Chapter One

When the Name of the Holy Mother Becomes a Guiding Light

Our Master, Baqiyyat Allah al-A‘zam (may my soul be sacrificed for him), Sahib al-‘Asr wa al-Zaman, declares in a passage from Ziyarat al-Nahiyah al-Muqaddasah that he weeps blood for his lonely grandfather every morning and every evening. Addressing his oppressed grandfa

ther, Imam Aba Abdillah al-Hussain (p), he says:

فَلَأَنْدُبَنَّكَ صَبَاحًا وَمَسَاءً، وَلَأَبْكِيَنَّ عَلَيْكَ بَدَلَ الدُّمُوعِ دَمًا

“Surely I shall mourn you every morning and every evening, and I shall weep blood for you instead of tears.”

The Master who regards the Daughter of the Messenger of Allah (p) as his exemplar and model says:

وَفِي ابْنَةِ رَسُولِ اللهِ لِي أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ

“And in the Daughter of the Messenger of Allah, there is a beautiful example for me.”

Could he possibly act in any way other than according to that perfect example?

In this practice and tradition of our lonely Master, the Blessed Mother herself is an incomparable model. She is the mother who, in her final testament to Amir al-Mu’minin (p), said:

“O Ali! Weep for my orphans, and never forget the one who will be slain in the plains of Iraq…”

She is the mother who establishes a gathering of mourning in the heavens for her beloved son, Aba Abdillah al-Hussain (p).

It is she who grants permission to the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth to commemorate the mourning of Aba Abdillah al-Hussain (p). On the eve of the first night of Muharram, as the bloodstained shirt of her son Hussain (p) is revealed, a fresh sorrow settles upon every heart.

The fire of lamentation and weeping spreads throughout all the realms, and grief fills the hearts of his Shi‘a and followers.

The Mourning of Lady al-Zahra (p)

وَفَجَعَتْ بِكَ أُمُّكَ الزَّهْرَاءُ

“And your mother, Lady Zahra, mourned over your martyrdom.”

— A passage from Ziyarat al-Nahiyah al-Muqaddasah

Imam al-Sadiq (p) said concerning the visitors of Imam Hussain (p):

“…If the visitors knew the immense goodness contained in visiting him, they would fight one another with swords in order to reach his shrine, and they would surely sell all of their possessions to come and visit him.

When Lady Fatimah (p) looks upon them, she is accompanied by a thousand prophets, a thousand truthful ones, a thousand martyrs, and a thousand thousand of the Cherubim angels, all assisting her in weeping.

She weeps and laments with such intensity that the angels of the heavens themselves begin to weep and lament because of her weeping. She does not cease until the Messenger of Allah (p) comes to her and says:

‘My dear daughter! You have caused the angels of the heavens to weep and lament, distracting them from glorifying and sanctifying Allah. Be at peace now, and let the angels return to their worship, for Allah’s decree shall surely come to pass, and His divine decree cannot be altered…’”

The Imam of the Time, with whom every morning and evening we renew our covenant of allegiance, has taught us that even if we were not granted the opportunity to wage battle against the killers of Aba Abdillah al-Hussain (p), nor to stand alongside Hussain (p) on the Day of Ashura, then, through the mercy and grace of the Blessed Mother, by establishing gatherings of mourning and weeping for Aba Abdillah al-Hussain (p), it is as though we are in the company of our Imam and are thereby coming to the aid of our oppressed Imam.

We seek permission from our Mother to affirm and accept this humble form of support for our Master, and we ask her to bless us with tears born from carrying the truths of Karbala and the deep recognition of its reality.

It is only the grace of the Mother that can make such assistance and support a reality for us.

Just as the light of her blessed existence once shone upon the heart of Hurr, raising him in the blink of an eye to the highest heavens, so too today, as we remain longing for the opportunity to sacrifice our lives for Aba Abdillah al-Hussain (p), we soothe the burning of our hearts through tears and lamentation.

My Mother!

May my soul be sacrificed for your wounded heart!

A single glance of your mercy, a single permission from you, is enough to untie the knots of our affairs and transform us into Hurr.

