Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Discourse 9: Repentance 2

Lord we have wronged ourselves and if You do not forgive us, and have mercy upon us, we shall surely be among the lost. (7:23)

Inmy previous discourse, I explained that repentance is the first step of the devotees on the journey of affinity to God and I promised to mention in this discourse the explanation of Imam Ali (as), peace be upon him, about the conditions and phases of repentance. Before doing so,I wish to answer this question, "When is the time for repentance and when is it accepted?"

A person has the opportunity to repent as long as that person is alive and before death comes. When a person is in the clutches of death, no timeis left to be saved through repentance. According to traditional interpretations, this death time is the moment that one feels and sees death and gets a glimpse of the next world.

Repentance in the next world has no meaning for one is not in a position to repent nor can it be real.But the reason why at the time of death repentance is not acceptable, is explained in the Quran.

“Then when they saw Our might, they said: 'We believe in God alone and we disbelieve in that we were associating with Him. ' But their belief when they saw Our might did not profit them... (40:84-85)

Why is it so?Because repentance does not mean simply regret or a return from the wrong path due to one factor or another. Repentance is real when an internal revolution takes place in a person, causing a rise against all lustful, evil forces and wicked deeds, and domination over them all.

Seeing divine vengeance approaching and then experiencing belief and repenting is not an internal revolution. The Quran says about Pharaoh,

Till when the drowning overtook him, he said, 'I believe that there is no god but He in whom the Children of Israel believe. (10:90)

As long as Pharaoh alive he acts like a despot and nothing and no counsel convinced him. He resorts to a contest between his magicians and Moses; he shows more rebelliousness and decides to kill Moses and his tribe. He chases them in their flight and, when he is at the point of drowning in the sea and there is no escape, he repents and expresses his belief in the God of Moses.But it is too late for his repentance to be acceptable for it is not a real, internal revolution. His repentance is only due to his helplessness in a calamity. So they say to him, "Now? When you previously rebelled?" In other words, "Why did you not repent an hour before when you were quite free to do so?" For, then, it would have been a true change of heart. What criminal in the world is not penitentat the moment of punishment?But if he shows a regret and penitence before he is caught, then we can say he is changing spiritually.

Now, as for why repentance in the next world is unacceptable, this is because the criminalwitnesses punishment there and the consequence of his deeds and therefore his repentance would not be a true revolution. Moreover, death is like the fall of a fruit from the tree. As long as it is a part of the tree, it is dependent on the air,water and nourishment that the tree obtains. Even an hour before falling, there is the chance for that fruit to become more ripe and sweet but the moment it falls every possibility of developmentcomes to an end for it.

The human being is the fruit of nature with all the potentials for that person to be good or bad. If we adopt worship and devotion, weare being ripened . If we sin, we are plagued like a rotten fruit. Repentance is one of the ways by which one is nourished when one is alive, not indeath or after it. All the changes and revolution andups and downs are connected with this world while in the next world, they all come to an end and stop.

Another example is a baby in the mother's womb. All its nourishment and healthare through the mother but the moment it is born, totaldependance comes to an end and, a new order is established for its life that is quite different from the previous one. In the next world, too, everything is different from the order of this world.

Imam Ali (as), peace be upon him, says, 'Today is the time of deeds and not reckoning and tomorrow (in the hereafter) is the time for reckoning and not for deeds.' He does not mean that there is no punishment in this world. Some of themisfortunes which befall us are punishments.But again it does not mean that all punishments for wicked deeds are inflicted in this world. Therefore, if one receives no punishment here it does not mean that one is quite chaste and that one's account is clear.

On the other hand, if a happening like a flood destroys people, is it due to their deeds and their punishment in the world? No. The above saying of Imam Ali (as) says that as this world is for deeds and not for reckoning, the next world is for reckoning and not deeds. That is the reason why repentance must take place before death to be valid, that is, it must take place where there is still time and opportunity for it.

God says in the Quran, He promises them and fills them with fancies but there is nothingsatan promises then?except delusion. (4: 120)

A man came toHadrat Imam Ali (as) to repent and when the Imam realized that the man was ignorant of the importance of repentance, he said to him, "Do you know the meaning of repentance? It has an exalted position. It has six conditions for its acceptance and the last two are the conditions of its completion." What are those six points?

