The Endless Tragedy
All through the history of Islam, there has not been an event more shocking than the passing away of the Holy Prophet (s), the great savior who changed the course of history of the world, liberated man’s will and thought, and saved humanity from abysmal mazes in the unexplored spaces of life.
The Final Ailment of the Holy Prophet
Immediately after his return from the Farwell Pilgrimage, the Holy Prophet (s) was infected with such a harsh fever that his visitors and wives would feel the heat of his body when they put their hands thereon.
They therefore put to the side of the Holy Prophet (s) a bowl of cold water so that he would put his hands in and rub them over his face in order that the heat of his body would reduce.
Some reference books of history ascribe the Holy Prophet’s fever and death to his having eaten poisoned food, which was served by a Jewess in the city of Khaybar. Accordingly, the Holy Prophet (s) used to say,
Even now, I can feel the pain of the food that I had eaten in Khaybar. Now, because of that food, I feel my aorta
is about to be severed.
When the news of the Holy Prophet’s ailment was circulated, Muslims hurried to visit him. Some of them were weeping and others dumbfounded with sorrow, as they lived in the midst of waves of horror and distraction. With intense sorrow, the Holy Prophet (s) received them and announced the imminence of his death. He then instructed them, saying,
O people! I am about to depart from this life very soon. I have already instructed you to hold fast to what will secure your felicity, so that I will be excused. Verily, I am leaving amongst you the Book of Allah and my progeny; my household.
He then took the hand of Imam ‛Ali (‛a), who was beside him, and said,
‛Ali is with the Qur'an and the Qur'an is with ‛Ali. They will not separate from one another until they join me on the Pond.
Once more, the Holy Prophet (s) demonstrated the best method of saving from deviation and straying off. He thus ordered his people to adhere to the Book of Allah that always guides to the best way and to adhere to the Ahl al-Bayt (the Holy Prophet’s Household) who are truly the lanterns of Islam, the custodians of the Divine Revelation, the heralds of justice, and the defenders of the religion, not to mention the chief of the Ahl al-Bayt, Imam ‛Ali (‛a) who is always with the Qur'an and the Qur'an is always with him.
The Holy Prophet Implores God’s Forgiveness for the Buried in the Baqi‛ Cemetery
In the darkest hour of night, the Holy Prophet (s) summoned Abu-Muwayhibah and asked him to accompany him to the Baqi‛ Cemetery, saying,
I have been ordered to implore Allah’s forgiveness for those buried in the Baqi‛ Cemetery. For this reason, I summoned you to come with me.
In the cemetery, the Holy Prophet (s) greeted the dead and congratulated them for their situation, saying,
Congratulations for your conditions! Seditious matters have come in a row, following each other. The last of them is even eviler than the first.
The Holy Prophet (s) had already known about the sweeping seditions that would very soon attack his people and the calamities and misfortunes that they would imminently encounter. Of course, this was one of the most catastrophic matters that annoyed him.
He (s) then said to Abu-Muwayhibah,
I have been given the right to choose either having the keys of the hoards of this world and living eternally in it and afterwards being granted Paradise, or joining my Lord and Paradise immediately. I thus chose to meet my Lord and to be in Paradise.
Abu-Muwayhibah hurriedly said, “May my father and mother be ransoms for you! Was it not better to choose the keys of the hoards of this world and living eternally herein and then being granted Paradise?”
Expressing his exigent desire for meeting the Lord, the Holy Prophet (s) said,
No, it was not. I swear it by Allah. I have chosen to meet my Lord.
The Holy Prophet (s) then implored God’s forgiveness for those buried in the Baqi‛ Cemetery and returned home.
The Brigade of Usamah
It became clear for the Holy Prophet (s) that conspiracies had been plotted against his successor Imam ‛Ali (‛a); he therefore decided to eliminate the spirits of chaos and rebellion by hurling the conspirers and the others into a battlefield to face the Romans. To put this decision into effect, he (s) ordered the prominent personalities of the Muhajirun and Ansar, including Abu-Bakr, ‛Umar, Abu-‛Ubaydah, and Bashir ibn Sa‛d,
to join the brigade so that the capital would be empty of such persons when he would depart from life and Imam ‛Ali (‛a) would hold the position of the leadership without disputation.
