid cutting the dura by the trephine or saw. Once the depressed bone is freed, remove it gently, then smoothen the edges of the skull by special instruments. Wash with alcohol and treat the wound with packs soaked with ointment."
Al-Zahrawi described many dental operations such as dental extractions, fixation, re implantation, and artificial teeth. He described referred tooth pain and cautioned the physician against removal of the healthy tooth to which pain is referred. He used gold threads to fix teeth because other metals would tarnish and cause a reaction. Chapter 6 of his book was all devoted to foreign bodies of the ear and their treatment. He also devoted one whole chapter to mid wifery, giving tips to midwives, and describing the problems of difficult labor and obstetrical manoeuvre.
He recommended decompression of the fetal head for obstructed labor and described the instruments used. He described the management of liver abscess by treating it into two stages (Khairallah 1942). The first stage was to allow adhesions around it and to close it from the peritoneal cavity. The second stage was to incise it. ..."If the procedure is done in one stage, the pus may spread to the whole abdomen and the patient may die." He described a total of 200 surgical and dental instruments most of them were original (Fig. 3). He said "... Choose your instruments carefully beforehand according to the operation. However, you should design other devices if needed." Thus he encouraged the physician to be innovative.
During the time of Al-Zahrawi, surgery in the Islamic world became a respected specialty practiced by reputable physicians. On the contrary in Europe, surgery was belittled and practiced by barbers and butchers. In 1163 A.D., the Council of Tours declared the following resolution "Surgery is to be abandoned by the schools of medicine and by all decent physicians."
IBN-SINA (AVICENNA) 980-1037 A.D.
Ibn-Sina's full name is Abu-Ali Husayn lbn-Abdullah lbn-Sina, and his titles were Al-Shaykh Al-Rais (The chief Master) or Al-Muallim Al-Thani (The Second Teacher), second to Aristotle (Browne 1962). He is known in the Western World as Avicenna.
In 980 A.D. Avicenna was born in Bukhara which is now part of Russia and known as Uzben. By the age of 10, he was already proficient in the Qur'an and Arabic classics. By the age of 16, he finished Islamic law studies, geometry, anatomy, logic and philosophy. His metaphysics were influenced by an earlier philosopher in Islam, Al-Farabi. By the age of 18, he completed the study of medicine. Soon after, he became the Prime Minister (the Visier) and Court-Physician of Prince Nuli-Ibn-Mansur, the Samanid Ruler of Bukbara. The prince was impressed by the intelligence and endurance of his Visier and opened for him the royal library which was unique in its literary richness. Ibn-Sina wrote his first book at the age of 21.
Then he became Visier of Ali ibn Maimun, the ruler of Khawarazm or Khiva. But he ultimately fled to avoid being kidnapped by the Sultan Mohammed El-Ghazin. Ironically, fate played an important role in the life of Avicenna who was a master in planning. The ruler of Hainadan, the southern part of Persia, who was called Amir Shwnsu'd-Dawla, had renal colic. Ibn-Sina treated the Amir's colic. The latter was very pleased and appointed Ibn-Sina, not only his Court-Physician but also his Visier. Avicenna was a proud and arrogant man. This created enemies leading to a mutiny of the military leaders against him resulting in his dismissal and imprisonment. Fortunately, the Amir got renal colic once more and no one could relieve his pain. He thus summoned back Avicenna who cured him. The Amir apologized to Avicenna and reinstated him.
Avicenna's life during this time was extraordinarily strenuous. All the day he was busy with the Amir's services. The great part of the night was passed in lecturing and writing his books, with intervals of wine-drinking, music, and minstrelsy. After many vicissitudes, worn out by hard work and hard living, Avicenna died and was buried in Hamadan, Persia, in 1037 A.D. at a comparatively early age of 57. In his last illness, he treated himself unsuccessfully, so that it was said by his detractors that neither could his physics save his body nor his metaphysics save his soul (Browne 1962).
Avicenna wrote I00 treatises, 21 of them were major of which 16 were in medicine. He wrote in philosophy, medicine, named Al-Qanon fi Al- Tibb (Canon of Medicine). It was an encyclopedia containing more than one million words. It was composed of 5 volumes:
Volume I- described the principles and theories of medicine.
Volume II- contained the simple drugs arranged alphabetically.
Volume III- described localized diseases of the body from the head to the toes.
Volume IV- was addressed to generalized diseases of the body e.g. fevers.
Volume V- explained compound drungs.
The Canon contained all medical knowledge up to the 1Oth century. It was translated to many languages and was the reference for medical schools in Europe up to the 17th century. Although the Canon was a great book, it overshadowed the important works prior to it by Al-Razi and Al-Zahrawi, and subsequent to it by Ibn-Al-Nafis and Ali Ibn-Abbas, Halle Abbas, (Haddad 1942).
Avicenna wrote Arabic and Persian poems.The last of his Arabic poem, which is considered a classical beauty, describes the descent of the Soul into the Body from the Higher Sphere which is its home (Browne 1962).
Avicenna is considered a great philosopher, and his writings affected the thinkers and influenced many of those who appeared after him. He was a unique phenomenon, not only because of this encyclopedic accomplishments in medicine, but also because of the versatility of his genius. He has been compared in this respect with Aristotle, Leonardo da Vinci, and Goethe. (Keys 1971).
IBN-RUSHD (AVERROES) 1126-1198 A.D.
Ibn-Rashid, or Averroes as known in Europe, was born in Granada in 1126 A.D. He studied philosophy, medicine and law. He was appointed as a judge in Seville in 1169 A.D. where he stayed in office for a quarter of a century. He was affected by Aristotle on whom he wrote important commentaries (Black 1970, Al-A'sar 1972). In these interpretations he asserted that the human soul is not independent, but shares a universal mind. This belief caused a great controversy and was later declared heretical by both the Moslems and Christians alike because it contradicted the doctrine of personal immortality.
He was admired by the Jews of Spain who spread Ws philosophy into Europe especially into Italy and France after they were forced out of Spain. His followers interpreted some of his writings to mean that there are two kinds of truth, a philosophical and a religious truth. This implied a separation of reason and faith and influenced philosophical and theological speculation for many centuries. Because of his bold ideas, he was dismissed from his work and sent to Morocco where he was kept in prison till he died on December 12, 1198. his important contribution to medicine was "Al- Kulliyat fi Al-Tibb" (Colliyet).
It was a summary of the medical science at that time and composed of seven parts. He wrote another book, "Al-Taisir" on practical medicine. It consisted of useful excerpts and a clinical description of diseases including serous pericarditis and mediastinal abscens. He personally suffered from the latter disease and left very careful records of his own symptoms. The book is not known in Arabic, but there are several Latin editions (Haddad 1942). Ibn-Rushd was another example of the cultured Arabic physician.
IBN-MAIMON (MAIMONEDES) 1135-1204 A.D.
In 1135, Musa Ibn-Maimon (Moses Maimonides) was born in Cordova, Spain (Minlcin 1968). His father was a Rabbi and had a great influence of Moses in his interests and future achievements. During that period, the Jews had a golden era in Spain. Minkin (1968), a renowned scholar and an eminent Rabbi wrote "It was Mohammedan Spain, the only land the Jews knew in nearly a thousand years of their dispersion, which made the genius of Moses Maimonides possible."
In1160 A.D., Moscs emigrated to North Africa to the city of Fas where be studied medicine. In 1165 A.D., he left to Palestine. However, he was dissatisfied with the cultural atmosphere. Therefore, he went to Egypt where he stayed until he died in 1204 A.D. He was buried in Teberias, Palestine.
Maimonides first started his career as the Rabbi of the jewish Comniunity of El-Fostat city, the capital of Egypt at that time and part of old Cairo now. Later on in life, he practiced medicine. He became an eminent and respected physician. He served both Kings Salah-El-Din (Saladin) and his elder son Sultan Al-Malik Al-Afdel during his short reign (1198-1200 A.D.). He had the confidence of both. During Salali-El-Din war with King Richard, the Lion-Hearted, the latter fell sick. Although those two kings were at war, they had respect and admiration of each other. Saladin sent Ibn- Maimon to Richard to treat him. After being, cured. Rictiard asked Ibn- Maimon to join his court. But the latter politely declined and preferred to stay with Saladin (Minkin 1968).
Ibn-Maimon's impact on the Jewish religion is very important. He wrote classical work in the Jewish religion including codification of the Jewish laws (Black and Roth 1970). Hc also wrote in philosophy. His book, "Dalalat Al-Hai'ran" (The Guide of the Perplexed) is an important achievement which was welcomed not only by those of the Jewish faith but also by Moslems and Christians alike. He was affected by his contemporary Ibn- Rushd, and by Aristotl'e, but he tried to unite logic and faith. He wrote his book in Arabic. He did not live long enough to see the Hebrew translation of his book which would have given him a great satisfaction.
In medicine Ibn-Maimon did two important things: First, be translated many Arabic books into Hebrew which were than translated into Latin and other European languages. An example of these books is the Canon of Avicenna. Second, be wrote a few books of his own. One of them is "Magala fl Tadbir Al-Sihha" (Regimen Sanitatis) which stressed proper diet, personal hygiene, and moderation in the pleasures of life. It was in the form of letters to the Sultan Al-Afdel. The other was "Kitab" Al-Fusal fi Al-Tibb" (Fisul Musa). This was a collection of 1,500 aphorisms extracted from Galen writings together with forty-two critical remarks. Moses also wrote a book on poisons and their antidotes (Al-A'sar 1971).
When he died, the Jewish Community in Egypt built a synagogue named after him. Some Jews, up-till-now, stay overnight in this synagogue in hope of receiving healing through the spirit of this great physician (Minkin 1968).

