'Ashura - History and Popular Legend
First Sermon
Martyr Murtada Mutahhari
Translated from the Persian by 'Ali Quli Qara'i
Vol XIII No. 3 (Fall 1996)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and the Maker of all creation, and may Peace and benedictions be upon His servant and messenger, His beloved and elect, our master, our prophet, and our sire, Abul Qasim Muhammad, ...
When Allah has created Adam as His caliph in the earth and when Adam’s body has become straight and the divine spirit has been breathed into it,[1] he has become fit to be taught the names and then Allah has ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam to glorify him. Then Allah has let him and his wife live in Paradise. Allah has permitted Adam and his wife to enjoy all the blessings of Paradise except a certain tree. Allah has ...
Battle of BadrNear Badr wells, the Muslims heard that the polytheists would form an army. Besides Abu Jahal led the army.Our Master Muhammad [s] asked his companions' opinions. Some companions advised him to come back to Madina. Meanwhile the Muslims were very worried.During those moments, al-Miqdad stood up and said enthusiastic words. The words made the Muslims full of faith. When the fight broke out, the Muslims fought bravely. In the ...
The Fate of the Jews of Khaybar
Upon their surrender, the Jews of Khaybar asked the Holy Prophet to permit them to stay on their lands for cultivation. He agreed on condition that they should yield half of their yearly produce to the Islamic government[1] and that they should leave when the Holy Prophet wished so.[2] This treaty was in effect until the reign of `Umar when they took part in some conspiracies against Muslims. For this reason, ...
The revenge-based wars between the two tribes of Aws and Khazraj in Yathrib (Medina) were so severe and widespread that nobody dared to leave his home. These wars had destroyed the lives of the Arabs. God mentions in the Holy Qur'¡n their catastrophic condition and emphasizes the brotherhood among people which was the result of Islam:
Remember the favor of Allah on you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts so by His favor you ...
The First Treaty of `Aqabah
By the twelfth year of the prophethood, twelve people of Yathrib swore allegiance to the Holy Prophet at the foot of the `Aqabah of Min¡[1] at the time of °ajj.[2] Among this group, ten people were from Khazraj and two others from Aws. This showed that these two groups had set their quarrel aside and showed interest in coming under the banner of Islam. They swore that they would not associate anybody with God, ...
The Shia Idrisid State in Maghrib
Idris bin Abdullah bin al-Hasan al-Muthanna bin al-Hasan bin Ali bin Abi Talib escaped from the massacre of Fakh and reached Al-Maghrib, the details of which are given in his life-account. He stayed in the town of Walaila with its chief Ishaq bin Muhammad bin Abdul Hamid al-Urbi. This happened on the first of Rabi-ul-Awwal 172 A.H. It was the beginning of the Idrisid Shi'ite State of Maghrib.During the reign of ...
Mu'awiya died in Rajab 60/680, while his son Yazid was in Hawran, on a hunting trip. Yazid wrote a letter to al-Walid b. 'Utba, the governor of Medina, asking him to take the allegiance of the people of Medina by force if necessary. He added, “Take the allegiance of 'Abd Allah b. 'Umar, 'Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Bakr, 'Abd Allah b.al-Zubayr and al-Husayn b. 'Ali, allowing them no excuses, if anyone of them refuses, have him beheaded and send me ...
In 40 H after the Battle of Nahrawan the remnants of Khawarij had a conclave in Makkah and discussing about the loss of lives in their ranks, they put the blame of these killings on `Ali (a.s), Mu`awiyah and `Amr Ibn al-`As. To avenge all those killings, they wanted to do away with all the three. The blood of the Khawarij was already seeking revenge. They unanimously agreed that Bakr ibn `Abdullah al-Sarimi would kill Mu`awiyah, `Amr ibn Barrak ...
The Ark - The Story of Our Prophet Noah When we climb certain mountains and hills, we will find seashells on their tops and at the bottom. Thus, we understand that water covered these places at one time.People and mountain climbers see shells on heights in many parts of the world, such as Iraq, Iran, India, Egypt, Syria, China, America, etc.The archeologists found wooden tablets on the top of Ararat Mountain. The tablets date back to 25OO ...
