Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Chapter Twelve: Creating and revering symbols (Sha’er Allah)

Verse 158 from Chapter Al Baqarah, The Cow:

“Verily, Safa and Marwa are among the signs of Allah”

Allama Imam Fakhruddin Razi of Ahl – e – Sunnah in his Tafseer Kabir with reference to the above Verse writes:

The Signs of Allah (Sha’er Allah) are to be revered and are to be paid with obeisance, veneration and meaning or whatever symbols and signs are made to represent which invoke remembrance of Allah and constitute Sha’er of Allah or Signs of Allah as He Himself gives an example of the Mounts of Safa & Marwa.

Tafseer Kabir, Vol. 2, Page 43

Comment

Since the love of Imam Husayn (as) is obedience to Allah then all Symbols, Monuments, Taaziyah, Zareeh, Zuljanah etc. that indicate love and attachment to Rasulullah (s) and his Ahl’ul bayt (as) are all Signs of Allah (swt) and they command respect. Showing disrespect to them or dishonouring them would be tantamount to shunning this Verse of the Holy Qur’an whether this insult is done by writing or spoken by the tongue!

There is Verse 2 from the Chapter Al Maidah:

“O ye who believe! Violate not the (sanctity of) the Monuments of Allah”!

If Budoon is Sign of Allah then certainly the image of a horse, cradle and standards are also Signs of Allah.

People who venerate Taaziyah are certain to get their sins erased by the blessings of the Holy Prophet (s)

We read in Sawaiqh al Muhriqa page 147

“When King Timur was on his death bed, his face suddenly turned black and his countenance grew horrible. When his situation improved, his soldiers and his relatives asked him about the strange happening. Timur replied: I saw Angels of Torture from Allah come to me to chastise & punish me; hence I trembled from fear and my face contorted and blackened. But all of a sudden, I saw the Holy Prophet (s) come near me and commanded the Angels to go away and declared “I have come to intercede on his behalf for his sins to be erased as he is the lover of my Progeny & my descendents”

This proves that one who venerates and sanctifies Taaziyah is a lover of the Holy Progeny & the descendents of the Holy Prophet (s) and this act is held in high esteem by him to the extent that he considers it as an act of beneficence & benevolence unto him. It is obvious that if Azadari had been Haraam, then the Holy Prophet (s) would not have come to intercede on behalf of a perpetrator of sins and forbidden acts!

We read in Surah Baqarah 002.248:

And (further) their Prophet said to them: “A Sign of His authority is that there shall come to you the Ark of the covenant, with (an assurance) therein of security from your Lord, and the relics left by the family of Moses and the family of Aaron, carried by angels. In this is a symbol for you if ye indeed have faith.”

Al-Qur’an, Surah 2, Ayah 248, translated by Yusufali

These relics reached the hands of Hadrath Adam (as) and his descendants and as proof we shall rely on the following esteemed Sunni works:

Tafseer Kabir Volume 2 page 506 & 507

Tafseer Khazan Volume 1 page 216

Al Jamah la Hukam Al Qur’an, by Qurtubi 2nd edition, Page 247, Published Beirut

Tafseer Kabir:

“The Ashab narrate that Allah (swt) sent some relics to Adam (as) which contained pictures of the Prophets and these relics were inherited by the children of Adam until they reached Yaqoob (as)”

Qurtubi, in his commentary of this verse states:

This Covenant was sent by Allah (SWT) to Prophet Adam (as) and it remained with him until it reached Prophet Yaqoob (as). After which it remained with Bani-Israel.They kept overcoming their opposing armies due to the blessings of this chest until they disobeyed Allah (swt) and were defeated by Amaliqans who took the chest from them.

It is clear from this verse and tradition that Allah created these pictures of Prophets and sent them to Adam (as) who transferred it to his lineage. Hence paying homage to the symbols/images of prophets stands as an established fact. Why does the Ahl’ul Sunnah remain silent when it comes to this matter? If the Shi’a produce images of Karbala to commemorate the tyrannies faced by Ahl’ul bayt (as), the aim is to recall the tragedy of Karbala in people’s minds. Our aim is not to worship these images. If Allah (swt) sent pictures of Prophets that were kept by the people to remember Him then why the objection when the Shi’a create images to remember Karbala?

The legal justification for an Image

The illegality of an image is greatly emphasised and it is compared to idol worship. There are a number of methods to know or teach somebody about a thing:

1) To mention it verbally

2) To make its image / diagram so as to get facts into people’s minds.

