"Peace be upon Ab al-Fadl al-Abbas, he preferred his brother to himself and sacrificed himself for his brother, supplied himself with opportunities of today for (the rewards of) the hereafter, hurried to supply the family of Imam with water, and his two hands were cut off during performing this task.” (Part of Ziarah Nahiah Muqaddasah)
Hadrat Abbas (PBUH) provided very good provision for the hereafter by obeying his brother’s orders. But what is the secret beyond this sacrifice that multiplied the value of his great self-sacrifice and our infallible Imams (PBUH) mention Hadrat Abbas and his self-sacrifice with such glory and majesty? In two parts of Ziarah of the commander of the Karbala, Imam Sadiq (PBUH) says: “I witness that surly you were benevolent in the way of Allah (SWT), His prophet and your brother. So what a good self-sacrificing brother you were!”
“I witness that you were obedient to successor of the Prophet (Imam Hussain (PBUH)), confirmed him, remained faithful to him and were benevolence to him.” Infallible Imam, who knows the personality of each person and his intentions, testifies that the reason for obedience and self-scarifying of Hadrat Abbas was his benevolence for Allah (SWT), Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) and his brother Sayyed al-Shuhada (PBUH). In addition, his benevolence for Sayyed al-Shuhada (PBUH) is like his benevolence for Allah (SWT) and the Prophet (PBUH).
Obedience to Allah (SWT), the Prophet (PBUH) and Imam is considered a unique subject, which is defines as “behaving with humility and respect toward them and obeying their commands”, though the levels are different. Obedience to Allah (SWT) is a result of monotheism. Obedience to Prophet (PBUH&HP) is a result of Allah’s (SWT) appointment and obedience to the Imam is because of his succession to the Prophet.
In the other words, by using the phrase of “obeying the successor of the Prophet”, Imam Sadiq (PBUH) show us that Hadrat Abbas’ (PBUH) sacrifice and benevolence to Imam Hussain (PBUH) is not for cognation, nor knowing him as the head of family (Although it was honorable, if he had acted as such). However, he has a deeper insight and his self-sacrifice is based on obedience to his Imam and self-sacrifice in the way of his willing. This is the reason that his self-sacrificing is equal to fighting in the army of the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HP) and is equal to fighting in the way of Almighty Allah’s (SWT) willing.
Abbas (PBUH) recognized and knew his Imam and the successor of the Prophet of Allah in his time, obeyed him and sacrificed all the things that Allah (SWT) had bestowed him including life, properties, and family for Imam Hussain (PBUH) in order to gain Allah’s (SWT) satisfaction. So he achieved high rank and set out provision for hereafter.
But how much do we know our Imams and their commands? How much do we try to obey their commands? How much are we similar to Hadrat Abbas (PBUH)? (Selection taken from: "The Commander of Karbala", a translation of "Al-Abbas (PBUH)" by Late Allamah Abd al-Razzaq Muqarram, with minor changes) The Roshd Website congratulates all Muslims, especially you dear friend, upon the 4th of Sha’ban, the birthday anniversary of the righteous servant of Allah (SWT) and benevolent companion of Imam Hussain (PBUH), Hadrat Ab al-Fadl al-Abbas (PBUH).
