Chapter Eight

The Reflection of the Messenger of Allah (p)

I Bear Witness That You Established the Prayer

أَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ قَدْ أَقَمْتَ الصَّلَاةَ

“I bear witness that you established the prayer.”

— A passage from Ziyarat al-Nāḥiyah al-Muqaddasah

The Mu'adhdhin of Karbala

In Karbala, Aba Abdillah al-Hussein (p) was the one who established Wilāyah in its fullest and most perfect sense.

As we recite in his blessed Ziyarat:

أَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ قَدْ أَقَمْتَ الصَّلَاةَ

“I bear witness that you established the prayer.”

As is explicitly affirmed in the historical sources, the Mu'adhdhin of Karbala was Ali al-Akbar (p).

For this reason, Ali al-Akbar (p) was the one who proclaimed, taught, and guided people toward Wilāyah and the Husseini recognition (maʿrifah).

وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِي إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

“And surely you guide to a Straight Path.”

The true meaning of guidance is to guide people to the Straight Path, namely Wilāyah.

As Imam al-Baqir (p) explained regarding the noble verse 52 of Surat al-Shūrā:

“O Messenger! You command the people to follow the Wilāyah of Amir al-Mu'minin (p), and you call them toward him.”

The Reflection of the Messenger of Allah (p)

Just as the Messenger of Allah (p) guided mankind toward the Wilāyah of Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (p),

so too Ali al-Akbar (p)—the one who most closely resembled the Messenger of Allah (p) in appearance, character, and speech—guided and directed people toward the Husseini Wilāyah.

Thus, when the Mu'adhdhin of Karbala (p) had conveyed the Wilāyah and Imamate of his father in its fullest and most perfect sense, Aba Abdillah al-Hussein (p) described him in these words:

اللَّهُمَّ اشْهَدْ،

فَقَدْ بَرَزَ إِلَيْهِمْ غُلَامٌ

أَشْبَهُ النَّاسِ خَلْقًا وَخُلُقًا وَمَنْطِقًا بِرَسُولِكَ،

وَكُنَّا إِذَا اشْتَقْنَا إِلَى نَبِيِّكَ نَظَرْنَا إِلَيْهِ

“O Allah! Bear witness that there now goes forth to them a young man who most closely resembles Your Messenger in appearance, character, and speech.

Whenever we longed to behold the face of the Messenger of Allah (p), we would look upon the face of Ali al-Akbar (p).”

Peace Be Upon Ali al-Akbar (p)

السَّلَامُ عَلَى عَلِيٍّ الْكَبِيرِ

Peace be upon Ali al-Kabīr.

— A passage from Ziyarat al-Nāḥiyah al-Muqaddasah

In passages from the transmitted Ziyarat of Ali al-Akbar (p), narrated by Imam al-Ṣādiq (p), we read:

أَشْهَدُ أَنَّكُمْ أَعْلَامُ الدِّينِ

وَنُجُومُ الْعَالَمِينَ،

وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ

وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

“I bear witness that you are a sign of the religion and a guiding star for all the worlds.

Therefore, may the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.”

In reality, the stars are those blessed descendants of the Imams who guide the servants of Allah toward the Imam of their own time.

Among all the Imamzādahs, the blessed Ali al-Akbar (p)—the one who most closely resembled the Messenger of Allah (p) in appearance, character, and speech, and the Mu'adhdhin of Karbala—fulfilled this role in the most complete and perfect manner through his unique virtues and lofty qualities.

Ali al-Kabīr

In Ziyarat al-Nāḥiyah al-Muqaddasah, Hazrat Baqiyyatallāh al-Aʿẓam (may our souls be sacrificed for him) addresses Ali al-Akbar (p) with these words:

السَّلَامُ عَلَى عَلِيٍّ الْكَبِيرِ

If one reflects carefully upon this expression, it becomes clear just how exalted the rank and how lofty the station of Ali al-Akbar (p) truly is.

Ḥujjat ibn al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī (may our souls be sacrificed for him) describes Ali al-Akbar (p) with the title:

“Ali al-Kabīr.”

