shaheedokar

I, the insignificant have tried my best to render these great speeches into English for the benefit of the youth who are deprived of gems due to not understanding Urdu. I apologize to the great Ulama if I fail in rendering the message, as it ought to be rendered. I have also researched the various Qur'aanic Verses and Ahadith quoted and tried to give references where possible. All praise is due to Allah and all shortcomings are mine. Irshad Soofi

Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) says in the Holy Qur'aan, in the 2^nd Sura, al-Baqarah, Verse 155 to 157:

Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere. Who say, when afflicted with calamity: "To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return" They are those on whom) blessings descend from their Lord, and Mercy, and they are the ones that receive guidance.

Recite blessings (durood) on the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions)! After praising Allah (Hamd) and blessing His beloved Holy Prophet (Salaat). The previous night I lectured to my respected audience, for about 4 hours, in detail about the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (may Allah be well pleased with him) and tonight, God-willing (Insha-Allah), after the evening prayer (Salaat-ul-Isha), I will lecture on the painful incidents that occurred after the martyrdom at Karbala.

My elders and friends, martyrdom on the path of Allah, to give ones life, is an act of Grace From Allah (an-ni’mah[1]) and Blessing (sa’ada) that we can gauge it from a saying of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) in which he says:

I swear by Allah, I would love to be martyred in the path of Allah, thereafter brought back to life in this temporal world and be martyred again. Then be brought back to life and be martyred again. [2]

From this blessed saying of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) you may have gauged that what a great blessing it is to be martyred in the path of Allah. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) expressed a desire to be martyred again and again. The Commander Of The Believers (amir-ul-mumineen) Hazrath Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be well pleased with him), is such a great personality, that the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) said that:

Hazrath Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be well pleased with him) used to supplicate to Allah:

Allahumar zuqni shahadatan fi saabilika wa ja al mauti fi baladi rasulik

O Allah, grant me martyrdom in Your path and in the City of Your Beloved Messenger, Madinah.

His supplication was accepted and he was martyred whilst reading salaah, in the Mosque Of The Messenger in Madinah. When the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) used to go to war, some companions (sahaaba) used to ask him to supplicate on their behalf that they may attain martyrdom. Martyrdom is the purpose and aim of a believer. Hazrath Khalid ibn Waleed (may Allah be well pleased with him) who participated in about two hundred battles, and never tasted defeat, was given the epithet[4], A Sword Amongst The Swords Of God (saifun min suyufillah) by the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions). When Hazrath Khalid ibn Waleed (may Allah be well pleased with him) was on his deathbed, Hazrath Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas (may Allah be well pleased with him) went to meet him and saw that he was laying in bed, crying. Hazrath Sa’d exclaimed that it hurt him to see tears in the eyes of Hazrath Khalid. Hazrath Khalid replied that he was crying since he had not died a martyr in battle. Hazrath Sa’d consoled him by reminding him that the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) had called him A Sword Amongst The Swords Of God (saifun min suyufillah) so who could have slain The Sword Of God. Hazrath Sa’d said., ‘O Khalid! If you were slain in battle, by a disbeliever, then that disbeliever would have boasted that he had slain The Sword Of God. None can defeat The Sword Of God so therefore you did not attain martyrdom. But remember even if you were not martyred, no mother will ever give birth to a ghazi[5] like you.’ As the martyr has a high status so does the ghazi. My aim is to emphasize to you what a great status and blessing martyrdom is. Such great personalities desired and supplicated to attain martyrdom. Those who drink the nectar of martyrdom, in the path of Allah, don’t feel any discomfort at the moment of attaining martyrdom. The effect of the spear, sword or bullet does not cause any discomfort to the martyr. I don’t say this on my own accord; it is a Hadith of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions):

The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) said, "The martyr experiences no more pain in being killed than one of you experiences from a sting."

Tirmidhi, Nasa'i and Darimi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a Hassan Gharib tradition.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith no. 3836: Narrated by Abu Hurraira

Also:

The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) said: A martyr does not suffer when he is slain any more that one of you suffers from being bitten by an ant.

Transmitted by Tirmidhi.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 1328 Narrated by Abu Hurraira

Some may object, that no pain is felt, since it defies human experience. How can it be that somebody is shot with a bullet or a spear; or pierced with a sword and yet feel no discomfort? I say that a declaration of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) can never be false. Let me explain it to you. He who gives his life in the path of Allah must surely have great love in his heart for Allah. The love is the motivating force that makes one give ones life in the path of Allah. Only one drunk with the love of the beloved will give his life. The intoxication of love surpasses all other intoxications. Other intoxications wane, but the intoxication of love never decreases. You know that previously when doctors performed operations, they prepared the patient by making him inhale chloroform. The patient became intoxicated and sedated that he felt no pain from the surgeon’s knife. These days an injection is utilized. If the effect of a medicine can be so effective in eliminating the pain felt, then what must be the position of one intoxicated in the love of Allah and His Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions)? How can he feel the effect of a spear, sword or bullet? The martyr at the moment of martyrdom sees heaven in front of him.