The commandership of this brigade was commissioned to Usamah ibn Zayd who was still young. Thus, this young man became the commander of these old persons. Instructing Usamah, the Holy Prophet (s) said to him,
Move to the place where your father was martyred
and make your horses tread on the enemies. I have appointed you as the commander of this army. So, in the early morning, invade the people of Ubna
and fire them. Mend your pace so that you will be there before they are informed about your invasion. If Allah will grant you victory over them, then do not stay there for a long time. Take with you guides, secret agents, and emissaries.
On the twenty-ninth of Safar, the Companions put down rebellion and refused to join the expedition of Usamah. Therefore, despite of his ailment, the Holy Prophet (s) himself went out to urge the army to move. He himself also gave the standard to Usamah and said to him,
Invade them in the name of Allah and for His sake. So, fight those who disbelieved in Allah.
Usamah moved carrying the standard and then handed it over to Buraydah and camped at al-Jurf.
Nevertheless, those persons pretended to be too sluggish to join Usamah’s brigade, defying the Holy Prophet’s order. That was because they were certain that the Holy Prophet (s) was in the last hours of his lifetime.
Showing the main reason for such rebellion, ‛Umar ibn al-Khattab said to Usamah, “Will the Prophet depart from life while you are my commander?”
Moreover, these people began to move their tongues with plain words of burning criticism of the Holy Prophet (s) for his having chosen Usamah as commander over them and meanwhile, they slackened to join the brigade. When these repugnant words were passed on to the Holy Prophet (s), he, having suffered the increasing pains of fever, became so angry; therefore, he went out with his head wrapped and his body covered by his garment, ascended the minbar, showed his intense wrath towards these people, condemned those who had criticized him, and said,
O people, what is meant by a saying of some of you about my choosing Usamah as the commander? If you now criticize this matter of mine, indeed you have already criticized me for choosing his father as commander. By Allah, his father was worthy enough to be the commander and he, after his father, is worth being commander, too.
The Holy Prophet (s) descended the minbar and entered his house. He did not stop ordering these people to join Usamah’s brigade, using such statements like:
Mobilize the army of Usamah!
Carry out my orders in this regard!
May Allah curse whoever fails to join the army of Usamah!
Nevertheless, none of those who had refused to join Usamah’s expedition paid any attention to these strict orders; so, they did not change their minds at all; rather, they insisted on staying in the capital.
In addition, the Holy Prophet’s much interest in this issue did not touch their consciences and did not deter their determinations to violate this Prophetic order, while the Holy Prophet (s) was in the last sparks of life.
In this way, they did not join that army, providing various apologies to the Holy Prophet (s) who did not excuse them; rather, he showed them more rancor and wrath.
Reflection on the Episode
To ponder deeply over this extremely crucial incident makes us conclude the following points:
First: The Holy Prophet (s) took very much interest in the issue of making the army leave al-Madinah by all means possible to the degree that he (s) even cursed those who would deter others from carrying out this matter or refuse to join the army. This clearly proves that the Holy Prophet (s) only wanted the opposing party to Imam ‛Ali (‛a) to evacuate the capital so that the process of the power transference from the Holy Prophet (s) to Imam ‛Ali (‛a) would take place peacefully and easily.
Second: The one and only purpose for these people’s reluctance to join Usamah’s army and impolite criticism for the Holy Prophet’s having chosen him as their commander is that they only waited for the Holy Prophet (s) to depart from life so that they would unfalteringly seize the power. If they left the capital and then the Holy Prophet (s) died, the position of caliphate would most certainly come out of their hands forever, because it would be impossible for them to mutiny and go up against the caliph.
Third: The Holy Prophet (s) did not assign any of the old Companions, such as Abu-Bakr, ‛Umar, and Abu-‛Ubaydah, for the commandership of the brigade; rather, he chose Usamah the young. This was in reality a point of denigration, since the Holy Prophet (s), by this act, intended to divest them of any point that might be explained as their suitability to assume the leadership. In other words, if the Holy Prophet (s) had appointed any of these persons as the commander of the army, they would certainly have used this point to confirm that they were the most entitled to hold the position of leadership. Thus, the Holy Prophet (s) blocked all gaps against them so that the unification of the Muslim community would not be rifted.
Choosing Usamah the Young as the Commander over the Old Companions
Usamah was only nineteen years old when the Holy Prophet (s) nominated him for the commandership of the army. The logic for this nomination can be explained as follows:
(1) The Holy Prophet (s) intended to eradicate any point of criticism or disapproval with regard to the leadership of Imam ‛Ali (‛a) after him, because the Imam (‛a) was also young in comparison with the existence of old Companions and relatives in the Muslim community. Hence, the Holy Prophet (s) wanted to say that Usamah could be a leader even if he was young and, more precisely younger than Imam ‛Ali (‛a).