Imagery has a clear benefit in that it reminds people of an event. It act as an effective tool to get key messages to an audience. One of the key aims of commercial advertising is to get an audience to associate a specific image with key messages about their product. We shall seek to strengthen our argument by citing this article ‘Using Imagery to Teach Concrete Concepts’

http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/imagery/index.htm – Cached

IF YOU LOOK IN encyclopedia books, they are embellished with images next to text on the subject matter. Why are they there? Aren’t words enough?

Including images within instructional or educational material helps to increase our comprehension and understanding of concrete concepts. Accompanied with text or words, this dual coding type of theory facilitates our learning processes. For example, if we were teaching the concept of a volcano, either in a dormant or active stage, using words alone would be difficult to describe it. The process of an eruption could also be clarified with the use of visuals. Imagine the impact of a video shown to a group of learners who have never seen this colossal natural event.

Lets look at other real-life examples. Architects render illustrations of their building designs to show what the structure will look like before it is built, helping educate the client on the building’s important features. Doctors look at x-rays or CT scans to help them with diagnoses. What appears in the x-rays will help the doctors learn what type of problem the patient is experiencing, so they can prescribe and perform necessary treatment.

Examine the Theory

Three important theories support the use of imagery with instruction. The information processing theory, developed by Atkinson and Shiffrins (1968), is the process by which information is perceived and transferred from short-term memory to long-term memory. Pavio’s dual-coding theory defines two separate memory systems; one functions as verbal memory and the other as imaginal memory that deals with visual processing. Mayer’s multimedia theory suggests that visuals and words together help learners select, organize and integrate information in meaningful ways.

While the three theories stated above support the use of imagery, three design principles (Lohr, 2003, pp. 39-44) assist instructional designers in the process of creating visual aids. The first one, known as the figure/ground principle, helps learners select important information. The second, the hierarchy principle, helps learners organize information and the third, the gestalt principle, helps learners integrate information.

Levie and Lentz (1982) compared data from research with 155 experiments on learning with and without supporting illustration. They came to the following conclusion – using illustration that closely relates to the text helps the learner understand and remember.

Based along the same principles, imagery in Azadari mourning ceremonies acts as a means of educating the masses about the suffering of al Husayn (as). The image of Zuljanah (the horse of Imam Husayn (as)) reminds us of the time when Imam Husayn (as) fell from the horse and it returned to his camp without its rider. It notified the women of Ahl’ul bayt (as) that the Imam (as) had being martyred.

Displaying the image of an Alam (Standard) also serves the purpose of educating the masses that are not familiar with the tragedy of Karbala. These are used in the Juloos (mourning processions). The image of Alam (the flag) purports to bring to our memories the time when Imam Husayn (as) brought back the Alam of his slain brother Hadrath Abbas (as) after his death and the distraught women and children mourned and wailed to see the standard. If one looks at the Alam carefully, we see that it is made up of three components:

Scarves

The symbol of a “hand” on the top of the flag

A water flask

All three act as sharp reminders to the tragedy of Karbala, and have a direct correlation to that event. The hand represents the slain arms of the brother of Imam Husayn (as), Hadrath Abbas (as).

The Water Flask represents the thirst experienced by Imam Husayn (as), his family and loyal companions. It focuses one’s mind to the harsh blockade so severe that the Nasabi forces turned down Imam Husayn (as)’s request for water even for his six month old son.

The scarves symbolise the humiliation that the women of Rasulullah (s)’s household were subjected to. The grand daughters of Rasulullah (s) had their scarves forcefully removed by the soldiers of Yazeed after the martyrdom of Imam (as).

The purpose behind the image of the cradle is to remember the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (as)’s infant son, Ali Asghar (as). Anyone upon seeing a horse in a procession will ask about its role in Azadari. This is where education plays such a pivotal role. The horse represents the final moments of the Imam Husayn (as) as he left his family enclave to engage in Jihad, never to return again. Upon his (as) martyrdom, the horse of our Imam (as) returned back to the tents wherein the ladies of the household were waiting anxiously. An empty saddle in effect confirmed that Imam Husayn (as) was martyred.

