Hussein the Saiviour of Islam

Husain's Martyrdom Prophesied in the Old Testament

"For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in the North country by the river Euphrates." Jer. 46:10. (The Old Testament)

SHIA'ISM or Islam-Original

People mostly ignorant of what actually Shia'ism is and what in fact the commitment of a Shia is to his faith what actually it is in practice, are Iabouring under a gross misunderstanding of faith and its adhcrents.

When askcd what actually means Shia'ism and the commit- ment ofa Shia to his faith, the Sixth Holy Imam Jafar ibne Muham- mad As-Sadiq gave the whole in a nutshell, after which there remains no room for any question about the faith or its adherents. "Man kaana Iillah mutee'an wahowa lana vail. 'He who is obedient to God is our friend (a Shia),' Man kaana lillah ahoo an wahown lana odoo." 'He who is hostile to God, i.e., disobedient to Him, he is our enemy (a nan-Shia). "Wala yanals vilayatena illa bil wara'e wal amalis Saleh." 'And reacheth not our love save through piety and righteousness. What is Shia'ism?

SHIA'ISM IS NO new religion, creed or faith. It is nothing but the Original Islam in its original purity. It is the, very same faith which was preached and practised by the Holy Prophet without anything added to or subtracted of it.

Why then Call it Shia'ism and not Islam ?

IT IS AN undeniably acknowledged and a universally acknowledged fact that the last exhortation of the Holy Prophet Muhammad to his faithful adherents the muslims was:-

"I leave behind me amidst you the Two great things, the BOOK OF GOD (the Holy Qur'an)and my 'ITRAT my'AHLUL-BAIT' (the members of the holy family, Fatema, her husband Ali and her issuer) Should ye be attached to these TWO neoea, never shall ye be misled, after me, for verily these Two will never be separated from one another until Hey meet me at He SPRING (the Spring ef Kauther)." (TK., DM., SM., and others)

Under the above apostolic instruction from the Holy Prophet every true muslim has to abide by the Word of God (the hloly Qur'an) guided only by the Ahlul-Bait and none else, and this is the one and only basis on which Shia'ism, i.e., the Islam Original is besed. With the departure of the Holy Prophet from the world, as the people of Moses and Jesus went astray so also the Muslim.

The love of pleasures and the glory of this world maddened the masses and led them astray from the right path, under the evil in- fluence of those in power. To get the religious authority and the powers to rule over the destinies of the people, the self-assumed rulers of the states, the self- made religious heads and the fanciful spiritual leaders, misinterpreted the Holy Qur'an and abdeh much of falsehood to the Traditions or the Sayings of the Holy prophet, end many false traditions were fabricated to assume unwarranted powers end authority. At the same time, to see that the messes do not get rightly guided by the Holy Ahlul-Bait, the Ahlul-Bait were thrown into the background. They were not only totally naglected but also teasad end tortured and all acceass to them by the public was strictly banneb anb if any one was found to have any friendly contact with these holy ones, he was severely punished even to the extent of his propety being confiscated, his family being put to all sorts of torturous miseries end himself being mercilessly killed. But a very faw who feared but God and cared not for any loss of property or the pleasures af this world against the perpetual gain and the everlasting bliss in the life hereafter, suffered the tortures and kept themselves feithfully ettached in the Holy Ahlul Bait, to be on the right path. Some such godly devotees like Meesam Amanar and others of his group were heartlessly tortured, which they bore with ideal patience and some were mercilessly putr to death,but the great soule most willingly met even the most painful death with matchless courage and boldnees but nevers gave up their attachemnt to the Holy Ones.

When Islam was being corrupted at the hands of the aspirants for power and pleasures of this world, and the Holy Ahlul-bait Were ignorrd , those who resorted to the right guidance from the right authorities were tortured and put to miseries and torturous death. It can be imagined how deep was He Truth buried and how difficult it was for any one to have it, but Truth was always there with the Ahlul-Bait end none could snatch it sway from them at any cost, but only a very few, the sincere and bold ones, could have it. This state of affairs went on until the Sixth Holy Imam Jafar ibne Muhammadf, when the corrupted form af Islam was also called Islam, and the genuine or the original form of it which was with the Holy Ahlul- Bait and practised secretly by the faithful devotees to them, needeh to be distinguished with some particular name to identify it from the corrupt form. Those who remained attached to the Holy House of the Holy prophet, were Known as the Shias of Ali ibne Abi Taleb, and the True or the Origiginal Islam was identified with the name Mazhabe-Jafari ot Shia'ism (i.e., the Original Islam followed by the Shias).Thus Shia'ism is no other then the Islam-Original, but it is only identified with the name 'Shia'ism' just ta distinguish it against the corrupted form. One can judge the Truth in this statement from the brief explanation of the Faith and ths Article given in this book.