(2) The Holy Prophet (s) wanted to cancel out such privileges as agedness and to declare that senior officials are not subjected to such conditions like being of advanced age. Moreover, he wanted to say that being of advanced age does not necessarily indicate experience, certain talents, and familiarity with the affairs of rule and administration; rather, the most important point in the issue of assuming the position of the religious and political leadership of the Muslim community is the availability of such qualifications as knowledge, acquaintance with the religious laws, and decency in addition to the capability of establishing justice among people.
Referring to this reformist idea, the Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said,
Whoever acts as the leader of a group of Muslims whilst he knows for sure that there is one more qualified than he is to assume this position, has in reality betrayed Allah, His Messenger, and the Muslims.
On another occasion, he (s) declared,
Whoever appoints in any office a person while he knows that there is a more qualified one to occupy the same office, has in fact betrayed Allah, His Messenger, and all Muslims.
Islam cares very much for choosing the best and most qualified persons for holding the senior governmental offices, because such persons are competent enough to decide on the public interest and honest enough to be entrusted with the job of collecting taxes from the people and spending the public funds on the public utilities. They are also expected to follow a policy founded on utter justice and pure truth in their dealing with people. Needless to say, such qualities are not necessarily found in old people only; rather, they are found in those who enjoy firm faith and experience with whatever is required by the masses in the various fields of life.
(3) As he appointed the young Usamah to be the commander of the army, the Holy Prophet (s) suppressed the caprices of the rivals of Imam ‛Ali (‛a), obliterated their prowess, and destroyed their morale. As a consequence, they burst forth with frantic powers to criticize and discredit the Holy Prophet (s) for his having chosen Usamah as a commander over them. Besides, they acted reluctantly against joining this army and refused to join it until the Holy Prophet (s) departed from life.
Revealing the existence of a dangerous conspiracy that was plotted against Imam ‛Ali’s next leadership and succession to the Holy Prophet (s), these have been some points about the logic for choosing Usamah as the commander of the Muslim army.
The Calamity of Thursday
The Holy Prophet (s) became certain of the actual intention of those who refused to leave al-Madinah; they only intended to plot a conspiracy against Imam ‛Ali (‛a) to deprive him of holding the position of leadership. This fact aggravated him badly and increased his pains while he was in the last hours of his lifetime. The Holy Prophet (s), in order to confirm this matter in a written form and prevent the implementation of such a conspiracy, said in the presence of the Companions,
Bring me a pen and a paper so that I will write down for you a document after which you will never go astray.
What a great and precious blessing this would have been if only the attendants had made use of it. If they had used it, they would certainly have procured unending felicity for themselves and for the next generations. By these words, the Holy Prophet (s) guaranteed that Muslims would never deviate or be misled all over ages.
However, the Companions knew what the Holy Prophet (s) meant by these words; they were sure that he only wanted to confirm the leadership of Imam ‛Ali (‛a) in a written document so that they would not be able to achieve their aims and take the leadership away from the Holy Prophet’s Household. As a result, one of them; namely, ‛Umar ibn al-Khattab, aroused a disputation in the presence of the Holy Prophet (s) and insisted on preventing him from writing down that document. ‛Umar therefore replied violently, “The Book of Allah is sufficient for us!”
In other words, ‛Umar wanted to transmit this message to the Holy Prophet (s): We do not need you to instruct us to follow the members of your household whom you have already expressed as one of the two weighty things!
It goes without saying that if ‛Umar had had in his mind the least amount of probability that the Holy Prophet (s) in that situation would nominate him as the next leader, or order them to protect the borders of the Muslim state, or encourage them to practice jihad, or give them any other Islamic law, he would never have replied to him so boldly; rather, ‛Umar knew for sure that the Holy Prophet (s) only wanted to record the next leadership of Imam ‛Ali (‛a) in a written documented form; he therefore hurried to create mischief and wreak havoc on the Holy Prophet’s intention.
Back to the event, disputation and hassle among the attendants broke out so violently that even the women, from behind their curtains, shouted at them, “Why are you not listening to what Allah’s Messenger has said?”
These words agitated ‛Umar who shouted at them, “Are you not just like the women who played trickery on Joseph? If he is ailed, you will squeeze your eyes (to pretend weeping for him), and if he is healthy, you will ride on his neck!”