All these things carry a strong message to all the generations wherever Azadari is carried out and they remind everyone of these events which are attached to these symbols. All of these images are meant to remember the afflictions faced by Ahl’ul bayt (as). We do not consider these images as God nor do we worship them. Only Allah (swt) is worthy of worship. We kiss these images as a mark of respect as the poet in this Arabic poem has said as follows:

“I kiss the place where my beloved lives not because I love this place but because I love the person who lives here”

In the same way kissing an image demonstrates love and respect for Ahl’ul bayt (as) and if a Nasibi Mullah still shuts his eyes and insists on calling it worship of images then we advise him to first look at himself. We will present some references, which will show that if this is a “worship” of images then this worship also takes place in their own camp.

The Image of Zuljanah (Imam Husayn (as)’s horse)

Surah Aadiyat verses 1-2:

YUSUF ALI: By the (Steeds) that run with panting (breath) And strike sparks of Fire

Dear Readers!

In this Ayah, Allah (swt) speaks of the high standing of the warriors by swearing upon the horses used in jihad. This shows that when a warrior of jihad is praised, Allah also loves and praises his horse. When the Shi’a remember the warriors of Karbala who fought against the oppression of Banu Ummaya they also talk about those faithful horses that withstood a barrage of arrows and spears. The image of the horse of Imam (as) on the 10th of Muharam portrays the hardships of the martyrs of Karbala. Preparing images to preserve remembrance of an incident is not forbidden in Islam.

The House of Allah is a replica of Bayt al M’amoor

We read in Tafseer Jamal that is under the footnote of Tafseer Jalalayn, Volume 1, and Page 297:

Be it known that Allah built (Bayt al M’amoor) under the Arsh and commanded that it be called Bayt al M’amoor a place to circumbulate for the dwellers on the sky.

By referring Ka’aba as Bayt al M’amoor, Allah (swt) All Mighty has Himself ordered that a replica of the Holy House be built. This means that symbols such as Models etc. which are modelled on the shrines of the Holy Infallible Imams (as) are absolutely acceptable and hence can be made and set up & revered.

Kissing the image of grave

On page 868 of Majma ul Bahrain, the Shi’a author relies on a Sunni reference:

“It is written in kifiyat ul shaabi that a man came to the holy prophet and said, ‘O Prophet of Allah I have sworn that I would kiss the door of paradise, what should I do now’, the prophet said to him to go and kiss his father’s forehead and mother’s feet. He said,’ what if my parents are not alive?’ The prophet replied, kiss the graves of your parents. He said,’ I do not know where their graves are’, the Prophet said draw two lines on earth and consider them the graves of your parents and then kiss them”

The tradition clarifies that there is nothing wrong in making images of the graves of ones parents. The rank of Imam Husayn (as) is no doubt, higher than ones parents. Then why is there objection to making image of Imam Husayn (as)’s grave?

Images of Abu Bakr and Umar

Tareekh Khamees Volume 2 page 172 provides a mapped illustration of the graves of Rasulullah (s), Abu Bakr and Umar.

We then read this written commentary underneath:

“It is written in Khulasathul Wafa that first is the grave of the Holy Prophet and Abu Bakr’s head is near the shoulder of the prophet and Umar’s head is near the feet of the prophet”

The Ahl’ul Sunnah have created a map of the graves of Umar and Abu Bakr, but ironically when the Shi’a create an image of Imam Husayn (as)’s grave this tantamounts to Shirk and Bidah.

The image of a coin

Basharat ul darain is a book that has been written against the Shi’a mourning rituals in Muharam. The cover depicts the image of an Islamic coin, which is the copy of the original Islamic coin. The aim is to highlight the high rank of the three caliphs so as to create feeling of love towards them. The images that the Shi’a make are not for the purpose of worshipping them. Worship is only for Allah (swt). These images are only meant to portray the hardships and tyranny faced by Ahl’ulbayt (as) so as to arouse love for them and hatred for their enemies in the hearts of Muslims.

The images of Prophets (as)

We read in Surah Saba verse 13

YUSUFALI: They worked for him as he desired, (making) arches, images, basons as large as reservoirs, and (cooking) cauldrons fixed (in their places): “Work ye, sons of David, with thanks! but few of My servants are grateful!”

From this verse three points are clear:

Allah made Djinns the sub-ordinates to Sulayman (as).

Whatever the Djinns did for Sulayman (as) was from in accordance with Allah’s wishes.

These Djinns made statues / sculptures for him.

