The Memory Of Husain (a.s.) Is Pain And The Therapy For Pain
Your difficulty was too massive and terrible for all the inhabitants of the heavens (to bear). · The earth, rotating on its axis, revolves around the light-giving sun. The grandson of the Seal of the Prophets (s.a.w.a.) and the heir to the mercy of the Messengers and Apostles (a.s.), presented his ultimate sacrifice in the presence of the Almighty in 61 A.H. on the burning sands of Karbala in extreme hunger and thirst of three days past. This was after the sacrifice of his helpers, companions and loved ones on the fateful day, from morning till afternoon for the sake of the continuity of Islam against the unbelief and hypocrisy of the so-called Muslims of nefarious, radicalized outlook who had sold out their beliefs for a few coins of this temporary worldly existence. Janabe Zainab (s.a.), the sister of Husain (a.s.), the lion-hearted daughter of Ali (a.s.), the reflection of Hazrat Zahra (s.a.), the learned without a teacher, raised her hands towards the skies and said:
O the Creator of the heavens and the inhabitants therein, accept our sacrifice. As if she was announcing that this is the very offering which has brought the promise of the ‘great sacrifice’ to fruition, the covenant that You had made when Ibrahim (a.s.) had, for the purpose of sacrifice, placed a sharpened knife to the throat of his son. It has brought closure to the completion of the promise with all embellishments and made a mark which will shine forth on the forehead of humanity until the dawning of the final hour. The gifted and enlightened humans stay steady on the straight path by this light and it will continue vouchsafing towards the destination. When the daughter of Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.), master of the universe, the owner of Zulfiqar, the conqueror of Badr and Hunain in lieu of him, saw the terrible event where the decapitated body of Husain (a.s.), the son of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.), the loved and nurtured one of Batool (s.a.) lay near her on the ground, she raised her hands and said:
O the Creator of the heavens and the inhabitants therein, accept our sacrifice. She was praying to that Almighty God who can give voice to the countless grains of sand of the desert. Would He not have called out from the pillars of His Throne on the sacrifice of His (beloved) Husain (a.s.). Indeed the sound would have reverberated forth from the bases of the Throne. ‘O soul that art at rest! Return to your Lord, well-pleased (with him), well-pleasing (Him), so enter among My servants, And enter into My garden. The epitome of the sufferers of calamities, the image of Zahra (s.a.), the sister of Husain (a.s.) whose voice must have resounded across the heavens. The overwhelmed and apprehensive angels of the skies witnessing the scene on the landscape below felt sorrow and bereavement wash over them. They spoke in grief ridden tones:
Salutations upon you; O oppressed Husain (a.s.)! The guarantee of the continuation of Islam! The last surviving member of the foundation of monotheism! Your troubles heavy weighed heavily upon the dwellers of the skies and we grieve and lament your calamity.
The writer was ready to pen down a few impressions of mourning of the inhabitants of the heavens, that suddenly the painful incident of the martyrdom of the oppressed Imam (a.s.) weighed upon the mind, the strings of the heart broke against the strain and the heart filled with tears which ran down the cheeks
I kept aside my pen and kept on crying for a long time. My granddaughter Abiha Fatimah was sitting before me. She would ask peculiar questions which I felt contentment in responding to. That day when I washed my teary face and sat on my chair, she started quizzing me, the replies of which I provided her. Later, on reflection I found that I should pen these questions down because they were in fact the basic idea I had conceptualized for this article.
Question: Grandfather, why did you suddenly start crying?
Answer: I had cried due to the demands of my love which were fulfilled.
Question: But why did you start crying right now while writing?
Answer: When I started contemplating with my cognizance and emotions on the sentence of Ziyarat of Aashuraa, which the Infallibles (a.s.) have instructed us and the Imam (a.s.) himself repeats, a tear opens up in my heart which can only be filled up by crying. The phrase is: Your difficulty was massive and terrible for all the inhabitants of the heavens (to bear).