The Holy Prophet (s), disturbed by these words, glanced at ‛Umar and said,
Leave them. They are verily better than you are.
The party who insisted on implementing the order of the Holy Prophet (s) was about to overcome, but a person shot a deadly arrow at the Holy Prophet’s desire, saying, “The Prophet is hallucinating!”
Is there any other calamity that afflicted the Muslims more appalling than this one? Is it possible that the Holy Prophet, who is the chief of all prophets, is accused of hallucination?
These people returned to their previous ignorance and forgot the unparalleled status of the Holy Prophet (s), thus facing him with such a cruel word.
Indeed, this is a shattering calamity! The Muslims were kept apart from their unending felicity and interminable safety from deviation as long as this globe subsists.
Whenever ‛Abdullah ibn ‛Abbas mentioned this incident, he would weep heavily and say, “It is all because of that Thursday. What a Thursday it was! The Messenger of Allah ordered them to bring him a pen and a paper to write down a document after which they would never go astray, but they answered, ‘The Messenger of Allah is hallucinating!’”
See how these people decided the Holy Prophet (s) as hallucinating, while many verses of the Holy Qur'an have declared him as occupying the highest rank of perfection throughout the stages of his blessed lifetime.
Let us now read some of these holy Qur'anic verses:
(1) The Holy Qur'an reads,
Your companion does not err, nor does he go astray, nor does he speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed. The Lord of Mighty Power has taught him. (53/2-5)
(2) The Holy Qur'an reads,
Most surely it is the word of an honored messenger, the processor of strength, having an honorable place with the Lord of the Dominion; one (to be) obeyed, and faithful in trust. And your companion is not gone mad, (81/19-22)
Many other holy Qur'anic verses have declared the Holy Prophet (s) to be too infallible to hallucinate and too immaculate to be have delusions.
However, these people exerted themselves fatally to hold leadership and authority. They were seduced by the pleasures of this world; so, they deviated from the straight path and flooded the Muslim nation in seditions, ordeals, and calamities.
Sorrow of Lady Fatima
Sorrow surrounded Lady Fatima al-Zahra' (‛a) the doyenne of the women of the world, and grief came upon her when she saw her father, who was dearer to her than her own life, suffering the most intense pain and saying, “How intense my agony is!”
With grief and pain, she answered, “How intense my agony for yours, O father, is!”
When he saw her tearful eyes, he felt pity for her and said, “After this day, no agony will ever befall your father.”
His heart was cracked for his daughter; he therefore tried to remove the nightmare of sadness from her. He seated her beside him and talked to her confidentially. Upon hearing his confidential words, Lady Fatima’s eyes were overshadowed with heavy tears. The Holy Prophet (s) then said to her another thing secretly, and she responded with an effluent smile!
This situation surprised ‛A'ishah; so, she expressed, “I have never seen such sadness followed by happiness like the one I have seen today!”
‛A'ishah therefore asked Lady Fatima (‛a) about what her father had told her, but Lady Fatima (‛a) turned away her face from her.
However, after a long time, Lady Fatima (‛a) expressed the reason for her weeping that was followed by a smile. She thus said,
My father said: Gabriel used to repeat the entire Qur'an before me once a year. However, this year, he repeated it twice. Certainly, this is an indication of my imminent departure from this world.
That was why she wept heavily. About the reason for her smile, she (‛a) informed,
My father said to me: You will be the first among my family members to follow me. I am thus the most excellent ancestor for you. Does it not please you to be the doyenne of the women of this nation?
Alleviating the sorrow of his daughter, the Holy Prophet (s) informed her that she would very soon follow him; i.e. she would not live a long life after him.
The Holy Prophet’s Legacy for His Two Grandsons
The Holy Prophet’s most beloved daughter hurried to her house and brought the two grandsons Imam al-Hasan and Imam al-Husayn. With teary eyes, she said, “O father, these two are your sons. Please, bequeath legacy to them.”
The Holy Prophet (s) hold them close to him, kissed them frequently, and poured on them elements of his attributes and nobilities, saying,
As for al-Hasan, he will have my gravity and supremacy. As for al-Husayn, he will have my courage and magnanimity.
Thus, the two grandsons left after they had won from their grandfather the perfections and supremacy of Prophethood along with all the principles and idealities that are included therewith.