The statues / sculptures is the translation of the word Tamaseel, as has been confirmed by Sunni scholars of Tafseer,

Allama Baydhawi in his Tafseer volume 2, page 173 states:

“TAMASEEL are the pictures and replicas which were the pictures of angels and Prophets so that other people may contemplate worship after observing them.”

Mu’alim ul-Tanzeel, page 737. we see the commentary of Allama Baghwi’s statement as follows:

“Those Jinns used to make the pictures of Angels, Prophets and the Pious people in the mosques so that they could see them and worship more.”

The same statement can also be located in:

1) Tafseer Kashaaf, volume 2, page 445.

2) Tafseer Durre Manthur , volume 5, page 228.

These statements show that in obedience to Allah’s commands, the Djinns created pictures of Prophets and Angels for Sulayman (as) in order to provide the people with inspiration and increase their urge for worshipping Allah Almighty.

Taziyas (Standards) are the replicas of Imam Husayn’s (a.s) shrine, which cause the increase in mourning and crying for Imam Husayn (as) that we have already proven to be an act of worship.

What better logic or proof can possibly be given to prove that forming replicas (Shabeeh) as valid than this!, Allah (swt) ordered the Djinns to make such replicas for Prophet Sulayman (as). When it is permissible for Prophet Sulayman (as) to have images created for him and it does not negate the Qur’an in any sense then it is also permissible for us to create images that identify the tragedy of Karbala because Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:

[Yusufali 6:90] Those were the (prophets) who received Allah’s guidance: Copy the guidance they received; Say: “No reward for this do I ask of you: This is no less than a message for the nations.”

Accordingly today the Muslims make images following the practices of the Prophet Sulayman (as) and weep by looking at them just in the manner in which the Holy Prophet (s) would weep. Not only are we acting in accordance with the Sunnah of Prophet Sulayman (as) we are also obeying Allah (swt) because Allah (swt) would order the Djinns to make these replicas.

When it is proved from the Qur’an that the Jinn created ‘images’ upon the order of Sulayman (as) then why is there objection from Mullahs when Shi’as prepare images of a standard, cradle or Zuljanah in order to bring to their remembrance the sufferings of Imam Husayn (as).

Those who say that Azadari is idol worship must look into their own books first. Was Prophet Suleiman (as) an idol worshiper (Mazallah), because he prepared pictures of angels and Prophets?

Thus it is very clear that the purpose of images in Muharram is not to worship them but to bring to remembrance the suffering of Imam Husayn (as) and his family and thus pay homage to them for his patience and firmness in the face of extreme difficulties and tyranny. If still someone thinks it is idol worship it is only because of his malice for the progeny of the Prophet (s).

The horse of Ayesha

Sunan Abu Daud Book 41, Number 4914:

Narrated Ayesha, Ummul Mu’minin:

When the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) arrived after the expedition to Tabuk or Khayber (the narrator is doubtful), the draught raised an end of a curtain which was hung in front of her store-room, revealing some dolls which belonged to her.

He asked: What is this? She replied: My dolls. Among them he saw a horse with wings made of rags, and asked: What is this I see among them? She replied: A horse. He asked: What is this that it has on it? She replied: Two wings. He asked: A horse with two wings? She replied: Have you not heard that Solomon had horses with wings? She said: Thereupon the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) laughed so heartily that I could see his molar teeth.

Ayesha was not an infant at the time that she kept this ‘image’; we read in Muruj al Dhahab book2 p294 that:

‘Ayesha was married two years before the Hijrah’.

Ayesha’s marriage took place with the Holy Prophet (s) at the age of seven years and she came to his house at the age of nine years which was the first year of Hijrat.

The battle of Hunayn was fought in eight Hijra. Adding 8 to 9 makes 17 years. So when Ayesha made the Horse she was seventeen years old, hence a mature adult. If we accept the common Sunni defence that Ayesha was a mere child at the time then we have to accept that the house of the holy Prophet (s) remained a place of idols for eight years after the Hijra. More over, Ayesha herself says that she was eighteen years old when the Prophet (s) died.

It is quite evident from the above mentioned tradition that the explanation given by Ayesha for her toy, was based on its resemblance with the Sulaiman(as)’s horse and hence she placed it inside the house of Prophet(s) while deeming it the replica of Sulaiman(as)’s horse.Yet Prophet(as) neither rejected her notion nor He(s) prohibited the replica to be placed in His(s) House, in fact He(s) smiled which was an act of satisfaction with that act of Aysha.