IBN-EL-NAFIS 1208 - 1288 A.D.
In 1208 A.D., Ala'El-Deen Ibn-El-Nafis was born in a small town near Damascus called Kersh (Fig. 7) (Ibrahim 1971). He learned medicine and philosophy in Damascus and spent most of his life in Cairo. He was a physician, a linguist, a philosopher, and a historian. He was the first chief of Al-Mansuri Hospital in Cairo and the dean of the School of Medicine in 1284 A.D.
During this era, the medical profession together with other branches of science were passing a crisis. The Mongol Tartar invasion and destruction of Baghdad in 1258 A.D. caused an injury to the Islamic civilization from which it never recovered. It destroyed forever the Caliphate, symbolic unity of the Arabian Empire, and the preeminence of Baghdad as a center for learning. Also during that period Islamic culture was declining in Spain. It was then Cairo and Damascus the centers for education and medical prestige. There, the medical profession was characterized by the freedom of discussion and expression of opinion, something that was very new in medicine and not known to Europe until the 17th century when introduced to England by Sedenbam (Ibrahim 1971).
Ibn-El-Nafis was a dedicated person. He used to start his day after dawn prayers by making rounds at the hospital, followed by case discussions with students and colleagues, then hospital administration. His evenings were spent reading, writing and discussing medicine and philosophy with frequent scholar guests at his home in El-Hussein District in Old Cairo. His house was an example of beautiful Arabic architecture, made of marble with a fountain in the central hall.
In the history of mankind, there are persons whose importance is revealed with the flight of time and their truth glows with the passage of centuries; Ibn-El-Nafis is one of those. He wrote many books, ten of them in medicine and a special one in philosophy. In the latter book "Fadel Ibn- Natik", he tried to present the counter point of the philosophical view of Avicenna expressed in his book "Hai Ibn-Yakzan". He was an authority in theology on which he wrote several books, e.g. "The complete Message of the Prophet" and "Al-Ragol Al-Kamel" (The Perfect Man) supporting unitarianism. Ibn-El-Nafis had an important character, not being a follower but a scholar. This was evident in his writings whether in philosophy or medicine.
In medicine he wrote many books, two of them are "Mujaz Al-Qanun" which means the "Summary of the Canon". In these two books which were based on avicenna's writings, he criticized the short comings of Avicenna's book and of Galen's views and added to them. That is why he was named by some as Avicenna the Second. For example be wrote "... We have relied chiefly on his (Galen) teachings, except in a few details which we think are wrong and were not given after a thorough investigation. In describing the function of the organs, we have depended on careful investigation, observation, and honest study, regardless of whether or not these fit with the teachings and theories of those who have preceded us."
Ibn-El-Nafis added lights to the physiology of the circulation. In the ancient history, Erasistratus of the Alexandria Scbool (310 B.C. - 250 B.C.) believed that blood was contained only in the eight side of the circulation, namely the veins and the fight side of the heart. The left side of the circulation, namely the left side of the heart and the arteries were supposed to contain air because arteries were found empty when an animal was sacrificed, hence the name "arteria".
When Galen came (131 - 210 A.D.), he described blood to pass from the right side of the heart to the left side through minute openings in the septum of the heart, then it mixed with air from the lungs, and sequently distributed to the whole body. For centuries this was the prevalent belief and no one, including the Arab physicians and their eminent writer Avicenna, could dare to challenge this sacred view. Ibn-El-Nafis did. Five times he stated in unmistakable terms that "... the blood from the right chamber of the heart must arrive at the left chamber, but there is no direct pathway between them.
The thick septum of the heart is not perforated and does not have visible pores as some people thought or invisible pores as Galen thought. The blood from the right chamber must flow through the vena arteriosa (pulmonary artery) to the lungs, spread through its substance, he mingled with air, pass through the arteria venosa (Pulmonary vein) to reach the left chamber of the heart... " (Salem 1968). In describing the anatomy of the lung Ibn-El-Nafis stated: "The lung is composed of. first, the bronchi: second, the branches of the arteria a venosa; and third, the branches of the vena arteriosa; all of these are connected by loose porous flesh ... The need of the lung for the vena arteriosa is to transport to it the blood that has been thinned and warmed in the heart, so that what seeps through the pores of the branches of this vessel into the alveoli of the lung may mix with what is of air therein and combine with it ... and the mixture is carried to the left cavity of the heart by the arteria venosa" (Haddad 1936).
Ibn-El-Nafis also made other contributions in the circulation. Avicenna, following Galen's description of the anatomy, stated that the human heart has three ventricles. Ibn-El-Nafis rejected that as he said "...And his statement ((Avicenna's) that the heart has three ventricles is not correct, as the heart has only tow ventricles..." He was also the first to describe the coronary circulation as he wrote "...Again, his statement (Avicenna's) that the blood in the right side is to nourish the heart is not true at all, for the nourishment of the heart is from the blood that goes through the vessels that permeate the body of the heart... "
Three centuries after the discovery of the pulmonary circulation by Ibn- El-Nafis, others, such as Michael Servetus, Realdus Colombus, Carlo Ruini, Andrea Cesalpino, and Francois Rabelais, claimed the same thing (Mayerhof 1935). There is a strong suspicion that these authors obtained their knowledge from the Arabic literature which was available at that time to the European investigators without giving credit to Ibn-El-Nafis (Keys 1971, Haddad 1942). It is considered to be more than a coincidence that Servetus would discover the pulmonary circulation, and also to write a book, similar to that of Ibn-El-Nafis, on Unitarianism. Servetus was burnt with his book, "Restitutio Christianismi" in Geneva in October 1553 at the order of Calvin because he was considered heretic.

THE ARABS AND OPHTHALMOLOGY
The Arabs were much interested in ophthalmology. In the ninth century, Hunayn Ibn-Ishak (Joannitius) translated to Arabic the Greek literature on the eye. As mentioned before, Al-Razi described the changes in the caliber of the eye produced by relaxation and contraction of the iris. He also described the cataract operation.
In 1050 A.D. at Baghdad, Ali Ibn-Isa (Jesu Haly) wrote the classic book on ophthalmology, Tathkirat Al-Kahhalin (A Note for the Oculists). As stated by Cunistan (1921), it is the oldest book in its original language on diseases of the eye. In a clear and logical style, the author described trachoma, conjunctivitis, and cataract, and prescribed treatment (Keys 1971).
Avicenna described the six extrinsic muscles of the eyeball.
In the thirteenth century, Ibn Abu-Al-Kawafer wrote a book on therapeutic ophthalmology entitled "Natigat-El-Fikr fi Ilag Amrad El-Bassar" (Conclusions from Expelience on Treatment of Diseases of the Eye). According to Kahil (1929) is one of several textbooks of ophthalmology considered to be superior to any written in Europe up to the eighteenth century.

