Imam Husain(A.S.)-The Chief of Martyrs

By: Dr. Sakhawat Hussain Sandralvi It's a shame that Mufti Mohammad Rovais Khan Ayyubi has written four fake, insulting, and full of lying articles in a newly born weekly newspaper called Nida-e-Waqat (New York) in which he insulted Sayyid-us- Shuhadaa Imam Hussain (a.s.). His quotations and statements are false, his claims are not genuine. Mufti has written that Shias have killed Imam Hussain (a.s.) to protect Yazid and his army. Let me clarify that Shias are loyal to their Imams even in severe hardships. Zakir Naik, well wisher of Yazid(l.a) We have been commemorating the days of martyrdom for 1369 years (since the tragedy of Karbala). Shias never wrote letters to Imam Hussain, but the letters were written by disloyal so called Muslims of Kufa to Imam Hussain. All of them wrote to Imam that we do not have any Imam please come, we will make you Imam. Mufti, Shias always have Imams and they don't appoint Imam, they believe that Imam is appointed by Allah. Lover s

Objections : The Shi’a of Imam Ali a.s invited Imam Hussain(as)"by writing letters and requesting that he come to Kufa so that they can recognise him as their Imam. Our Reply: There are few words in this sentence, highlighted. 1- Shia of Imam Ali a.s. This is the first word. The definition of this word is not something tough to find. Therefore, to say all people of Kufa were Shia of Imam Ali a.s is out of logic . In the history of Islam up till that time, there was not any city with majority of Shia of Imam Ali (a.s.), especially Kufa suffered harsh treatment for 20 long years by Muawiyah's illegitimate brother Zeyad and then his son Ubedullah Ibn Zeyad. Shia of Imam Ali a.s were persecuted, killed and were forced to live under oppression. Therefore yes, those weak shias of Imam Ali a.s did write to their Imam when Muawiyah died and ray of hope emerged. And yes they were the only few who believed in Imamat and called upon there Imam. They were not the opportunistic and th

Whoever today loves Yazeed and Muawiyah and praises them then his group is the one who killed Imam Hussain The conversation is nonesense if there is no agreement on the definition of Shia and Sunni and its also nonesense if we want to turn it into a sectarian thing to attack the sunnies of today or the shias of today as they have no direct role in that event. The shias of Hussain were 72 people plus all the ones who got jailed and persecuted for standing with Imam Hussain and the rest were common muslims, but if we suppose that shias killed Hussain, where  were sunnis ? Why they didnt even invite him or protect him? Hussain was the grandson of Holy Prophet(s.a.w) and most pious and God-fearing person on earth.   Well , if you define Sunnis to be followers of Abubakr and Shia to be the followers of Ali, then you can say that Abu bakr gave the leadership to Umar and Umar to Uthman and Uthman made Muawiya the governor of shaam, Muawiya opposed the caliphate of Ali and later became lead

Who invited, well people of Kufa invited. People of Kufa includes majority sunnis, minority shia of Imam Ali a.s and plus those who saw the majority looking upon Imam Hussain a.s for help and for their worldly gains decided to follow the direction of flowing river. Again, a sunni brother asked : why would sunni invite as they do not believe in Imamat? Reason: because for sunnis Imam Hussain a.s was the only living grandson of Prophet s.a.w, the most pious and the leader of youth of paradise. They found him the best option to rule as compare to Yazid. Main stream sunnis were not only in Hijaz but in Kufa also the maority was of those main stream sunnis. Imam Hussain a.s did travel to Makkah first but he saw the place is not free from his killers and so as medina which was under yazid's governor. People of Kufa were willing to fight for justice as it was near Umayyad capital as compare to Hijaz and they were the one getting affected first.  Abdullah Ibn Zubair also left medina and

There were no such thing as Ahle Sunnah or Sunnis at the time of Imam Husain(a.s) . Also there was no such thing as Shia Isna Ashari or any other Shia sect at that time. It was Muslims all the way through. Everything kicked off later on after the Prophet's [pbuh] death. First the Muslims were divided into two groups. Those who selected and accepted Hazrath Abu Bakar [ra] as the first Khalif of the Muslims were known as just Muslims. They had nothing to do with Ahle Sunnah or being Sunni because Ahle Sunnah didn't start to develope until Imaam Abu Hanifa's time. From there on Sunnis start to form and other Ahle Sunnah groups started to emerge. Those people who opposed the meeting in Sakeefa and rejected the appointment of any Khalif by the Ummah because they believed that the Prophet [pbuh] named, nominated and appointed his successor, like every great leader does which was Hazrath Ali [ra], were later on named as Shiayaan-e-Ali [ra]. This is were the Shia, with the ideolog

