All praise and thanks is to Allah. Blessed are the many thanks and praises as it is suitable for His Majesty and His great authority. We cannot contain our praise towards You for what You have done. And I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except God alone, Who Has no partner. And I also bear witness that Mohammad is His servant, messenger and friend. He delivered the trust, gave advice to the Ummah (Community) and left us on the bright path, its night like its daytime, only those who are destroyed deviate from it. Peace and blessings on the Prophet, his family, his friends, and those who follow their way until the Day of Judgment.
O Servants, I advise you and myself to be God-conscious, to obey him and to follow his commandments, to fear him, and to follow God and his messenger so that you may be under His mercy. God-consciousness is the signature of the believers, and the blanket of the pious. This is God’s advice to you and I. In the beginning of each Hijri year, Muslims remember many events; the most important of them is the great migration (from Mecca to Medina) that changed the course of history. Another event is the victory of Moses (pbuh) against Pharaoh. Therefore, God’s holy month (Muharram) is a source of pride and happiness for Muslims, as during this month, good conquered evil. Hence, Muslims have been commanded to fast the month’s tenth day as thanks to Allah Almighty.
This day already held holy significance for the non-believers of Mecca. Bokhari has narrated that Aisha, may God be pleased with her, has narrated that Quraish used to fast the day of Ashura in the pre-Islamic times. The Messenger, peace be upon him, said: “Whoever wishes to fast this day, then so be it, and whoever wishes to break his fast, then so be it.” And in another Hadith, he mentioned that on this day, “The Kabaa is covered up.” However, during Muharram and Ashura, Muslims remember a tragic event that does not sit well in any heart of the believers. This event is the martyrdom of Imam AlHussein bin Ali, may God be pleased with him, in Karbala. The anniversary of the martyrdom of AlHussein bin Ali, may God be pleased with him, is an event worthy of torment. We must not allow our tongues to intrude on the honor of the companions and followers of the Prophet that were present during the time of these great trials, as they had situations and circumstances that surrounded them at the time, that we may not know about. If we were with them, what would we have done?
Verily, the blood that our hands have been saved from should also have our tongues be saved from it as well. “This is a people that have passed away; they shall have what they earned and you shall have what you earn, and you shall not be called upon to answer for what they did.” (2:134). In this Khutba, I only intend to mention what is recommended by necessity in regards to this individual, whose excess in love by one people should not be met with apathy by others. It is a reality that many people have abandoned the name of AlHussein and his greatness in some circles forgotten. He was of great importance and status in the eys our Messenger (pbuh). Even if the only thing honoring him was that he was of the Prophetic household, this would have been enough. “Allah's wish is but to remove uncleanness far from you, O Folk of the Household, and cleanse you with a thorough cleansing” (33:33). Verily, loving him is part of religion and worship, worthy of God’s reward and approval. So in this blessed day, we shall spend some valuable time with AlHussein Bin Ali Bin Abi Taliib, the son of the daughter of the Messenger (pbuh). So he is AlHussein Bin Ali Bin Abi Taleb Bin Abdul Motalib Al-Hashimi Alqurashi, the family of the Messenger (pbuh). He looked very much like the Messenger from the chest to the feet. His father was the Amir (Prince) of the Believers, His mother was Fatima Alzahra, the daughter of the Messenger (pbuh), his common name was Abu Abdullah, and his nickname, The Martyr. He and his brother, AlHassan, are the masters of the young men of Paradise.
He was born in Madina in Shaban of the fourth Hijri year. His grandfather, the Messenger of God (pbuh), slaughtered for him when he was born, as he did for his brother AlHassan. The Messenger (pbuh) said, “They are both the good flowery scent of this world,” narrated by Al-Bokhari. Jabber narrates: “AlHussein once entered the Masjid. And the Messenger said, “Whoever is interested in looking at the Master of the youth of paradise, then look at this man.” The Messenger of God, pbuh, loved him and used to play with him when he was young and say about him: “AlHussein is a member of my tribe and whoever loves me then let him/her love me.” and in another narration, “God loves whoever loves AlHussein” Narrated by Ibn Maja, Ahmad, Al-Tarmathi, Al-Hakem and Al-Thahabi.
AlHussein lived his childhood and his adolescence in Medina. He was brought up in the Prophetic household, his father’s household, and in the circles of knowledge at the Prophet’s Mosque that discussed the best manners and the best habits and traditions. It’s narrated that he preformed Hajj twenty five times by foot. In the 35th Hijri year, he witnessed the day when his father, Ali, became the Caliph and left for Kufa. He witnessed with him the event of the camel, safeen, battling the Khawarij and stayed with his father until he was martyred in the 40th Hijri year. So he and his brother, AlHassan, lived in Kufa until AlHassan gave up the Caliphate, which was then received by Mo’aweyah Bin Abi Sufyan.