ARABS AND ANESTHESIA
Being an obstetric anesthesiologist, I feel obligated to write a little more on the contributions of the Arabs to both anesthesia and obstetrics.
First, in anesthesia, the Arabs described in detail the pharmacology of important narcotics such as opium and other central nervous system depressants such as hyoscyamus and hashish (Khairallal 1942). Burton (1886 A.D.) stated that "anesthetics have been used in surgery throughout the East for centuries before ether and chloroform became the fashion in the civilized West. In a Treatise on the Canon of Medicine by Gruner it is stated by Avicenna under the article 8l4 ANESTHETICS:"If it is desirable to get a person unconscious quickly, without him being harmed, add sweet smelling moss to the wine, or lignum aloes.
If it is desirable to procure a deeply unconscious state, so as to able the pain to be borne which is involved in painful applications to a member. place darnel-water into the wine, or administer fumitory, opiuium, hyoscyamus (half dram doses of each); nutmeg, crude aloes-wood (4 grains of each). Add this to the wine, and take as much as is necessary for the purpose. Or. boil black hyoscyamus in water, with mandragore bark, until it becomes red. Add this to the wine."
The Arabs also introduced "the Soporific Sponge" which was commonly used for anesthesia in the middle ages. The sponge was soaked with aromatics and narcotics to be sucked and then held under the nostril to provide anesthesia prior to surgery (Keys 1971).
Avicenna wrote more than 1,000 years ago about the effect of pain on ventilation: "Pain dissipates the bodily strength and interferes with the normal functions of the organs. The respiratory organs are inhibited from drawing in air, and consequently the act of breathing is interfered with, and the respiration becomes intermittent, rapid, or altogether unnatural in rhythm" (Gruner 1930).

ARABS AND OBSTETRICS
Hynayn Ibn-Ishak (Joannitius, 809-873 A.D.) translated the work of the Greek pioneer in obstetrics, Paul of Aegina, into Arabic. Hunayn also translated to the Arabic world most of the work of Hippocrates, Galen, and Ptolemy. Moreover, he was a gifted physician and philosopher. Ali Ibn-Al- Abas Al-Majusi (Halle Abbas) who died in 994 A.D. was the first to describe in his book "Al-Kitab Al-Malaki" (The Royal Book) that the uterine contractions are the cause of delivery of the fetus (Keys 1971). Before him, it was thought that the uterine contractions were only as indication of the onset of labor; subsequently the fetus would swim its way out of the womb and birth canal.
Most of the deliveries were performed by midwives at home. For complicated obstetrics Al-Zahrawi offered advice to midwives as mentioned before, used fetal craniotomy for delivery of obstructed labor, and introduced the required instruments. The operation of cesarean section was described in 1010 in the Book of Kings by Abul Kasim Al-Firdaws (Speert 1973). It described cesarean section practiced on R'uda'ba, the mother of King Rustam at his birth. Another reference for cesarean section is written by Al-Biruni in his book, Al-Athar Al-Baliiyah dated 1307 A.D. (Hitti 1977) as shown in figure 9 which is preserved in the library of the University of Edingurgh (Hitti 1977).
Ibn-Al-Quff (1233-1305) is another physician who contributed to perinatology. He was born in Jordan (Hamameh 1971). In his book "Al-Jami", he presented original observations on embryology. He spoke of "... the formation of a foam stage in the first 6 to 7 days, which in 13 to 16 days, is gradually transformed into a clot and in 28 to 30 days into a small chunk of meat. In 38 to 40 days, the head appears separate from the shoulders and limbs. The brain and heart followed by the liver are formed before other organs. The fetus takes its food from the mother in order to grow and to replenish what it discards or loses ...
There are three membranes covering and protecting the fetus, of which the first connects arteries and veins with those in the mothers womb through the umbilical cord. The veins pass food for the nourishment of the fetus, while the arteries transmit air. By the end of seven months, all organs are complete ... After delivery, the baby's umbilical cord is cut at a distance of four fingers breadth from the body, and is tied with fine, soft woolen twine. The area of the cut is covered with a filament moistened in olive oil over which a styptic to prevent bleeding is sprinkled ... After delivery, the baby is nursed by his mother whose milk is the best. Then the midwife puts the baby to sleep in a darkened quiet room... Nursing the baby is performed two to three times daily. Before nursing, the mother's breast should be squeezed out two or three times to get rid of the milk near the nipple". These findings of Ibn-Al-Quff, appear basic and fundamental, but seven hundred years ago, they were new and different.

CONCLUSION
One cannot help but look with admiration upon the way the Muslims handled their responsibility towards mankind. They not only preserved, but also added to earlier achievements in medicine. They have fostered the flame of civilization, made it brighter, and handed it over to Europe in the best possible condition. Europe, in turn, passed it to the United States of America, and the cycle continues.
TABLE 1. THE MAIN ISLAMIC PHYSICIANS
Name - Arabic: Jurjis ibn Bakhtishu Jibril Yuhanna ibn Masawayh
Name - latin:
Span of Life (A.D.): 700 - 800
Speciality and Contribution: Translation from Greek and Syriac into Arabic
Special Books:Translation of works of Hippocrates, Galen and Aristotle
City - Country: Baghdad
Name - Arabic: Hunain Ibn Ishak
Name - latin:
Span of Life (A.D.): 826 - 882
Speciality and Contribution:
Special Books:
City - Country:
Name - Arabic: Al-Razi
Name - latin: Razes
Span of Life (A.D.): 841 - 926 (Ray-Tehran)
Speciality and Contribution: Internal Medicine, Epidemiology, Ophthalmology, Chemistry, Physics,

Philosophy
Special Books: Kitab Al-Mansuri (The Liber Al-Mansuris), Al-Murshid, Al-Hawi (Continents), Al-Gudari wa, Al-Gudari (de Peste or de Pestilentia)
City - Country: Kharasan, Baghdad
Name - Arabic: Al-Zahrawi
Name - latin: Abulcasis (Bucasis Alzahravius)
Span of Life (A.D.): 930 -1013 (al-Zahra-Cordova)
Speciality and Contribution: Surgery
Special Books: al-Tasrif Liman Ajiz 'an al' Ta'lif
City - Country: Al-Andalus (Cordova)
Name - Arabic: Ibn-Sina
Name - latin: Avicenna
Span of Life (A.D.): 980 - 1037 (Bukhara)
Speciality and Contribution: Medical Encyclopedia, Philosophy, Astronomy, Poetry
Special Books: 100 books Al-Qanun (over million words)
City - Country: Hamazan, Jurjan
Name - Arabic: Ibn-Rushd
Name - latin: Averroes
Span of Life (A.D.): 1126 - 1198
Speciality and Contribution: Philosophy, Medicine, Law
Special Books: Kitab Al-Kulliat
City - Country: Al-Andalus, Granada
Name - Arabic: Ibn-Maimon
Name - latin: Maimonides
Span of Life (A.D.): 1135 - 1208 (Granada)
Speciality and Contribution: Philosophy, Translations- Hebrew, Latin, Poisons, Hygiene and Public Health
Special Books: Al-Tadbir El-Sihhi, Moushid El-Hairan
City - Country: Cairo (Saladdin's physician)
Name - Arabic: Ibn-Al-Nafis
Name - latin:
Span of Life (A.D.): 1208 - 1288 (Damascus)
Speciality and Contribution: Pulmonary circ., Blood supply to the heart
Special Books: Sharah Tashrih al Qanun, Al-Mujaz
City - Country: Damascus, Cairo

