The Spirit of Imam Husain's Martyrdom

Taken from Shahadat-e-Husain, by Maulana Abul-Kalam Azad

Nature of Umayyad Rule

To illustrate a few points, it may be stated that the Umayyad’s rule was unIslamic. Any rule which is based on force and violence can never be Islamic. The Umayyads crushed the spirit of democratic freedom. They laid the foundation of their authority on unscrupulous tactics and coercive methods instead of on mutual consultation and Ijma’ (Consensus). The Umayyad state craft did not follow the Shari’ah in total, but it was motivated merely by lust of power and political ends. Such a serious menace to the basic values of Islam demanded a heroic struggled against arbitration and a crusade for the vindication of truth and freedom.

Imam Husain’s character as a Mu’min

These were the changes that appeared in the wake of converting the Islamic Khulafat into dynastic imperialism. No one can deny that Yazid’s nomination as successor to his father was the starting point of all these transformation. It cannot be gainsaid that after a short span of time from the point of origin all the corrupt practices mentioned above came into existence. At the time when this revolutionary step was adopted, there was no indication of these evils, but a man of vision could have predicted these inevitable consequences of such a beginning and that the reforms introduced by Islam in the administration and political phases of the state would be rendered null and void by these charges. This is the reason why Imam Husain (‘alaihi salaam) could not remain indifferent to this undesirable development. He, therefore, decided to stem the tide of the evil forces taking the risk of confronting the worst consequences by rising the revolt against an established government. The consequences of his bold stand are known to every one. The fact which Imam Husain (‘alaihi salaam) wanted to emphasize by plunging himself into grave danger and enduring its consequences heroically was that the fundamental features of the Islamic State are valuable assets. It would not be a bad bargain, if a believer sacrificed his life and get his family members slain for preserving this valuable object. A believer should not hesitate to sacrifice all that he possesses for preventing the changes which constitute a serious danger to the religion of al-Islam and the Muslim Community which is a custodian of the constitutional values. One is at liberty to contemptuously disregard it as merely a maneuver for securing power, but in the eyes of Imam Husain bin Ali (‘alaihi salaam), it was primarily a religious obligation. He, therefore, laid down his life in this cause gaining the crown of martyrdom.

The Month of Muharram 

The First Month of the Islamic Calendar

Extracted from Lata’if al-Ma`arif  of Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (Allah have mercy on him)

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

This is the first of a regular series of posts, inshaAllah, giving the fiqh of the months of the Islamic (Hijri) calendar, based on the comprehensive work by Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (Allah have mercy on him, 736-790 AH), Lata’if al-Ma`arif fi ma li Mawasim al-`Am min al-Wadha’if. Imam Ibn Rajab filled his magnificent work with hadiths, sayings of the righteous, and treasures of knowledge and wisdom. Only a small handful of the vast oceans of this wisdom is translated, because of the large size of the work, which is close to 600 pages in length.

Details relevant to Hanafi fiqh will be added to this, inshaAllah.

Faraz Rabbani.

Duties of the Month of Muharram:

1. It is the best of months for general voluntary fasts, after Ramadan.

2. It is especially recommended to fast the 10^th of Muharram (known as the Day of `Ashura’), with a day before it or after it. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, quoting Kasani’s al-Bada’i`]

3. It is also virtuous to give in charity on this day.

Extracts from Ibn Rajab’s Lata’if al-Ma`arif, regarding the month of Muharram:

The Virtues of Fasting in the Month of Muharram and Its First Ten Days

Muslim reported from Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The best of fasts after the month of Ramadan are in the Month of Allah, which you call Muharram. And the best of prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.” [Muslim, 1163]

This refers to general voluntary fasts according to Imam Ibn Rajab (Allah have mercy on him): These are best in the month of Muharram, just as the best general voluntary prayer is night prayer.

The virtue and honor of this month can be attested to by the fact that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) called it, ‘the Month of Allah.’ (Shahr Allah) Such ascription is only made by Allah to the most special of His creation, such as the ascription of the Prophets Muhammad, Ibrahim, Ishaq, Ya`qub, and others to his slavehood (Allah’s peace and blessings be on them all), and His ascription of the House (Ka`ba) and the camel to himself.

Given that Allah ascribed fasting, between all spiritual works, to Himself [saying, “It is Mine,”] it was suitable that this month, which is also ascribed to Allah, be selected for this particular form of worship.

Fasting is a secret between the servant and his Lord. This is why Allah Mighty and Exalted says, [in the divine hadith (hadith qudsi)], “Every action of the son of Adam is his, except for fasting. It is Mine, and it is I who reward it.” [Bukhari and Muslim, from Abu Hurayra]

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) also said, “The fasting person has two joys: one when he breaks his fast, and the other when he meets his Lord.” [Muslim]