Thus the Original Islam is identified with the distinguishing

token name 'Tashiyyu' or Shia'ism and its followers are known as the Shias. It means, the followers of the Islam-Original without the subsequent adulteration effected in it.

Shia'ism (Islam-Original) strictly follows the Holy Qur'an, and the Holy Prophet guided by the divinely commissioned Twelve Holy Imams, whose physical and spiritual purity and personal excellence, the Islamic WJrld as a whole unanimously acknowledges. Shia'ism, in order to help people to remain attached only to the Word of God as interpreted by the Holy Prophet, wants its followers to strictly abide by the following Declarations of the Holy Prophet.

1.At the start of his apostolic mission he declared that Ali was His Deputy, his Vicegerent, his Successor or his Kalif, with his orders to the assembly to listen to Ali and to obey him.

2.Before the huge assembly of pilgrims numbering to several thousands, after his Last Haj or the pilgrimage, on the Eighteenth of Zilhaj 10 A.H. at Ghadeer-e-Khum:-

"Of whomsoever I am the Maula (or the Lord), this Ali is his Maula (or the Lord). "

3.Just before his departure from this world saying:- "I leave behind me amidst you Two important things. The Book of God (The Holy Qur'an) and the members of my family. As long as you keep yourselves attached to these Two, you shall never get astray after me. These Two shall never be separated from one another until they meet me at the Spring of Kauther."

With the above three main guiding factors, the Islam- Qriginal or Shia'ism, keeps its faithful followers, the Shias, strictly attached to the Final Word of God, (the Qur'an), the Holy Prophet Muhammad, and his holy 'Ahlul-Bait (i.e., the Divinely chosen members) of the apostolic family. Shia'ism demands every Shia to cling fast to virtue and to be always with the virtuous, loving them more than their own lives.

Shia'ism demands every Shia to be always away from every vice and hate the wicked and be always aloof from them.

Shia'ism-Its Articles of Faith and Its Practice

A Shia muslim believes in:

1. The absolute unity of God, with all his divine attributes as inseparable and essential qualities of His absolute Self.
2. The Perfect and flawless Equity of the Lord. Every word and act of the Lord being based on nothing but pcrfect justice. Inequity is imperfection and every imperfection is a defect and the Lord is free from every defect.
3. The infallibility, sinlessness and truthfulness of all the apostles of God, from Adam, the First of God's apostles to the Holy Prophet Muhammad the Last of them. All the apostles were the personalities purified by the Lord Himself and Himself conditioned for the services divinely assigned to them, and no apostle or prophet did come after the Holy Prophet anu neither any will come until the end of the world.
4. With the conclusion of the ministry of the Ho1y Prophet Muhammad the Last one of God's apostles the infinite mercy of the Lord, for the guidance of man on the right lines of His revealed religion Islam instituted the series of godly souls His own com- missioned Imams, or Guide or Leaders from the same Lineage of Abraham to continue the divine guidance and thus started the institution of Imamat in the place of 'Risalat', i.e., apostleship. The Twelve God's commissioned Guides or Imams are:-

(i) Ali son of Abu Taleb the Cousin germain, the Son- in-Law of the Holy prophet and Vicegerent, Brother. Heir and Kalif declared by him at the outset ot his ministry at he Dawate Asheera and at the close of the aposteship, at Ghadeer-e- Khum at the command of the Lord revealed in verse 5:67

(ii) Hasan son of Ali ibne Abi Taleb and the Holy Lady Fatema Zahra-the First grandson of the Holy Prophet martyred by poison.

(iii) Husain the second son of Ali Abi Taleb and the Holy Lady Fatema Zahra,'Zibhe Azeem'i-e, Great Sacrifice, butchered with the Seventy-two godly souls of his kith and kin and devotees, in the wholesale slaughter at Karbala enacted by the Kalif Yazid son of Ma'aviah.

(iv) Ali-e-Zainul-abideen As Sajjad the first son of Husain the King of Martyrs of Karbala, the Prisoner of Yazid martyred by Kalif Waked bin Abdul Matik.

(v) Muhammad al-Baquir son of AIi-e-Zainul-abideen the Fourth Imam, martyred by Hisham bin Abdul Malik.

(vi) Jafar As Sadiq son of Muhammad A1-Baquir the Fifth Imam, martyred by Mansoor. (vii) Moosa A1-Kazim son of Jafar As.-Sadiq the Sixth Imam martyred by the Abbaside Kalif Haroon ar Rasheed.

(viii) Ali ar-Riza son of Moosa al-Kazim the Seventh Imam, martyred by the Abbaside Kalif Maamoon ar-Rasheed.

(ix) Muhammad at-Taqi son of Ali ar-Riza, the Eighth Imam martyred by the Abbaside Kalif Mo'tasim. (x) Ali an-Naqi son of Muhammad at-Taqi the Ninth Imam martyred by the Abbaside Kalif Mo'tasim.