The first one is regretting what has passed. It means looking at the dark deed and being so sorry and ashamed of it that it makes yourheart burn . The Quran says,

Oh believers, wine and arrow-shuffling, idols and divining arrows are an abomination, some ofsatan's work, so avoid it; haply you will prosper. (5:90)

Everyone knows how despicable dead flesh is and there is nothing more fitting than comparing backbiting with it. Calumny is in the same category of sins. Some people in accusing others begin their words by the phrase, "It is said," and suppose that in thisway they acquit themselves of the sin of calumny and later onthey disclaim their remark and say that they have quoted others' words. This too is a sin and the Quran has forbidden it in the following verse.

Those who love that indecency should be spread abroad concerning those who believe there awaits them a painful chastisement. (24:19)

Those who spread accusations of others are committing a great sin. The same applies to unclean glances at people's wives or daughters to the abandonment of prayer and fasting and showing indifference to sacred rites in the months of mourning and fasting. Being inadequately dressed in public is another such sin.

The Prophet in speaking of his ascension says, "I saw women there hung by their hair and beaten with fiery scourges and women who were hung by their breasts and beaten with whips.I asked who they were and was told, "These are the women who exhibited their bodies in public."

Of what worth is this brief span of life to expose oneself to such heavenlypunishments. Is it not time to come tooneself , to feel humble and show interest in what is ordained by God? The Quran says,

Is it not time that the hearts of those who believe should be humbled to the remembrance of God and theTruth which He has sent down (57: 16)

What is the use of shedding one tear drop occasionally for appearance's sake instead of repenting and checkingourselves and others from sinning?

The second condition that forms the basis of reference is a decisive resolution not to repeat the foul deed again. Repentance does not depend on the enormity of sin. Every kind of sin, whether big or small, lends itself to repentance provided the Penitent is serious in his or her intention.

One of the two conditions for the acceptance of repentance is to return what belongs to others, whether it is something thatis seized or a right that has been trampled on.It must either be returned itself or, at least, the rightful owner must be given satisfaction. God will not forget him and the same applies to a person who has been backbitten. Hemust be given satisfaction. He must accept the apology.

I wish to narrate something that concernsmyself .I was a young religious student attending a group in which someone started to slander the lateAyatullah Hujjat whose pupil I had been for years.I felt this to be quite wrong but I did nothing about it. One dayI went to his house and asked to see him.I was let in and I explained that he had spoken about him behind his back a great deal and had done nothing to stop them.I felt penitent about it and asked for his forgiveness. With the greatness that this man had, he said, "There are two kinds of slander about people like us, one is an insult toIslam and the other concerns our person."I explained that he had not said anything offensive about Islam but had spoken only of his person.

He toldme I was forgiven.

Inrepentance everything that is unlawfully acquired belongs to others whether it is a religious task, bribery or any illegitimate gain or any damage done and it must be repaid and amended so that the rightful owner or the person who has received the damage should be satisfied. If you have nothing left to give back and forexample the rightful owner is no longer living, seek forgiveness from God. God willing, He will make that person satisfied. Similarly, heavenly rightsmust also be restored . What are heavenly rights? If you have failed to observe the fast or perform your ritual prayer or failed to make your obligatory pilgrimage to Mecca in spite of being able to bear it physically and financially, you must make up for all these failures. This is the second condition for the acceptance of your repentance.

Alady who attended one of my discourses had written to me saying that she was deeply influenced by my remarks about a total change of heart. She confessed thatinspite of the higher education and her job as the head of a school, she was unfortunate enough not to be properly acquainted with theQuran and she asked for guidance and advice.

Allowme to give a general answer. It is necessary for every Muslim to know Arabic in order to understand the Quran and his own prayer.But as it happens English is at present the international language and a means of increasing one's income and every school boy and girl is taught that language, while Arabic is entirely neglected even though it is religiously and spiritually greatly needed by us.

The next point Imam Ali (as), peacebe upon him, mentioned about the condition for the acceptance of repentance is to rid oneself of all the flesh that has grown on one by illegitimate means. This requires the mortification of the flesh,abstinence and self-discipline. It means benefitting from what is legitimate,honest and proper.

My father narrated that the lateRazavi Khorasani , who was a religious sage, had a very corpulent body. In the last years of hislife he met a devout ascetic and through his influence, he decided to get rid of his extra flesh to such an extent that he became quite lean and thin. I am not so insolent as to say that his fatness was due to lose living, but anyhow he himself hadcome to the conclusion that a religious person must not be so corpulent.

The last condition that I wish to explain is to let thebody which has tasted the sweetness of sin, also taste the pain of deviation and worship. Fasting is not an easy matter especially if you spend the night in prayer. The Quran in speaking of repentance mentions the following points:

God loves those who repent and He loves those who cleanse themselves. (2:222)

This means that you must cleanse yourself not only physically but also spiritually. The Prophet was a fine example of both kinds of cleanliness.

The Quran also speaks of reforming oneself in connection with repentance.

And he who repents, after his evil doing and makes amends, God is All-compassionate. (5:39)

I have already mentioned that sometimes one half of a person rebels against the other half and this rebellion may be by the lower side of a person such as his lust, anger or devilry or by his higher side like his intellect, conscience, his true nature and his depth of heart.

Those who have suffered sexual deprivations in the name of worship and virtue suddenly turn into libertines and make rebels ofthemselves .But a revolution which is started by a belief in God by recognizing the higher side of the human being, is holy and accompanied by reform.

One of the peculiarities of the Prophets as compared with other human leaders is that their revolution is different from a revolution begun by leaders in a society. The latter manage only to arouse one group or class against another class or classes of society and equip them with the means or vanquishing the adversaries. This kind of revolution has its use in cases where a class of oppressors and a class of the oppressed have come into existence. Calling upon the oppressed to seize the right is human and this actionhas been both recommended and carried out by Islam and all the Prophets . One of the testaments of Imam Ali (as), peace be upon him, to his two sons, was, "Always be an enemy of an oppressor and an ally of the oppressed."

But what revolutionary leaders are unable to do what Prophets can do is to arouse the human being against the self and make him or her repent, they can also make the oppressors rise against their own wicked deeds. You meet many figures like AbuSufiyan and AbuJahl in the history of Islam against whom the poor and weak people have arisenand also tyrants like these have rebelled against themselves.

Imam Musaibn Ja'far was passing through a market in Baghdad. He heard the sound of music and merry-making from a house. As he was passing by it, he saw a girl servant coming out with a bucket of rubbish. He asked her whether the owner of the house was a free man or a slave. The girl was surprised at this question and answered that he was naturally a free man and a man of consequence in that town. It took her some time before she returned to the house. The master asked her why she had been away so long. She told him about her talk with the man and gave a description of him. She said that his last remark was that if the master of the house did not consider himself a free man, he would not engage in such revelry and merry-making.

The man realized by her description that the man was none but the Imam. He gave himself no time even to put on his shoes and hurried to the door, bare-footed to see the Imam. He ran in the direction that he was told the Imam had taken and on catching up with him, kneltdown and said, "You were quite right.I am a slave but I knew it not. I want from this hour to be God's slave and begin again with my repentance."

He returned home and threw away all the means of revelry and from then on he walked the streets of Baghdad in his bare feet receiving the nickname, 'the barefootedBashar '. Hewas asked the reason for not wearing shoes and he answered, "As I had the honor of meeting the Imam as I am now I wish to preserve the memory of it by going bare-footed."

Concerning the affair of the Jewish tribe of theBani Quraida who had acted treacherously against Islam and the Muslims, the Prophet decided to settle the question for good. They asked him to dispatchAbul Babah who had an inclination towards them for consultation. The Prophet agreed and sent him to them. He betrayed this trust by someremark which was in favor of the Jews and against the Muslims. As he was returning to Medina he felt ashamed of his action and went home, not to see his wife and children, but to get a piece of rope to go to the mosque of the Prophet. He tied himself to a pillar and cried, "Oh God I will not untie myself until my repentance is accepted." Only at the time of ritual prayers or to ease nature did his daughter untie himtor a few moments and gave him some food and again he asked to be bound, spending long hours lamenting and regretting what he had done and wishing to be dead unless he was absolved from his sin.

