Martyrdom of the epitome of excellence

We offer heartfelt condolences to you on a day of utmost grief that continues to be commemorated by the faithful despite the passing of a millennium and four centuries.

According to a narration, today the 7^th of Safar is the day on which in the year 50 AH, was martyred through a fatal dose of poisoning Hasan Mojtaba (AS), the elder grandson and Second Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

We have prepared a special programme on the life and times of this Epitome of Excellence, and before we go into details here is a passage from him worth pondering upon:

“It is my destiny that I have been poisoned with trickery that would kill me. However, no day is like your day O Aba Abdallah! On that day thirty thousand hordes from those who claim to be Muslims and part of the Ummah of our grandfather will get together to spill your blood and kill you… (They will) take your ladies and children as prisoners and plunder your possessions. At that time that God will allow the cursing of the Omayyads, and it will rain blood and ashes from the sky and all creatures, even the wild animals and fishes in the sea will cry for you.”

What we presented to you was part of the parting phrases of the elder of the Two Divinely-Designated Leaders of the Youths of Paradise, to the younger one. In other words, this is what Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS) said on his deathbed to Imam Husain (AS) in this month of Safar in 50 AH, while informing him of the heartrending tragedy that was to befall in Karbala in Muharram 61 AH on the Day of Ashura.

A year separated the birth of the two grandsons of the Prophet, but in the martyrdom of the two, was an eleven-year gap.

The elder son of the two Peerless Parents, that is, Hazrat Fatema az-Zahra and Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (peace upon them) was victim of a fatal dose of poison by the charlatan Mu’awiyya in violation of the peace pact that Imam Hasan (AS) had concluded in order to expose the Omayyad heathen in his true colours.

It is to be noted that if Mu’awiyya who had seized the caliphate through threats, trickery and bribery was the killer, in a stealthy manner, of the Prophet’s elder grandson, the younger grandson of the Prophet was martyred with swords and daggers in an unequal battle imposed upon him by the Omayyad hordes of Yazid the son of Mu’awiyya.

Both Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (peace upon them) had saved Islam and the mission of their grandfather as well as the earnest endeavours of their father, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), in their own novel ways, to which Muslims will forever remain indebted.

While, we continue to commemorate in Safar the heartrending aftermath of the tragedy of Karbala as Arba’een or the traditional 40^th day of the epic of Ashura draws near with tens of millions of pilgrims about to converge on the shrine of the Chief of Martyrs, Imam Husain (AS) in Karbala, Iraq, let us cast a glance at the Land of Revelation, Hijaz, where in the Prophet’s city Medina, lies the desolate grave of Imam Hasan (AS).

No mourners or pilgrims are allowed to go near this holy tomb by the Wahhabi regime, which in 1925 blasphemously destroyed the sacred Baqi Cemetery and the towering grand mausoleum over the tombs of Four of the Twelve Infallible Heirs of the Seal of Messengers.

From the depth of their hearts, however, all true believers, whether those flocking to Karbala with full freedom or those unable to converge upon Baqi to present tears of affection, chant “Curse of God upon Yazid” and “Curse of God upon the Aal-e Saud”.

As the Omayyads were thrown into the dustbin of history, and as Saddam who had tried to prevent pilgrimage to Karbala, ended up in the bowels of hell, the day of doom is around the corner for the heretical Wahhabis. Amen.

Insha Allah (God Willing), when the Saudi clan disappears into oblivion, Muslims will once again perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage with freedom in the correct manner, and will assemble in millions at the Baqi Cemetery to pay homage to Imam Hasan (AS) and the elite of Islam.

Imam Hasan (AS), who like Imam Husain (AS), was equally oppressed, and for ten years had endured Omayyad tyranny with patience, was also martyred in a gruesome manner, when the deadly poison split his liver into pieces, which he vomited with blood as the hour of meeting God Almighty approached.

That was not the end of the Omayyad oppression upon him. If in Karbala in 61 AH, the Omayyads were to trample the decapitated body of the Younger Leader of the Youths of Paradise, in Medina they showered arrows upon the coffin of the Elder Leader of the Youths of Paradise.

Several arrows passing through the coffin pierced the lifeless body of Imam Hasan Mujtaba (AS) – a sacrilegious act no Muslim would ever do, especially against whom God has exalted and vouchsafed their pristine purity and merits in the holy Qur’an.

Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS) whose period of imamate or divinely-decreed authority was ten years, played a vital role in guiding the Ummah, even after relinquishing the caliphate or political rule because of the weak faith of the Iraqis, who were reluctantly to rally under his banner for the fight against hypocrisy and tyranny.

We end this brief radio programme with a couple of aphorisms from Imam Hasan (AS), who greatly resembled his grandfather the Prophet in appearance, and three of whose sons achieved martyrdom in Karbala, along with their Immaculate Uncle, Imam Husain (AS), the most of whom was the valiant 13-year old youth Qasim ibn Hasan (AS), whose has become immortal.

--One who lacks intelligence has no decorum, and one who lacks determination has no magnanimity, and one who has no modesty has no religion.

 --Abstain from the unlawful and you will be a (true) worshipper, and be content with what Allah has predestined for you and you will be sufficient, be benevolent to those who take up proximity in your neighborhood and you will be a Muslim.

 --Do not be hasty in punishing (someone) for sin, and leave (room) between the two (fault and punishment) for apology (repentance).

AS/ME