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Misbah-uz-Zulam;

Roots of the Karbala’ Tragedy

Author(s): Sayyid Imdad Imam

Translator(s): Sayyid Athar Husayn S.H. Rizvi

Publisher(s): Ansariyan Publications - Qum

This book discusses the causes of the tragedy of Karbala’ and it will also throw light on numerous other matters, which are yet unknown to the vast majority of Muslims.

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Misbah-uz-Zulam Roots of the Karbala’ Tragedy Author: Sayyid Imdad Imam Translated by: Sayyid Athar Husayn S. H. Rizvi Publisher: Ansariyan Publications First Edition: 1388 – 1430 – 2009 ISBN: 978-964-219-103-1

Notice:

This version is published on behalf of www.alhassanain.org/english

The composing errors are not corrected.

Contents

Dedication 12

Arab Civilization on the Eve of the Prophet’s Arrival 13

Religion of Arabs at the time of Prophet Muhammad 15

Notes 16

Worship And Dealings during the Prophet’s Time 17

Notes 18

Violation of Orders about Usamah’s Army 19

Notes 20

A Look at The Phrase: “We Have The Book Of Allah With Us” 22

Notes 24

Beginning Of Imamiyah and Non-Imamiyah Ways and a Brief Description Of Both 26

Notes 27

Quranic Affairs 28

Notes 33

Fadak Affair 34

Notes 35

A Discussion About the Phrase of ‘She Frowned’ (Ghadhibat) 36

Note 37

Lady Fatima’s Sorrow and the Author 38

What Does Umar’s Behavior Show? 39

Note 40

Legal Viewpoint in the Fadak Affair 41

Notes 42

Helpers Of Judgment On Fadak 43

The Rest of the Fadak Tragedy 44

Notes 44

Opponents Make Light of the Fadak Affair 45

Note 46

Causes Of Aale Muhammad’s Dishonor 48

Notes 52

Atrocities on Muhammad’s Progeny and how they Bore Them Patiently 53

Note 53

A Glance at the Religious Leadership of Muhammad’s Progeny 54

Compilation of Quran and Its Harmful Effect On The Religious Leadership Of Bani Hashim 55

Notes 56

Second Cause Of The Decrease Of Religious Significance Of Bani Hashim 57

A Discussion About Sunni and Imamiyah Faith 59

Examples Of Dissociation Of The Two Sects 61

Imams of the Prophet’s Family 62

Important Warning 63

Examples of Religious Differences Between The Two Sects 64

Need Of Unity Among Muslims 66

The Religion of Imamites is The Religion of Ahlul Bayt 67

The Desired Success Of Ahlul Sunnat Faith 68

Differences Of The Principles With Regard To The Tragedy Of Karbala’ 69

Beliefs Of Ahlul Sunnat And Imamiyah With Regard To Caliphate 70

The Arson 73

After The Arson 74

Decrease in the Respect Of Ahlul Bayt From The Aspect Of The Rule Of Consensus 75

Inappropriate Titles That Decreased The Respect Of Muhammad’s Progeny 76

Notes 76

A Glance At The Title Of Siddiq Akbar 77

Notes 78

A Glance At The Title Of Farooq Aazam 79

Notes 80

A Glance At The Title Of Saifullah 81

Notes 81

Siddiqa, An Exclusive Title Of Lady Fatima 82

Notes 83

Decrease in the Respect Of Amirul Mo-Mineen In Relation To The Marriage Of Umme Kulthum 84

Note 87

Belief in The Holy Five is The Exclusive Belief Of Shias 88

Caliphate Cannot Be Divorced From Imamate 89

Writings Based On The Superiority Of Ali And The Proof Of His Caliphate 90

Notes 100

The Greater Battle Of Badr 101

Battle Of Uhud 103

Notes 108

Battle Of The Ditch 109

Notes 110

Battle of Khaybar 111

Notes 113

Battle Of Hunayn 114

Notes 134

The Tragedy of Karbala’ Is the Natural Consequence of Some Unnatural Factors 135

Note 139

Yazeed’s Allegiance and the Tragedy of Karbala’ 140

Note 144

Justification Of The Martyrdoms Of Imams Hasan And Husayn 145

Infallibility and Fallibility of Imam Husayn 146

The Absurd Belief Of Tafzeeliya Sect 148

Notes 149

Piranepir And Sadaat Hasani 150

Notes 152

Caliphate is From Allah or Caliphate is From People – Its Connection with Composition of Marsiya (Elegy) Writing 153

