Salaam everybody and heartiest congratulations to you all on a very auspicious day. Today the 8th of the month of Rabi as-Sani is the day on which in the year 232 Imam Hasan Askari (PuH) was born in Medina in the year 232 AH, corresponding to 846 AD. Here is an interesting feature on the 11th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).
In ayah 30 of Surah al-Molk of the holy Qur’an, we read:
“Say, ‘Tell me, should your water sink down [into the ground], who will bring you running water?”
This is a notification from the Almighty Creator to His creatures, who have erred, violated divine commandments, acted arrogantly on earth, oppressed others, wronged themselves, and drifted away from Divine mercy in pursuit of sins and evil. It is obvious that except for God’s mercy neither the rains will fall nor the water levels will increase; whatever technology and strategy scientists and politicians may resort to, including the sowing of clouds or rationing of potable water. The message from the ethereal heavens is crystal clear. The scarcity of water and lack of rainfall or snows in the colder climes is indeed a sign of Divine Wrath – often due to the sins committed by the people in a society or a country. It could also be a form of trial and tribulation from God Almighty to test the faith of the believers, because without rainfall water reservoirs would further recede and crops destroyed. No wonder, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) had said:
“When God is displeased with a community and does not bring chastisement to it, inflation will occur and the lifespan will become shorter; traders will not profit and trees will not bear fruit; rivers will not be full of water and rain will be withheld from people; wickedness will become rampant.”
Thus, in such a situation, it is necessary to turn towards God with sincere intention, repentance from the depth of the hearts, self-promise to stay away from sins and wrongdoing, and supplicate humbly in the Divine Court in a beseeching manner with tearful eyes. The All-Merciful Creator, Who has more affection for His creatures than the affection showered by parents on children, certainly accepts the entreaties of the penitents. He has promised in the Holy Qur’an, as is evident ayah 53 of Surah az-Zumar:
“Say [that Allah declares,] ‘O My servants who have committed excesses against their own souls, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed Allah will forgive all sins. Indeed He is the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.
The most potent formula for release of rains from the skies is the Salat al-Istiqa or the Prayer for Rain, as taught by the Prophet and the Infallible Imams of his Household, whose status is so high in the Divine Court that we read in the famous Ziyarat al-Jame’a al-Kabira, the phrase:
“For your sake does He pour down rain!”
In view of these undeniable facts, the birth anniversary today of the Prophet of Islam’s 11th Infallible Heir reminds us of a memorable Prayer for Rain performed in Samarra. Imam Hasan Askari (PuH) needs no introduction. He is the Penultimate Imam in the list of the 12 Infallible Successors foretold by the Prophet. In other words, he is the father of the Lord of the Age, Imam Mahdi (PuH), whose reappearance we are eagerly awaiting for end of tyranny on Planet Earth and establishment of the global government of peace, prosperity.
It happed that during his brief imamate of 6 years, most of which Imam Askari had to spend either in the prisons of the self-styled caliphs of the usurper Abbassid regime or under house arrest, drought and dry spell afflicted most of Iraq and Syria. As famine appeared, crops dried, water became scarce, and livestock began to die. This situation was exploited by a Christian hermit who stepped forward with promise of rain. And he did succeed in bringing down a shower or two whenever he lifted his hands towards the sky. The people were amazed. Already fed up with the strange beliefs imposed upon them by the Godless Abbasid caliphs, they began to accept Christianity in droves. This alarmed some of the conscientious Muslims, and since the court mullahs had no clues, the self-styled caliph had no choice but to turn to the venerable descendent of the Prophet to save the state and Islam. The 11th Imam was brought out from detention and observed the tricks of the hermit. He asked the Christian priest to first remove a certain object that he was holding between his fingers and then pray for rain. Now when the hermit did so, no cloud appeared and no rain fell. Imam Hasan Askari (PuH) explained to the astonished onlookers that the hermit had somehow acquired a bone of one of the prophets of the past, and whenever he exposed it to the heavens, Divine Mercy made some showers soak the parched surface of the land. The Imam then smiled, spread out his mattress on the round, and after performing a special 2-raka’a prayer, he prostrated to God. He then raised his hands towards the heavens and humbly entreated God Almighty to send ample rainfall to that the drought will be eased, the reservoirs filled, and farmlands refreshed. Suddenly dense clouds appeared on the sky and the moment the Imam and the onlookers were safe inside the shelters, heavy rains fell giving new life to the land and the people.
Throughout his brief life, Imam Askari (PuH) strove to safeguard the message of Islam, to defend originality, to call people towards it and to convey its principles and values. Indeed, like his illustrious ancestors, he spared no efforts in spreading the knowledge of shari’a, and sciences in order to acquaint people with the developments of the changing times. Samarra, located around a hundred kilometers north of Baghdad, was a garrison town, often called Mo’asker or military encampment, since the word ‘Asker’ in Arabic is used for the army. Some believe the 11th Imam’s title al-Askari, was derived from this. However, there is an interesting account related by many historians. It is said that once the caliph called the 11th Imam to his palace and ordered his army to stage a march past before him. The Abbasid ruler wanted to boast or to impress the Imam of his power on the assumption that this would dissuade the followers of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt from any thoughts of revolution against the Abbasid regime. When the march past was over, and the Imam was asked his opinion in this regard by the crafty caliph, he smiled and lifting his two fingers, told the Abbasid ruler to gaze between them. What the flabbergasted caliph saw was a huge army of angels extending towards the sky. He was astonished at this miracle and called the 11th Imam “al-Askari” that is, the person with a huge army at his beck and call. Imam Hasan al-Askari (as) lived a short life, only Twenty Eight years and in this short life he had to endure great sufferings at the hands of the regime. But in spite of all that suffering and confinement under house arrest in Samarra, he groomed many students, many of whom later became scholars in various fields. Historians have noted many names of the Imam’s students who became scholars of their time. One of his famous students was Abu Ali al-Hassan ibn Khalid who prepared a commentary of the Holy Qur’an which should be considered the work of the Imam himself. The Imam used to dictate its contents to Abu Ali who went on writing the commentary. Scholars have indicated that the book consisted of 1920 pages.
The 11th Imam used to discuss with agnostics about God and the reasons for the necessity of the Prophets and Imams, making many atheists to change their minds and accept the truth of Islam. Alas, the Abbasid regime, fearful of the Prophet’s famous saying of 12 infallible successors after him, with the last one rising as Mahdi al-Qa’em to end oppression on earth by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity and justice, martyred him through poisoning. Allah had, however, had decreed the birth of the promised Mahdi in secrecy to offset their plots. We once again congratulate our listeners on the auspicious birth anniversary of Imam Hasan Askari (PuH), and pray to God the All-Merciful to save us from the temptation of the satan, keep us steadfast on the right path, forgive our sins, enlighten our hearts and shower ample rainfall upon Iran and wherever in the world drought has occurred. Here is e present some phrases from the special Ziyara or standard form of salutation for Imam Hasan Askari (PuH).
“O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad and his Household and send blessings upon Hasan, the son of Ali (an-Naqi); who guides to Your religion and calls to Your way; Who is the sign of true guidance, the lantern of true piety, the essence of rationality, the resource of reason, the raining cloud over mankind.”
source : irib
