With the Caravan of Light

The Greatest Reality From the Tonge of Jabir Ibn- Abdullah

`Atiyyah ibn-Sa' d ibn Janadah said that he was in the company of Jabir when he paid a visit to the holy shrine of Imam Husayn(a). Jabir performed his ablution and put on some scent. He placed his hand on the sacred grave of the Imam(a) and swooned. When he came to himself, he lamented bitterly and then paid homage to the memory of the Imam's(a) companions saying that they also shared in his battle against his enemies.

`Atiyyah asked how could such a thing be; Jabir, greatly surprised, quoted the Prophet(s) as having said that one who supported others in what good they had done would be rewarded according to what they had done. If one is honoured with a visit to his holy shrine, one should say in his prayers:

I swear by Almighty God, His angels and His messengers that I believe in your leadership and in your return unto Allah. Every step I takefor the cause ofmy religion and all my efforts in life are under the auspices of your leadership and guidance and inspired with my deep love and reverence for you. I surrender my heart to your pure soul and I try to follow the example you set for human salvation.

If after saying such a prayer however, one is not honest in his vow, that person would have told a great lie that will not be forgiven. Imam Husayn(a) and his companions were all paragons of virtue and if one wants to revere them duly for their divine attributes, one should try to be their true disciple in all stages of life.

In contrast, the enemies of Imam Husayn(a) and his followers were all vice incarnated manifestations of villainy, tyranny, bestiality, infringement upon the rights of others, neglectfulness of responsibility, covetousness, envy, pride and hypocrisy. When called to account on the Last Day, they will appear to be totally deprived of God's mercy. Imam Husayn's(a) murder was so terrible a crime that in the punishment of the murderers, there may be no room for mercy.

Constancy in Achieving Goals

In following the transcendental aim of Imam Husayn(a) and his loyal supporters, one must be prepared to face physical, financial, mental, familial or social difficulties; hence, it requires constancy, steadfastness, struggle, religious zeal, devotion and understanding. The Qur'an says:

*Whoso obeys Allah and the Messenger, they are with those unto whom Allah has shown favour: the prophets and the saints and the martyrs and the righteous. And the best of company are they* (4/69)

Our Seeking God's Help In Attaining to Good Conduct

Imam Husayn's companions gave a vivid picture of the spirituality of Islam in what they said and did. Indeed, they were angels that demonstrated the truths of Islam to the world for indeed their deeds were nothing short of angelic behaviour. They kept their duty in obeying Islamic tenets. Their message to all muslims was to revere the Truth, the Prophet, the Qur' an, the Imam and their leaders. That we must establish worship and pay the poor-rate, enjoin the right and forbid the wrong.

Those who neglect to establish worship are proud like Satan who disobeyed God's order to prostrate before Adam, and those who do not pay the poorrate are the miserly whose niggardliness keeps them from doing anything good.

The Qur'an says:

*They who hoard up gold and silver and spend it not in the way ofAllah, unto them give the tidings (OMuhammad) ofapainful doom* (9/34)

We supplicate to God for success in good conduct; whoso are neglectful of good conduct in relation to others are deprived of God's favour. People of ill-conduct are notorious for spreading the fires of dishonourable behaviour all over the world, while on the other hand, good conduct diffuses light everywhere and adds to the glory of the angels.

The Reverence Shown to Imam Husayn (a) By his Companions

Hadrat Saj j ad(a), the Pearl among all Worshippers of God, says about the reverence held for Imam Husayn(a) by his companions:

The Imam(a) spent one part of the night of Ashura (the night before he was martyred) with his companions, the second part for his prayers and the third part in getting prepared for the battle. First, he thanked hisLordforHisgraces bestowed upon him and his family and his appointment as the leader of all the muslims, for his being a descendant oftheProphet(a) andforgiving him the knowledge of the Qur'an and the tenets of Islam. He then addressed his companions saying that he knew of no better or more devoted men than they were.

He further said that they were about to fight a bloody battle which would result in their death. Since the enemy had a quarrel with him alone, the Imam announced that he had freed them of their allegiance to him. If they were not inclined to fight without it being any sin or blameworthy action on their part. In addition they had his permission to take any of the folk ofhis household with them if they so desired.