Note 154

‘Devotion’ Of Maulavi Nazir Ahmad to the Holy Prophet and His Family 155

Note 160

Tragedy Of Karbala’ Demands Close Attention 161

Husayn’s Side 162

Yazeed’s Side 163

Destruction of the Imam’s Enemies 164

Philosophy of Karbala’ Tragedy And Distribution Of Wisdom 165

Manners And Etiquettes 166

Determination 168

Civic Sense 169

Revolutionary Condition of Bani Hashim 170

Writer’s Belief 174

Notes 184

Abu Bakr’s Caliphate in the View of Ali 185

Value Of Abu Bakr’s Caliphate 186

Notes 189

Caliphate From People Or Caliphate From Allah 190

A Close Look At The Present Situation Of The World 191

Caliphate Of The Prophet In The View Of The Two Sects 192

Verse Of The Cave 194

Notes 199

A Glance At The Verse Of “Wallazeena Ma-Ahu” (And Those With Him) 200

Notes 223

A Glance At The Prevalent Sufism 224

Notes 225

Abu Bakr’s Leading Of Prayer 226

Notes 230

Descendants Of Ahlul Bayt (Sadaat) Were Slave Children 232

Notes 235

Islam and the Two Caliphs 236

Note 237

The Verse Of Surah Noor Discussed 238

Notes 239

Analysis Of The Tradition, “My Companions Are Like Stars; You Will Be Guided, If You Follow Any Of Them.” 240

Note 240

Existence Of Mahdi, Master Of The Age 241

Notes 242

Lineage Of Imam Mahdi 243

Note 245

Some Important Topics: Abdullah Ibn Saba And Shiaism 246

Note 246

Superiority Of Abu Bakr And Umar According To Zaidiya Traditions 247

Sahifa Kamila And Merits Of The Two Caliphs 249

Martyrdom Of Imam Husain And Yazeed’s Desire 250

Note 250

Lady Khadija And ‘A’ysha 251

Notes 255

Ja’far, The Liar (Kazzab) 256

Muhammad Ibn Hanafiya And Imam Zainul Aabideen 257

Note 257

Ahlul Sunnat And Lady Shaharbano 258

Note 258

Parents Of The Holy Prophet And The Imams 259

Was Abu Talib a Disbeliever? 260

Notes 263

Why Ali Did Not Take Up Arms Against The Caliphs? 264

Allegation That Abdullah Ibn Umar Paid Allegiance To Yazeed 266

Note 266

Muawiyah Ibn Abu Sufyan 267

Notes 273

Yazeed Bin Muawiyah Bin Abu Sufyan 274

Notes 276

A Thirty-Year Caliphate 277

Notes 278

Jurisprudence Based On Personal Opinion and Analogy 279

Notes 281

Seeing Allah 282

Notes 283

According To Ahlul Sunnat It Is Permitted To Curse The Imamiyah Sect 284

Notes 285

Is Ali Inferior To Abu Bakr And Umar Even From The Lineage Point Of View? 286

Note 287

To The Kind Attention Of Muslims 288

Note 288

Zaid Ibn Ali Ibn Husayn, Or Zaid The Martyr 289

Khalid Bin Walid 290

Notes 292

Ahlul Sunnat And Bani Abbas Caliphs 293

Note 294

Objection Against The Counting Of Imams As Counted By Mulla Abdul Rahman Jami 295

Notes 295

Speech And Activities Of Muawiyah Ibne Yazeed 297

Types Of Traditions Of The Pure Imams 299

Note 299

Use Of Analogy And Personal Opinion Are Not Shia Practices 300

Note 300

Merits Of Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari, Ammar Bin Yasir, Abdullah Bin Masood, Owais Qarni And Salman Farsi 301

Notes 302

Excellence Of Chief Of Ladies, Fatima Zahra 303

Notes 306

Types Of Sunni Traditions 307

Bashir, An Opponent Of Ali Among The Narrators Of Ahlul Sunnat 309

Muawiyah and the Derogatory Remarks For His Eminence Ali 310

Notes 310

Lovers of Muawiyah Today 312

Note 312

Similarity of Circumstances of the Prophet’s Family with That of Moosa and Isa 313

