Rasulullah’s SA waari

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

أَيَوَدُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن تَكُونَ لَهُ جَنَّةٌ مِّن نَّخِيلٍ وَأَعْنَابٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ لَهُ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ وَأَصَابَهُ الْكِبَرُ وَلَهُ ذُرِّيَّةٌ ضُعَفَاءُ فَأَصَابَهَا إِعْصَارٌ فِيهِ نَارٌ فَاحْتَرَقَتْ ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ *

'Does any of you wish that he should have a garden with date-palms and vines and streams flowing underneath, and all kinds of fruit, while he is stricken with old age, and his children are not strong (enough to look after themselves)- that it should be caught in a whirlwind, with fire therein, and be burnt up? Thus doth Allah make clear to you (His) Signs; that ye may consider.'

(Surat al-Baqara: 266)

This article was written by Ra'sul Hududil Mayameen Janab Syedi Aziz Bhaisaheb Qutbuddin in 2014.

Syedna al-Muayyad al-Shirazi, the Bab al-Abwab of the 18th Imam Mustansir Billah in Cairo says that this ayat of the Quran, quoted above, describes the tragedy of Imam Husain in Karbala - would you not want that such tragedy never befell you and your loved ones.

The tragedy of Imam Husain AS and his family and companions has been remembered throughout the centuries. We weep for Imam Husain and his family, and what befell them in Karbala, because we love Imam Husain. It is a measure of love that when the beloved undergoes tragedy, we feel the hurt in our hearts, just as if we were undergoing it, or even more. Husain is our beloved Imam, the grandson of our great Nabi Mohammad Rasulullah SA, the son of our most revered and beloved Aqa Ali Amirul Mumineen AS, and of our beloved Maulatuna Fatema AS. In the majlis, the waaz, the marsiya, when we hear of the merciless killing of the family of the Nabi of Islam, by people who called themselves Muslims, our hearts bleed and our eyes shed tears, as if it was our own flesh and blood undergoing this tragedy. When we hear of the army of Yazid denying the Ahlul Bayt water for three days, the three continuous days of thirst and hunger, even of the six month old Ali Asghr; when we hear of Imam Husain giving courage to all those with him on the eve of Ashura, preparing them for the day of massacre to come; when we hear of Abbas Alamdar not drinking even a drop from the river, seeing to get the water quickly to Sakina; when we hear of Husain holding his young son Ali Akbar’s head in his lap and giving us Mumineen good tidings of our last moments; when we hear of Husain raising his six month old Ali Asghar high up on his hands, and the arrow piercing his tender neck; when we hear Husain saying to Zainab and Umme Kulsoom to all wear “double double kapra”; when we hear of Zainab watching from afar as Shimar separates her beloved brother Husain’s sacred head from his pure body; when we hear of the women and children of the Prophet’s family being tied with ropes and driven as slaves in the unforgiving heat of the desert, with the Imam Ali Zainulabidin walking with chains tied around his neck, his hands, and his bare feet - we cry even more than we would for our own flesh and blood. Syedna al-Muayyad al-Shirazi has said that the spiritual relationship between a Mumin and his spiritual parents is much stronger and everlasting than the relationship with physical parents. The Imam is the spiritual father of all Mumineen; this is not only our family, this is the Prophet’s family. This is Husain, who sacrificed all for the sake of Islam and the Muslim umma, for the sake of the Dawat of his grandfather, for all those Mumineen who came after him till Qiyamat.

The example that Husain Imam and his Ahle bayt and Ashab have set for the world is beyond comparison, beyond description and beyond superlatives. It not only changed the course of history, but ensured the survival and prosperity of Dawat and Mumineen till the day of Qiyamat. The only person who could aspire to this was Husain’s Dai, Syedna Qutbuddin Shaheed RA, who did the same for the Dawat of satr, the Dawat of Imam-uz-zaman, standing up for principal against tyranny and falsehood. Today, our Dai, who Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA gave the laqab (name) of Qutbuddin, taking the barakat of the name of Syedna Qutbuddin Shaheed RA, Syedna Khuzaima Qutbuddin TUS, is following the example set by Imam Husain AS in Karbala and by his predecessor Syedna Qutbuddin Shaheed in Ahmedabad. He is standing up to falshehood, tyranny and oppression, sacrificing everything for the sake of the Dawat of Imam-uz-zaman, the community of Mumineen, for its survival and its identity as the Dawoodi Bohra Community, nurtured so fondly by Dais before him, especially the 51st Dai Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA and the 52nd Dai Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA.

Syedna Qutbuddin TUS is doing waaz with great shaan in Darus Sakina, in Ashara mubaraka. Each waaz is a book unto itself, and an aayat (proof) of Haq unto itself. It does not even compare to others who may call themselves waaezeen and then use language on the takht not becoming even language on the street. Syedna Qutbuddin recited the history of the victory of Imam Mansur over the usurper Dajjal in North Africa in great detail. The Imam bore much hardship in his campaign to free his people, Mumineen from the clutches of Dajjal. The Imam was in the battlefield for ten years continuously. After many years in the field, he wrote to his son and successor Muizz who was in Mahdiyya the capital of the Imam, “I want from this only to please my Creator, and the glory of the Empire of the progeny of Rasulullah; What greater loneliness, what greater calamity, but in the way of Allah it is nothing, it is nothing; I thank Allah for what He has ordained, He is my succor and on Him I depend.” When finally Dajjal was caught by the Imam’s army, Mansur Imam AS addressed him and said, “did you what God has done; He raised the truth, Haq, up high, even though its helpers are few, and destroyed the falsehood, Batil, even though its helpers are many.” Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA fought many court cases, some which he himself initiated against perpetrators, and some which were brought against him. Allah taala gave Syedna Taher Saifuddin victory. Syedna Taher Saifuddin said, “there is attack after attack but I do not complain, rather I thank Allah taala, that in all these difficulties, I am getting the reward of fighting for the truth, Haq.”

It now falls upon us Mumineen, who love our Dai-z-zaman, Syedna Khuzaima Qutbuddin TUS, as our spiritual father, as Syedna Hatim has said. It is now upon us, just as we weep for Husain out of love for him, to stand by our beloved Dai, and his Dawat in these most adverse of times. Every step that each of us takes towards this end today, will have a far reaching impact, because these are formative times; Our Dai is showing us the way, all that we need to do, as we remember the sacrifice of our Aqa Husain in these days of Ashara and especially Ashura, is to live by the example set for us, by our Imam, and by his Dai today; and stand up for the defense of Dai and Dawat, and the future of our children and our community.