This is an attribute that Allah, the Exalted, has used for Himself in the Noble Qur’an:

وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ

Your Senses Became Still, and Your Breaths Were Concealed

قَدْ سَكَنَتْ حَوَاسُّكَ

وَخَفِيَتْ أَنْفَاسُكَ

“Your senses became still, and your breaths were concealed.”

— A passage from Ziyarat al-Nāḥiyah al-Muqaddasah

In the final moments of the blessed life of Ali al-Akbar (p), the noble prince called out:

يَا أَبَتَاهُ،

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ.

هَذَا جَدِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ

قَدْ سَقَانِي بِكَأْسِهِ الْأَوْفَى،

وَهُوَ يَقْرَؤُكَ السَّلَامَ وَيَقُولُ:

عَجِّلِ الْقُدُومَ إِلَيْنَا

فَإِنَّ لَكَ كَأْسًا مَذْخُورًا

“Peace be upon you, O my father.

Farewell, dear father!

Here is my grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (p).

He has given me to drink until I am fully satisfied.

He sends his greetings to you and says:

‘Hasten in coming to us, for I have reserved for you a cup of the wine of Paradise.’”

Then he cried out once more and attained martyrdom.

Imam Hussein (p) Reaches Ali al-Akbar (p)

Upon hearing the voice of his beloved son Ali al-Akbar (p), Imam Hussein (p) rushed toward him like a falcon swooping upon its prey, until he reached the blood-soaked body of his son.

According to the narration of Sayyid Ibn Ṭāwūs:

فَجَاءَ الْحُسَيْنُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ

حَتَّى وَقَفَ عَلَيْهِ،

وَوَضَعَ خَدَّهُ عَلَى خَدِّهِ

Hussein (p) placed his face upon the face of Ali (p).

No sound came from him.

Then Lady Zaynab (p) rushed out from the tents, crying:

يَا حَبِيبَاهُ!

يَا ابْنَ أَخَاهُ!

“O my beloved!

O son of my brother!”

إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

Lady Zaynab (p) at the Side of Ali al-Akbar (p)

The patience and steadfastness of ʿAqīlat al-ʿArab, Lady Zaynab (p), are evident from the fact that when both of her own sons were martyred, she did not leave the tent.

Yet, despite her remarkable composure and unwavering submission, the author of Mubkī al-ʿUyūn relates three narrations concerning the martyrdom of Ali al-Akbar (p).

One of these narrations states that his blessed body was left where it had fallen, while Lady Zaynab (p) ran barefoot to the place where he lay.

When she reached Ali al-Akbar (p), she saw Imam Hussein (p) beside him, as though life itself had departed from him.

قَدْ سَكَنَتْ حَوَاسُّكَ

وَخَفِيَتْ أَنْفَاسُكَ

She cried out:

“O my Hussein!

O son of my brother!”

She came to him and revived him from that state.

Imam Hussein (p) then rose to his feet, placed his hand upon his lower back, and slowly made his way toward the tents, softly repeating:

“O young men of Banī Hāshim, come!

Bring Ali to the entrance of the tents.

Allah knows that I no longer have the strength

to carry Ali to the doorway of the tents.”

And Because of You, Your Mother al-Zahrāʾ Was Stricken with Grief and Affliction

وَفُجِعَتْ بِكَ أُمُّكَ الزَّهْرَاءُ

“And because of you, your mother al-Zahrāʾ was stricken with grief and affliction.”

— A passage from Ziyarat al-Nāḥiyah al-Muqaddasah

In the blessed Ziyarat of the martyrs of Karbala, Abā Ṣāliḥ al-Mahdī (may our souls be sacrificed for him) addresses Ali al-Akbar (p), saying:

جَعَلَنَا اللَّهُ مِنْ مُلَاقِيكَ

وَمُرَافِقِيكَ وَمُرَافِقِي جَدِّكَ

وَأَبِيكَ وَعَمِّكَ وَأَخِيكَ

وَأُمِّكَ الْمَظْلُومَةِ

“May Allah make us among those who visit you, your companions, and your followers,

and among those who are in the company of your grandfather, your father, your uncle, your brother, and your oppressed mother.”