Immediately on his arrival in Madinah, Rasulullah 's first Divine urge was to build a Masjid. The vacant site adjoining the house of Hazrat Abu Ayub Ansaari (R.A.) was the ideal place. The young Ansaari orphans, Sahil and Suhailbin Amr Najjari, were the owners of this piece of land. The orphans and their guardian. Mu'aaz bin Ufra offered to donate the land for the Masjid. But Rasulullah preferred to buy it and Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) immediately ...
INTRODUCTION:
If you wish to research the life of this great lady, and if you do not have al-Majlisi's voluminous [110 Vol.] encyclopedia titled Bihar al-Anwar, the best references are: al-Sayyuti's Tarikh al Khulafa, Abul-Faraj al-Isfahani's Aghani, Ibn Hisham's Seera, Muhammad ibn Ishaq's Seerat Rasool-Allah, and Tarikh al-rusul wal muluk by Abu Ja`far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (839-923 A.D.). Of all these books, only al-Tabari's Tarikh is ...
Abu musa al-ashaari
After the three leaders~ party occupied the City of Bassrah, Ayeshah, Mother of believers, took a further step. She wrote to the leaders of Kufa, informing them that her party had already occupied Bassrah, urging them to avenge the blood of Othman, and discouraging them from supporting the Imam. (1) Of course, she wrote to Abu Musa (the Imam s appointed governor of the city) and asked him to use his influence in ...
Hujjat al-Islam Syed Zaki BaqueriWhat is raining? Blood.Who? The eyes.How? Day and night.Why? From grief.Grief for whom? Grief for the king of Karbala .-QaaniThis poem, in its marvelous style of question and answer, conveys much of the dramatic events and the feelings a pious Muslim experiences when thinking of the martyrdom of the Prophet's beloved grandson at the hands of the Umayyad troops."For this is the day the Lord God hosts a day of ...
Arrival at Yathrib
Upon the arrival of `Al¢ at Qub¡, the Holy Prophet headed for Yathrib with a group of Ban£’l-Najj¡r (his maternal uncles). On their way, he performed the first Friday Prayer at the resort of Ban£-S¡lim ibn `Awf. Upon their arrival at Yathrib, they were passionately welcomed by people. The heads and chiefs of the tribes took the rein of the Holy Prophet's palfrey and begged him to stay with them. He answered, “Let ...
Who Is Sayf Ibn 'Umar?The books that deal with the reporters of hadiths inform us that Sayf was a well-known liar.Ibn Ma'in (died in 233 AH) said: Sayf is weak.Abu Hatim (died in 277 AH) said: Sayf's hadith is rejected.Al-Nisa'i (died in 303 AH) said: Sayf is weak.Abu Dawud (died in 216 AH) said: Sayf is nothing. Some of his hadiths were conveyed and the majority of them are denied.Ibn Hibban said: Sayf attributed fabricated hadiths to good ...
To give an idea of how Islam raised the status of slaves and treated them as human beings instead of brutes of burden (which was their common lot before Islam), the following tradition is of particular interest:
One day the Prophet was sitting with Salman, Bilal, 'Ammar, Suhayb, Khabbab [all ex-slaves] and a group of poor Muslims, when some unbelievers passed from there. When they saw these "unimportant" people with the Prophet, they ...
240. “The best of you is he who is best to his family (wife), and I am the best of you to my family. No one honors women except that he is generous, and no one insults them except that he is mean.”
241. “The best of you is the best to his wives and daughters.”
242. “The best of you is he whom Allah assists against his own soul and then he possesses it.”
243. “The best of you is he who learns the Qur'an and then teaches ...
In the early days of Islam, Najran was a large center of people who had changed from idol worship to Christianity. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w) had sent letters to the heads of different countries inviting them to Islam. One such letter was addressed to the Christians of Najran. It read as follows: "In the Name of the God of Ibrahim, Ishaaq and Ya'qub. This letter is from Muhammad, the Prophet and Messenger of Allah to the Asqaf (Bishop) of Najran. ...
When Imam Husain (a.s) intended going towards Makkah, Abdullah bin Muti\' came to meet him and said, \"May I be your ransom! Where do you intend going\"? Imam replied,
\"Presently I have decided to go to Makkah, after that I shall seek consultation from the Almighty.\"
Abdullah said, \"May Allah destine goodness for you! You may go to Makkah, but lest you go to Kufa for it is an ill-omened city. Your father was assasinated therein and your ...