Mawlati, Aghithini.

My Lady, come to my aid.

Imam Hussain’s Detachment from the World

Hazrat Baqiyyatallah al-A‘zam (may my soul be sacrificed for him), in Ziyarat al-Nahiyah al-Muqaddasah, describes the way of life of his lonely grandfather, Imam Aba Abdillah al-Hussain (p), as follows:

“…You lived with detachment from this world, as one who was about to depart from it.

You looked upon it as one who regarded it with estrangement and aversion.

You withheld your hopes from this world, and your lofty aspiration had turned away from its gold and its adornments.

You turned your gaze away from its pleasures and its delights.

Your longing and eager desire for the Hereafter were well known and widely recognized,

until oppression stretched forth its hand in transgression,

tyranny cast off its veil,

and misguidance called its followers to itself…”

The oppression to which Hazrat Baqiyyatallah al-A‘zam (may my soul be sacrificed for him) refers in this passage was explained by Imam Aba Abdillah al-Hussain (p) in a sermon he delivered before the army of Hurr:

“O people! The Messenger of Allah (p) said:

‘Whoever sees a tyrannical ruler who has made lawful what Allah has forbidden, violated the covenant of Allah, opposed the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (p), and deals with the servants of Allah through sin and oppression, yet does not oppose him by word or deed, then Allah has every right to admit him to the same destination as that ruler.’

Indeed, these people have devoted themselves to the obedience of Satan and abandoned obedience to Allah.

They have spread corruption, suspended the laws of Allah, and appropriated the public treasury for themselves.

They have declared lawful what Allah has forbidden and forbidden what He has made lawful. I am more deserving than anyone to rise in order to restore the religion of Allah to its rightful course.

Your letters reached me, and your messengers came to me pledging their allegiance, assuring me that you would neither surrender me to my enemies nor abandon me.

If you remain faithful to your pledge, you will attain the path of guidance and righteousness.

I am Hussain, the son of Ali and Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (p).

My life is bound to your lives, and my family is bound to your families.

I am your example to follow.

But if you do not fulfill your promise, if you break your covenant and cast aside your allegiance to me, then by my life, this would not be something unfamiliar from you.

You acted likewise toward my father, my brother, and my cousin Muslim (p).

Indeed, deceived is the one who places his trust in you.

You have forfeited your own share and squandered your allotted portion.

Whoever breaks his covenant does so only against himself, and Allah will soon make us independent of you.

Wasalam.”

Through this sermon, the Imam exposed and clarified the reality of the oppression whose veil had been cast aside. He opened windows of light before the soldiers, calling them toward reform and urging them to abandon the corruption in whose shadow they had been living in comfort.

The Divine Proof Was Completed

In another passage from Ziyarat al-Nahiyah al-Muqaddasah, the Imam of the Time (p) addresses Imam Hussain (p):

“…At that moment, your knowledge and awareness compelled you to reject and oppose them and made it incumbent upon you to rise against the wicked and the corrupt.

So you set forth with your children, your Household, your Shi‘a, and your devoted followers.

You made manifest the truth, the divine proof, and the clear evidence.

With wisdom and sincere exhortation, you called the people to Allah.

You commanded the establishment of His divine laws and obedience to the Exalted Lord, and you forbade corruption and transgression.

Yet they confronted you with oppression and aggression, and after you had guided them and completed the proof against them, you fought them…”

After every proof had been presented—proofs that flowed from the words of the Hussain of Fatimah (p)—the radiance of Fatimah’s light illuminated the heart of Hurr.

He cried out to himself:

“Hurr! What are you doing?”

Bewildered and shaken, Hurr remained mounted upon his horse among Ibn Sa‘d’s army—may Allah’s curse be upon him. He glanced to his right and left. His mind was in turmoil and his heart in an uproar.

Why was he so distressed and restless? Even he could not understand.

“Why have you come to Karbala? Where do you stand, Hurr? The hour of battle has arrived. And against whom? Against the enemy of the Caliph—Hussain ibn Ali (p)—the son of Fatimah? Do not deceive yourself, Hurr! You knew this from the very beginning.”