Note 314

Fifteen Traditions That Prove the Caliphate and Imamate of the Twelve Imams 315

Verses Of The Holy Quran Proving The Caliphate Of His Eminence, Ali 317

Notes 320

Verses Proving The Caliphate Of Three Caliphs 321

Verse 1 321

Verse 2 322

Verse 3 322

Verse 4 323

Verse 5 324

Verse 6 325

Verse 7 326

Verse 8 326

Verse 9 327

Tradition no. 1 328

Objection no. 1 328

Objection no. 2 328

Objection no. 3 328

Objection no. 4 328

Objection no. 5 328

Objection no. 6 328

Tradition no. 2 330

Tradition no. 3 331

Tradition no. 4 331

Tradition no. 5 331

Tradition no. 6 331

Tradition no. 7 332

Tradition no. 8 332

Tradition no. 9 333

Tradition no. 10 333

Tradition no. 11 333

Tradition no. 12 333

Tradition no. 13 333

Tradition no. 14 334

Tradition no. 15 334

Tradition no. 16 335

Tradition no. 17 335

Tradition no. 18 336

Tradition no. 19 337

Tradition no. 20 337

Tradition no. 21 337

Tradition no. 22 337

Tradition no. 23 338

Tradition no. 24 339

Tradition no. 25 339

Notes 339

Unlawful Matters of Abu Bakr and Umar’s Caliphate 341

Notes 346

Unlawful Acts Of Umar 347

Notes 351

Islam And The Faith Of Three Caliphs 352

Notes 352

Matter Of Inheritance 353

Notes 354

Debate Of Good And Evil, Compulsion And Free Will 355

Notes 355

Piety Of His Eminence, Ali 357

Notes 359

Excellence Of Shias 360

Notes 362

Dissimulation (Taqayyah) 363

Note 364

Causes That Compelled the Imamiyah Sect to Adopt Dissimulation 366

Value Of Dissimulation 367

Notes 369

Tabarra 370

Mourning For Imam Husain 371

Notes 373

Mutah (Temporary) Marriage 374

Notes 381

First Case Of False Testimony In Islam 382

Note 384

Umar And Bravery 385

How This Writer Converted To Shiaism? 387

Note 390

Reason of Leaving the Hanafite Faith 391

A Few Examples of Abu Hanifah’s Analogy 392

Notes 393

Faith And Jurisprudence Of Abu Hanifah 394

The Author’s Dreams 398

Note 400

Important Points Regarding Dreams 401

An Important Letter 402

Dedication

In The Name of Allah The Beneficent, The Merciful

Praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds. And benedictions upon His beloved, Muhammad and his purified Progeny

I humbly state that this book, Misbah-uz-Zulam, is written with the sole intention of research and it is not intended to hurt anyone’s feeling. Through its perusal, unprejudiced people will easily understand the causes of the tragedy of Karbala’ and it will also throw light on numerous other matters, which are yet unknown to the vast majority of Muslims.

I rely on Allah and He is sufficient for me, the best of the masters and the best protector.

The Author

Arab Civilization on the Eve of the Prophet’s Arrival

When the Holy Prophet (S) arrived, a part of the Arab land was under Iran’s rule and a part under the Byzantine government. The remaining areas were ruled by tribal Chiefs (Shaykhs). Mecca and Medina were similarly under the rule of their respective Shaykhs. The Sheikhdom of Mecca was in the family of the Holy Prophet (S), who were called Bani Hashim; but their other relatives, Bani Umayyah, were having more power and wealth. There was no love lost between Bani Umayyah and Bani Hashim. Yet there had been no major bloodshed either before or after the arrival of the Holy Prophet (S).

The ways of life of these two tribes were not similar. Normally the Bani Hashim were faithful, brave, kind, generous and sincere, whereas the Bani Umayyah were remote from all these attributes. Though both belonged to Quraish tribe, their behavior was very different from one another. If a comparison between to people each from the said two clans is made, the difference will be quite obvious. For this purpose let’s take up the case of Abdul Muttalib from Bani Hashim and Abu Sufyan from Bani Umayyah. All knew about the courage, faithfulness, kindness, truthfulness, foresight, generosity and thoughtfulness of Abdul Muttalib.

On the other hand, Abu Sufyan had nothing to do with these virtues. He was a selfish, evil, greedy, a malicious drunkard and a mischievous fellow. Besides many other virtues, the generosity of Abdul Muttalib was so great that he was prepared to fulfill the need of the needy before the latter could even describe it fully. It had also happened that this chief of Bani Hashim was once about to leave for Syria with trade goods, when at the last moment a needy fellow came to his door and asked for a big amount in charity. Abdul Muttalib at once complied with his request and could not undertake his trade journey due to lack of funds.

Even the greatest enemy of Abdul Muttalib is unable to show that he had on any occasion grabbed anyone’s wealth or had ever fled from the battlefield or behaved badly and unjustly with anyone or wished evil of anybody or drank wine or committed adultery etc. Undoubtedly, such evil deeds can never be committed by a man from whose loins, the two divine radiances, viz. the radiance of Muhammad (S) and the radiance of Ali (a.s.) were to be transferred to the loins of Abdullah and Abu Talib (r.a.). Doubtlessly, Abu Sufyan did not posses these graces.

Obviously, this book is not aimed to abuse anyone, otherwise, many sour affairs would have to be recalled; then if Abu Sufyan is to be compared with Abdul Muttalib it will be asked: Can a dead lamp be compared with the bright sun?

Similarly, if a comparison is made between Muawiyah and His Eminence, Ali (a.s.) and of Imam Husayn (a.s.) with the son of Muawiyah, the distance between the behaviors of Bani Hashim and Bani Umayyah will become all the more obvious, even to the unaware. Lastly, if a comparison is made between Marwan bin Hakam, Abdul Malik bin Marwan, Walid bin Abdul Malik, Sulaiman bin Abdul Malik, Hisham bin Abdul Malik and Walid bin Yazeed bin Abdul Malik and people like Imam Zainul Aabideen, Imam Muhammad Baqir, Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) and other members of the holy family of the Prophet, the difference between good and evil will become crystal clear.

In Bani Umayyah tribe, a man named Marwan looks like the head of all mischief- makers of the world. Then Hakam bin Aas, Walid bin Uqbah etc. were also outstanding examples of the character of Bani Umayyah. The truth is that almost all the people in this tribe, with the sole exception of Umar bin Abdul Aziz, are such that to call them humans is like killing humanity.

Religion of Arabs at the time of Prophet Muhammad

Three religions were prevalent in Arabia at the time of the arrival of the Holy Prophet (S). One was the religion of polytheistic Arabs, who worshipped idols in the worst way. Another was the religion of Christianity, which was in a very bad condition as it had ceased to be a divine religion and the third was the religion of Prophet Moosa (a.s.) (i.e. religion of the Jews) which had also deteriorated like Christianity. In short, the entire land of Arabia had gone completely astray. In these circumstances, it was a demand of Divine Mercy that the Holy Prophet (S) should be appointed by Allah.

But the religion of Muhammad (S) could not spread and grow easily and many calamities befell the Holy Prophet (S) in Mecca. Bani Umayyah people were bent on opposing God. They could not kill the Holy Prophet (S) so long as Abu Talib (r.a.) was alive. But after the death of this kind and caring uncle, the idol-worshippers made all preparations to kill the Holy Prophet (S). Among the apostates of Mecca, the greatest enemies of the Prophet were these very Bani Umayyah.

At last, after suffering many troubles, he left Mecca and migrated to Medina. The people of Medina gave him a warm welcome and accepted the Divine religion in large numbers. Against all hopes, Islam gained roots and flourished in Medina and the people of the native Mecca remained deprived of this blessing. Strange are the affairs of Allah! How strange that a deadly enemy like Abu Jahl was from the native place of Mecca! The Holy Prophet (S) did get refuge and peace in Medina and many Medinites also became Muslims with a sincere heart, but this flourishing of Islam became extremely intolerable for Bani Umayyah and other unbelievers of Mecca.

So Bani Umayyah did everything to harm both the Holy Prophet (S) and the religion of Allah. Abu Sufyan advanced to Medina many times, accompanied with an army, and also fought the Muslims of Medina in several battles, but always failed. Almighty Allah did not allow His religion to be destroyed.

Finally, Abu Sufyan and other apostates of Mecca became tired and sat put at home. The Battle of Hunayn shook the Bani Umayyah severely and made the devil powerless. We should remember that it took ten years for the Prophet to weaken Bani Umayyah and it was only his military acumen and intelligence, which controlled such a rebellious tribe. But alas and again alas! After a little while, Bani Umayyah not only regained their lost strength but also gradually became the rulers of all the territories of Islam and it was as a result this, that one of their rulers caused the massacre, which is now remembered as the Tragedy of Karbala’.1

It is recorded in history, how Bani Umayyah became powerful once again and I have recounted those events in my book Kashful Haqaiq Vol. 12 and will again mention them wherever necessary in this book. But before I narrate the events of Karbala’, it is necessary to explain the religious conditions of the Muslims of those days so that the events of Karbala’ may also be understood easily. This is essential, because without knowing this, no one can understand the truth about Karbala’.

For instance, one could ask in astonishment: “My God! What is this? When Husayn (a.s.) was the grandson of the Holy Prophet (S), how and why did the Muslims killed him so mercilessly?” But when this questioner knows the facts, his bewilderment will go away and the Karbala’ incident will appear to him natural according to the law of cause and effect. This is a world where every happening must have a cause.

Notes

1. Refer to books of History

2. This book is now out of stock and perhaps not available anywhere.

Worship And Dealings during the Prophet’s Time

Verily, during the days of the Holy Prophet (S), the rituals and dealings of the followers of Islam must have been like that of the Prophet. For example, if he prayed with folded hands, all Muslims must also be doing likewise. The rituals of Hajj and Zakat etc. also should be on this line, because in those days, the Prophet himself must have led them in these matters. Likewise, in the matter of social interaction, Muslims must have been doing as they saw the Prophet do. No doubt, this continued till the end of the life of the Prophet. But when he fell on the deathbed, two great differences arose between him and his followers.

One is called “The story of the paper” (Qissa Qirtas) and another “Opposition to join Usamah’s army” (Takhalluf Jaish Usamah). What happened in the first, according to the author of Sharh Mawaqif,1 was when the moment of departure neared, the Holy Prophet (S) asked those around him: “Bring to me paper, so that I may write down some such things whereby you may not go astray after my passing away.”2

Umar was not pleased with this. So he said: “This man is overpowered by illness. We have the Book of Allah, and it is sufficient for us.” And in Sahih Bukhari, it is written: Due to this dispute, voices rose high, which made the Prophet very unhappy. So he said: “Get up and go away from me. This quarrelling is not good before me.”

In short, the Holy Prophet (S) could not leave any written order after him. A thoughtful look at this story makes it clear that at that moment the Prophet was in perfect senses and wanted to write something. It was never so that due to illness he had begun to utter senseless things.

No, at that time also, he was so conscious and alert that he knew that he was a prophet and was of the opinion that because of his rank, it was not becoming for his followers to raise their voices in his presence. It is not known what he wanted to write. But it must have been something related to religion and was also very serious and important.

The very words of the Prophet indicate that he wanted to do something to save his followers (Ummah) from misguidance. Shias say that he wanted to issue a written order appointing Ali (a.s.) as his successor while Sunnis say he wanted to make Abu Bakr his successor.

But alas! When nothing could be put in writing, there was no other way except to make guesses. If the guess of Ahlul Sunnat is correct, Umar did very much against not only Abu Bakr but also against the entire Ummah, because, had Abu Bakr been appointed as the Caliph in writing, no Muslim could have ever disputed it and there would not have been any tussle about Caliphate in the Muslim world and all the Muslims would have followed one and the same way.

Shias say that the Prophet intended to appoint Ali (a.s.) as his successor in writing and it was so because, only a few months earlier, the Holy Prophet (S) had orally made Ali (a.s.) his successor at a place called Ghadeer Khumm.3 The author intends to give details of Ghadeer Khumm in the following pages, which will show that the claim of Shias does not appear baseless.

Anyway, whatever the fact may be, it does not appear that Umar did anything against the Caliphate of Abu Bakr. If Umar was certain that the Prophet was about to make Abu Bakr his Caliph in writing, he would have, instead of preventing the Prophet from such a writing, all the more tried for the conclusion of such a written document, because such writing would surely have resulted in what had happened at the gathering of Saqifah Bani Saada with the support of Umar. But as a matter of fact, Umar too was certain that the Prophet wanted to make Ali his successor in writing.

Ahmad bin Abi Tahir has, in Tarikh Baghdad, quoted a narration of Ibn Abbas that Umar himself had said that the Prophet wanted to mention the name of Ali clearly during his last illness, but that “I prevented it.” That is why he objected. It will be seen henceforth that Umar had always tried to keep His Eminence, Ali (a.s.) away from Caliphate. All know that Umar kept Ali away from Caliphate during his (Umar’s) lifetime very successfully and even after his death, Umar, with his unparalleled political diplomacy, did not allow Ali to succeed as a Caliph. There is no doubt that non-realization of the Prophet’s intention was a great misfortune for the Muslim Ummah, sorrow for Islam and followers of Islam.

“Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.”4

Had that writing come into effect, Islam would have remained safe from thousands of mischief-makers and would not have suffered any of the calamities, which it is facing?

Notes

1. He is one of the great Sunni scholars.

2. Ref. Sahih Muslim, Kitabul Wasaya and Sahih Bukhari, Chapter I of Kitabul Ilm (Pg. 18) and Mishkat after Babul Karamaat.

3. Refer to books of History.

4. Surah Baqarah, 2:185.