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AL-OKBI, M.D.: Lights on History of Science: Abu Al- Khasim Al- Zahrawi, the pioneer in surgery Hospital Medical Practice, Cairo 1: 14-29, 1971.
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BROAWE, E.G.: Arabian Medicine: Cambridge at the University Press, 1962.
BURTON, L. edition of 1001 Nights (Six volumes). 1886.
CAWBELL, DAVID: Arabian Medicine and its influence on the middle ages. Kegon Paul. French, Frubner & Co. London, 1926, Vol. 1, pp. 69-77.
CUSTON, C.G.: A Brief Historical Summary of the Treatment of Trachoma. With a Speical Reference to the Arabian School and the Writing of Ali Ibn-el-Aissa (Jesu Hali). Am. M. Hist. 3: 244-251, 1921.
EIGELAND, T: Islam in Al-Andalus, Aramco World Magazine 27/5, Sept. Oct., 1976.
GARRISON, FIELDING A: An Introduction to the History of Medicine with Medical Chronology, Suggestions for Study and Bibliographic Data. W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, 1929.
GRUNER, O.C.: A treatise on the Canon of Medicine of Avicenna, Incorporating a Translation of the First Book, London, Luzac & Co. 1930.
HADDAD S.I. and KHAIRALLAH A.A.: A forgotten Chapter in the History of the Circulation of the Blood. Arinuals of Surgery 104: 1-8, 1936.
HADDAD, S.I.: Arabian Contribution to Medicine. Anna Med. Hist. 3:60-72, 1942.
HAMARNEH S: The Physician and the Health Profcssions in Medeival Islam. Bull. N.Y. Acad. Med. 47.1088-1110, 1971.
HAMARNEH, S.: Development of Hospitals in Islam. J. History of Med. and Allied Sciences 17: 366-84, 1962.
HAYKAL, M.H.: The life of Mohammed, 8th edition, North American Trust Publications-, 1976.
HITTI, P.K.: History of the Arabs, 10th Edition, St. Martin's Press, New York, 602-614, 1977.
IBN-KHALDUN, VOL. IV, P. 201.
IBRAHIM, S.: Lights on History of Sciencc: Ibn-El-Nafis, Hospital Medical Practice, Cairo 1: 35-39, 1971.
KAHIL, N.: Une ophthalmologic Arabe par un practici en due Caire du XIII, me siecle - VII me de I'Hegire, Rend. Internat. Med. Trop. Cairo 2: 241-260, 1929.
KEYS, T.E., WAKIM, K.G.: Contributions of the Arabs to Medicine Staff Meetins of the Mayo Clinic 28: 42-437, 1971.
KHAIRALLAH, A. A.: Arabic Contributions to Anatomy and Surgery: Ann. Med. Hist. 3:4 409-15, 1942.
LEVY, M.: Medical Ethics of Medieval Islam with Special Reference to Al-Ruhawis, "Practical Ethics of the Physican". May 19067, Vol. 57 Part-3.
MEYERHOF, M.: Ibn-El-Nafis (Xlllth Cent) and His. Theory of the Lesser Circulation. Isis 23: 100-120, 1935.
MIN-KIN, J.S.: The World of Moses maimonides: Thomas Yoseloff Inc. New York, 1968.
PARENTE, P. The Medical School of Salemo in the Regimen of Health of the Medical School of Salcmo. N.Y. Vantage Press, 1967, pp. 15-20. Profile of Iran. Health Care in Iran. May 1977, 2536, Vol. 11, No. 5.
SALEM, R.A.: Discovery of the Pulmonary Circulatioii by an Arab in the 13th century. Anesthesia & Analgesia... Current Researches, 47: 587- 588, 1968.
SARTON, G.: Introduction of the history of Science. Vol. I Baltimore, Camegic Inst. of Wash. 1950.
SPEERT, H.: Iconographia Gyneatrica and Obstetrics. Philadelphia: T.A. Davis Co. 1973.

12 Outstanding Characteristics of Hadhrat Muhammad [s] The Last Prophet of Allah

2006-05-05T00:48:00.000-04:00

By Mohammed Husain

My brothers and sisters everywhere! With this essay, I am not singling out the adherents of Islam - to which I ascribe - but rather I am writing this essay to every man and woman throughout the whole world. I ask Allah that He facilitates that this essay reaches every ear, falls under the sight of every eye, and is understood by every heart... Mohammed the son of `Abdullah is Allah's Prophet and the Final Messenger Sent by Allah to the Inhabitants of Earth. My brothers and sisters everywhere! You should know that the Messenger, Mohammed the son of `Abdullah [s] is Allah's Messenger in reality and truth. The evidences that show his veracity are abundant. None but an infidel, who out of arrogance alone, could deny these signs. Among these proofs:

1. Mohammed [s] did not read or write, and remained like that till his death. Among all his people, he was known as being truthful and trustworthy. Before receiving revelation, he expressed no prior knowledge of Religion or any previously sent Message. He remained like that for his first forty years. Revelation then came to Mohammed with the Qur’an that we now have between our hands. This Qur’an mentioned most of the accounts found in the previous scriptures, telling us about these events in the greatest detail as if he witnessed them. These accounts came precisely as they were found in the Torah sent down to Moses and in the Gospel sent down to Jesus. Neither the Jews or Christians were able to belie him regarding anything that he said.

2. Mohammed [s] also foretold of everything that would occur to him and his community after him, pertaining to victory, the removal of the tyrannical kingdoms of Khosroes [the royal title for the Zoroastrian kings of Persia] and Caesar, and the establishment of the religion of Islam throughout the earth. These events occurred exactly as Mohammed foretold, as if he was reading the future from an open book.

3. Mohammed [s] also brought an Arabic Qur’an that is the peak of eloquence and clarity. The Qur’an challenged those eloquent and fluent Arabs of his time, who initially belied him, to bring forth a single chapter like the Qur’an. The eloquent Arabs of his day were unable to contest this Qur’an. Indeed, till our day, none has ever dared to claim that he has been able to compose words that equal-or even approach-the order, grace, beauty, and splendour of this Glorious Qur’an.

4. The life history of this Noble Prophet was a perfect example of being upright, merciful, compassionate, truthful, brave, generous, distant from all evil character, and ascetic in all worldly matters, while striving solely for the reward of the Hereafter. Moreover, in all his actions and dealings, he was ever mindful and fearful of Allah.

5. Allah instilled great love for Mohammed [s] in the hearts of all who believed in and met him. This love reached such a degree that any of his companions would willingly sacrifice his (or her) self, mother or father for him. Till today, those who believe in Mohammed honour and love him. Anyone of those who believe in him would ransom his own family and wealth to see him, even if but once.

6. All of history has not preserved the biography of any person in the manner it has preserved the life of Mohammed, who is the most influential human in history. Nor has the entire earth known of anyone whom every morning and evening, and many times thereafter throughout the day, is thought of by those who believe in him. Upon remembering Mohammed, the believers in him will greet him and ask Allah to bless him. They do such with full hearts and true love for him.

7. Nor has there every been a man on earth whom is still followed in all his doings by those who believe in him. Those who believe in Mohammed, sleep in the manner he slept; purify themselves (through ablution and ritual washing) in the manner he purified himself; and adhere to his practice in the way they eat, drink, and clothe themselves. Indeed in all aspects of their lives, the believers in Mohammed adhere to the teachings he spread among them and the path that he travelled upon during his life. During every generation, from his day till our time, the believers in this Noble Prophet have fully adhered to his teachings. With some, this has reached the degree that they desire to follow and adhere to the Prophet's way in his personal matters regarding which Allah has not sought of them to adhere to in worship. For example, some will only eat those specific foods or only wear those specific garments that the Messenger liked. Let alone all that, all those who believe in Mohammed repeat those praises of Allah, special prayers, and invocations that he would say during each of his actions during day and night, like: what he would say when he greeted people, upon entering and leaving the house, entering and leaving the mosque, entering and leaving the bathroom, going to sleep and awaking from sleep, observing the new crescent, observing the new fruit on trees, eating, drinking, dressing, riding, travelling and returning from travel, etc. Let alone all that, all those who believe in Mohammed fully perform-even to the minute detail-every act of worship-like prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage-as this Noble Messenger [s] taught and as he himself performed. All of this allows those who believe in him, to live their lives in all aspects with this Noble Messenger as their example, as if he was standing before them, for them to follow in all their doings.

8. There has never been nor will there ever be a man anywhere upon this earth who has received such love, respect, honour, and obedience in all matters-small and large alike-as has this Noble Prophet.

9. Since his day, in every region of the earth and during every period, this Noble Prophet has been followed by individuals from all races, colours and peoples. Many of those who followed him were previously Christians, Jews, pagans, idolaters, or without any religion. Among those who chose to follow him, were those who were known for their sound judgment, wisdom, reflection,and foresight. They chose to follow this Noble Prophet after they witnessed the signs of his truthfulness and the evidences of his miracles. They did not choose to follow Mohammed out of compulsion or coercion or because they had adopted the ways of their fathers and mothers. Indeed many of the followers of this Prophet [s], chose to follow him during the time when Islam was weak, when there were few Muslims, and when there was severe persecution of his followers on earth. Most people who have followed this Prophet [s] have done so not to acquire some material benefits. Indeed many of his followers have suffered the greatest forms of harm and persecution as a result of following this Prophet. Despite all this harm and persecution, this did not turn them back from his religion. My brethren! All of this clearly indicates to anyone possessing any sense, that this Prophet was truly and really Allah's messenger and that he was not just a man who claimed prophethood or spoke about Allah without knowledge.