This is what was reported by the Messenger, pbuh. Narrated by Abu Bakra, that the Messenger, pbuh, was praying. When he prostrated, AlHassan climbed onto his back and his neck. So the Prophet raised his head slowly so that AlHassan does not fall. It was said that he did this a number of times during his prayer. When he finished, people asked him, we have you seen you do something for AlHassan that you’ve never done. He answered: “He is my flowery scent of this world. He is a master. It is possible that God Almighty may use him to reconcile between two groups of Muslims” Narrated by Ahmed.
AlHussein did not like what his brother had done. In his opinion, to fight was a better approach, as he saw that he was more worthy of the caliphate. However, he obeyed his older brother, who he thought he also so was worthy of the caliphate, but had valued the blood of Muslims, so AlHussein swore his allegiance to Mu’awiya and came back with him to Medina and resided with him. Before Mu’awiya bin Abu Sufyan died he gave the caliphate to his son Yazid. Imam AlHussein was one of those who refused to swear allegiance to Yazid, including a number of companions and followers, may God be pleased with them all. Until Mu’awiya passed away in the 60th Hijri year.
When Yazid bin Mu’awiya received the Caliphate, he sent a delegation to Medina, led by Walid Bin ‘Otba, to collect the oath of allegiance from its people. AlHussein refused to swear allegiance, left for Mecca and stayed there. The people of Kufa in Iraq wrote him swearing allegiance to him instead. So AlHussein sent to them his cousin, Muslim bin ‘Aqeel bin Abi Taleb, to receive their allegiance. After a while, Muslim’s absence became long and news about him was cut off. So AlHussein prepared himself with a group of his followers to head towards Iraq. Many of his relatives and friends advised him to stay in Mecca and to not answer the people of Iraq. Of these people who had advised against the trip are Abduallah Bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Omar, Abdullah Bin Jaffar and Jabber Bin Abdullah. One woman by the name of ‘Amra said: I heard ‘Aisha say that she heard the Messenger, pbuh, say: “AlHussein shall be killed in the land of Babylon” When AlHussein heard this he said, “Therefore, it seems that that shall be my fate.”And with that, he left Mecca heading towards Iraq.
On the way, in a place close to Al-Qadisia, he was received by Al-Hur Bin Yazid Al-Tamimi who said, “Go back! The people I have left behind have no good intentions towards you.” He also told him that ‘Obeid Allah Bin Ziyad, the ruler of Basra and Kufa had killed Muslim Bin ‘Aqeel, he advised him to go back accompanied by Muslim’s brothers. Hussein replied: “I swear by God, we will not return until we avenge our loss or get killed.” So he continued on until he reached an area called Atif near Karbula. Accompanying him was a cavalry of 45 and an infantry of 100, in addition to the women and children of his family. The people Kufa had disappointed him and did not keep their promise to support him. So he and those who were with him met the army of ‘Obaid Allah bin Ziyad led by Omr Bin Sa’d Bin Abi Waqqas. The army was made of a cavalry of 4,000. Negotiations began between the two parties that did not result in any agreement. The army in return attacked AlHussein and those who were with him, who fought a heroic battle, which resulted in the martyrdom of Hussein and most of the people with him. Later, they would find in his body 33 wounds. This incident happened on the day of Ashura on the 61st Hijri year, may God have mercy on him and be pleased with him. Poets have written sad poetry about this incident for centuries. It is narrated that that one who killed him was Sinan Bin Abi Sinan Anakh’i and the one who cut his head off was Shmr Bin Thee Al-Jawshan. AlHussein was killed in addition to 17 men of his household, including his four brothers, may God have mercy upon them all and may they be rewarded with paradise.
The Messenger, pbuh, knew that his beloved grandson would be killed by the hands of Muslims. Abu Amama has narrated that Messenger, pbuh, said to his wives: “Do not cry for this man” meaning AlHussein. It was the day that the Messenger was with Um Salama. Archangel Gabriel had descended, so he told Um Salama, do not let anybody enter the house. AlHussein came crying, so he was allowed to enter the house and sat in the lap of the Messenger, pbuh. He was told by the archangel: “Your Ummah shall kill him” The Messenger said, “They will kill him, even though they are believers?” The archangel said, “Yes.” And the Messenger was shown his grave. This was narrated by AlHassan as narrated by Imam Al-Thahabi.
This day has remained forever in the hearts of the companions of the Messenger of God, pbuh, and they did not allow the people of Iraq to forget it, as they did not come out to support him. AlBokhari narrates that Ibn Abi No’am said, I was a witness for Ibn ‘Omar. One man asked him about the blood of a mosquito. He asked him, “Where are you from?” He said he is from Iraq. So he responded, “Look at this man, asking me about the blood of mosquitos when they were the cause of the murder of the grandson of the Messenger, pbuh, who has described him as the flowery scent of this world.”
O Lord, allow us to love AlHassan and AlHussein, their mother, their father and their good offspring, as we do love your Prophet, pbuh and may we be amongst the beloved on the day of Judgment. May the blessings of God be upon them all, especially your Prophet Mohammad, on his family, his companions and all those who follow him in excellence until the day of Judgment.
Originally Composed by: Sheikh Watheq | Translated by: Ehab T