They reported this to the Prophet and he said, "If he had come to me I would have begged God to forgive him but as he has made a direct request of God, He will deal with him." After two or three days, divine revelation informed the Prophet thatAbul Babah was forgiven . When the people of Medina heard this, they poured into the mosque to release him but he requested the Prophet to do so, which he did.

Those who have made a pilgrimage to Medina know that on one of the pillars of the Prophet's mosque itis written , 'pillar of repentance'. This is the pillar whereAbul Babah repented and in histime it was a wooden column. After his absolution,Abul Babah , as a sign of gratitude offered all his wealth tobe used in the way of God but the Prophet did not agree. He offered two-thirds of it.Again the Prophet refused. For the third time he offered one third and the Prophet agreed. This was just sinceAbul Babah had the duty of supporting his family.

Itis narrated that a man died and the Prophet went to perform his burial prayer. He asked how many children the man had and what wealth he had left. They said he waswell-off but had given away his wealth for charity before his death. The Prophet said, "If I had known this before, I would not have prayed for him since he has bequeathed hungry children to society."

It is also said that if a sick man intends to leave more than one third of his wealth to charity, his bequest is not acceptable since he has done so on his death bed even if this is not done by bequest but as an ordinary act of transfer.

I have discussed the question of repentance throughout these nightshecause these sacred nights of staying awake are the best time for penitence and begging God's forgiveness so that you may be absolved from your sins.But in this repentance all the conditions that I mentioned before must be fulfilled.

Another example of repentance wasZuhair ibn alQain who became a companion of Imam Husain, peace be upon him. He was one of the followers ofUthman who believed that Imam Ali (as), peace be upon him, God forbid, had a hand in the murder ofUthman . He was returning from Mecca to Iraq and as Imam Husain, peace be upon him, was taking the same route, he wondered whether he should meet the Imam or not. As he was at heart a truebeliever he feared that the Imam, as the grandson of the Prophet, might ask him something which he would be unwilling to perform which would be very bad so he kept away from the Imam.But in one of the stopping places on their way they happened to alight by a well at the same time. The Imam sent someone to bringZuhair to him.Zuhair , as the head of the tribe, was dining in his tent with his family and companions. He went pale on hearing the summons and said, "What I did not wish for has happened."

He did not know what to say. He had a wife full of belief who said to him, 'Are you not ashamed by showing hesitation in obeying the call of the Prophet's grandson which you should consider an honor? Go at once.'Zuhair unwillingly arose and went to meet the Imam. No one knows what passed betweenthem but whenZuhair returned he looked quite a different man. He was now very cheerful and happy. We do not know how the Imam transformed him but a holy revolution had taken place in him. Atonce he started giving instructions about his will concerning his wealth and members of his family and hastened to join the Imam. InKarbala he was in the front line of the Imam's followers, where he achieved martyrdom with them all. When his wife sent a servant with a shroud for his body, the servant saw a shameful sight. They discovered that not onlyZubair's body but also his master's body lacked a shroud.

Inconclusion I pray to God for a good end for us all and for the chance of true repentance by us and forgiveness by Him.

Discourse 10: Migration and Jihad 1

And whoso goes forth from his house as an emigrant to God and His Messenger and then death overtakes him, his wage shall have fallen on God.Surely God is All-forgiving All-compassionate. (4:100)

The holy religion of Islamis based on the two pillars of migration and jihad (spiritual and religious struggle upon the way of God). The Quran sanctifies both matters and praises profoundly those who migrate.

Migration means leaving one's home and dwelling and Setting off for another destination in order to save religion and faithThis matter is referred to in many verses of the Quran The Muslims of early Islam consisted of two groups: The Emigrants and the Companions. The Companions were

In Medina and the Emigrants were those who left their town and Went to Medina. Migration and jihadcannot be abrogated ; both are permanent decrees which conditions might at any time make necessary.

To remove misunderstanding, letme explain that other interpretations are also made of both migration and jihad. Ithas been said , "An emigrant is one who abandons sins." Is this meaning proper? If so, then all penitents in the world who avoid sin are emigrants. Two examplesmay be given here:Fuzeil binIyaz andBashir Hafi .Fuzeil was a thief at the beginning but a change of heart made him reject all sins and repent sincerely. Later he was known not only as a virtuous manbut as a guide and teacher of others. In his formerdays he climbed a wall to enter a house where as it happened a devout man kept awake praying and reading the Quran. He heard the melodious voice of the man reading a verse of the Holy Quran.

