Lama'at al-Husayn - Divine Flashes of Imam Husayn - Sermons and Sayings of the Grandson of the Prophet Muhammad)

81 Pages·2011·2.785 MB·English

by  Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Husayni Tihrani

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About the Book:
“People are the slaves of wealth, and the relign on is I K‘.'w4
vainly on their tongues. They maintain it so long as thej7 have I p- r.il
productive livelihoods. But when they are tested by a trisa l, the
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religious are few.”
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Muslims were appalled to see Husayn, the pious grand-
son he Prophet Muhammad, being slaughtered in the land of
Karbala half a century after the Prophet’s demise.
Who was Husayn? Why did he rise? Why was he killed?
And what was his message?
It is best to learn about him from his own words. This
treatise presents a short collection of the sermons, sayings, and
letters of Husayn. The content has been collected from the most
prominent and original Muslim sources of narration and history.
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About the Compiler:
1995) was a Muslim thinker and mystic, who wrote on a wide
range of Islamic sciences. Despite the large volume of his works,
he repeatedly identified this small treatise as the best of them
all, “for it is entirely the words of the Imam.”
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II | ' 900 00
781930 637627
Divine Flashes of Husayn
Sermons and Sayings of the Grandson of
Prophet Muhammad
(Lamaat al-Husayn)
Compiled by
Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Husayn! Tihran!
Translated by
Tawus Raja
Great Books of the Islamic World
© 2011, Kazi Publications, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers.
Libraiy of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Divine Flashes of Husayn; Sermons and Sayings of the Grandson
of Prophet Muhammad (Lama at al-Husayri); compiled by:
Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Husayni TihranT, translated by:
Tawus Raja
1. Islam. 2. Sermons and Saying. I. Title.
ISBN: 1-930637-62-4
Cover design: Liaquat Ali
Cornerstones are Allah and Muhammad connected by Bism Al­
lah al-Rahman al-Rahim (In the Name of God, the Merciful,
the Compassionate).
Logo design by Mani Ardalan Farhadi
The cypress tree bending with the wind, the source for the
paisley design, is a symbol of the perfect Muslim, who, as
the tree, bends with the wind of God’s Will.
Published by
Great Books of the Islamic World, Inc.
Distributed by
KAZI Publications, Inc.
3023 W. Belmont Avenue
Chicago IL 60618
Tel: [phone]; FAX: [phone]
email: [email protected] /www.kazi.org
Contents
Translator’s Introduction..............................................................7
Notes..............................................................................................16
Introduction..................................................................................18
Sermons and Sayings...................................................................21
1. Imam Husayn’s Sermon about Knowing God and Knowing
One’s Imam.............................................................................21
2. His Sermon concerning Making Reform and the Cause of his
Rise...........................................................................................22
3. His Will to Muhammad ibn Hanafiyyah...............................23
4. His Sermon where he Urges and Encourages People to do
Righteous Deeds.............................................................. 24
5. His Advice to the Sinners............................................... 26
6. His Letter Concerning the Good of this World and the
Hereafter.......................................................................... 27
7. The Imam’s Sayings and Advices about Knowledge,
Experience, Honor, Contentment, Friendship, Planning, and
the Oppressed........................................................................27
8. The Imam’s Sermon in Mina, where he Called the
Companions to Promote Guardianship............................... 28
9. His Sermon in Holy Mecca, when he was Leaving for
Karbala .................................................................................. 32
10. The Imam’s Poems in Response to Farazdaq when he was
Departing for Kufah...............................................................33
11. Rebuking the People of this World.......................................34
12. The Imam’s Sermon when Hurr Blocked his Way..............35
13. The Imam’s Answer to Hurr about his Preparedness for
Martyrdom............................................................................36
14. His Sermon in Bidah about the Reason for his Rise, and the
Description of himself and the People of Kufah.................38