(xi) Hasan aI-Askari son of Ali an-Naqi the Tenth Imam martyred by the Abbaside Kalif Mo'tamad.

(xii) Muhammad al-Mahdi son of Hasan A1-Askari, living by the will of the Lord as is Jesus in the seed of Isaac through his virgin mother Mary. Both this Holy Imam and the Holy Prophet Jesus will re-appear at the will of the Lord before the end of the world after which will be the Last Day of Resurrection and Final Judgment.

The Last Day of the Final Judgment (Qiamat)

IT IS NOW for any intelligent one to say that if the above funda- mnentals of the faith are those prescribed by the Holy Qur'an or not, or if they contain anything more or less than what the Holy Prophet preached and enjoined upon his followers.

{221} As regards the practice of the faith a Shia muslim shall:-

1.Offer regularly the prescribed five times compulsory prayers. 2. Fast the whole of the Holy month of Ramadhan. 3. Perform 'Haj' i.e., pilgrimage to the Holy Ka'ba in Mecca at least once in his life provided he could afford to do it as laid down by the Holy Prophet. 4. Pay the 'Zakat' (the prescribed poor-rate) of 2-1/2 per cent of his assets as prescribed by the Holy Qur'an and explained by the Holy Prophet. 5. Pay the 'Qums' (the 1/5th of the nett savings as laid down by the Holy Qur an and explained by the Holy Prophet. 6. Endeavour his most, i.e.,'Jehad' , as needed for the defence and the welfare of the faith and the faithful and even fight in the way of the Lord for the purpose if called to do it by the Apostle of God or any one of God's commissioned Guides the Imams. 7. Preach or enjoin what is good to his brethren in all peaceful and desirable ways. 8. Preach abstinence from evil, to his brethren in all peaceful and desirable ways. 9. Love God, God's chosen men and godliness and be always attached to the godly ones particularly to the Holy Prophet Muhammad and his Holy AhlulBait. 10. Always keep himself away from evils and the evil ones, having nothing to do with the wicked ones with definite aversion to their wicked conduct and character. Let any unbiased reader who pursues the above fundamentals and their practice declare, if there is nothing but good and it is nothing but godliness pure, in belief and practice, or if there is anything bad or obiectionable in it. As regards the Holy Qur'an, a Shia muslim believes that the present Holy Qur'an, is the very same Book of God, complete in itself without any deduction or addition to it and without any alteration or misarrangement of its verses This is the Holy Qur'an which was revealed to the Holy Prophet which was then and there recorded in writing by Ali ibne Abi Taleb, Abdullah ibne Mas'ood, and Ma'aaz ibne Jabal and which was read out to the Holy Prophet during his very lifetime. As regards the 'Qiblah' or the point of turning towards, during prayers, a Shia muslim holds the Holy Ka'ba in Mecca as his Qiblah. As regards the daily prayers a Shia muslim offers regularly the five times compulsory daily prayers with the number of the Rak'ats or units as given below :-

The 'Kalema-e-Shahadat' or the verbal declaration of the faith, the Kalema of a Shia muslim is the same as that of any other muslim:-

"La ilaha lilallah Muhammadur Rasoolullah." 'There is no god save (the One God) Allah. Muhammad the Apostle of God.' A Shia muslim declares his identity with the Islam-Original to mean that his Islam is that of the Ahlul-Bait whose head after the Holy Prophet was Ali, and not the Islam adulterated by unwarrant- ed authorities, pronouncing his faith in Ali as the Friend of God or the Divinely commissioned Guardian over the muslims after the Holy Prophet. To do this a Shia muslim declares with in con- tinuation of the above declaration :-

"Aliyyan waliullah Wasiyyu Rasoolillah."

'Ali the Friend of God the Successor of the Holy Prophet.'

Be it known that the above two clauses are pronounced not as a part of the Kalema but just as a note of distinction of the faith from the creed adulterated later.

This is the whole of the Shia'ism or the Islam Original and nothing else.

Under the Ninth article of the practice of the faith called 'Tawallah' a Shia muslim mourns the martyrdom of each of the holy ones of the Ahlul-Bait and expresses his sorrow and grief for the miseries and the calamities the holy ones suffered, individually and also collectively in congregational services called the Majlis- e-Aza in which are recited the Holy Qur'an and the life-readings of the holy ones with the Islamic philosophy and religious teachings for the information of the fellows in the Shia faith. Let the readers themselves judge if the above conduct could be in agreement or the token of devotion to God and the loyalty to the godly ones who suffered the calamities and laid their all in the way of the Lord for the guidance of mankind, or it could in any manner or sense be in the least objectionable. At the same time it has at last to be judged that not doing so will be in- gratitude and disloyalty to God and the godly ones or not.