When he heard it, sitting on the wall, he thought, "It is a revelation addressed directly to me. Yes, oh God, it is time, this very moment." He climbed down and from that moment on, he abandoned theft, drinking and gambling and whatever other vices he had. He restored as much property as was possible and whatever other vices he had. He restored as much property as was possible to their owners and made up for all his missed acts of worship. Thus, he was an emigrant from sin.

In the time of Imam MusaKazim , peacebe upon him, there was a man in Baghdad calledBashir Hafi who was a pleasure-loving aristocrat. One day the Imam was passing by this man's house when amaid came out to leave the rubbish somewhere. At the same time, the sound of musicwas heard from the house. It seemed that some kind of revelry was going on there. The Imam tauntingly asked whose house it was and whether or not the owner was a slave or a free man. Themaid answered in surprise, "Don't you know? This is the house ofBashir Hafi . How could he be a slave?" The Imam said, "He must be free to be engaged thus. If he were aslave his conduct would be different. “Then the Imam went on his way.

When themaid returned to the house,Bashir asked why she had been gone so long. She related the conversation she had with a man who, according to her, looked very virtuous and religious. By her description,Bashir realized that it could not have been anyone but the Imam. He felt a sudden change of heart and eagerly asked which direction he had taken. Onbeing told , he ran out bare-footed and managed to catch up with the Imam. He fell at the Imam's feet, sobbing and admitted his interest in being a slave from that minute onward, a slave of God. He repented his pastconduct and on returning home, threw away all the implements of revelry and began a life of virtue and devotion.Thus he may be considered another emigrant from sin.

There is a similar interpretation about jihad. Itis said that amujahid (one who engages in religious and spiritual struggle in the way of God) is one who combats the self and fights against his or her carnal desires.

Ali, peace be upon him, says, "The bravest person is he who conquers his own desires." One day the Holy Prophet was passing through a street in Medina. He saw a number of youths who were engaged in a contest of lifting a heavy stone. The Prophet asked if they would like him to act as a judge of the contest. They eagerly agreed. Then the Prophet said, "There is no need to lift the stone to see which of you is the strongest.I can say that the strongest person is he who in his desire for a sin is able to control that desire. Such a person is truly a brave warrior."

A storyis related aboutPuryayeh Vali who is considered a great world champion as well as a symbol of chivalry and manliness. Once he had visited another country for a wrestling contest with its champion. In thestreet he came across an old woman who was offering people sweets as charity and begging them to pray for her son. She approachedPuryayeh and offered her sweets. He asked what it wasfor . She said, "My son is a wrestling champion who is challenged by a champion from another country. We live on the income he gets from wrestling and if he loses this contest, we will have nothing to live on." He said he was at across-road whether to show his strength or his manliness in the next day's contest. Although he was far stronger than hisadversary , he wrestled in such a way as to let him win. He says that at that moment he suddenly felt thathis heart was opened by God and it seemed as if he was surrounded by angels. He fought his own desire and thus joined the rank of saints.

There is another story about Ali, peace be upon him, andAmr ibn Abdawud , a champion who had stood alone against a thousand men. In the Battle of the Trench, the Muslims were on one side of the trench and the enemy, on the other, so that the enemy could not cross it. A few of the infidels includingAmr managed to get to the other side challenging the Muslims who were afraid to face him since they were aware of his strength. The Prophet asked who would take the challenge but no one moved except a young man of 23 or 24 and that was Ali, peacebe upon him. The Prophet did not give him leave.

Umar said to the Prophet that as no one came forth, Ali, peace be upon him, should be allowed to proceed. Ali, peace be upon him, facedAmr and knocked this great champion down and sat on his chest to kill him.But Amr spat in Ali's face in anger for his defeat. Ali, peace be upon him, was offended greatly at this mean conduct. He arose from the enemy's chest and walked about for a while to curb his anger. WhenAmr asked him the reason for his hesitation, he answered, "I did not wish to kill you in anger for I am fighting for God and in this task there is no room for wrath." This is what a brave warrior is like.