10. With all this, Mohammed came with a great religion in its credal and legal make-up. Mohammed described Allah with qualities of complete perfection, and at the same time in a manner that is free of ascribing to Him any imperfection. Neither the philosophers or the wise could ever describe Allah like such. Indeed it is impossible to imagine that any human mind could conceive of an existing being that possesses such complete ability, knowledge, and greatness; Who has subdued the creation; Who has encompassed everything in the universe, small or large; and Who possesses such perfect mercy. Nor is it in the ability of any human being to place a perfect law based upon justice, equality, mercy and objectivity for all human activity on earth like the laws that Mohammed brought for all spheres of human activity - like buying and selling, marriage and divorce, renting, testimony, custody, and all other contracts that are necessary to uphold life and civilization on earth.

11. It is impossible that any person conceive wisdom,, morals, good manners, nobleness of characters as what this honourable Prophet [s] brought. In a full and complete manner, Mohammed spread a teaching regarding character and manners toward one' parents, relatives, fiends, family, humanity, animals, plants and inanimate objects. It is impossible for the human mind alone to grasp all of that teaching or come with a similar teaching. All of that unequivocally indicates that this Messenger did not bring any of this religion from his own accord, but that it was rather a teaching and inspiration that he received from the One Who created the earth and the high heavens above and created this universe in its miraculous architecture and perfection.

12. The legal and credal make-up of the religion that the Messenger, Mohammed [s], brought resembles the engineering of the heavens and the earth. All of that indicates that He who created the heavens and the earth is the One Who sent down this great law and upright religion. The degree of inimitability of the Divine law that was sent down upon Mohammed is to the same degree of inimitability of the Divine creation of the heavens and earth. For just as humanity cannot create this universe, in the same manner humanity cannot bring forth a law like Allah's law that He sent down upon His servant and messenger Mohammed [s].

Source: http://www.qaem.org

Mercy of Allah Manifested

2006-05-04T01:09:00.000-04:00

And hold fast, all together, by the rope of Allah, and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's favour on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided. [Holy Quran]

Allah (swt) is the Most Merciful. His mercy is all encompassing to the entire world. However, Allah's mercy, in many cases is displayed and manifested to us through several instruments. There are three main instruments that Allah (swt) has put in place to carry out His rahma. It is important to note of course, that the entire Ahlul Bayt (as) are a form of this great manifestation; but three are very important:

1) The Holy Prophet (s)

“We have sent you but as a mercy to the entire world” [Holy Quran]

The entire life of the Holy Prophet (s) was a witness to his notable mercy. At the time of the Holy Prophet (s), the Arabian Peninsula was suffering severely from ignorance. Prophet Mohammed came to change the ways of society. In Mecca, when he (s) declared Islam, his uncle, Abu Jahal, the leader of the Pagans led children and men in stoning Prophet Mohammed (s). The Prophet (s) was hurt and he began to shed blood. Angels came to the prophet encouraging him to ask of them the destruction of his people. The Prophet looks up at the sky and says, “Oh Allah, guide my people, for they do not know.” This is the climax and apex of Mercy.

In another instance, while Mohammed was in Medina, there was a severe doubt in Mecca. Abu Sufyan, father of Muawiyah, came to the prophet in Medina and asked him to pray for rain. The Prophet (s) prayed to Allah (swt). Immediately the following day rainstorms come to the extent that they feared flooding. They again came to the Prophet and asked him to pray for an end to the rainstorms. The prophet, with so much mercy, prayed for the good of the very people who sent him out of Mecca. This is the mercy of the Prophet. This is how he dealt with the people, in order that we may learn from him.

2) Imam Al-Hussayn (as)

“Hussayn is the guiding light and ship of salvation” [Prophet Mohammed]

Imam Hussayn's great sacrifice in Karbala is an example of the mercy of Allah (swt) manifested. The entire tragedy on the sands of Karbala is in every last way a form of mercy to us. This great man offered everything he had and cherished in this life simply for us, so we can remain on the right path centuries later.

On Imam Hussayn’s way to Kufa from Mecca, Hurr does not allow the caravan to enter Kufa. He denies them from getting water. Days later, Imam Hussayn (as) had access to water and when they asked him for water, he did not refuse them from drinking water. Not only did the Imam provide water for the men, but he also gave water to their horses.

This is merely one instance where we see the mercy of Imam Hussayn (as) at play. From such occurrences, we learn how we should deal with our enemies. Allah (swt) has made Imam Hussayn (as) and the tragedy of Karbala a lesson for all of humanity. Ghandi has said, “I learnt from Hussayn how to be oppressed yet victorious.”

3) Imam Al-Mahdi (aatfs)

"And Know, that certainly the hearts of the Obedient and Sincere ones will be attracted to you like birds are attracted to their nests" [Imam Al-Askari (as) to his son Imam Al-Mahdi]

Imam Al-Mahdi is a more personal level of Allah's manifestation of Rahma for us today. In a dua it is said in regards to our imam, "He has more love and compassion for his followers and devotees than their very parents.” This in itself is Allah's mercy manifested. The Imam, at such a high status and level, loves us so dearly, yet do we care for him? Do we pray for him, think of him, and try to personally connect with him? Is it not an injustice for us to abandon him in such a way? Imam Al-Mahdi’s rahma is broken into three main categories:

Type 1 - A very general, all encompassing mercy. All of Allah's creations are subject to this type of mercy. This is because Imam Al-Mahdi is at the top of the pyramid. Allah has assigned each of His creation a task. The ultimate 'boss', is Allah (swt). Following Allah (swt) must be an infallible. At the time of the holy Prophet Mohammed (s), he was responsible to carry out this form of manifestation. However, during this time, this mercy is manifested through the 12th holy Imam, for he is the current infallible and proof of Allah on earth. Our sustenance comes from Allah through Imam Al-Mahdi (aatfs). Therefore, his mere existence is a form of mercy.

Type 2 – A more specific type of mercy. Type one has no conditions. By virtue of being created, one is subject to the first type of mercy. However, type 2 has only one condition, but a very specific condition; this condition being faith. By virtue of being a believer one will be subject to this type of mercy. Through this mercy, he looks out after his followers. In a different dua it is said in reference to the Imam's love for us, “We do not disregard you. We do not forget your remembrance. Had it not been for this, your enemies would have destroyed you.” The Imam mentions us, but do we ever remember him? On Thursday night when he looks at our record and mentions us, does he remember us on good terms? Imam Al-Mahdi has had to suffer so many grave tragedies. He has had to endure the martyrdom of his grandmother Fatimatul Zahra (as) and Imam Al-Hussayn (as). Let us not sadden him and increase his grief. Rather, let us alleviate his pain by abstaining from what has angers Allah (swt)

Type 3 – A very special type of mercy that not many enjoy. This mercy has a very special condition: to plead to and have hope in the imam; to run after him and constantly be in anticipation for his mercy and loving care; to personally interact with him; to build an ever so personal relationship with him (aatfs). This mercy is at a much larger scale. This is the type of mercy that has the power to create miracles.

They say there was a student studying to be a scholar. At one point, he left his house and his wife informed him that they had nothing whatsoever to survive on. The student goes and performs a 2 rukah prayer dedicated to Imam Al-Mahdi (aatfs). After completing the prayer, someone knocks on his door. The visitor says to him, I have been instructed by someone to present this gift to you. I will give you this each month under the condition that you inform no one. The man opens the gift and finds it to be a big sum of money. Months pass, and each month the delivery was made and their condition improved greatly. A few months later, his wife asks him where the money had been coming from. He informs her where the money has been coming from. The end of the month came and the delivery did not arrive. Three months later, he goes to the man who would deliver the money to him before. He speaks with him, eventually asking him why he had stopped bringing him the money. The man said to him, the one who ordered me to give you this money each month ordered me to stop. This young student, at one point, was subject to this third type of mercy.

We have the opportunity and chance to be subject to this very special kind of mercy. Let us strengthen our personal relationship with our Imam. He is the Imam of our time. In our graves we will be asked who the Imam of our time is. In a letter to Sheikh Al-Mufid, Imam Al-Mahdi (aatfs) has said, "I will take care of you like a shepherd takes care of his heard" So let us return this favor and care for him as he so purely and sincerely cares for us. The third type is very rare and something each believer should constantly strive to attain. May we, by the right of Imam Al-Mahdi, be among those who are honoured by being subject to this genuine type of mercy.

Indeed Allah is Most Merciful. All Praise be to Him and may His blessings be on the Purified Ahlul Bayt (as).

