Birthday of the Tenth Divinely-Designated Imam
Aug 27, 2018 05:04 UTC
Salaam and heartiest congratulations to you on a very auspicious day. Today, the 15th of the month of Zil-Hijjah happens to be birth anniversary of the Tenth Infallible Guide of the Blessed Household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). We have prepared a special programme for you in this regard, and before we start, see what God Almighty has said in ayah 7 of Surah Ra’d:
“…there is a Guide for every people.” (Holy Qur’an 13:7)
Among the blessings of God the All-Merciful is that He never leaves mankind in the state of confusion and without a Divinely-Designated Guide.
Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), as the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger, indicated on many an occasion that the Guide after him was his dear cousin and son-in-law the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS); and after him his two sons, Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (peace upon them), the Leaders of the Youths of Paradise. The Prophet said in clear words that in all there will be Twelve Imams after him, with the Last One reappearing as Qa’em al-Mahdi (AS) in the end times to end oppression on Planet Earth by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity and justice.
Today on the 15th Zil-Hijjah we are celebrating the birthday of the 10th of the Twelve Divinely-Designated Successors of the Seal of Messengers.
He was born in the city of Medina in the year 214 AH (corresponding to 828 AD) and was named Ali in honour of his illustrious ancestor, the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS).
It would be repetitive to say that if his piety earned him the epithet “an-Naqi” (the Pure), his wisdom and abilities to lead the faithful brought him the title “al-Hadi” (the Guide).
Entrusted with imamate a the tender age 8 years (in the manner of Prophet Yayha or John the Baptist regarding whom the holy Qur’an says he was granted Book and the Wisdom while still a boy), Imam Hadi (AS) effortlessly stepped into the shoes of his father, Imam Mohammad at-Taqi (AS), to display his God-given qualities that astounded the tutours appointed for him by the Abbasid caliph Mu’tasem in a vain bid to brainwash the child and distort the image of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt.
The murderous Mu’tasem, who was mostly engaged in wars with the Byzantine Empire, could not further torment the 10th Imam, and nor did his successor al-Watheq.
Imam Ali an-Naqi (AS) utilized this period to spell out guidelines for the seekers of truth by enlightening their minds, hearts, and souls with the genuine teachings of Islam. At the same time, he was cautious against involving himself in the frequent revolts, many of them from his distant cousins, which rocked the realm and mostly ended in failure to the detriment of true believers.
In those critical times, he bequeathed to the Muslims the bezels of wisdom and cautioned them against the pitfalls, including the deceit of those who style themselves as Sufi or mystics.
Once, while the Tenth Imam was in the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina a group of Sufis entered, sat in a corner and began repeating: “la ilaha il-allah” (which means there is no god but Allah)”.
Imam Hadi (AS) told his companions to ignore them, saying: “Do not pay attention to these deceivers for they are allies of the devils and destroyers of the bases of religion. They become ascetic to relieve their bodies and watch to hunt cattle; they do not practice rites except to deceive people, and do not decrease food except to cheat the foolish; their worship is but dancing and clapping, and their praises are but singing. No one follows them except the stupid, and no one believes in them except the foolish...”
These words of guidance of the Tenth Imam hold true to this day when we see all sorts of frivolities by the so-called Sufis or mystics, at the graves of their elders to which the ignorant flock and are fleeced of their money on a variety of pretexts and weird practices that are against the shari’ah.
Imam Hadi (AS) groomed many scholars from various lands and prepared them for the crucial period of the Ghayba or occultation of his grandson, the Promised Mahdi (AS).
Things, however changed with the seizure of the caliphate by the tyrant Mutawakkel, who was a bitter enemy of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, and who has earned lasting damnation for his destruction of the holy shrine of Chief of Martyrs, Imam Husain (AS) in Karbala.
Fearful of the popularity of Imam Hadi (AS), he forced him to leave Medina and come to his capital Samarra in Iraq. The Imam had no choice and he obliged, but on the way he stopped in Baghdad where huge congregations came out to greet him as the Prophet’s Heir.
He also visited the tomb of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf, and saluted him with a worthy salutation (ziyarah) that is recited till this day by the faithful. A passage from this ziayarah reads.
“O Allah, bless Your guardian, the custodian of Your religion, the executor of justice after Your Prophet, Ali bin Abi Taleb the Commander of the true believers, the Imam of the pious, the master of guardians…the successor of Your Prophet over the whole people, his guardian in life and religion, the great truthful, the distinguisher between the halal and the haram, the supporter of Islam, the destroyer of idols, the assistant and defender of religion…”
In Samarra, the caliph tried to ridicule the Imam but on every occasion he was overawed by the personality of the Prophet’s Righteous Heir and forced to show respect.
Although under virtual house arrest, Imam Hadi (AS) continued to play the guiding role for all those who came into contact with him, despite seeing some of the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt martyred, such as the scholar Ibn Sikkit, and his own elder son, Muhammad – whose shrine is a site of pilgrimage at Balad.
In short during his 34 years as the Divinely-Designated Guide, of which roughly half of the period was spent in Medina and the other half in Samarra, Imam Hadi (AS) spared no efforts to guide the people.
His holy shrine, despite the terrorist attacks to which it was subjected a few years ago by the ungodly Takfiris, continues to beckon all those from all over the globe, seeking guidance.
AS/MG
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