Abbas, in his response, said that they would never abandon him. Then the Imam(a) gave his permission for his cousins-the children of Muslim ibn-Aqil to leave the camp, their father had been martyred in the course of the events leading up to Karbala and his martyrdom would have been a sufficient enough contribution for them. But in reply they thanked their uncle and said that they would stand by him no matter what would befall them.

Like the men from the tribe of Bani Hashim, other companions of Imam Husayn(a) including Muslim ibn-'Awsaja, Zuhayr and Ibn Bashir Hadrami, all said that they would stand firm by the side oftheir exalted leader and valiantly meet their fate. It would be a great honour they said to lie among the fallen at the side of the beloved of the Prophet(s).

Qasim, the nephew of the Imam(a) asked his uncle whether he would be among the fallen. The Imam(a) replied that he would be killed as well as his own infant Abdullah. Qasim shuddered, at the thought of such a terrible thing, that their enemies could be so cruel and fiendish that they would not spare the lives even of a helpless infant.

Good versus Evil

In Karbala, two groups were arrayed in opposition to each other.

One group was the symbol of truth, honour, magnanimity, faith, virtue, honesty, worship and devotion, in other words, representatives of the Absolute Good, objective proofs of the Scripture and of sacred knowledge.

Salman Farsi was one of the most notable companions of the Prophet Muhammad(s). So high was his status that the Prophet(s) is reported to have said that God had ordered him to love four persons: 'All ibn-Abitalib, Miqdad ibn-Aswad, Abudar Ghaffari and Salman al-Farsi. (Kashi, Rijal p. 24). Hadrat Ali(a) said that Salman was the gateway to truth in the earth, those who acknowledged his sublime position were believers and those who denied it were disbelievers. (kashi, Rijal p.20)

Fadl ibn-Shadhan, the renowned author, said that no one was comparable to Salman in knowledge and insight. The Prophet(s) and Imam Baqir(a) knew him to be a member of the Household of the Prophet(s) and Hadrat Sadiq(a) said that Salman had known the Greatest Name (The secret great name of God). (Kashi, Rijal p. 18, 22). This man of such extraordinary caliber, on his arrival in Iraq, was recorded to have said that the battlefield of Karbala was the place where Imam Husayn(a) and his companions would fall. (Kashi, Rijal p.24).

Of those who were standing in opposition to the Imam(a), a number of them had seen the Prophet(s) and had witnessed his miracles. Nevertheless, in their actions, they denied his mission as God's messenger and attacked the members ofhis inviolable Household, beheading their men and innocent male children, and making prisoners of their pure womenfolk.

Some among them had lived during the heyday of Amir al Mu'minin, All, the Master of the Lovers of God, the Imam of mystics and the Paragon of honesty, and during the era of his illustrious son Hadrat Mujtaba. Their deeds, however, showed that they denied this divine source of light manifested to them and chose to remain in abysmal darkness.

They actually denied revelation and rather than monotheism and the mission of the Prophet(s) and the Imams(a) they chose Yazid, the drunkard, and Ibn- Ziad, the bastard and became themselves incarnations of vice. Yes, those who go astray, who with all their capabilities support irrationalism, who repress their consciences and defy the Truth are the most wicked of people.

The Qur'an says:

*Lo! the worst ofhearts in Allah's sightare the deaf and the dumb who have no sense * (8/22)

Elsewhere the Qur'an says:

*Lo! the worst ofhearts in Allah's sight are the ungrateful who will not believe* (8/55)

Our Great Responsibility Concerning the event of Karbala

In this great battle between these two tribes-one the representative of good and the other the representative of evil-lies a very important lesson for us. From Husayn(a) we can learn the lesson of virtue and morality and protect ourselves against such hideous transgressions the like of which Yazid and his men were notorious.

Sa'adi, a celebrated poet in the literary firmament of Iran, said:

One should follow every piece of good advice even if written on a wall. Take as null and void whatever as the contrary, because one who is asleep can awaken not others that are asleep as well.

Luqman the famous gnostic and saint said that he learnt morality from immoral people, by doing the opposite of what they did. We can never claim to be as virtuous as the companions of Husayn(a), but we can claim we are on the path of good, as were those in the Caravan of Light.

The Constancyof Husayn's (a) Companions

The companions of Imam Husayn characteristically manifested the highest degree of stamina and endurance. No military commander would undermine the morale of his men if they were less in number or ammunition than their enemy; rather, with fiery speeches he would try to make them feel confident of victory and incite them to fight.