Now the interesting thing is that the horse with wings or a ‘Flying Horse’ is called “Zuljanah” in Arabic. Hence we can say that the foundation of making replica of Zuljanah was established inside the House of Prophet(s) by His wife. Hence if we make the replica of Zuljanah, its not illegitimate because we don’t worship that horse (as propagated by Nasibis) rather it is made deeming it only an honorable sign of history.

Ahl’ul Sunnah’s creating an image of Ayesha, Talha and Zubayr

Ibn Katheer whilst discussing the events that occurred in 363 Hijri in al Bidayah wa al Nihaya Volume 11 page 275 states:

“In 363 Hijri a fight broke out between the Ahl’ul Sunnah and the Rafida. The Ahl ul Sunnah through a lack of common sense, or a complete omission of common sense were not willing to make peace. One group amongst then placed a woman on a camel and made her Ayesha and made to men Talha and Zubayr. They then declared their opponents the Sahaba of ‘Ali, and said ‘Now we shall fight the Sahaba of ‘Ali”

Comment

Just see how the Nasibi create an image of Ayesha when the need arises. When the Shi’a create an image of Imam Husayn (as)’s deeming it necessary for the time these Mullah’s suddenly suffer from indigestion. The narration also sheds light on the fact that these whenever these Nasibi wanted to display their enmity towards the family of Rasulullah (s) they would use the family of Abu Bakr as their means of approach.

Kissing Images

We read in Sawaiq al-Muhriqa, page 679 – 680 Dhikr Imam Ali Raza:

When Imam Ali Raza (as) came to Khurasan and reached Nishapur, Abu Dhara Razi and Muhammad bin Muslim Tusi came to welcome him along with other scholars and people. People were in such a condition that some were screaming, some were crying, some were throwing dust on their heads and some were kissing the hoofs of the horse.

Sawaiq al-Muhriqa, page 679-680

Dear readers we do not worship the images that are made in Muharam, only Allah all Mighty is worthy of worship. The purpose of these symbols is to portray the picture of Karbala and bring back to our minds the things that happened there. Kissing and paying respect to them is actually showing love and respect to Ahlul Bayt (as) just as people kissed the hooves of Imam Raza (as) to demonstrate their love and respect for the Imam (as).

The founder of Shariat (The Holy Prophet) portrayed himself as the camel of Imam Husayn (as)

We read in Ahl’ul Sunnah’s esteemed work Kashf-al- Mahjub by Ali Hajweri Data Ganj Baksh, page 181:

“Umar narrates, one day I came to the holy Prophet and saw that the Holy Prophet had made Imam Husayn (as) sit on his back have one end of a string in his mouth and the other end in Imam Husayn and the holy Prophet moved in the direction wherever Imam Husayn took him. When I saw this I said to Husayn “Oh Abu Abdullah, you have got a great ride” to this the Holy Prophet said to me “Oh Umar the rider is also great”.

Here we see the Holy Prophet (s) placing a string in this mouth and crawling on this knees. Umar sees this and compares him to a camel. Was the holy Prophet a real camel at that time? No! But he was only making a similarity to a camel. You cannot put the allegation of Bidah on the Image of the horse of a person for whose ride the Holy Prophet (s) made himself an Image. Nor can you say that those making such symbols will go to Hell.

Gibrael (as) appeared in the image of Ayesha

We read in Musnad Abu Haneefa p329:

Ayesha narrated that she possessed seven merits I was the most beloved of the Holy Prophet. The Holy Prophet married me when I was virgin. The Holy Prophet did not marry me until Gibrael (as) appeared in my image.

If (according to the Ahl’ul Sunnah) Gibrael (as) appears in the image of Ayesha it raises her rank and if Shi’as prepare a cradle, Alam, Zuljanah to remember Karbala, the Mullahs of Ahlul Sunnah throw all manner of abuse at us.

Gibrael (as) brought an image of Ayesha

We read in Saheeh al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 57:

Narrated by Ayesha: Allah’s Apostle said (to me), “You were shown to me in a dream. An angel brought you to me, wrapped in a piece of silken cloth, and said to me, ‘This is your wife,’ I removed the piece of cloth from your face, and there you were. I said to myself. ‘If it is from Allah, then it will surely be.’”