Another interpretation of the jihad iscombatting one's self. The Prophet called it the greater jihad.But some people were diverted by this interpretation, supposing that migration was only abandoning sin and jihad was only against the self. Thus, they forgot that migration also means abandoning an undesirable place andjihad also includes fighting foreign enemies. Thus, Islam believes in two kinds of migration and two kinds of jihad. If we negate one type of either under the pretext of the other, weare diverted from the teachings of Islam.

The saints of our religion including the holy Prophets, ImamAli and all the other Imams were all strivers and migrants. From a spiritual point of view, there arestages which cannot be passed except through these actions. A man who has never entered the field of jihadcannot be called amujahid and one who has not migrated may not win the epithet of an emigrant.

From the view of Islam, marriage is sacred in several practical ways (unlike Christianity where celibacy is consideredto be sacred ). What is the reason for this? One of the reasons is in educating man's spirit. It is a kind of maturity andperfection which is not obtainable except through marriage. If a man or a woman remains single to the end of his/her life, even if that life is spent in asceticism, devotion, prayer and in combat with vices, there is still a kind of immaturity noticeable in each of them. That is why marriageis recommended as a necessary tradition.

Thefactors which are efficacious in man's education are so in their proper spheres and none of them can take the place of another. Migration and jihad, too, arefactors which cannot be replaced by any other factor. Nor can one kind of each factor take the place of the other kind.

What is the duty of individuals under different conditions? For not all conditions are those of jihad and migration.

The Holy Prophet has seen to this and told us that the duty of a Muslim is to be serious in his intention to migrate or enter jihad whenever conditions so necessitate it. Thus a person who has never fought or never thought of fighting will in his death pass away in a kind of hypocrisy while those who cherish the intention to migrate or fight in a jihad under necessary conditions, may attain the rank.of emigrants and crusaders.

The Holy Quran says,

"Such believers as sit at home, unless they have an injury, are not the equals of those who struggle in the path of God with their possessions and their selves over the ones who sit at home, yet to each God has promised the reward most fair and God has preferred those who struggle over the ones who sit at home for the bounty of a mighty wage..." (4:95)

What God is telling us hereis that the Muslims who aremujahids , fighters in the path of God with their wealth and their lives and those who sit in their homes (in disobedience to the Quran) merely on the pretext of 'those who are ready to fight are enough," are not all equal. The Holy Quran does not reproach those who sit in their homes due to some excess like blindness or being lame or ill, whose mentalities and intentions are such that if they were not handicapped in this way, they would be the first to rush to jihad in the path of God. Perhaps they too have the level ofmujahids .

When Ali, peacebe upon him, returned from the Battle ofSiffin , someone came to him and said, "I wish my brother was with you in the battle." Ali said, "What was his intention? Did he have an excuse or not?If he had no excuse for not joining us, all the better that he did not come. But if his heart was with us though he could not join us for a reason, he may be considered to have been with us." The man said, "He did intend to join you." Ali, peace be upon him, said, "Then not only was your brother with us but even those who are still in the wombs of their mothers or in the loins of their fathers may be considered as having joined us."

Whatis meant by 'waiting for the advent?' Some people suppose it to mean waiting for the twelfth Imam to reappear one day with his three hundred and thirteen special companions and other followers to destroy the enemies of Islam, to establish peace and prosperity and perfect freedom, for us to enjoy. What is really meant by waiting for relief (through the advent of the ImamMahdi ) is the hope of joining ImamMahdi on his reappearance in the holy war and perhaps even attainingmartyrdom. That is the hearty wish of every true Muslim and striver.

It never means sitting by until everythingis put into order and then benefitting from the subsequent blessings. The Prophet's companions said, "We are not like Moses' tribe." When this tribe reached near Palestine, they said to Moses, 'You and your God can go and fight the enemy, and we will sit here until everything is all right." Moses asked, "What do you think is your duty? Your duty is to drive out the enemy who has occupied your home." The Prophet's companions said, "We are not like Moses' tribe. We will do whatever you command."Thus, waiting for relief means aiding ImamMahdi in fighting and reforming the world.

Many of us in praying wish to have accompanied Imam Husain, peacebe upon him, to have won salvation.Is this claim made in all sincerity? In somecases it is, but in others it is not.