Source: http://www.aimislam.com/advent

The Great Struggle of Muslim Ibn Aqeel

2006-05-02T22:42:00.000-04:00

By: Ali Hussain Jalali, Chicago, USA
The Imam sent three people with Muslim: Qays Ibn Mash'ar al-Saydawi, 'Imarah Ibn 'Abdullah al-Saluli and 'Abdul Rahman Ibn 'Abdullah al-Azdi. The Imam said to Muslim, "Fear God, and check to see if whatever the people of Kufah are saying in their letters is true. If that is the case, write me a letter immediately about the situation."
Muslim left Mecca on the 15th of Ramadan traveling by way of Medinah. He went to Masjid al-Nabi and prayed there. Then he bade farewell to his relatives and asked two people to help lead the way for him to Kufah. On the way, they were lost and decided to stop, but Muslim kept going. He did not stop until he reached a place called Batn al-Khabt where he found some water and stayed. He immediately sent a messenger to Imam Husayn and informed him of what happened. The Imam replied that he should continue towards Kufah without any delay. On his way he stayed near the water of the tribe of Tay, then he left.
He arrived in Kufah on the 5th of Shawwal and went to the house of Mukhtar Ibn Abi Ubayd al-Thaqafi who was an intelligent, experienced person and a follower of the People of the House. From his arrival, all the Followers of Kufah gathered to Muslim's house expressing their welcome and obedience to the Imam. After Muslim read the Imam's letter to them, 'Abis Ibn Shabib al-Shakiri stood up and said, "I am not talking on behalf of these people and I do not know what they have in mind and I do not deceive you. I swear by God I tell you what I believe and what I will do, I will be there whenever you call me and I fight for you against your enemy, and I shall use my sword for you, until I reach my Lord, and I do not need anything but nearness to God."
Habib Ibn Muzahir stood and said, "You said what is in your heart briefly, and I swear by God that I say the same thing." Sa'id Ibn 'Abdullah al-Hanafi stood and said similar things and then people paid allegiance to Muslim, and they were counted as 18,000, and in another report 25,000, and in Shi'bi's report, 40,000. Then, Muslim wrote a letter to the Imam and sent it with 'Abis Ibn Shabib al-Shakiri, explaining the situation and the intense desire of the people for his arrival. In his letter he said, "A leader does not lie to his people. The people of Kufah, so far, have paid allegiance to me, 18,000 of them, so depart for Kufah as you receive my letter."
This happened twenty-seven nights before Muslim's death. The Kufans wrote to the Imam, "Continue on your way. You have 100,000 swords here. Please do not hesitate to come as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, those who were allied with the Umayyads, such as 'Umar Ibn Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas wrote to Yazid telling him of the movement of Muslim and the people of Kufah and pointing out that his present governor, an-Nu'man Ibn Bashir is not fit to stand against them. Yazid consulted his Christian chief advisor, Sirjawn. He advised Yazid to replace the governor with 'Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad who was a known bastard. Marjanah is his mother and he is called Ibn Ziyad even though the identity of his father is not known. Sirjawn reminded Yazid that his father, Mu'awiyah adopted Ibn Ziyad and trained him in the military, and added that it was Mu'awiyah's wish to use Ibn Ziyad. Then, he gave Yazid a letter sealed by Mu'awiyah, predicting the importance of Ibn Ziyad in difficult situations. Yazid immediately opened the letter and implemented his father's plan.
'Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad was in Basrah, not far from Kufah. Yazid wrote to him, "Go to Kufah, capture Muslim Ibn 'Aqil, and see what is appropriate to imprison him, send him to exile, or kill him."
Ibn Ziyad went with five hundred people from Basrah and he did not delay or stop for any reason. Some of his people got sick on the way, and he left them to die in the desert. When he arrived in al-Qadisiyyah, his servant, Mahran, fell behind, and Ibn Ziyad left him to die.
Before he reached the city, Ibn Ziyad dressed up like Imam Husayn so that, when he passed through the guards and the people, they would think that he was the Imam. They came to him and said, "O, grandson of the Prophet of God," but he did not reply at all. When he reached Kufah from the Najaf entrance, people came to him welcoming him with one voice, but he did not reply and continued immediately towards Qasr al-lmarah, the castle of the governor. When he knocked on the door, the governor an-Nu'man did not open. Instead, he went up to the roof and said, "O Son of the Messenger of God! I am not going to welcome you in this castle!"
Ibn Ziyad said, "Open the door, your night will be too long."
When someone heard him and realized that it was a trick, he said, "O people! I swear by the Ka'bah that this is Ibn Ziyad, not Imam Husayn!"
The people all ran away to their houses, and in the morning Ibn Ziyad announced a meeting in Masjid al-Kufah, and made a speech warning them and encouraging the enemies of the Prophet's House by giving bribes.
He said, "Anyone who helps the enemy of the governor and does not report that to us will be hanged in front of his own house!"

MUSLIM STANDS
Ibn Ziyad immediately went hunting after Muslim. When Muslim heard about the speech of Ibn Ziyad and his threat, he decided to find a new place to stay. That night, he secretly left the house of Mukhtar and went to the house of Hani Ibn 'Urwah who was Sheikh of the tribe of Murad. He had 4,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry, not including their other allies, which would be 30,000 all together. At that time, a man named Sharik Ibn 'Abdullah al-A'war was also visiting Hani. Ibn Ziyad and he were both from Basrah, so when Sharik became sick Ibn Ziyad came to visit.
Sharik told Muslim that this was the perfect time to kill Ibn Ziyad. While they were talking, Ibn Ziyad came in. Muslim hid. Sharik was nervous and said something to signify to Muslim to come and kill Ibn Ziyad.
Ibn Ziyad looked at Hani and said, "It seems your cousin (Sharik) is hallucinating."
Hani replied, "He has been talking nonsense for a while, ever since he got sick. He does not know what he is saying.
After Ibn Ziyad left, Sharik asked Muslim, "Why did you not come to kill him'"
Muslim replied, "For two reasons: First, I heard the Hadith of the Prophet saying, "Innal iman qayd ul-fatk" (a believer does not assassinate anybody by deception), and second, Hani's wife took my hand and made me swear to God not to kill him, crying and begging me not to."
When Hani heard that, he said, ''Ya wailah! She has killed me, killed herself, and killed everybody by what she has done!"
Sharik died after three days of his sickness. Ibn Ziyad honored him at his funeral. Later, when Ibn Ziyad realized that Sharik was helping to hide Muslim, he wanted to exhume his body, but he did not because it was buried near the grave of one of his own relatives.
Meanwhile, the Followers were secretly contacting Muslim in Hani's house. Finally, Ibn Ziyad hired a slave named Ma'qil and gave him 3,000 Dinars to report on the Followers. Ma'qil disguised himself as a person from Syria and said he was the slave of a tribe of Followers called Dhul-Kila and God has given him guidance to convert, and when he heard that there was someone following Imam Husayn, he came to help. He said he had money to give to the representative of the Imam.
Ma'qil went to the masjid and infiltrated the people who were devoted to prayer. He saw Ibn 'Awsajah al-Asadi and got close to him. He told him that he had money for the Imam and he did not know what to do with it. So, Ibn 'Awsajah prayed for him and led him to Muslim Ibn 'Aqil. Muslim gave it to Abi Thumlah al-Sa'idi who was in charge of money. Everyday, this Ma'qil came to Muslim in Hani's house and reported to Ibn Ziyad all the activities of the Followers.