This tradition would lead us to believe that either an Angel presented Ayesha or Gibrael (as) presented an ‘image’ of Ayesha. Despite this, when we make images such as flags, water flasks, Zuljanah in memory of Imam Husayn (as), Nasibi Mullah’s state a women who looks at such images has her Nikah annulled. On the one hand they believe that the Nikah of the Prophet (s) was commented by looking at an ‘image’, on the other say your Nikah becomes Batil if you glance at an image.

The Dolls of Ayesha

We are quoting from the following authentic books of Ahl’ul Sunnah:

Saheeh Muslim, The Book Pertaining to the Merits of the Companions (Allah Be Pleased With Them) of the Holy Prophet (May Peace Be Upon Him) (Kitab Al-Fada’il Al-Sahaba)

Sunan Abu-Dawud (partial) :: General Behaviour (Kitab Al-Adab) – Book 41, Number 4914:

Saheeh Bukharee, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 151

We read in Saheeh al Bukharee:

Narrated ‘Ayesha:

I used to play with the dolls in the presence of the Prophet, and my girl friends also used to play with me. When Allah’s Apostle used to enter (my dwelling place) they used to hide themselves, but the Prophet would call them to join and play with me. (The playing with the dolls and similar images is forbidden, but it was allowed for ‘Aisha at that time, as she was a little girl, not yet reached the age of puberty.)

Dear Readers, those who are issuing fatwas against them who make Replicas in order to remember the Shahaadat of Husayn (as), they must look at their house first. If making replicas is idol worship, then Ayesha did it in front of the Prophet (s) and he didn’t prohibit her (on the contrary to this, he sent her friends to play with her).

Common defence: Ayesha was small child and the orders about it’s precipitation were not revealed.

Reply: If it is true, then does this mean that the house of the Prophet (s) was previously a temple of idols? Did Ayesha participate in idol worship? Were other sins such as alcohol consumption also committed prior to their abolition?

Proof of Alam (Flag / Standard)

The Flag of Rasool Allah (saw) was of black colour

We are quoting from authentic work of Ahl’ul Sunnah “Sunnan Abu Dawud”, vol 3, page 22, Kitab-ul-Jihad and Tirmidhi, vol. 1, page 528:

“There was a special flag of Rasool Allah (s), whose name was “Uqaab” and it consisted of curtain of Ayesha’s house. And its colour was black.”

Dear Readers, people object on the black colour and we proved it from the books of Ahl’ul Sunnah that colour of Rasool Allah’s flag was Black.

Similarly, there are a lot of Ahadith in Sunni books which show when Mahdi (as) come, an army will come to help him from east and they will be holding black flags in their hands.

In this day and age groups like Sipah-e-Sahaba and other members of Haq Chaar Yaar make colour flags. So these people with their Bidati flags should shut their mouths and they are not eligible to say a single word against Alam of Ghazi Abbas (as).

It seems that Nawasib hate this Standard perhaps it’s due to the reason that some of their Heroes didn’t get it in Khayber.

We read in Tadhkirat ul Khawaas, page 54:

“During the war of Siffin there was a day when Mu’awiya’s army killed Ammar Yasir (r), who was a great companion of Nabi (saw) [Saheeh Bukharee, vol 1, page 94,]. Rasool (saw) told Ammar that a group of rebels will kill you. That day Mawla Ali (as) took the Alam (flag) of Nabi (saw) and came out in the battlefield. He gave this Standard to Qais Ibn Sa’ad ibn ‘Abaada. When the Badri Sahaba (who participated in battle of Badr), and other Ansar and Muhajireen saw, they gathered under it and remembered the times of Rasool Allah (s). They started weeping bitterly after seeing that flag.”

Dear Readers, the way Sahaba remembered Rasool Allah (s) after looking at that flag and started weeping, it was a sign of love and respect for Rasool (s). Similarly, when we see the replica of Standard of Ghazi Abu Fadhl Abbas Ibn Ali (as), we remember the camps of Husayn (as) and his army. And we also weep in love and respect of this beloved son of Rasool (saw). If this weeping is not Bidah in case of companions, then why it becomes Bidat in our case? And if and Qazi or Mufti differ from this, then he has enmity of Ahl’ul Bayt (as) in his blood.