On the night of the battle however, the Imam(a) told his men that the enemy would win the day by force of numbers and that they would be all killed. They were exhilarated by this news and did not hesitate to declare their readiness to stand firm by his side and fight to the bitter end. In their eyes, it was the most grievous state to befall them if they survived their leader even for a single moment. (Bihar, vol. 44, p. 392, 393) Imam Sadiq(a) said that those who were ignorant of the rights of the Household of the Prophet(s) would not be rewarded even if they lived to be a hundred years and spent all of it in devotion.

The world is like a deep and stormy sea which without being guided by God or His Messenger(s), man would indeed succumb to the perils of the ocean. Husayn(a) is the torch for the Straight Path and the guide of the shipwrecked to the shore of salvation. We must abandon the path of transgression and embark on the path of Truth as his companions one of whom Hurr ibn-Yazid did.

Hurr, knowing full well that it would cost him his life, repented of his sins, he stopped following Yazid and accepted the Imamates of Husayn(a) and that of Husayn's father(a). Hurr, while he was still commander in Yazid's army, or 'wo occasions had shown his reverence to Imam Husayn(a). The first occasion was at the time of the noon prayers when the Imam(a) asked Hurr if he would prefer to say his prayers with his own men or with him and Hurr answered that he preferred to be with the Imam(a). On the second occasion, Hurr was present with his army when the Imam(a) addressed the soldiers facing him saying:

Lo! O you Kufans! If you are God fearing, you know that it is we, the folk of the Household of the Prophet(s) who are the righteous leaders of the people, not those who treat you unjustly.

The Imam(a) further mentioned the letters the people of Kufa had written supporting him and ordered a companion, Aqa ibn-Sam'an, to bring the letters to show the soldiers as proof. In reply, Hurr, among whose soldiers were many Kufans, said that they were not among those who had written the letters and that they had orders to take the Imam(a) back to Ubeidullah in Kufa.

When the Imam(a), in order to avoid confrontation, ordered his men to ride back to Mecca or Medina, Hurr barred their way and thus paved the way for more of Yazid's troops to arrive and surround the Imam's(a) small group of fighters.

On the day of Ashura however, the prick of his conscience induced a great remorse in him. He went back to Husayn's(a) camp to seek his forgiveness and to cast his lot with the Caravan of Light. The Imam(a) replied that God would accept his repentance. Later on, Hurr and his son launched a brave and relentless attack upon the enemy and were both eventually killed in the path of God. The Qur'an says:

*O you who believe! Shall I show you a commerce that will save you from a painful doom? You should believe in Allah and His messenger, and should strive for the cause ofAllah with your riches and lives. That is better for you if you did but know* (61/10 -11)

What is meant here by commerce, is the willingness to trade a good, comfortable life in this world for an abode in Paradise in the Hereafter. Husayn(a) was victorious in the battle between truth and falsehood, between light and darkness. Because ofhi s valor and devotion, this descendant ofMustafataught human beings the lessonofself sacrifice. The hero on the battlefield of courage took up the sword for his divine cause and because of this the tree of religion bore fruit and the palace of faith remained standing on solid foundations. Its threshold is the Ka'aba of hope for those with certainty of faith and its court the Qiblah for those of perspicacity.

For Yazid the palace of tyranny collapsed when he decided to extinguish the light of God. It is indeed wonderful to behold that after all these centuries, the fundamental distinction between truth and falsehood has remained; that the truth continues-eternal-while that falsehood represented by the Yazidi forces has utterly vanished.

Husayn(a) was a free man, a descendant of Heidar-Hadrat Ali(a)-and Fatima(a), daughter of the Best among Mankind. How could such a symbol ofreligious perfection yield to the will of a tyrant usurper? If his chest should be the target of a poisoned arrow and if he should die of thirst, he would never stoop to an enemy. We must learn to be free like Husayn(a) and gain victory.

Rasa, the poet, has said in a verse:

The fragrance of his dust animates me and I long to embrace his grave.

The Qur'an says:

*He will forgive you your sins and bring you into Gardens underneath which rivers flow, and pleasant dwellings in Gardens of Eden. That is the supreme triumph. And (He will give you) another blessing which you love: help from Allah and present victory. Give good tidings (O Muhammad) to believers * (61/12-13)