Imam Hussain (as) fought with Yazid ibn Muawiya in 61 AH to save Islam. Yazid needed Imam Husain's Bayat (oath of allegiance) to legitimized his rule as Imam Hussain (as) was the rightful successor. Imam Hussain (as) refused to give his allegiance as he knew that Yazid was not only corrupt and oppresive but also an enemy of Islam, who wanted to destroy Islam and take revenge of his uncles and family members who had fought with Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and died in the early battles. When Imam Hussain (as) was told that he had to give Bayat to Yazid otherwise he would be killed, Imam Hussain (as) replied that: a man like him could not give Bayat to a man like Yazid ibn Muawiya. By saying this Imam Hussain (as) was trying to tell everyone that what Yazid believed in was totally opposite to what Imam Hussain (as) believed in. Yazid was the follower of Shaitan while Imam Hussain (as) was the follower of Allah (SWT). Imam Hussain (as) knew that himself, his friends and family were t

Imam Hussain (as) was a man of faith and action. During nights, he worshipped Allah (SWT) in privacy, while during the day he worked hard and guided the people. He was constantly mindful of the poor and the needy, and he used to visit them and cheer them up. He used to tell his followers: "Be always in touch with the needy, for Allah (SWT) does not love the arrogant".  Imam Hussain (as) always helped the poor as much as he could. At night he would carry sacks of food to the houses of the poor by following the footsteps of his father Imam Ali (as) and leave them near the doors. He worked hard to eradicate poverty, establish justice and acquaint the people with Allah (SWT). During the time of Imam Hussain (as) a tyrant called Yazid ibn Muawiya became the ruler. Yazid called himself the successor of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), but this was a lie. He used to spend the income of the Islamic realm on drinking, gambling and wild parties. Public wealth was wasted for support

Imam Hussain (as) is the grandson of Holy Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). He was well known for his kindness, charity and love for the poor.  One day when Imam Hussain (as) was riding through the streets of Madina, he came across some beggars who had gathered together to eat the food that they had begged for during the day. The beggars saw Imam Hussain (as) and invited him to join them. Imam Hussain (as) was not allowed to take anything given in charity (Sadaqah) as he was from the family of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw). Sadaqah is forbidden (Haraam) for all members of the family (Ahlul Bayt) of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw). Imam Hussain (as) got off his horse and sat down with the beggars.  Imam Hussain (as) then explained to them that although he would love to eat with them, he could not because as a member of the family of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) he could not take Sadaqah. As an alternative he invited all of the beggars to his house for food so that they could all eat to

Students of the so called historical method argue that in terms of immediate history, nothing was achieved as a result of the events on `Ashura, i.e. Muharram. They say that it was a tragedy, but its overall effect on the political events of the period was negligible. This is their conclusion and when they are asked why the Islamic books of history, written by scholars many centuries ago, devote more space, more pages, more words, to that event than to any other in the history of Islam, why there are more books devoted to that event in Islamic history than to any other, they shrug their shoulders and mumble something about the Shi`i influence on the writing of history. Yet, many of the writers are not members of the Shi’a. The famous Islamic historian Tabari devoted nearly two hundred pages to the story. No other event receives as much attention from him. He most certainly was not a member of the Shi`a. Cosmic Nature of the Martyrdom of Imam Husayn (A) Yet Imam Husayn (A) was no

A.Islam is not a religion of compromise. Living with peace with forces of oppression is wrong. If Imam Hussain had pledged allegiance to a tyrant ruler, he could have saved his neck, and would have most likely given a high post by the Caliph who would have allowed him to do his prayer, fasting, and other ritual acts of worship. But he was the grandson of a prophet who said, "One of the greatest jihad is to stand up to a tyrant ruler, and say a word of truth. " Therefore, Imam Hussain in one of his speeches on the way to Karbala said, " To live with an oppressor is a crime in itself" He also knew Quran, and knew that striving in the cause of Allah brings immense reward, " Those who believe, and suffer exile and strive with might in Allah's cause, with their goods and their people, have the highest rank in the sight of Allah, They are the people who will achieve Salvation. (9:20) "O you who believe! Shall I read you to a bargain that will save you fr

You would have heard this 100′s of times and people are fed up with this idea that holy prophet (s.a.w)  had said this and so if someone cries for dead, the dead is punished; and this propaganda increases in moharram so let us see what ayesha had to offer in this regard we find in musnad ahmad Abu bakar says that when rafi’I bin khadeej died, we heard ibn umar that dead is punished when his neighbors cry for him. I came to umra and told him so he replied that Ayesha said that holy prophet asws said this about a jew lady that these people are crying and she is being punished; then Ayesha recited the verse that none will bear the weight of others [Musnad ahmad, urdu, vol 11, page 31, narration 24616] Sheikh hamza says isnaad sahih [Musnad ahmad, takhreej of ahmad shakir and hamza ahmad, vol 17, page -234] We further find Ibn umar said that holy prophet asws said that dead is punished when his family cries for him; when someone asked this from Ayesha, she said that he has hallucinat