The Holy Prophet Gives His Possessions As Alms
Before he felt ailed, the Holy Prophet (s) had had in possession seven dirhams. As he feared lest Almighty Allah would take his soul while these coins were still in his possession, he ordered his family members to give them as alms. However, because they were preoccupied by tending him, they forgot to carry out that order. When he regained consciousness, he asked them about these coins. They answered that they had still kept them. He therefore asked them to fetch these coins. When they did, he put them in the palm of his hand and said, “What does Muhammad think of his Lord if he meets Him keeping these coins in his possession?”
He then gave them as alms to the poor Muslims
and left this world possessing nothing of its transient material.
Towards the Uppermost Garden of Paradise
After he had carried out his mission excellently, it was the time for the Holy Prophet (s) to move to the uppermost garden of Paradise where his brothers, the prophets, dwell. He was the first man whose permission is asked by the Angel of Death before grasping his soul. In the first time, the Angel of Death asked permission to come near the Holy Prophet (s), but Lady Fatima al-Zahra' (‛a), having not recognized him, did not permit him to come in, because the Holy Prophet (s) was preoccupied by his own affair. So, the angel left. The same thing was repeated for the second time. In the third time, the Holy Prophet (s) recovered consciousness and asked his daughter, “Have you recognized him?”
She answered, “No, O Allah’s Messenger.”
The Holy Prophet (s) introduced the Angel of Death as follows:
This is the constructor of graves, the destroyer of houses, and the disperser of groups.
These words astounded the beloved daughter of the Holy Prophet (s), causing her heart to melt in sorrow. She thus went on expressing her grief by these words:
Oh for my father! Oh for the passing away of the Seal of the Prophets! Oh, how momentous my misfortune is, for the departure of the Best of the Pious! Oh, how big my sorrow is, for the cessation of the revelations of the heaven! Today, I will be left without being able to talk to you!
These mournful words broke the heart of the Holy Prophet (s) who, trying to console and entertain his beloved daughter, said to her,
Do not weep, for you will be the first of my family members to follow me.
When he appeared before the Holy Prophet (s), the Angel of Death said to him,
O Allah’s Messenger! Allah the All-exalted has sent me to you and ordered me to obey you in whatever you may direct. If you order me to grasp your soul, I will do it, but if you order me to leave it, I will do it, too.
Surprised by these words, the Holy Prophet (s) asked,
Will you, O Angel of Death, really do it?
The angel replied,
Thus have I been ordered. I have been ordered to obey any command you may give.
However, Archangel Gabriel descended to the Holy Prophet (s) and said,
O Ahmad, Allah the All-exalted is eager to see you.
When Lady Fatima (‛a) became certain that her father would in a few moments depart her, she was astounded by this misfortune and she became so grief-stricken.
The two grandsons threw themselves on their grandfather, shedding heavy tears. He thus went on kissing them compassionately and they kissed him mournfully. When their father Imam ‛Ali (‛a) wanted to lay them aside, the Holy Prophet (s) said to him,
Let them find pleasure in me and I find pleasure in them. After my departure, they will be stricken by misfortunes.
The Holy Prophet (s) then turned his face towards the attendants and said to them,
I am leaving amongst you the Book of Allah and my progeny - my household. He who violates the Book of Allah will be just like him who violates my practices; and he who violates my practices will be just like him who violates my progeny. They will not separate from one another until we meet on the pond.
The Holy Prophet (s) then turned his face towards his brother Imam ‛Ali (‛a) and said,
Put my head in your lap, for the matter of Allah has come. When my soul leaves my body, pick it up and rub it over your face. You may then turn me towards the kiblah direction and undertake the other procedures. Before all people, you may offer a prayer on my dead body. Do not leave me before you put me in my grave. Always seek the help of Allah the Almighty and All-glorified.
Abiding by these instructions, Imam ‛Ali (‛a) took the Holy Prophet’s head, put it in his lap, extended his right hand under the Prophet’s palate, and the Angel of Death started grasping the great soul of the Prophet who, meanwhile, started reciting some holy Qur'anic verses until his soul came out of his body. Then, Imam ‛Ali (‛a) rubbed the Prophet’s soul over his face and announced the death of the great Prophet (s).
At these moments, the earth was convulsed, the illumination of justice faded, and the soul of the Holy Prophet (s), the greatest Divine Grace, soared into the final abode after he had lit up the path for humanity and guided them to the right direction of the way.
The Muslims lost their control over themselves because of this horrible calamity, since they lost their only source of solace; the Holy Prophet (s) departed from this life and the glow of his countenance went down on a day that will be always remembered in the world of sadness.
