Horizons of Thoughts

Between Declaring Al-salam & Its Application

It is important to understand the remote distance between the sincerity of one who merely declares peace and verbally seeks the same for the mazur ('the visited one') and one who personifies peace in every dimension of his being and actively struggles to ensure the same for the mazur. In fact some of our traditions clearly emphasize the vital role of the practical application of al-Salam. Look at the following traditions: 1.Ibn Shahr `shub narrates in his well-known al-Manaqib from Anas that he said:

One of the slave women of Imam al-hasan ('a) came to him with a boquet of aromatic plants, whereupon the Imam ('a) said to her: You are free for the sake of Allah. So I asked the Imam ('a) as to why did he free her, and he said: 'Almighty Allah educated us and said: 'And When you are greeted with a greeting, greet with a better one than it, or return it… '[^65] And to let her free is better than her gift.[^66]

Here is an example of how practical Salam can be. Many of us do not realize this very important point and conjecture that we have earned ample blessings and reward for our Salams as the holy Qur'an and the sacred traditions of the Holy Prophet (s) and his infallible progeny clearly exemplify.

The Holy Qur'an says:

The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said:

When one enters his house, he must say salam, for that sends down blessings and the angels become fond of him.[^67] Should we restrict these luminant words of guidance to the realm of speech or do they portray the loftier aspects of the reality of al-Salam ?. In fact if there is no coherence between what the tongue utters and what the heart and mind feel and what the actions portray, then how can we claim the honesty of the musallim (greeter)?

Ya Aba 'Abdillah

The word 'Ya' is an interjection employed to call the vocative (munada). In simple terms it is word used to call someone. However, lexists hold that يا'ya' is employed for a vocative (munada) who is at a far distance. For example, if we would like to call 'Ali who is at a far distance, we say ياعلي 'Ya 'Ali!.

The distance considered here was physical and spatial. Lexists however employ the same when they would like to praise an exalted personality even if he/she was very near. In fact we also address Almighty Allah Who is closer to us than our jugular veins as ياالله Ya Allah, because the Essence of Allah is Infinitely Exalted. In the well-known verse of the Throne (`yat al-Kursi) we declare this reality of Allah's Exalted Essence as:

And He Alone is the Extremely Exalted & Great Forever [^68]

In our present situation our vocative and addressee is Imam al-Hussein ('a) who due to his freedom from the limitations of the material world and comprehensive being is too close to us and can see and hear us too. Hence the reason why we employ the interjection 'ya and say 'Ya Aba 'Abdillah' is to express his exaltedness and confess our lowliness.

The people of heart, however, can well appreciate the implication manifested when the 'the lover calls the beloved'. The implication is to get near to the Beloved. Hence when we call Aba 'Abdillah (whose import, as we shall soon expound means 'the utterly submissive slave of Allah) we are seeking his closeness, or in other words 'the attributes that personifies his exalted being'.

Aba 'Abdillah

The words Aba 'Abdillah literally mean 'the father of the submissive slave of Allah'. Arabs honorify their fellow brothers by calling them with a kunya (a name that mostly mentions the first or one of the offsprings of the 'named one'.) Hence if a person had a son called 'Abdullah, he is called Abu 'Abdillah, which means 'father of 'Abdullah'. In fact one of our traditions indicates that it is better to call someone by his offspring's name in front of him than to use his real name. Imam al-Riza ('a) is reported to have said:

If you mention a man in his presence, then do so using his agnomen (kunya), and if he were to be absent, then call him by his name.[^69] One of the variable reasons given behind the Imam ('a) being called Abu 'Abdillah is that he had an offpring called 'Abdullah, famously known الرضيع al-radi' (one who is still breastfeeding). He is one of the members of the Imam's noble family who was mercilessly martyred in the plains of Karbala. In the well-known Ziyarat al-Nahiya al-Muqaddasah we say:

Perpetual peace be unto 'Abdillah, the one who was still breastfeeding [^70]

Aba 'Abdillah

Sometimes however, someone is attributed with an agnomen (kunyah) not because he is the father of so and so, but because he enjoys a certain quality. For example, one who is well known for his open-handedness and generosity is called Abu Jawad. In this context, a number of commentators of this exalted ziyarah, opine that one of the reasons why the holy Imam ('a) was given the agnomen Abu 'Abdillah was his extreme submissiveness to Allah. In other words, he was the true servant of Allah.

Traditions indicate that Imam al-Hussein ('a) was given the agnomen after his birth by Almighty Allah himself through the revelation of the Arch Angel Gabriel, which subtly alludes to the submissive state of Imam ('a) ever since his birth: