(Fifth & sixth night lecture of Muharram 1437 delivered by Mowlana Syed Aftab Haider at the Ahlul Bait (a.s) Islamic Centre, Ottery, Cape Town)

الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ

“Blessed is He in whose hand is the kingdom, and He has power over all things. He who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving”

Death is another central message in Karbala. Imam Husayn (AS) regularly analyses why people did not support him, and concludes that it is due to love of Dunya, which is a major theme in Karbala. In the case of Imam Hasan (AS), it was this too, but the greater reason was mass confusion and propaganda. Therefore the response of Imam Hasan (AS) was different. Mu’awiya could manage to confuse people but exposed himself in the last part of his life. While with Yazid everything was clear for people to see.

Mu’awiya used the murder of the third Khaliph for his own purpose. He was not a supporter of Khulafa Rashidin. The well-known scholar and philosopher from the Indo-Pak subcontinent Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi explains that Mu’awiya used illegal routes, exploiting the emotions of the people.

He took the shirt of the third Khaliph, filled with blood, and the cut fingers of his wife, from Madina to Damascus!! These two cities are quite a distance from each other, but somehow it was transferred very quickly! Mu’awiya raised this on the spears to exploit the emotions of the public. Mu’awiya had sympathy for nobody other than power, and people eventually saw this, but still after all this they did not support Imam Hasan (AS).

Therefore Imam Husayn (AS) speaks a great deal about death, Qiyamah and accountability, for this life is temporary.

Analysis of Death by Ibn Sina

The great, prolific Persian thinker of the 10th century, Ibn Sina has written a booklet explaining the reasons for fearing death and how to resolve this issue.

He summarizes the reasons for fear of death to be 3 aspects:

1. We are ignorant about the reality of death – Imam Ali (AS) says you are scared of everything you don’t know!

2. You don’t know what will happen after death.

3. We are scared of death, because we look at death as a point where we lose what is in this dunya, and since we love this dunya we will lose everything because of death.

Allama Muhammad Taqi Jaffri relays a Hadith from our Holy Prophet (SAWA) that if someone loves a stone, on the day of Qiyamah he will be placed with that stone. If you go to heaven and you love that stone, it will roll behind you.

In explaining ibn Sina’s point about why we fear death, he says it is because we love this dunya. And death breaks us from this dunya. So in fact we don’t only love dunya, we worship dunya!

Allama Jaffri further explains that there was a very pious person who was very ill and admitted to hospital, very close to the end of his. Allama Jaffri asked him how are you? The reply he received was most amazing: “My body is in very bad state, but if your enquiry refers to the state of my soul, it is in a very good state and ready to be freed from the prison of this dunya!”

Death – a Central Theme Throughout the Journey of Imam Husayn (AS)

The day Imam Husayn (AS) left Mecca, he gave this sermon regarding his departure and ultimate death:

“Praise is due to Allah, there is no one except Allah. Death has been inscribed on the son of Adam, like a beautiful necklace on the neck of a young girl. And I am so eager to meet my ancestors more than Yaqub (AS) was to see Yusuf (AS). Destiny is there, I am going to be killed, no doubt. I can see my body parts are torn apart by oppressors to quench their thirst.”

Husayn (AS) is so in love of death, really, death never scared Husayn (AS). We cannot imagine the greatness of Imam Husayn (AS)!

Imam (AS) says in the same sermon:

“I am moving tomorrow toward Kufa. Please join me, but only if you are ready to meet your Lord” – otherwise don’t bother!

Husayn (AS) wants the purist of the pure with him. He does not want anybody who has a grey area of doubt.

We remember the response of Qasim, the son of Imam Hasan (AS) in Karbala, when Imam Husayn (AS) asked him what he thinks about death. What was Qasim’s response:” My dear uncle, death for me is sweeter than honey!”

On the one side of the battlefield in Karbala we see lovers of Dunya, and on the other side we see lovers of Akhirat!

Death is a very frequent topic in the sayings and sermons of Imam Husayn (AS) and even when he interacted with different people informally.

Love and Worship of Dunya

A very important sentence of Imam Husayn (AS) upon analyzing this issue so accurately:

“By default people are slaves of this dunya and religion is like saliva in their mouth. They rotate it inside the mouth, as long as their life is OK, but when they are surrounded by tests and hardships, very few are those who are committed to religion.”

As ibn Sina analyses why people fear death is because we are stuck in our connection and slavery of this Dunya. So when this chain tries to break, it makes it difficult for us.

There is nothing wrong with dunya, but to be worship dunya is the problem. Islam does not promote poverty. There are plenty of Hadith from Ahlul Bayt which encourage people to live a good life. The sixth Imam of Ahlul Bayt (AS) Imam Jafar Sadiq (AS) visited a house of his friend, which was a very poor facility. Imam asked: “Why are you punishing your family like this when Allah (SWT) has provided you sufficiently?”  His friend replied, saying: “This is my ancestral home.”

Almighty Allah (SWT) says in the Holy Quran, in verse 11 of Surah Ad-Duha (chapter 93):

وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ

“And proclaim the Grace of your Lord”

There is nothing wrong to have good life. However, there is a difference between someone with a good life and someone whose purpose of life is a good life. A fine distinction, but a very critical one to explain.

Ethical Dilemma of Umar ibn Sa’d

In the same tragedy of Karbala, the cursed commander of ibn Ziyad’s army, Umar ibn Sa’d, was faced with an ethical dilemma, which resulted in him arriving in Karbala. His motivation for committing such a heinous crime was purely dunya. He was offered the governorship of Rey (present day Tehran). Rey (Tehran) was a very rich area, big resources, and a strategic location on the Islamic peninsula.

He was happy that he was going to get what he wanted. Ibn Ziyad stopped him, saying his appointment is subject to his consent. He will only be granted governorship should he bring the head of Imam Husayn (AS). This was the key condition.

Umar ibn Sa’d argued with him, what is this condition, and from where does it come? He further argued with ibn Ziyad saying what has the issue with Husayn (AS) got to do with him? Ibn Ziyad did not budge, he made it clear that governorship of Tehran is dependent upon bringing the blessed head of Husayn (AS). Umar ibn Sa’d said give me time to think about it.

His son says he did not sleep that night, very restless and looking at the sky. Umar ibn Sa’d is experiencing a clash: love of dunya and fear of Hell!

According to his son, he was talking to himself, how can I miss this opportunity? This is not an everyday opportunity, this is my lifelong dream come true! Then he would ask himself how can I kill the grandson of Rasulullah (SAWA)? This was the internal battle Umar ibn Sa’d had with himself the whole night.

Interesting point to note is that Shaytaan always provides justification, and beautifies your sin. After this internal battle with himself, he concluded with Shaytaan’s help, that the governorship of Tehran is like selling for cash while the promise of Jannah is like selling on credit terms, and cash is always better than credit!

Umar ibn Sa’d’s logic was that I will commit this crime, and then afterwards I will repent profusely. This will mean I get dunya (governorship) and Jannah in the hereafter – the best of both worlds!

The lesson to remember is that both Dunya and Akhirah are not possible, it’s either one or the other!

Umar ibn Sa’d came to Karbala and did what he did, but Imam still tried to convince him till the end not to do it. History narrates that it is the night of Ashura, or nights leading up to it. Imam Husayn (AS) was warning Umar ibn Sa’d, with the intention of saving him. Imam (AS) told him: “Do you realize what a hell you are preparing for yourself with this crime?” Umar ibn Sa’d replied saying this governorship is his dream come true.

Imam Husayn (AS) offered him whatever dunya pursuits he wanted, but warned him, please don’t commit this crime. That is the difference between having dunya and worshipping dunya. The greed of Umar ibn Sa’ad was never ending. His complete direction and submission was to dunya. Imam Husayn (AS) warned him, you will never be able to taste the wheat of Tehran, which was well known for the very good quality of wheat which grew there. Imam (AS) told him, I predict you will never be able to touch it! Umar ibn Sa’d with his compound arrogance, replies by making fun, saying, “if I cannot get wheat, then barley is also fine!”

Love of dunya is the mother of every mistake. Imam warned us about love of dunya. When dunya becomes your purpose. In the Holy Quran, Almighty Allah says in verse 46 of Surah Kahf   (chapter 18):

الْمَالُ وَالْبَنُونَ زِينَةُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْبَاقِيَاتُ الصَّالِحَاتُ خَيْرٌ عِندَ رَبّـِكَ ثَواباً وَخَيْرٌ أَمَلاً

“Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world. But the good righteous deeds that last, are better with your Lord for rewards and better in respect of hope.”

This verse conveys that money and children are the beauty of life in this world. But this may be beauty, but it is not an everlasting beauty. What is surviving and sustainable is good actions.

Nobody says dunya is bad, but when it becomes the purpose of life, and clashes with Akhirah, we need to ask ourselves what is the priority. Imam Husayn (AS) always spoke about that choice you make, when at a crossroads. You cannot go in both directions. Imam Husayn’s (AS) guidance is that this dunya is not everlasting.