Ladies left their private rooms, slapping their faces with their hands to bleeding, the mothers of the believers (i.e. the Holy Prophet’s widows) put gowns on their heads and went on slapping their chests, and the ladies of the Ansar cried out so loudly that they lost their voices.
However, the most depressing person for the passing away of the Holy Prophet (s) was his beloved daughter and the doyenne of the women of the world; namely, Lady Fatima al-Zahra' (‛a). She threw herself on the sacred body, wept so heavily, and expressed her deep grief with such statements like:
Oh for my father! Oh for the Prophet of mercy! The Divine Revelation will no longer come! Gabriel will no longer visit us! O Allah, please join my soul to his soul, let me be the first to see his face, and do not deprive me of rewards for my grief for him and do not deprive me of his intercession on the Resurrection Day. Oh for my father! I announce his death to Gabriel! Oh for my father! His abode is in the highest place in Paradise! Oh for my father who responded to the Lord when He called him!
Muslims were too sullen to say a single word, as if the ground shook under their feet. Either silent because of the calamity or mournful, they wished if they had departed from life before witnessing such a day.
Imam ‛Ali (‛a) took upon himself the mission of arranging for the funeral ceremonies of the body of his cousin according to his order. He therefore bathed ritually the Holy Prophet’s body
with tearful eyes, repeating these words:
May my father and my mother shed their lives for you, O Messenger of Allah! With your death the process of Prophethood, revelation and heavenly messages has stopped, which had not stopped at the death of others (prophets). Your position with us (the members of your family) is so special that your grief has become a source of consolation (to us) as against the grief of all others; your grief is also common so that all Muslims share it equally. If you had not ordered endurance and prevented us from bewailing, we would have produced a store of tears and even then, the pain would not have subsided, and this grief would not have ended, and they would have been too little of our grief for you. However, this (death) matter cannot be reversed nor is it possible to repulse it. May my father and my mother die for you; do remember us with Allah and take care of us.
From behind curtains, al-‛Abbas and Usamah handed over water to Imam ‛Ali (‛a) while he was performing the funeral ablution to the Holy Prophet’s body.
During the funeral ablution, the Holy Prophet’s body gave nice smell. Upon this situation, Imam ‛Ali (‛a) said, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Allah’s Messenger! You give nice smell in your life and after your death.”
Upon accomplishment, Imam ‛Ali (‛a) put the dead body in the shroud and then on the bed.
The first to have performed the funeral prayer on the sacred body of the Holy Prophet (s) - After Almighty Allah, Archangel Gabriel, Archangel Michael, Archangel Seraph, and the angels in rows,
- was Imam ‛Ali (‛a), who then allowed the other Muslims to perform similar prayers. The Imam (‛a) said to them, “Do not let any one of you lead a congregational prayer, because the Holy Prophet is your leader in his life and after his death.”
Burying the Blessed Body
Upon the accomplishment of the prayer, Imam ‛Ali (‛a) put the sacred body in the grave and covered it with soil. Thus, he buried the greatest personality Almighty Allah has ever created. He then stopped at the edge of the grave and said with tearful eyes,
Certainly, endurance is good except about you; fretting is bad except over you; and the affliction about you is great while every other affliction before or after it is small.
On that day, all banners of justice were folded; and the illumination, that had changed the course of human life from the lightless state of affairs into a safe and secure life in which the sighs of the oppressed and the moaning of the deprived, faded away.
Panic of the Ahl al-Bayt
After the departure of the Holy Prophet (s), his family members panicked very much and felt great fear from the clans of Quraysh whose chiefs were killed by Imam ‛Ali (‛a). They knew for sure that these clans awaited any opportunity to revenge on their heroes and chiefs and to eradicate the Holy Prophet’s household. The first night after the Holy Prophet’s departure was the longest night for them. Describing this night, Imam al-Sadiq (‛a) says, “When the Holy Prophet (s) died, his family members spent that night with horror as if there was no sky to cover them and there was no land to carry them. This is so because the Holy Prophet (s) had taken the lives of many relatives and non-relatives.”
Immediately after the departure of the Holy Prophet (s), ordeals and misfortunes started pouring down upon his family members. The people of Quraysh eliminated them from their position and prevented them from practicing the missions with which Almighty Allah had entrusted them. Fifty years after the Holy Prophet’s eternal rest, the members of his household were massacred on the land of Karbala', the men’s heads were put on the tips of lances, and the women were taken as captives with unveiled faces that it was possible for everyone to take a look at them.
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Author: Baqir Sharif al-Qarashi
