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The Message of his Eminence, Ayatullah Al-Uzma al-Sheikh Al-Hafiz Pdf
Basheer Hussain Al-Najfi (May Allah prolong his life),
On the occasion of the commencement of the holy month of Muharram
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
الحمد للّٰہ الذی و بلغ و بعث ھدایۃ بریۃ ھداۃ معصومین
والصلوۃ والسلام علی المبعوث رحمۃ للعالمین محمد بن عبداللہ و علی آلہ المعصومین
والعنۃ علی اعداءھم و غاصبی حقوقھم و ظالمیھم اجمعین الی یوم الدین
قال اللہ سبحانہ [الذین امنو ولم یلبسوا ایمنھم بظلمھم اولءک لھم الامن ا ھم مھتدون] صدق اللہ العلی العظیم
And those who believe and do not taint their faith with wrongdoing, for them there shall be safety and they are rightly guided. (The Holy Quran 6:82)
In this verse, God has guided his servants to a safe path to reach Paradise. Apparently, for every rational person, there are three important and feared points on the path to Paradise, and each of these points are filled with danger, and it is necessary to pass through these stages without harm, and this is everyone�s desire.
The first of these points is death, and when God�s chosen angel Izraeel (a.s) come to take a soul, the dying person sees all his life�s deeds and actions before him. The dying person see the punishment awaiting him for his sins, and he watches his close and dear ones and his wealth with grief and sorrow., and think that all the wealth and power that he worked day and night for is leaving him and at this point he will need something which will relieve him from his grief and protect him for what is to come.
The second stage is the grave, those punishment and suffering every rational person hopes to escape from. The grave will be full of the darkness of his wrongdoings. Imam zain-ul-Aabideen (a.s) spoke of this darkness when teaching Dua-us-Sahar to his student, saying:
ابکی لظلمتی قبری
I weep on the darkness of my grave!
Apart from the good deeds he had performed in his life, he will find no support in the darkness� of the grave.
The third stage is the day of Qiyaamat, when every person will be brought to trial into the judiciary of Allah, under the burden of his actions and his hands bound by the angels. Imam Sajjad (a.s) mentioned this third stage when teaching the aforementioned due to his student:
ابکی لخروجی مین قبری غریانا ذلیلا حاملا ثقلی علی ظھری
والنظر مرۃ عن یمینی و اخری شمالی اذالخلاءق فی شان غیر شانی
�I cry on my exit from grave, naked and demeaned, carrying my weight (of deeds) on my back.
I look once to my left and then to my right, and all of creation are in their own distressful situation!�
These three stages will be so difficult and hard that all rational people become fearful, and so they must. God has explained clearly in the verse mentioned above the only way to pass safely through these difficult stages and to reach Paradise, to avoid the fearful and terrifying stages, and the only way is become a true believer and not to act with injustice.
For most lay persons, the not of zulm (injustice) is normally depicted by bringing forth the act of the famous despotic people, and those who persecuted the Prophet (a.s.) and the Infallibles (a.s.) and the believers. Surely these were very unjust people, but the meaning of injustice is not jus what they used to commit, but injustice encompasses every act by which somebody�s right is taken away, and by which another�s wealth, respect, honour, integrity and veneration is lost. Similarly, injustice includes the loss of ones right of integrity and honour by the sinning of the eyes, by backbiting, and even by any sin committed by any of the parts of the body� all of it is zulm. And let it be clear that on the day of Qiyamat the curse of Allah will be on every zalim, which means that the unjust people will receive the mercy of God.
Therefore, it is the obligation on all rational people to stay far from injustice, and if he has already acted unjustly against somebody, he should obtain his exoneration before his death and return to him anything usurped from him, especially the right of the Ahlul-Bayt (a.s.), the Khums. When he has cleansed himself from injustice, he will pass with ease and safety through the three stages mentioned above, and when he dies, God will send angel to him to give him the good tidings of Paradise, and He will free him from the worries and trouble of this world.
God had said:
ان الذین قالو ا ربنا اللہ ثم استقاموا تتنزل علیھم الملاءکۃ الا تخافو ا ولا تحزنوا وابشروا بالجنۃ التی کنتم توعدون
"Indeed those who say: �Our Lord is Allah, and then remain steadfast, the angels descend upon them (saying): �Do not fear, nor grieve; and receive the tidings of Paradise which you were promised.� (The Holy Quran 41:30)
God has, by His infinite mercy, has provided for the pardon of the believers several occasions throughout the year, such as the holy month of Ramadan, in which one can achieve greater proximity to God and pardon for all past sins through fasting and other worships. Similarly, the during the days of Pilgrimage, one can attain greatness through Hajj and Umrah as well having the great honour of visiting the shrines of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.), his beloved daughter (s.a.), and four of our Imams (a.s.).We can also obtain great benefit from the excellence of the month of Muharram, because this month is amongst the four sanctified months. However, the shameful nation had martyred the greatest and supreme personality of the time in this sacred month. By remembering the wronged Imam (a.s) and his close ones and those who sacrified their lives for him, we can attain closeness and proximity to God, as well as becoming deserving for the intercession of the Messenger of Islam (s.a.w.) and Lady Zahra (s.a.) and the infallible Imam (a.s).
Imam Hussain (a.s.) had by his bloody revolution not only removed the veil from Yazid and the despotic rulers of the line of the Umayyads and showed their true face to the world, but he also watered the tree of Islam by the blood of his children, his friends and his true companions, by which Imam�s survival was secured. It�s the obligation upon all of us to continue the remembrance of Imam Hussain�s (a.s.) tragedy and to attend the gatherings and processions to obtain immense reward.
It should be clear that one will achieve the goals in attending and arranging the gatherings and processions if they are conducted in light of the teachings of the Infallibles (a.s.). Recitation of the eulogies and elegies and poems in a musical fashion should be avoided, because doing so is forbidden. The gatherings should be kept untainted from those narrations which insults the personality of the Infallibles (a.s.) and their offspring and the loyal Companions, as well as those narrations which are not taken from reliable books. The responsibility of the lecturers and preachers is that they must first preach about the religion of Islam by their conduct before their tongue.
Finally, I convey my condolences to the Imam of our Times (may Allah hasten his reappearance) and to all Muslims, particularly the Shias of Haider Karar (a.s.), on the tragedies which afflicted the Ahlul-Bayt (a.s.) during to Month, and I pray that God gives us all the Tawfeeq to revitalize the remembrance of the sorrows of Mazloom of Karbala, the Master of Martyrs, Imam Hussain (a.s.).
Wassalam
Basheer Hussain Al-Najafi
Najaf, Iraq
Muhuarram-ul-Haram, 1432 AH