BURIED UNDER THE FEET OF HUSAYN’S LOVERS

Arba-een (40 days of the martyrs of Karbala) lecture 1 delivered by Mowlana Syed Aftab Haider on 9 November 2017 (20^th night of Safar 1438) at the Ahlul Bait (a.s) Islamic Centre, Ottery, Cape Town

It is the night of Arba-een and I am pretty sure that our hearts and minds are not here in Cape Town tonight! We reflect on how privileged are those who are able to join this journey of love, by walking toward the shrine of our beloved Imam Husain (a.s). This is an established culture among the lovers and followers of Imam Husain (a.s), where millions are flocking toward his grave in unison.

How great it is to be a drop in that ocean of lovers of Ahlul Bait (a.s)!!!

What a great lesson this is, that on the same land where Imam Husain (a.s) stood alone and nobody replied to his call of: ”Is there any helper to help us? Is there any rescuer to rescue us? Is there any protector for the women of the house of Rasulullah (SAWA)?

The only ones who replied are those headless bodies who were laying on the burning sands of Karbala. Oh Imam Husain (a.s), your victory is an amazing victory! You taught us a very unique lesson that it is possible to be all alone and still succeed and capture generations across the centuries, and so many millions are still magnetized by your everlasting stand, oh Husain (a.s).

We witness this beautiful tradition of lovers of Ahlul Bait (a.s) walking from as far as hundreds of kilometers toward the shrine of Imam Husain (a.s), and people are serving them all along the way. We see this beautiful practice captured on many YouTube videos and in the news.

A BEAUTIFUL SPECTACLE WITNESSED IN THIS YEAR’S ARBA-EEN WALK

One unique aspect I would like to narrate is that there was a Janaza of a French lady yesterday in the shrine of Amir al Mu’mineen Imam Ali ibn abi Talib (a.s). She was born as Catholic and then the light of Islam shined in this lady’s heart years later.

She embraced Islam according to the teachings of Ahlul Bait (a.s). Her heart was filled with love for the Ahlul Bait (a.s) of Rasulullah (SAWA). She became a renowned academic, writer and human rights activist from France.

She named herself Mariam abou Zahab. This lady spent most of her life in Pakistan and Afghanistan and her mission was to defend the rights of the followers of Ahlul Bait (a.s). Her mission was to expose the enemies of Ahlul Bait (a.s) in these 2 countries. She was an outspoken activist for the lovers of Ahlul Bait (a.s) in these 2 countries and the injustice and oppression committed against them.

Today, some pictures of her room were publicized. A very humble abode she had, filled with academic literature.

She was an intense lover of Imam Husain (a.s) and she made a unique will that when she dies, her body should be transferred from France to Iraq and her Janaza is to be performed in the courtyard of Mawla Amir al Mu’mineen Imam Ali ibn abi Talib (a.s). One would think that the next request in her will would be to be buried in the courtyard of Imam Ali (a.s) or Imam Husain (a.s).

However, her amazing will read differently, in that she wants to buried on the route of the pilgrims who walk annually to the shrine of Imam Husain (a.s) at this time of the year, specifically next to pole 172 in the desert. She said she wants to rest under the feet of these special pilgrims of Imam Husain (a.s).

Almighty Allah (SWT) was especially kind to her, in that she passed away during these special days, and her body was buried on this requested spot under the feet of those walking to the shrine of Imam Husain (a.s).

UNDERSTANDING THE SPECIAL CULTURE OF ZIYARAH

For many people, this annual walk appears to be weird, where people walk from very far, braving the weather and other inconveniences. Why do people do this walk for up to hundreds of kilometers? What for?

Those who have undertaken this journey are best placed to explain what does the culture of Ziyarah really mean!

There are 2 issues to be addressed in this discussion:

1. The phenomena of Arba-een – what is so special about the 40 days commemoration of the tragedy of Karbala?

2. The culture of Ziyarah – visiting the graves of Prophets and the Ahlul Bait (a.s), and especially visiting the grave of Imam Husain (a.s).