The Lamentation and Weeping of Lady Fāṭimah al-Zahrāʾ (p) for Ali al-Akbar (p)

When Aba Abdillah al-Hussein (p) hastened to the place where Ali al-Akbar (p) had fallen, he saw that the noble prince would at times weep and at times smile.

As Imam Hussein (p) reached his beloved son’s body, he found him with only the faintest breath remaining, his blessed body covered with wounds too numerous to count.

The Imam bent down, embraced him, kissed him, and said:

“My son!

May Allah destroy the people who have killed you...”

At that moment, Sayyid al-Shuhadāʾ, Imam Hussein (p), witnessed something extraordinary.

He saw that Ali al-Akbar (p) would at one moment weep and at another smile.

Wondering at the reason, the Imam asked:

“My son, I see you in two different states—between sorrow and joy.

O light of my eyes, tell me, what is the reason for this?”

He replied:

“My father, as for my smile, it is because when I look to one side, I see my grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (p), holding in his hand a vessel of water—the very drink you promised me.

And as for my tears, they are because when I look to the other side, I see my grandmother, Fāṭimah al-Zahrāʾ (p), sitting beside me.

She gazes upon my wounds, then turns her gaze toward you.

She strikes her head with her hand and weeps...”

Detached from This World

“You were detached from this world and had no desire for it, like one preparing to leave it behind and depart from it.

You always looked upon it with the eyes of one who regarded it with estrangement and aversion.”

— A passage from Ziyarat al-Nāḥiyah al-Muqaddasah

The tragedy of Dhāt al-Ṣudūr—that heartbreaking moment when your grandfather, Aba Abdillah al-Hussein (p), carried your lifeless body in his arms for those final moments—

you, O Walī Allāh al-Aʿẓam (may our souls be sacrificed for him), were its witness.

You recited an elegy in Ziyarat al-Nāḥiyah al-Muqaddasah whose words can lead the heart to none other than the calamity of the Mu'adhdhin of Karbala:

السَّلَامُ عَلَى عَلِيٍّ الْكَبِيرِ

How slowly the father’s strength faded away...

What eagerness could possibly remain?

To a lowly and wretched world that took away the first Ali, who was the beloved of the family, from the very soul of his father...

What is this world?

نَاظِرًا إِلَيْهَا بِعَيْنِ الْمُسْتَوْحِشِينَ مِنْهَا

Woe be upon this world after you, O Ali!

عَلَى الدُّنْيَا بَعْدَكَ الْعَفَا

Only you, O Ṣāḥib al-Zamān (may our souls be sacrificed for him), truly know what befell your noble grandfather.

The Lament of the Imam of the Time (p)

The remembrances and laments that reach us from your Sacred Presence, al-Nāḥiyah al-Muqaddasah, recite an elegy for our hearts, drenched in blood with grief:

سَلَامُ مَنْ قَلْبُهُ بِمُصَابِكَ مَقْرُوحٌ،

وَدَمْعُهُ عِنْدَ ذِكْرِكَ مَسْفُوحٌ

“Peace be upon the one whose heart has been wounded by your tragedy, and whose tears flow whenever you are remembered.”

سَلَامُ الْمَفْجُوعِ الْحَزِينِ

الْوَالِهِ الْمُسْتَكِينِ

“Peace be upon the sorrowful, grief-stricken, and bewildered sufferer.”

سَلَامُ مَنْ لَوْ كَانَ مَعَكَ بِالطُّفُوفِ

لَوَقَاكَ بِنَفْسِهِ حَدَّ السُّيُوفِ

“Peace be upon the one who, had he been with you on the plain of Karbala, would most certainly have protected you with his own life from the sharpness of the swords.”

Then he states:

لَأَنْدُبَنَّكَ صَبَاحًا وَمَسَاءً،

وَلَأَبْكِيَنَّ عَلَيْكَ بَدَلَ الدُّمُوعِ دَمًا

“Surely I shall weep and lament for you every morning and every evening,

and in place of tears,

I shall weep blood over your calamity.”

May Allah increase your reward, O Ṣāḥib al-Zamān, for the tragedy of your grandfather Hussein (p).