Giving a special reverence to the standard

It is written in book Akseer-ul-Abadaat, page 263:

“ Ali told Malik-e-Ashtar that I have a Standard, which I never took out before. And it was the first Standard of Rasool Allah (saw) and he told me that a time will come when you will fight with rebels. Then Ali (as) took out that Standard, which became old. When people saw the Standard of Rasool (s), they started weeping in loud voice. And all those who found the way till Standard, they kissed it.”

This reference depicts people weeping and kissing standard in front of Mawla Ali (as). This proves that it is allowed in Sharia to weep and kiss a Standard.

Similarly, there is only order to kiss Hajar-e-Aswaad. But you will see thousands of people touching and kissing the walls of Holy Kaaba. Do all of them become Mushriks for their love and respect?

Replica is only to make people remember the incidents clear, which happened in history. And their respect is a sign of love only.

Chapter Thirteen: Street Processions (Juloos)

Year long processions using the shirt and beard of Uthman

The Sunni Imam Ibn Qutayba in Al-Imama wa Siyasa, vol 1, page 42 states:

“Naila (wife of Uthman), took the hairs of beard of Uthman, which were pulled out by Muhammad bin Abi Bakr. And she put these hairs in shirt of Uthman and ordered Naumaan Ibn Bashir to take them to Mu’awiya in Damascus”.

In the same book, page 78, it is also written:

“One of Muawiya’s ambassadors told him: I have left 50,000 old people in such a state that they have made their beards wet with tears, while they are weeping after looking at the shirt of Uthman. And this shirt has been raised by them on the spears.”

And in authentic Sunni book Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, Volume 7 page 255, it is written:

فوضعه معاوية على المنبر ليراه الناس، وعلق الاصابع في كم القميص، وندب الناس إلى الاخذ بهذا الثأر والدم وصاحبه، فتباكى الناس حول المنبر، وجعل القميص يرفع تارة ويوضع تارة، والناس يتباكون حوله

“Mu’awyia kept the shirt on the pulpit to let the people watch it and he attached the fingers to the shirt, the people started weeping around the pulpit and calling for revenge. Afterwards, it used to be placed and then removed for sometime from there. For a whole complete year people wept upon that shirt in this way.”

Similarly we read in al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, Volume 2 page 58::

وكان أهل الشام لما قدم عليهم النعمان بن بشير بقميص عثمان الذي قتل فيه مخضوباً بالدم بأصابع زوجته نائلة إصبعان منها وشيء من الكف وإصبعان مقطوعتان من أصولهما ونصف الإبهام، وضع معاوية القميص على المنبر وجمع الأجناد إليه فبكوا على القميص مدة وهو على المنبر والأصابع معلقة فيه،

“Numan bin Basheer went to the people of Syria holding Uthman’s bloodied shirt in which he was killed and the severed fingers of his wife along with some part of palm. Mu’awiya placed the shirt on the pulpit and the soldiers were surrounding it and were weeping over the shirt for a while, the shirt was on the pulpit and the fingers were hanging from it.”

These references make it beyond doubt that beard of Uthman was pulled with such force by son of Abu Bakr that it came in his hand. These hairs and Uthman’s bloodied shirt were sent to Mu’awiyah in Damascus, who did a lot of ‘Azadari over them. Sometimes they were kept on the Mosque pulpit, and at others they were raised on the spears and shown to the shell shocked Syrians. Processions wherein the shirt and hairs were paraded went on for an entire year. These Nawasib say that sitting in sorrow is restricted to one’s wife, and even then it is restricted to the period of Iddah i.e. ONLY 4 months and 10 days. If this is the case then why did the son of Hinda and his sidekicks mourn Uthman for a complete year? Were they all wives of Uthman?

Let us not forget the comments of the learned advocate of Muawiya

Ibn al Hashimi who insists:

Additionally, comemmorating Ashura with any special ritual would be adding to the faith of Islam, and this is Bidah. Bidah is considered part of Hell-Fire, and whoever invents a Bidah is promised Hell-Fire as well.

Were these public processions under the auspices of Muawiya wherein Damascans were invited to mourn under Uthman’s bloodied shirts and his wives fingers not acts of Bidah? Is Ibn al Hashimi prepare to deem Muawiya and all those participants innovators that shall burn in Hell?

It’s very sad that these so called Muslims show sorrow for the killing of this 70 years Bani Umayyah tribesman but when it comes to mourning the family of the Prophet (s), who were slaughtered in state of thirst in Karbala, they become machines of issuing all manner of Kufr Fatwas against such acts.