Completion of Argument

Introduction

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

Praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds and blessings and peace be upon the best of creations, Muhammad and his Purified Progeny.

So to say:

An Urdu weekly, “Rizwan”, used to be published from Lahore, which publicized itself on its banner to be “The Religious Voice of the Ahlul Sunnat wal Jamat”. The editor of the weekly was Maulana Sayyid Mahmood Ahmad Rizvi. The Imam Husain special issue was published between 28th August to 14th September 1954 (Issues no 31 to 34, Vol. 6).

On pages 11 to 16 the editorial contained various objections against the Shias under the title of “The thorn and the flower”. Most of these objections had been the oft-repeated ones of the elders of editor of Rizwan and which have already been replied thousands of times. But, the Rizwan editor has presented them in such a way that his readers would feel they are his own creations. Other objections concocted by Maulana Sayyid Mahmood Ahmad Rizvi have exposed the level of his knowledge.

Replies to a majority of these objections were published in the Razakar newspaper of Lahore, till the authorities banned this publication. It was then that my respected friend, Sayyid Jamil Husain Rizvi wrote to me to expose the facts behind the objections. In compliance of his wishes, I wrote replies to two objections at a time and had them published in Al-Jawwad Magazine of Varanasi, India (March 1955 to March 1958 issues). Maulana Zafar Hasan, editor of Noor Magazine, Karachi, published in article form, my discussion about ‘Bada’[^1] and stated that he had not seen anything better than that in Urdu language.

And as for the favor of your Lord, do announce (it).[^2]

When I had written those articles I had no access to many books and sources that I required. In spite of that, thanks be to Allah, the replies proved very effective, quite sufficient and became a wealth of information for the preachers of India, Pakistan and Africa. During the compilation of these replies, there were two instances when it was impossible to write anything without looking up the original references and I did not have the concerning books, neither there existed any library from which I could obtain them. On both the occasions I sought the help of the Master of the Age (May Allah hasten his reappearance) and the Imam favored me and solved the problem in no time.

The first instance occurred when the Rizwan editor wrote on the authority of Rijal Kishi that Shias are composed of three parts: One part is sinful and evil and two parts foolish.” Further on, under the same reference he wrote: His eminence, Imam Husain (as) said addressing the Shias:…“O Shias! You killed me and plundered all my belongings.”

I did not have a copy of Rijal Kishi to check the reference. The article came to a stand still. In the evening I strolled to a relative’s house. There I saw in a corner of the courtyard, some loose pages strewn about, that had been discarded as trash. I collected those pages and brought them home. When I arranged the pages I found that it was the complete first volume of Rijal Kishi (Published from Calcutta). I thanked Allah for the favor of my Imam and got the volume bound. The veracity of references presented by the Rizwan editor can be seen in the coming pages.

The second instance was when the Rizwan editor had quoted the sentence of Majalisul Muttaqeen. The correct tradition should have been: O People! You have killed my Shias and martyred the people of my house! But the Rizwan editor has interpolated it as: O Shias! You have killed me and my Ahlul Bayt also.” It was very difficult to expose this fraud without access to the original Arabic text and I did not have any book containing this sentence of Imam Husain (as). I was forced to put away all the papers and sought the help of the Imam of the Last Age.

When my respected mother (May Allah purify her grave) noticed that I had stopped writing the article she sent me on an errand to her parents’ place five miles away. I complied immediately and conveyed her message. After that, by way of whiling away the time I picked up a book from the tomes of my departed maternal grandfather. It turned out to be the Maqtal of Abi Mikhnaf. I opened it and the first line that caught my eyes were the words of Imam Husain (as): O People! You killed my brother, my children and my Shias…I thanked the Almighty for this unseen help and borrowed the book and brought it home with me. The aim of recounting these experiences is that people like the Rizwan editor who are themselves deniers of His Eminence the Proof (Hujjat), should see how His Eminence favors even the lowliest of his slaves.

After the publication of my articles under the title Kerbala Shinasi, my friends in India, Pakistan and Africa insisted that the replies addressed to the Rizwan editor should also be similarly published in book form so that their usefulness may be enhanced. A few months ago, my respected mentor, Mulla Asghar M.M. Jaffer of KSI Supreme council of Africa and former president of World Federation of KSI Muslim Communities (London) stressed the need for publishing this book. These articles are presented herewith in the book form according to his wishes. May Allah reward the gentleman and increase his Tawfeeqat.[^3] Amen, then amen.

In the beginning of the book I have quoted verbatim the article of Rizwan so that readers may see all the objection at a glance.

And peace be upon those who follow the guidance.

Sincerely

Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi

Gopalpur, PO Baqarganj, Dist. Siwan, (Bihar) India.

12th Rabi II 1404 (February 15, 1984)

[^1]: The belief that Allah could effect change in His decree

[^2]: Surah Zuha 93:11

[^3]: Plural of Tawfeeq=Divine opportunity to perform a good deed