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One day, Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was seated with Hazrat Imam Hussain (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) on his right and his son Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) on his left. Hazrat Jibraeel (Alaihis Salaam) descended and said to the Beloved of Allah that the Lord would not allow both of these children to remain with the Messenger as one of them would have to return to the Lord. It was now the Beloved’s choice as to which one of these two beloved children would remain on the earth and which one would return to Allah Ta’ala. Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) stated that if Hussain was to depart from this world, Sayyidah Fatimah, Sayyiduna Ali as well as the Messenger of Allah would be aggrieved. If Ibrahim departed, most of the grief would be felt by the Messenger of Allah, therefore, he explained how he desired to bear all of the sorrow rather than to witness his beloved daughter and son-in-law pained by the death of their beloved son. Three days after Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) had made this magnificent choice, Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) passed away. After this event, whenever Hazrat Imam Hussain (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) would come to the Beloved of Allah, Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) would kiss his forehead and welcome him. {Shawaahid-un-Nubuwwah}
Hazrat Allamah Jaami (Alaihir Rahmah) states, “Whenever Hazrat Imam Hussain (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) would stay in the dark, then his environment would become illuminated by the refulgent beams radiating from his blessed forehead and cheeks. {Shawaahid-un-Nubuwwah}
This is that same blessed forehead upon which an arrow was shot in the Battle of Karbala, before Hazrat Imam Hussain’s blessed head was separated from his blessed body and he was martyred. Eventually the Yazeedis roamed the streets with his blessed head on a spear and some of the events which unfolded demonstrated the exalted status of Hazrat Imam Hussain (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh).
Minhaal Ibn ‘Amr has reported, “I was in Damascus at that time. By Allah! I saw with my own eyes that when the people were parading with the blessed head of Hazrat Imam Hussain (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) on the spear, a person was reciting Surah Al-Kahf in front of the blessed head. When he reached the verse:
اَنَّ اَصْحٰبَ الْكَهْفِ وَ الرَّقِیْمِ ۙ كَانُوْا مِنْ اٰیٰتِنَا عَجَبًا
The men of the cave and of the jungle’s side were an exceptional sign of Ours. {Surah 18:9}
Allah Ta’ala granted the blessed head of Hazrat Imam Hussain (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) the ability to speak and it said,
اَعْجَبُ مِنْ اَصْحَابِ الْكَهْفِ قَتْلِىْ وَ حَمْلِىْ
My murder and roaming around with my head is stranger than the event of the Ashaab-e-Kahf.
{Sharhus Sudoor}
Sadrul Afaazil Hazrat Allamah Sayyid Na’eemuddin Muradabadi (Alaihir Rahmah) commented on the above incident saying, “In fact, this is true because in the case of the Ashaab-e-Kahf, disbelievers committed the oppression whereas in the case of Hazrat Imam Hussain (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh), the Ummah of his Grandfather (Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)) invited him as a guest then deceitfully deprived him of even drinking water. The household and companions of Hazrat Imam Hussain (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) were martyred before his eyes and thereafter he was also martyred. The respected Ahl-e-Bait were imprisoned. The blessed head was carried through different cities and towns. It is certainly strange that the Ashaab-e-Kahf spoke out after a very deep sleep of several years, however, it is even stranger for the blessed head to speak out after being separated from the blessed body.” {Sawaanih-e-Karbala}
It is stated that when the blessed head of Imam Hussain (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) was taken off the spear and taken into the palace of the wretched Ibn Ziyad, Hazrat Imam Hussain’s (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) sacred lips were moving and his blessed tongue was reciting the following verse:
وَ لَا تَحْسَبَنَّ اللّٰهَ غَافِلًا عَمَّا یَعْمَلُ الظّٰلِمُوْنَ ؕ۬
And do not ever think that Allah is unaware of the doings of the oppressors. {Surah 14:42}
{Raudatush Shuhada}
The army of Yazeed proceeded with carrying the blessed heads of the martyrs of Karbala along with them. They eventually stopped at a church to spend the night and started drinking wine whilst rejoicing. A metal pen appeared from the unseen and wrote the following couplet with blood:
اَ تَرْجُوْ اُمَّةٌ قَتَلَتْ حُسَيْنًا
شَفَاعَةَ جَدِّهٖ يَوْمَ الْحِسَابِ
Does that nation which killed Hussain, wish for the intercession of his Grandfather on the Day of Judgment?
In another narration it is stated that this verse was inscribed on the wall before the arrival of the Yazeedis. When the Yazeedis read this verse they asked the priest of the church about the writing on the wall. The priest informed them that it was not known who had written the verse on the wall but it was known that this writing had been on the wall 500 years prior to the arrival of Allah’s Final Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).
The priest saw the refulgent head from his church and asked about the situation. When he was told about what happened, he remarked, “You people are so evil that you kill the children of your own Prophet and you imprison the women and children of his household.”
He then requested that the blessed head of Hazrat Imam Hussain (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) be left with him for one night in exchange for ten thousand Dirhams. The greedy Yazeedis accepted the offer. The priest placed the blessed head in a special room, washed it, cleaned the dust and blood, and perfumed it. He then kept observing it closely throughout the night with respect and reverence. The priest began to cry as the spiritual veils had now opened up before him. He noticed rays of light emerging from the blessed head. When he saw this miracle he embraced Islam and became a Muslim in the morning.
Later, when the Yazeedis opened the bag of dirhams to share the ten thousand dirhams they got from the priest, they found that all of it had turned into broken pieces of clay. On one side of it was inscribed the verse of the Holy Qur’an, “And do not ever think that Allah is unaware of the doings of the oppressors” {Surah 14:42}, and on the other side was inscribed the verse, “And soon the oppressors will come to know upon which side they will return.” {Surah 26:227} {Khutbaat-e-Muharram}
These narrations provide a clear indication of the exalted status of Hazrat Imam Hussain (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) and the fact that those who sacrifice their lives for the sake of Allah Ta’ala are indeed alive, as stated in the Holy Qur’an.
May Allah Ta’ala grant us sincere love and respect for the Ahl-e-Bait and the Taufeeq to sacrifice our lives for Allah and His Rasool (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), Allahumma Ameen.