Question: Where is the pain in the phrase that made you so restless?
Answer: Child, tell me whether the sun shines under the roof of the sky or is placed above the seven layers of heaven.
Question: Grandfather, what are you saying? Do you not see that the sun rises below the sky in the East and sets in the West? If this does not happen, the system of the universe would collapse. The world would burn to ashes and disappear into nothingness. The system subsists due to the forces of attraction and repulsion and the creatures stay alive. The seasons change due to it and the earth moves…
Answer: Oh! You have informed me of so many different aspects of my small reply. It seems you are the tutor and I am the student.
Now note this – the sun is below (lower in stature than) the sky, while the inhabitants of the skies grieve the martyrdom of Husain (a.s.) and find it difficult to bear. If it were not for the grace of the grandson of the Allah’s Mercy upon the worlds (s.a.w.a.), who could have stopped the weight of this grief from disrupting the system of the sun which is below the sky?
Question: I have understood. The mercy, grace, bounty and the countless blessings of Imam Husain (a.s.) upon us. This can be gauged by the fact that he has made our tears as a treatment for his grief, strengthening our hearts. The eagerness to act is created and help is bestowed to walk his path. It keeps us moving on his indicated humanitarian path. Besides where do we stand when the shoulders of the heaven dwellers stoop under the weight of his grief. Hence the sorrow of Husain (a.s.) is pain and the tears are the medication for it.
But you mentioned the sun and the sky and did not provide an explanation? Answer: The sun is below the sky and the great expanse of the sky is nigh immeasurable (the limits of human intellect), the sun is a small thing limited to a corner of the sky. Ponder then, the inmates of the heavens have cried out under the weight of the grief of Husain (a.s.), what would then happen to the miniscule sun, where the burden of this sorrow to fall upon it? What is the stature of the sun that it can endure it? Thus after the killing of Imam Husain (a.s.) on Aashuraa, the sun eclipsed the middle of the day and the day changed into night. However, the day broke out again and then night fell, the evening of the despondent passed and the morning saw the caravans of the miserable leaving the land.
This is the miracle of the Husaini patience that it creates pain in Allah’s creatures but does not destroy them. Rather it becomes for the continuation of life, energizes them, prepares them, and teaches them the method of living.
Question: That is true. But the thing that remains unclear is that the dwellers of the heavens remain unaffected by happiness and sadness, ease and misery, ups and downs.
Answer: And who has informed you of this? Have you not heard of the angel Fitrus, who on receiving back his hair and wings, moved his shoulders in such cheerfulness that his joy cannot be assessed by the creatures of the earth. And have you not heard of the verse of the noble Quran saying:
And the thunder declares His glory with His praise, and the angels too, for awe of Him.
And is it not worth pondering that Jibrael (a.s.) on witnessing the household of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) questions Allah in wonder: Almighty! Who are these holy personalities? One thing that is when the pure luminosities (a.s.) combined, they might have dazzled the eyes of Jibrael (a.s.). This might be because the creation of these lights preceded the creation of Jibraeel (a.s.). Then, the inhabitants of the heavens include the Messengers, their successors, the virtuous and the good doers. The Lady of heaven (s.a.) and the houries deployed in her service and the upright ladies whose mention is found in the Holy Quran, like the Lady Aasiya (s.a.) and the Lady Mariam (s.a.). And have you not read in the Noble Quran about Hazrat Isa (a.s.) in heaven.
Question: Long have the dwellers of the skies been immersed in grief and so shadow of anguish has covered the world and indeed the universe. When will this veil be lifted? When will spring return to earth? When will the grief of the residents of the skies change to joy? (… and many questions of like nature)
Answer: When the Qaem of the progeny of Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) appears. He is the comprehensive spring and the avenger of the blood of Husain (a.s.).
Question: When will the avenger of the blood of Husain (a.s.) appear, grandfather?
Answer: Only Allah has the knowledge whether it is near or far away. Abiha instinctively said: May Allah hasten his reappearance!