HANI IBN 'URWAH
When Ibn Ziyad was sure of Muslim's residence in Hani's house, he sent spies to watch the activities outside and inside the house and see who comes and who does not. Then, he sent some people to Hani, saying, "The governor missed you and he asked about your health and we have told him that you are an old man and cannot come, but he said he wanted to see you." They insisted that Hani would visit the governor. He refused, but they insisted and finally succeeded. When he arrived in the castle, Ibn Ziyad said to him, "A traitor comes on his feet!"
Shurayh al-Qadi sat by his side as Ibn Ziyad said to Hani, "You have brought Muslim Ibn 'Aqil to your house! You have gathered arms for him!"
Hani denied. When the argument became heated, Ibn Ziyad called Ma'qil. Then Hani said to Ibn Ziyad, "You know I know your father, and I would like you to be honored, I would like to advise you. You and your people should leave this city and go to Sham (Syria) because now we have someone who is more deserving to be obeyed than you and your friends."
Ibn Ziyad said, "You are not going to leave me until you bring him to me."
Hani said, "If he was under my feet, I would not lift my feet for you."
Ibn Ziyad threatened him with death, and Hani replied, "That would be a declaration of war."
Ibn Ziyad took his sword and cut Hani's nose with it, then ordered the guards to take him down to the dungeon.
'Amr Ibn Hajjaj, Hani's brother in law, heard that Hani was killed. He and a group of his tribe went and surrounded the castle. Ibn Ziyad ordered Shurayh al-Qadi to announce that Hani is alive and not dead. When he did that, they left, but he never told them that Hani was in the dungeon. When Shuray¦ went to the dungeon to see Hani, Hani said to him, "Ten of my people would take me away from this."
Shurayh did not even let Hani know that his people actually did come, but they were tricked. Instead, he told Hani not to worry and everything will be fine.
When Muslim heard the news about Hani he left Hani's house and called his followers. They gathered, and there were 4,000 in all. They chanted the slogan of the Muslims at the battle of Badr during the time of the Prophet. Muslim divided them into four groups and they marched towards the castle. Ibn Ziyad had only thirty people. He locked all the doors and told Shurayh al-Qadi to deceive the people. Shurayh went to the roof of the castle and announced, "O people of Kufah! Do not kill yourselves. An army of reinforcements is coming from the capital Damascus!"
One by one they left, and the four thousand shrank to three hundred, then to thirty, then when Muslim started praying the 'Esha -Evening- Prayer, there were only three people behind him. When he finished praying, there was no one left. He walked around the streets of Kufah, not knowing were to go.
When Ibn Ziyad realized that his trick worked, he sent his spies to look from the high towers of the castle to check the reaction of the people. When he noticed that not many people were around, he ordered soldiers to see if any of the people left were rebellious. Then he tied torches to ropes and lowered them from the roof of the castle over the wall of the masjid to see if there was anybody hiding there.
When they could not find anyone, Ibn Ziyad announced that anyone who gives shelter to Muslim would be killed, and he ordered his soldiers to search all the houses and capture Muslim. Then, he ordered guards at the entrance of the city to catch all of those who were on Muslim's side.
Meanwhile, Mukhtar Ibn 'Ubaydullah al-Thaqafi was in his village, Khatwaniyyah. Ibn Ziyad ordered everyone to denounce Imam Husayn and carry the white flag of surrender, and everyone did, including Mukhtar, but Ibn Ziyad ordered to imprison Mukhtar and 'Amr Ibn al-Harith, and hit them with his sword. They remained in prison until the day of Ashura. 1
Muslim walked alone in the streets of Kufah in the neighborhood of Kindah. After some time, he became tired and stood in the middle of the street. The owner of one of the houses there was a woman called Taw'ah who had a son named Bilal. She was looking for her son to come home but she saw Muslim standing in the street. She did not recognize him at first, but when she realized that he was Muslim Ibn 'Aqil, she gave him shelter, fed him, and kept him in a different room than her son's. When her son came home and saw his mother going to the other room, he asked her what was going on, and she refused to tell him. He kept insisting until, after making him promise to keep it secret, she told him.
But, in the morning, her son Bilal went and told Ibn Ziyad where Muslim was. Ibn al-'Ash'ath came with seventy soldiers to capture Muslim at dawn while he was praying. When he heard horses galloping, Muslim knew that he was discovered. He finished his prayer and said to Taw'ah, "You have done what you should do, may the Messenger of God intercede for you. Yesterday, I dreamed that my uncle 'Ali, Leader of the Faithful, told me: You will be with me tomorrow."
The soldiers got off their horses and came in, but Muslim went to them, fought them, and forced them out of the house. He fought bravely, pushing all of the soldiers back into the street and killing forty-one of them. He fought with the strength of a
man that knows it is his last fight. He cut, hit, and pushed soldiers out of his way. Some of them, he grabbed by their hands and threw them onto the rooftops. With more than half of his troops dead and the rest injured, the leader sent a message to Ibn Ziyad requesting more troops. Ibn Ziyad responded, "What? I sent you out to get one man, not an army!"
The leader replied, "Do you think you want me to catch a grocery boy of Kufah' You want me to capture a sword of the People of Mu¦ammad!" Muslim fought one-on-one and hit Bukayr twice. Bukayr's sword hit Muslim on his mouth and cut his upper lip. Muslim hit him on his head and neck and killed him. They realized that they could not get him one by one, so they went on the rooftops and hit him with stones. Then, they set reeds on fire and threw them at him.
He said:
"I swear I am not going to die except as a free man!
Though death is a bad thing,
Everyone faces difficulty some day.
Hot and cold would mix one day.
His soul would return to him, and be permanent.
I am afraid that I would be lied to, or deceived."
He became weak from his wounds and loss of blood and he leaned against a wall. They continued shooting arrows and throwing rocks until he said, "Why do you throw rocks on me and we are the family of the Prophets? We are not unbelievers!"
Ibn al-'Ash'ath, the chief of the army, came close to him and said, "Do not kill yourself, you are under my protection."
Muslim answered, "I am not going to be captured as long as I have power. No! That will never happen!"
Muslim attacked him and the chief ran away. Once he retreated away from Muslim, the chief gave the order and the soldiers all attacked at once from all sides. Someone hit Muslim from behind. He fought and retreated backwards until he fell into a covered pit that they dug as a trap for him. After he fell into the pit, they took his sword from his hand and captured him. When they took his sword away from him, he cried.

MUSLIM MEETS IBN ZIYAD
They brought him to Ibn Ziyad and when Muslim saw water he asked for some. Bahili said to him, "You are not going to taste this water until you taste the fire of Hell."
Muslim said, "Who Are You? You are the one who deserves the fire!" And sat at the wall of the castle. Later, a woman named 'Umarah gave him a bowl of water. Whenever Muslim tried to drink, the bowl became filled with his own pouring blood. After the third time trying to drink the water, all of his teeth fell into the bowl. He gave up and put the bowl down. Then, the guards took him inside and ordered him to say 'Salaam Alaykum' to the new governor, Ibn Ziyad. Muslim replied, "Shut up! He is your governor. I say Salaam to whoever follows the truth!"
Ibn Ziyad laughed and said, "If you say 'Salaam Alaykum' or not, you are going to die anyway."
Muslim said, "If you kill me, there have been better people than me killed by worse people than you."
Ibn Ziyad said, "You have rebelled against your leader, you have divided Muslims and have created disorder."
Muslim said, "Indeed, Mu'awiyah and his son Yazid have divided Muslims and created disorder. And your father is the beginning of disorder! I wish to reach martyrdom at the hands of the worst person in the world."
Then Muslim asked someone in the court to write a will for him. He looked at the people and recognized 'Umar Ibn Sa'd 1 and asked if he would carry his will but 'Umar refused. Ibn Ziyad ordered him to take it because he wanted to find out for himself what Muslim would write.
Muslim went to 'Umar and said, "First pay the loan I took when I came to Ziyad, six hundred Dirhams. Second, take my body from Ibn Ziyad and give it an Islamic burial. Third, write to Imam Husayn and tell him what happened to me."
'Umar Ibn Sa'd immediately went to Ibn Ziyad and revealed it to him. Ibn Ziyad said to 'Umar Ibn Sa'd, "The trustworthy one never betrays you but sometimes you trust a liar."
Then, he came to Muslim and said, "You came to people and divided them."
Muslim replied, "No! Never! I did not come for that, but people of this city claim that your father has killed their best people and we came to bring justice and to implement the Qur'an."
Ibn Ziyad said, "That is not your business, we were giving them justice."
Muslim said, "God knows that you are not truthful and you kill people without justice."
Then Ibn Ziyad cursed Imam 'Ali and Imam Husayn, and Muslim said, "You and your father deserve that more than anyone else." Ibn Ziyad ordered a man from Syria to take Muslim to the roof, cut his head off, and throw his body down into the street. He took him to the roof while Muslim was saying, "Subhanallah! O God, judge between us and these people who betrayed us, deceived us, and denied us." Then he turned his face to Medinah and said, "Assalamu 'ela al-Husayn." The Syrian killed him and dropped his head and his body to the ground.
When he killed Muslim, he saw a strange and horrifying vision. After he killed Muslim, the man came to Ibn Ziyad, afraid, and said, "When I killed him I saw a man pointing to me, and it scared me."
Ibn Ziyad waved him away and ordered Hani to be taken to the market. They tied Hani up and took him, and no one helped him. Hani struggled and managed to untie the ropes. He got out of the ropes, picked up a stick, and fought with it, but the guards lunged at him all at once and killed him with their swords.
Ibn Ziyad ordered the bodies of both Muslim and Hani to be dragged up and down the streets of Ziyad, and then hung upside down in a place called Kunnasah. He sent their heads to Yazid who hung them at the city wall of Damascus, his capital.
With the heads, Ibn Ziyad sent a letter to Yazid, "Thank God that the leader of the faithful (Amir ul-Mu'minin)1 was successful. We captured Muslim in the house of Hani. I scattered spies around them until I found them. I cut off their heads and sent them to you by two people who are reliable, and the Leader of the faithful can ask them about the details."
Yazid replied to Ibn Ziyad, "You did what a wise man has to do, you spoke the truth, as I believed in you. I asked the two messengers the details and I have heard that Husayn Ibn 'Ali has gone towards Iraq. Keep your eyes open and kill people whom you are suspicious of. Do not wait for any proof. Husayn is the problem. Either you fight him or you send him to me."

