Blessed birthday of Imam Husain (AS)

Today is the 3rd of Sha’ban. It is one of the auspicious dates in the history of humanity.

It is the day on which the Saviour of faith and humanitarian values was born in the holy city of Medina in the year 4 AH, corresponding to 626 AD. He was none other than the immortal Martyr of Karbala – the younger grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). His birthday is celebrated till this day and is marked in the Islamic Republic as “Rouz-e Pasdaar” or the Day of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) for their heroic defence of Islam and humanitarian values against terrorists and terrorism of all kinds, including the state terrorism of the US, the Zionists and reactionary regimes.

 “I affirm, my God, with the veracity of my faith, my resolute conviction, my positive profession of Your Oneness, the inner depths of my consciousness, the connections of the conduits of light of my eyes, the lines on my forehead, the hollow passages of my breath, the pliable tissues of the ridge of my nose, the auditory meatuses of my ears, that upon which my lips come together and close, the vocal movements of my tongue, the joint of my mouth’s palate and jaw, the roots of my molar teeth, the organs that facilitate the swallowing of my food and drink, the stem of my brain, the hollow passages of my neck’s cords, that which is enclosed in my breast’s cavity, the vessels of the trunk of my aorta, the veins of my heart’s diaphragm, the lobes around my liver, that which is contained in my ribs’ cartilage, the sockets of my joints, the contraction of my legs, the tips of my fingers, my flesh, my blood, my hair, my skin, my nerves, my windpipe, my bones, my brain, my veins, and all of my members, and what was woven upon them in the days of my suckling, what the earth has taken away from me, my sleep, my waking, my pauses and the movements of my bowing and prostrating, that had I taken pains and striven for the duration of epochs and ages—were I to given to live that long—to deliver thanks for one of Your blessings, I would not be able to do so, except by Your favour, which would make it incumbent upon me to offer You never-ending thanks anew and to celebrate Your praise afresh.”

What you heard was a passage that minutely describes the functions of the human organs and anatomy. It is a passage that dwells on the wonders of creation, the Infinite Mercy of the Lord Most High and the humble but pivotal position of mankind in this vast universe.

These are not the words of a modern day scientist detailing what he has discovered through experiments, nor of any philosopher adopting a viewpoint through trial and error, and neither of a rhetorician, unsure of his own sentences and indulging in speculation.

As a matter of fact these words were expressed over a millennium and four centuries ago on the 9^th of the month of Zilhijja on the plain of Arafaat near Mecca during the Hajj pilgrimage, by a person whose lifeblood and dismemberment of his body, breathed fresh life into Islam and all humanitarian values.

The identity of this person is obvious. He is none other than Imam Husain (AS). The very mention of the name of Husain (AS), if it swells our eyes with tears, it grants us peace of mind, tranquility of heart, succour to the spirit, and solace to the soul, while infusing our whole body and existence with the determination to stand firm against social injustice, deviation from Islamic values, threats of attack, and the devilish designs of the dastardly terrorists.

Here is another passage from the same eloquently moving supplication:

“O Allah, I beseech You, bearing witness to Your Lordship, acknowledging that You are my Lord and to You is my return. You originated me with Your blessing before I was anything worthy of mention. You created me from dust, then lodged me in the spines (of my fathers), secure from the vicissitudes of fortune and the vagaries of ages and years. I remained in transience from spine to womb in a time immemorial of days past and centuries bygone. Out of Your tenderness, bounty and goodness toward me, You sent me not into the domains of the leaders of unfaith, who broke Your covenant and impugned Your prophets. Rather, You sent me out toward the guidance which had been foreordained for me, the way which You made easy for me and in which You nurtured me…

“So glory be to You, glory be to You, Who are Originator and Restorer, Laudable, and Glorious. Holy are Your Names and tremendous Your bounties. So which of Your blessings, my God, can I enumerate or name? For which of Your gifts am I able to give thanks?

As should be clear to our listeners, this supplication in the Divine Court teaches us not just facts of the human anatomy but also humanitarian values, while guiding us on the straight and unwavering path towards paradise.

Imam Husain (AS) needs no introduction. When he was born, his Infallible Mother, Hazrat Fatema Zahra – peace upon the Noblest Lady of all times – though beaming with joy at the birth of her second son, felt a sort of grief. 

His father, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), the One and Only Commander of the Faithful, looked to his cousin the Prophet to name the radiant boy in view of the latter’s famous statement: “O Ali! Your position to me is that of Aaron to Moses”

Thus, since Aaron’s second son was called Shubair, the Prophet, following the swift descent of Archangel Gabriel with a message from the Lord Most High, named the newborn Husain (AS) in Arabic – a year earlier the Prophet’s elder grandson was named Hasan, the Arabic equivalent of Aaron’s firstborn, Shabar.

It is obvious the grandfather and the parents of the baby born this day welcomed him with tears in view of what God Almighty had already informed the Prophet.   Their tears were definitely not of sorrow, but were a form of thanksgiving to the Source of Life for having bestowed to the child the exalted honour of martyrdom over half-a-century later.

To be more precise, Imam Husain (AS) was destined to offer the Greatest Sacrifice the world would ever see, for salvaging the dynamism of Islam, the purity of the Sunnah (practice) and Seerah (behavior) of the Prophet, the clarity of Fatema Zahra’s memorable sermon of Fadak to expose imposters in their true colours, the blueprint of the model government of social justice of Imam Ali (AS), the throwing away of the caliphate by Imam Hasan (AS) in order to unmask hypocrisy, and the gargantuan efforts of all prophets of the past in the face of the tyranny of Nimrod, Pharoah, etc – all of which stood imperiled by the Godless Yazid’s demand to swear allegiance to his rule.

Now we understand why we hail Imam Husain (AS) as the Successor of the Prophets Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (SAWA) and of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), while saluting him in the ziyarah known till this day “Ziyarat-al-Wareth”.

That is the reason God decreed continuation of the imamate in the lineal descent of Imam Husain (AS), with the last Infallible Imam being the Qa’em al-Mahdi (AS) the Promised Saviour of mankind who will reappear in the end times, not just to avenge the innocent blood of the Martyr of Karbala, but also to rid Planet Earth of oppression and corruption by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity and justice.

Now we understand meaning of the Prophet’s famous phrase: "Husainun minni wa ana min Husain", which means "Husain is from me and I am from Husain."

This was the Will of the All-Wise, who has made the holy shrine of Imam Husain (AS), the rendezvous of the righteous from all over the world, especially on Arba’een or the traditional 40^th day anniversary following his martyrdom, when normally more than 20-million assemble in Karbala to pay homage to him.

Here the actions and the words of the grandfather of Imam Husain (AS) become clear for us, since as God says in ayahs 3-to-5 of Surah Najm, the Prophet neither errs nor speaks out of desire, and whatever he expresses is revelation revealed.

No wonder, the Prophet spelled for us the formula of deliverance when he said: "Inn al-Husain Misbah al-Huda wa Safinat an-Najah”, which means "Indeed Husain is the Beacon of Guidance and the Ark of Salvation."

AS/MG