Abu Said Al Khudri narrates: The Messenger of Allah used to practice Itikaf (in the mosque), in the middle third of Ramadan. After the twentieth night, he used to return home on the twenty-first, and those who were in Itikaf with him would return to their homes as well. In Ramadan, in which he practiced Itikaf, he would pray the night prayers on the night in which he returned home, and then address the people, instructing them as Allah commanded him. He said, "I used to practice Itikaf for these ten days (i.e. the middle third of Ramadan), but I now intend to stay in Itikaf for the last ten days. Whoever was in Itikaf with me should stay at his place of seclusion. I have certainly been shown (the date of) this Night (of Qadr), but I have forgotten it. Search for it in the odd nights of the last ten days (of Ramadan). I also saw myself (in a dream) prostrating in mud and water." On the twenty-first night, the sky was covered with clouds and it rained, and the rainwater starte

Amputations of the head and moving the heads from one place to another, the mistreatment of the dead bodies out of sheer passion of revenge, that was prevalent during the days of ignorance (al-Jahiliyyah), started again among the Muslims during Umayyad era. Case 1: The very first head that was amputated from the body during the Islamic period was of Ammar Ibn Yasir (RA), the famous companion of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF). Ahmad Ibn Hanbal in his Musnad narrates a tradition as follows, that has also been mentioned in the Tabaqat of Ibn Sa'd that: In the Battle of Siffin, when the head of Ammar Yasir (RA) was cut off and was taken to Muawiyah, two people were arguing over it, each one claiming that he had killed Ammar. Sunni references: - Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Traditions #6538, #6929 Printed in Dar al- Maarif, Egypt 1952 - al-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v3, p253 Case 2: The second head that was amputated from the body was for Umro Ibn al- Hamaq, who was among the compa

I found the following astonishing tradition in one of the most famous Tafsir book of the Sunni brothers, that is, "Tafsir al-Kabir", by Fakhr al-Razi who is a leading Sunni scholar with multiple specialties in Tafsir, Fiqh, and theology. This tradition can also be found in other Sunni commentary books of Quran, "Tafsir al-Kashshaf," written by al-Zamakhshari, as well as "Tafsir al-Tha'labi."   I will  present some  traditions transmitted by the Sunnis which clearly specify the individuals whose love is obligatory. The Messenger of Allah said: He who dies with love of the family of Muhammad is a Martyr. And behold! He who dies with love of the family of Muhammad is forgiven. And more! The one who dies with love of the family of Muhammad is died repented. Lo! He who dies with love of the family of Muhammad is died as a believer with a COMPLETE belief. And no doubt! The one who dies with love of the family of Muhammad, the angle of death gives him th

Only five members of Ahlul-Bayt were alive at the time of the Prophet  (PBUH&HF). They were Prophet Muhammad, Lady Fatimah, Imam Ali, Imam al-Hasan, and Imam al- Husain. They were mentioned as Ahlul-Bayt by the Prophet (PBUH&HF) and the most important Sunni  collections testify to this fact. However the nine descendants of Imam al-Husain were not alive at that time so that the Prophet could not cover them by his mantle! But the Prophet did, in fact, mention their names and their numbers.  Let us review some traditions from Sihah Sittah: The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said: "al-Mahdi is one of us Ahlul-Bayt." Sunni reference: Sunan Ibn Majah, v2, Tradition #4085 also: The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said: "The Mahdi will be of my family, of the descendants of Fatima h (the Prophet's daughter). Sunni references: Sunan Abi Dawud, English version, Ch. 36, Tradition #4271 (narrated by Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet) Sunan Ibn Majah, v2, Tradition #4086 al-Nisa&

In order to learn more clearly as to how far the views expressed by Imam Husayn about Yazid are indisputable according to the history of Islam, one should refer to the following remarks of Mas'udi in respect of Yazid. "Yazid was a pleasure-seeking person. He was a man, who kept beasts of prey. He had dogs, monkeys and panthers. He always arranged wine-drinking parties. One day after the martyrdom of Imam Husayn while he was sitting in such a party, Ibn Ziyad was seated on his right side,Yazid turned to the cupbearer and recited two couplets which are translated below:   "Give me a cup of wine which should satiate my bones. Then give another such cup to Ibn Ziyad, the man who is my confidant and who has strengthened my position and the foundation of my caliphate" .   Yazid meant to say that Ibn Ziyad by killing Imam Husayn had strengthened the foundation of his caliphate.   Thereafter Mas'udi writes about the injustice and oppressions committed by Yazid and then

The Imam says: 'I am not one of those people and whatever the future circumstances and the political conditions of Iraq may be, I shall achieve my object. I have risen only to perform the duty which devolves upon me from Allah in the present circumstances. It is not my object to become a caliph or to rule over the Muslims. If I am successful I shall have performed my duty and it will be quite right, and if my enemy is the winner, even then I shall have performed my duty. There is no other object of my movement'. Truly speaking it makes no difference for the godly persons, and those, who have no material motive and perform jihad for Allah, with a view to perform their duty, whether they are victorious or defeated. This interpretation is also on account of the inadequacy of words, otherwise the word defeat does not exist in the dictionary of the godly persons. This was what Imam Husayn said while going to Iraq when he told Farazdaq: "If we succeed we shall thank Allah, but e