On the night before his martyrdom, Imam Husain, peacebe upon him, said, "I know of no better and more loyal companions than mine." A greatShi'ite man of learning stated that he did not believe the above statementwas really made by Imam Husain, peace be upon him, for, according to them, the Imam's companions did not do much against the enemy's cruelty. It was the duty of every ordinary Muslim to offer his service to the grandson of the Prophet and Ali's son. Those who abstained from assisting him must have been wicked people. This learned man says that God made him realize his mistake by means of a dream. He dreamed that he was in the battlefield of Karbala and had come to the Imam to offer his services.

The Imam told him that he would give him instructions in its proper time. It was the time of the ritual prayer and the Imam told him to stand guard in case the enemy started shooting while the Imams and his companions performed the noon ritual prayer. Suddenly an arrowwas shot towards him and as he bent himself to avoid it, it struck the Imam. He says that in his dream he felt ashamed and penitent in evading the arrow and said he would not do so another time.But he repeated his former action to avoid the next three shots which again struck the Imam's body. "I never found better and more loyal companions than mine." His companions were men of action, not words. On the 10th of Muharram, most of Imam Husain's companionshad been killed while a few of them and members of his household were still alive by noon.

In the first phase of the battle, the two sides faced each other.The Imam's side consisted of only 72 warriors but looking valiant and steadfast. The Imam arranged his little army by placingZahir binAlghin at the head of the right flank,Habib on the left flank and his brave brotherAbul Fazl as his ownstandard bearer . The commanders asked permission to begin the fight.

MeanwhileUmar Sa'd as a commander of the enemy's side had been hesitant about beginning the battle, intending to satisfy both sides. He kept on writing letters to the Imam proposing some kind of compromise.Ibn Ziad as the enemy's commander-in-chief was annoyed at this conduct and ordered himeither to act at once or yield the command to someone else.

Umar ibn Sa'd fearing that his former procrastination may have caused him loss of face with his superiors as well as the chance of being given the governorship of Rey, tried to make up for it by showing excessive cruelty and was the first man to shoot at the Imam's tent, calling the men around him to witness this act and report it in his favor toibn Ziad .

The lateShaykh Ayati used to say in his sermons that the Battle of Karbala began with one arrow, shot byUmar ibn Sa'd and ended with another, when a poisoned arrow struck the Imam on the chest so that he ceased to proclaim his challenge against the enemy and only had time to pray to God."In the Name of God, in God and for the sake of the nation of the Prophet of God."

One of Imam Husain's companions calledAbbas ibn Abi Shubiyb faced the enemy bravely and challenged them. No one dared to take up the challenge. In anger he returned to the camp, took off his battledress and came back to the battlefield again almost naked and challenged the enemy.Again no one came forth but they treacherously threw stones and broken swords at him and finally killed him.

The Imam's companions showed amazing manliness and loyalty on the last day of the battle. Both men and women createdscenes which are unrivalled in human history. Abdullahibn Umar Kalbi was one of these valiant men who had brought his wife and mother with him. When he wanted to set off for the field, hisnewly wed wife stopped him demanding what would happen to her if hewas killed. His mother interrupted her telling him not to pay attention to his wife since that day was a day of trial and if he did not sacrifice himself for the Imams she would not forgive him as a mother. Abdullah joined the battle andwas killed . Then his mother picked up a tent pole and rushed upon the enemy. The Imam told her to return as women were not obliged to fight in Islam and she picked up the head, kissed it and pressed it tightly to her breast, saying, "Well done, my son. I am satisfied with you." Then she threw the head back at the enemy saying, "We do not take back what we have offered in the way of God."

Among those who offered their service to him was a boy of twelve who had tied a sword to his waist asking for leave to fight as his fatherhad already been killed . The Imam said, "I fear that your mother may not be willing"' he answered, "It was my mother who gave me leave and told me that if I did not offer my life for the sake of the Imam, she would not forgive me." It was customary for the Arabs to introduce themselves on entering the battlefield but this boy did not do so and remained unknown. His battle cry in the face of the enemy was original for he said, "I am one whose master is Husain and what a good master he is, oh people." He considered this enough. In conclusion I pray to God to illuminate our hearts with the light of faith and make us true migrants and warriors in the religion ofIslam and give us victory over its enemies and enable us to win His satisfaction.