Approach of Imam Husayn (AS) Towards Death

One of the great achievements of Imam Husayn (AS) is that he was able to remove the fear of death from the hearts and minds from his camp. It didn’t exist at all. They absorbed Imam’s teachings when he purified them and won them over. His consistent condition was that if you want to join me, you must not fear death!

From the night he left Mecca he said:

“Whoever is ready to die and meet his Lord, must come with us, else don’t come. If you still have some semblance of love of dunya you should not come.”

Imam further discusses this issue of death repeatedly. In one of Imam Husayn (AS) sermons addressing his own people, he says:

“O son of the nobles, death is only a bridge which takes you from misery and loss to the eternal grace of paradise. Then, is there anyone among you who dislikes to be transferred from a prison to a palace. For your enemies, death is the opposite. As my father quoted from Nabi Muhammad (SAWA), surely this world is a prison for the believers, and a paradise for disbelievers. Death is a bridge to take some to paradise and some to hell. I have never told lies, and was never told lies.”

When a person looks at these thoughts from Imam Husayn (AS), we see they are all deeply inspired from the Holy Quran. We refer to Sura Mulk, which opens with the following verses:

الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ

“Blessed is He in whose hand is the kingdom, and He has power over all things. He who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving”

The logic of the Holy Quran and Imam Husayn (AS) is very different to the medical definition of death. In terms of the medical definition, death is regarded as the absence of life. Like we say darkness is the absence of light, and oppression is the absence of justice.

However, Quranic teachings do not refer to death as being absence of life, because this means it is the end of life. Death requires creator, even before life Allah (SWT) is saying he created death, therefore death is the continuation of life and not the end of life. Death takes you from the prison of this temporary life to the eternal life. That is how Imam (AS) washed the hearts of his camp from any semblance of dunya. They saw death as a bridge. That is why they were so eager to achieve death.

On the night of Ashura, Imam gathered everyone, informing them that the day has come, tomorrow they will all achieve death. They were not sad or stressed, they were happy to be in service of Rasullulah and lady Fatima (SA).

Imam Husayn (AS) spoke about life being good, but not to the point where we buy it on any price. This life is not so valuable. Imam Husayn (AS) spoke about humanity, saying humanity is much greater than simply living alive.

Therefore from that angel of humanity Imam Husayn says:

“Death is better than this life. Dying with dignity is better than living in humiliation. I don’t see death except perfection and climax and living along with oppressors as nothing but a loss and humiliating.”

Sometimes Imam Husayn (AS) convinced people to join him through their belief in Imamat, with others he even convinced them through their beliefs in leadership, and at other times he also crosses the borders of religion.

Imam Husayn (AS) further says:

“My status is not a status where a person must fear death. How light is dying, when you are dying on the path of dignity? Dying in the path of dignity is nothing but eternal life.”

How true! Where is Shimr, Yazid, and Umar ibn Sa’ad today, and where is Husayn (AS) today?!

Imam (AS) says: “In what dream are you that you want to scare me from death. I don’t have any fear from death. My soul is much greater than death. And my courage and spirit is much higher than to tolerate humiliation.”

Where is Imam Husayn (AS) and where are we? Imam challenges his enemy:

“What more can you do, other than killing me? Welcome to be killed in the path of Allah (SWT). What you cannot do is destroy my dignity and eternity which will be there from every corner of the world, where people will call Labbayk Ya Hussain!”

This very unique approach of Imam towards life and death has amazing effects, which he established in Karbala. The effect and lessons of Karbala re not confined to the time and era of Imam Husayn (AS). Fourteen centuries have passed and Imam Husayn (AS) continues to be a beacon of guidance. Today, even this humble gathering of Imam is source of salvation and guidance.

Imam Husayn (AS) in Our Townships

Tonight I have one Amanat to transfer to you. Last night our children from the townships beautifully recited a lamentation in Xhosa and Arabic, singing Husayn (AS) is the beacon of light and ark of salvation. I shared that 2 minute recording with many, including Grand Marja Ayatullah Safi Golpaygani in Qum, who burst into tears looking at these innocent children remembering Husayn (AS) in their native language in this part of the world. He was in awe of how the message of Imam Husayn (AS) is penetrating the far most corners of the world, Alhamdu Lillah.

He conveyed a special salaam to the mourners of Imam Husayn (AS) in Cape Town, and reminded us that the real host of these mourning ceremonies, our living Imam Mahdi al Qa’im (ATFS) and Lady Fatima (SA) is listening.