15. The Imam’s Sermon for his Companions on the night of
‘Ashura, and Excusing them from their Pledge of Allegiance
40
16. His Supplication in the Morning of‘Ashura.......................41
17. The Imam’s Sermon in the Morning of‘Ashura’ and his Last
Word to the People of Kufah.................................................42
4. Divine Flashes ofHusayn
18. His Sermon on the Day of‘Ashura’ about his Aversion
toward Dishonor, and his Criticism and Accursing of the
People of Kufah.......................................................................44
19. The Poems that the Imam’s recited as his War Cry on the
Day of'Ashura’ in Expressing his Merits..............................48
20. The Final Words of the Imam with the Enemy....................50
21. The Imam’s Prayers to God in his Final Moments and his
Condition upon Martyrdom..................................................52
The Poems of the Late Nayyir Tabriz?.........................................55
The Poems of the Late Ayatullah Sha'rani..................... 56
The Author’s Poems in Describing and Praising Imam Husayn,
peace be upon him............................... 58
Notes................................................................................................61
Notes on Prominent Figures Cited in the Text...........................68
Index................................................................................................77
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Translator’s Introduction
0 soul at peace, return unto thy Lord, well-pleased and well-pleasing.
Enter thou among My servants! Enter thou My Paradise!
(The Holy Quran, 89:27-30)
This book is the translation of a short collection of ser­
mons, sayings, and letters by Husayn ibn ‘A1T over the last six
months of his life. The book provides a first-hand represen­
tation of Islam in general and ShTism in particular, as it con­
sists of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson and the
third Shi'ite .’mam (i.e. leader). It provides more insight into
political thought and reform in Islam, and depicts the history of
the Middle East and the Umayyad caliphs in the seventh cen­
tury CE.
The narrations were compiled from the most authentic
books of Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims, by a great Shi'ite scholar of
the last century, the late Ayatullah Husayni Tihrani (d. 1995).
The translator’s notes have been marked by [tr] in order to dis­
tinguish them from the notes by the author. References have
been provided by the author, though the editions and page
numbers have been researched by the translator. Some of the
linguistic and literal explanations and notes of the author have
not been translated due to not being applicable. The original
Arabic texts of the narrations have also been included for those
interested.
About Husayn ibn ‘All
Husayn was born in Medina in year 4 AH (626 CE). His
mother, Fatimah, was the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter, and
his father, ‘All ibn AbT Talib, was the Prophet’s cousin. Husayn
and his older brother, Hasan, were greatly cherished by the
8_ Divine Flashes ofHusayn
Prophet during his life. In Shtism, *A1T is the Prophet’s succes­
sor and the first Imam, followed by his two sons, Hasan and
Husayn. There are abundant verses of the Qur’an and Prophetic
traditions that bear witness that the Prophet repeatedly and
explicitly declared ‘A1T and his children as his successors, and
that they are infallible leaders like the Prophet himself.1
However, when the Prophet Muhammad passed away in 11
AH (632), most Muslims decided to follow one of his compan­
ions, Abu Bakr, as his successor (caliph). Abu Bakr’s caliphate
was followed by that of 'Umar and then ‘Uthman, who was
killed by a protesting crowd of Muslims that were not happy
with his governance. Thus, the masses rushed to ‘A1T—after
twenty-five years of silence and solitude—begging him to ac­
cept the caliphate.2
‘A1T based his rule on that of the Prophet, restored eco­
i
nomic justice and social equality, and abolished all racial and
political privileges. The noble Islamic and humane values and
practices of'A1T were hard to tolerate for the previously favored
and privileged individuals. Thus, he was forced into three in­
ternal wars during the first three years of his caliphate, and
was finally assassinated by the extremist Kharijites in 40 AH
(661).
CA1T made it clear why he took the caliphate in his hands by
these powerful words:
Nj pjiU 4s" ji. M of ji. ilii U-f uj
.jlp ikip ^kp aijl ;_U
Lol By Him who split the seeds [to grow] and created
the souls, if the crowd of people had not come unto me, if
the presence of supporters had not established a conclusive
argument against me, and if God had not taken an oath
from the people of knowledge to not sit back at the glut­
tony of an oppressor and the starving of the oppressed, I