These 2 matters require thorough explanation.

ZIYARAH HAS ENORMOUS PERSONAL BENEFIT

In principle, Ziyarah is highly encouraged ie. visiting the graves of Mu’mineen (true believers), your family (especially your parents). Inculcating this practice in our lives serves as a poignant reminder that the cemetery is the final abode for all of us.

However, when we refer to Ziyarah of our dear loved ones (like family) then it goes beyond simply being a reminder of death, but its joint purpose is also to pay our respect to the deceased. In fact, this is the right of the deceased loved one over us ie. that we should visit their graves. This becomes a more serious matter when we talk about visiting the grave of our parents, because we are honoring the rights of our parents.

We have in some of the Hadith recorded from the Ahlul Bait (a.s) that visiting the grave of our parents carries great reward, but in addition, our problems are resolved on the account of visiting the graves of our parents.

History has recorded for us that the great pillar of Shia fiqh, Sheikh Murtaza Ansari, used to visit his mother’s grave and raise his hands in supplication (dua) over there, when he was stuck in a difficult situation.

So, to emphasize, the Ziyarah of the graves of parents are more important and has its own unique effect.

ZIYARAH EXPLAINED BY RASULULLAH (SAWA)

We then move onto the Ziyarah of the grave of Rasulullah (SAWA), where all Muslims, Sunni and Shia, place heavy emphasis on this noble practice. All Muslims believe that Rasulullah (SAWA) said that whoever visits him makes it compulsory for his intercession on that person. Ziyarah of Rasulullah (SAWA) is a detailed discussion on its own!

We now move on to another level of Ziyarah, namely the Ziyarah of martyrs. Here, our connection with the martyrs is established, as we commit ourselves to the sacrifice of the martyrs who sacrificed everything in service of Almighty Allah (SWT). This is why Rasulullah (SAWA) use to encourage people to go for Ziyarah of the martyrs of the Battle of Uhud. It is recorded that Lady Fatima (s.a) use to visit the graves of the martyrs of Uhud on a weekly basis.

ZIYARAH EXPLAINED BY THE AHLUL BAIT (A.S)

According to the 8^th Imam of Ahlul Bait (a.s), Imam Ali Redha (a.s), he said that every Imam of Ahlul Bait (a.) has a right on his followers, and one of the methods to fulfill this right that the Imams have on us is to visit their graves. Imam Redha (a.s) continues to explain that if somebody visits the graves of the Imams of Ahlul Bait (a.s) out of love for the Imam and his ideals, the Imams will be their intercessor on the Day of Judgement.

Indeed, Ziyarah is an oath of allegiance (bay’ah) connecting our hearts with the Imam. Ziyarah is an expression of love for the Imam, after coming from very far.

ZIYARAH OF IMAM HUSAIN (A.S) HAS A UNIQUE STATUS

Now we come to the Ziyarah of Syed as-Shuhada, whose martyrdom has a very unique status, above all others. Naturally, this Ziyarah is then also very unique.

Ahlul Bait (a.s) have established Ziyarah as an institution. It is not simply a tour. NO – it is an INSTITUTION! Ziyarah is a mechanism which connects us with our Imam.

With this background, why is the Ziyarah of Imam Husain (a.s) so special? The reason is because numerous attempts in history to stop this movement have failed dismally! Ziyarah of Karbala was a crime, met with capital punishment for this “crime”!

Therefore, ALL the Imams of Ahlul Bait (a.s) insisted on people to conduct the Ziyarah of Karbala.

Ziyarah of Karbala requires a detailed and thorough understanding of Imam Husain (a.s) and what were the ideals he stood for. Otherwise, it is very difficult to place our hands on the grave of Imam Husain (a.s) if our hearts are filled with anti-Husaini ideals, filled with sins.

Ziyarah of Imam Husain (a.s) is a connection of deep love and we burst into tears when we arrive at his door, as we remember his tragedy!