“Yes, but I never imagined it would come to war and bloodshed.”

“You are under orders. The command is the command of the leader of the Muslims.”

“Silence, O my soul!”

“Take it easy, Hurr! You are the commander. You were the first to block his path. Do not fall behind now. Take another step forward and seize your share of worldly gain!”

“May Allah destroy you! How skillfully you spread the snare of sin and scatter the seeds of temptation, O my soul!”

“Would you have me raise my sword against the son of the Messenger of Allah (p)?”

“Woe to you! On the Day of Resurrection, what answer shall I give to the beloved grandson of the Messenger of Allah (p)? What shall I say to Ali al-Murtada (p)?

May my hands be severed before they are stained with the pure blood of this noble and forsaken one.”

Hurr’s Inner Struggle

“What did you see in him?”

True nobility; honor and dignity; asceticism, piety, and God-consciousness.

“What does he possess of this world?”

“Nothing of this world—but everything of the religion! He has sold this world for his faith. He is not a man of this world.”

“Do you remember when you left the governor’s palace of Ubayd Allah—may Allah’s curse be upon him—in Kufa to intercept Hussain (p) and block his caravan? As you departed, you heard a voice from behind calling out:

‘O Hurr! Rejoice in the good that awaits you!’”

“Yes. By Allah, I heard it exactly so, as though it were a heavenly voice from the unseen.”

“Then why do you still hesitate? How do you understand that glad tiding today?”

“That is precisely what leaves me bewildered. I cannot reconcile the promise of that day with the reality of today!”

“What goodness could there possibly be in fighting Hussain (p)?”

“Woe to me! What kind of glad tidings were those? Never! Never shall I become one who wounds the heart of the Messenger of Allah (p).

Never could my salvation lie in shedding the blood of the beloved son of Fatimah (p). By Allah, Hussain (p) speaks nothing but the truth and seeks nothing but the truth.”

It seemed as though it had happened only yesterday.

It was the twenty-seventh day of the month of Dhul-Hijjah.

At Dhu Husam, one of the stopping places on the road between Mecca and Kufa, we caught up with the small caravan of Hussain (p), while I commanded a thousand armed horsemen.

It was nearly noon. We were exhausted and parched with thirst. Not a single drop of water remained in our waterskins.

Hussain (p) and his companions came out to receive us.

With noble generosity, they placed waterskins to our dry lips. They graciously brought large basins of water before our exhausted horses and poured water over their necks and manes.

My soldiers and I stood ashamed before such overwhelming kindness.

What could we possibly say? What could we possibly do?

When the time for noon prayer arrived, we all stood behind him and performed the prayer under his leadership. After the salam, calm and subdued, we gave our hearts to his words—words filled with compassion and mercy.

The Words That Remained in Hurr’s Heart

He reproached us, yet we paid no heed.

Even when, at the Imam’s instruction, ‘Uqbah ibn Sim‘an emptied before us the saddlebag filled with the letters of invitation sent by the faithless people of Kufa, we closed our eyes and refused to see.

How wretched I was!

How could I have known that matters would come to this? I said to the Imam:

“I have not been ordered to fight you. I have only been sent to block your path to Kufa. As for returning to Madinah, that too is not permitted.”

The Imam looked at me, and out of shame I lowered my head.

My heart whispered gently:

“How disgraceful!”

Yet another voice within me said:

“How bold!”

Shamelessly, I raised my head and declared:

“If you draw your sword, you will surely be killed!”

The Imam, his face filled with righteous indignation, rebuked me:

“May your mother mourn your loss! Are you threatening me with death? Is there nothing you can do except kill me?”

I replied:

“Were it not that your mother is the beloved daughter of the Messenger of Allah (p), I would have answered you in kind.”

To gain entry into the tavern of Hussain (p), one must first seek permission from the Lady of all the worlds—the Blessed Mother.

It was this very love and reverence for the Daughter of the Messenger of Allah (p) that won Hurr over and brought him under the intercession of Hussain (p), until Hurr was counted among the companions of Imam Hussain (p) and became one of the people of Karbala.