MUSLIM'S SONS
Two of Muslim's sons were in Ziyad. Al-Saduq (d. 381/991 CE) narrates in his book, al-'Amali, by his chain of Isnad from an old man of Ziyad, who said, "When the Imam was killed, two of Muslim's children, Muhammad and Ibrahim, were captured. Ibn Ziyad put them in jail and ordered to give them a hard time. The two kids fasted all day and every night they were given one loaf of bread and water. They stayed that way for about a year. One night, they talked with each other and decided to tell the jailer about their identity so he might make it easy for them. That night, the youngest one asked the man, "Do you know who Muhammad was?"
He said, "Of course I know Muhammad. He is the Prophet of God."
"Do you know Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib''
"Of course, I know him. He is known as Dhul-Janahayn 1-the one with two wings. -"
"Do you know 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib'
"Of course I know him, He is the cousin of the Prophet."
Then he said, "O Guard! We are children of the Prophet. We are the children of Muslim Ibn 'Aqil and you are being so hard on us."
The old man collapsed at their feet and said, "O, the family of the Prophet! The door of the prison will be open for you. Go wherever you want to go."
He gave them water and bread and showed them the way and advised them not to move in the daytime and go only in the night.
One night, after they escaped, they ended up at the door of an old woman. They said, "O, old woman! We are strangers here and we do not know the way, would you let us with you for one night and in the day we will leave?"
She sheltered them and when she asked them who they were they said, "We are the family of the Prophet and we ran away from the prison of Ibn Ziyad."
She said, "I have a son-in-law who was on the side of Ibn Ziyad in Karbala' and I am afraid that he would catch you."
She brought them food and water and they collapsed and fell asleep. During the night, the son-in-law came home unexpectedly. She asked him "What brought you here at this time?"
He said, "I am searching for two prisoners who ran away from Ibn Ziyad's prison, and Ibn Ziyad has announced 1,000 Dirhams for the head of each of them. I am tired and I could not find them."
She warned him, "That is not the right thing to do with the family of the Prophet."
He said, "You seem to be taking sides, and you seem to know where they are. Let us take you to Ibn Ziyad!"
She answered, "What would the governor want with me?"
He said, "You have to open the door and give me shelter until I find these people."
She opened it and fed him. During the night he heard the children's snoring and he searched the house until he found them.
The younger one asked, "Who are you?"
He said, "I am the owner of the house. Who are you?"
The younger one said to the older one, "Get up, it seems that we are trapped!"
Again the man insisted, "Who are you?"
They answered, "If we tell you the truth, will you leave us alone?"
He said, "Of course. You are in my house and the clemency of the Messenger of God is for you."
After they told him everything, the man said, "You are indeed trapped, I praise God that He gave me success to capture you!"
He tied them with ropes and in the morning he called his black slave, Fulayh and asked him to take the two kids and kill them. While the man watched, the slave took them near the bank of the river to kill them.
One of the kids said to him, "We see that you have the color of Bilal, the caller to prayer of the Prophet, our grandfather."
Fulayh asked, "Are you of the family of the Prophet Muhammad' What brought you here'"
When they explained their story to him, he became very upset. Then, he fell to his knees, kissed their feet, and said, "I am not going to do what this man says!"
He threw his sword far away, jumped into the river, and swam across to the other bank.
Then, he stood up and said, "I am not your slave anymore!"
After that, the man became upset that he lost his slave. He took the kids back to his home, called his son, and said to him, "I have collected the wealth of the world for you.
Take these two kids to the river and kill them and bring back their heads."
While the son was taking them to the river, one of the kids asked him, "Are you not afraid of the Day of Judgment' We are the family of the Prophet. Why does your father want to kill us?"
When the son realized that they were telling the truth, he did exactly as the slave did, and ran away swimming across to the other bank. When the man saw this, he said, "I have to kill you myself."
The kids asked him, "Why do you not sell us in the street and use the money for yourself without making the Prophet your enemy on the Day of Judgment?" He said, "The governor, Ibn Ziyad, would give me 2,000 pieces and you two will not sell for 2,000!"
The kids asked, "Why do you not take us alive to Ibn Ziyad' Let him decide what to do with us. Why do you not have some mercy on us?"
He said, "I have no mercy for you in my heart."
They asked if they could pray for a few minutes. He laughed and said, "Go pray as much as you like! Prayer will not help you!"
They prayed four units, then raised their faces towards heaven, and said, "O, God! The best Judge! Judge between us and this man by truth."
When they were done, he chopped off the head of the older one first. The younger one hugged his dead brother's body. The man said, "Do not cry, I am going to let you join him soon," and then killed him. He dropped the bodies in the river and took the heads to Ibn Ziyad.
Ibn Ziyad was sitting on his throne. When he recognized the heads, he asked, "How did you get them?"
After the man explained the whole story, Ibn Ziyad said, "So, they were your guests and you did not respect the rights of guests in your own home?"
Then Ibn Ziyad said, "God is indeed the best judge, and you deserve to be killed in the same spot where you killed them. Why did you not bring them to me?"
He ordered someone to take him to the same spot and kill him. While the guards took him down the streets of Ziyad, children followed behind him, yelling at him and telling everyone that he is the killer of the People of the House of the Prophet.
According to Mazrat Ahl ul-Bayt, page 93, "Their grave site is near al-Musayyab, on the way to Baghdad. Their names are Muhammad and Ibrahim. Apparently, their bodies were taken out of the river and buried immediately by some kind Muslims."

Source: http://www.imamreza.net

The Last Will

2006-05-01T08:10:00.000-04:00

Umm Hamidah, the mother of Imam Musa Kadhim (a.s.) saw Abu Baseer enter the house. She knew him as one of the most pious and trusted companions of her husband, Imam Ja'far Sadiq (a.s.).

Imam Ja'far Sadiq (a.s.) had passed away, after being poisoned: but at that time, Abu Baseer had not been in town. So he had come now to offer his condolences. He wept bitterly as he remembered the Imam (a.s.).

Umm Hamidah said:
"Abu Baseer, you were not here when the Imam was breathing his last. A strange thing happened."
Abu Baseer inquired: "What happened?"
Umm Hamidah said:
"Just as the Imam was breathing his last, he seemed to suddenly to recover. Raising his eyes, he asked us to call all the members of the family to his bedside. Everyone of the family was there, waiting to hear what the Imam had to say. And then, addressing us all, the Imam said:
'Our Shafa'at (Intercession on the Day of Judgment) shall not reach those who belittle the importance of salat (namaz). With the final words, he departed."

Reference:
Pearls of Wisdom. A String of Incidents in the History of Islam. The World Federation of Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities. Page 68.

Lost Souls

2006-04-30T10:44:00.000-04:00

I got up early one morning,
And rushed night into the day,
I had so much to accomplish,
That I didn't have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me,
And heavier came each task,
"Why doesn't Allah help me?" I wondered,
He answered, "You didn't ask."

I wanted to see joy and beauty,
But the day toiled on gray and bleak,
I wondered why Allah didn't show me,
He said, "But you didn't seek."

I tried to come into Allah's presence,
I used all my keys at the lock,
Allah gently and lovingly said,
"My child, you didn't knock"

I woke up early this morning,
And paused before entering the day,
I had so much to accomplish,
that I had to take time to pray.

Source: http://www.fabonline.com