One martyred in the way of Allah, on the first shedding of blood, before the drops of blood reach the ground, he is shown his abode in paradise and He sees the radiations of Allah’s beauty unveiled.

The martyr gets so awestruck and absorbed in the beauty of Allah and the splendor of paradise that he does not feel the impact of the weapon used to slay him.

Let us see if there is an example in the Holy Qur'aan. When the ladies of Egypt saw Hazrath Yusuf (may Allah bless him with peace) the Holy Qur'aan says in the 12^th Sura, Yusuf: Verse 31:

When they saw Yusuf (may Allah bless him with peace), they were so absorbed by his beauty that instead of cutting the fruit, they cut their hands and they said, "Allah preserve us! No human being is this! This is none other than a noble angel!"

Think, they were noble, rich women who when they cut their hands, should have screamed in pain, calling for medical attention but they did not, since the beauty of Hazrath Yusuf (may Allah bless him with peace) enthralled and amazed them to such an extent that they exclaimed that he must be a noble angel. If the beauty of Hazrath Yusuf could make them not feel the cut on their hands then how could one who sees the beauty of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) feel the effect of an arrow.

So the Imam of Exalted Status, Imam Hussain (may Allah be well pleased with him) when he drank the nectar of Martyrdom on the plains of Karbala, saw the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) in front of his eyes collecting his blood in a bottle. Where is this reported? This Hadith is in Mishkaat Shareef. This is a famous book of Hadith, and two narrations are contained therein:

It was Friday, the tenth day of Muharram [today is also Friday, the tenth of Muharram] and The Mother Of The Faithful, ummi Salama (may Allah be well pleased with her) has a dream in Madinah, the Illumined and Hazrath Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be well pleased with him) sees a dream in Makkah, the Ennobled. Both of them have a dream of the Holy Prophet. Seeing him with his blessed turban unkempt, dust on his blessed beard, bearing the effects of a long journey and tears in his blessed eyes. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) had a bottle of blood in his hand. They asked the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) as to where he had come from and why was he so grieved and whose blood was he carrying in the bottle? He (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) replied that I had witnessed the martyrdom of my son Hussain, and this was his blood that I collected.’[6]

The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) collected the blood of Imam Hussain, because the blood of Imam Hussain was his blood. Ask the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) the reverence of that blood. Ask Bibi Fatimah Zahra (may Allah be well pleased with her) the reverence of that blood. Shaykh ul-Islam wal Muslimeen, Hazrath Baba Fariduddin Ganje Shakar (may Allah be well pleased with him) says that on the tenth night of Muharram a saint had a dream that Hazrath Fatimah Zahra (may Allah be well pleased with her) together with a group of women was sweeping the plains of Karbala. He asked her, ‘O Pure daughter of the Holy Prophet! Leader of the women of paradise! Why are you sweeping this ground?’ She replied, ‘My son, Hussain will drink the nectar of martyrdom tomorrow, at this spot. I sweep this ground so that no stone or thorn should pierce his blessed body.’ Ask the mother that reared him the reverence of the blood of Imam Hussain. The enemies did not know. They wounded his entire body and dropped him of his horse. Their evil actions did not cease even after martyring him. They rode their horses over his blessed body, burnt his tents and unveiled the noble ladies. The Imam of Exalted Status, Imam Hussain (may Allah be well pleased with him), displayed such patience and perseverance at Karbala, that history can provide no other similarity. I recited the verse from the 2^nd Sura, al-Baqarah, Verse 155:

Allah tests some with fear and distress, some with hunger and thirst, some with loss of life and some with loss of children but when the time of the trial of the grandson of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) arrived he tested him with all these combined. The grandson of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) proved victorious and successful in all these tests because he was trained by the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) and was nurtured by Hazrath Fatimah Zahra (may Allah be well pleased with her). The Imam of Exalted Status, saw his eighteen-year-old son, slain in front of his eyes; his six-month-old son Ali Asgar, take a spear to his neck whilst being carried in the Imam’s hands; his six nephews; eight brothers and twenty five friends slain but his feet never wavered from the path of truth. In such circumstances, very brave, courageous souls lose courage. Who can bear such a scene? Any other would have considered giving the pledge of allegiance, even a deceitful pledge. No! The exalted Imam gave no such pledge and showed no weakness. He said that he could witness his entire family being wiped out; see the flowers of paradise from the garden of Bibi Fatimah being cut down but he could never give his hand into the hand of the unworthy. The beloveds of Allah, the more hardships they endure on the path of Allah in this world, the more is their worth with Allah. Allah increases their rank and status proportionately.

In The Battle of Uhud, the leader of the martyrs, Hazrath Hamza (may Allah be well pleased with him) was martyred and the enemy cut up his body into pieces. His ears, nose, eyes tongue, eyes, hand, limbs etc were all cut up. His stomach was torn open and the intestines, liver and heart were cut up and strung into a necklace, which the enemy put around their necks. His liver was chewed into pieces. When the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) arrived and saw the condition of his uncle, that he was not fit to be even bathed, he collected the pieces into a blanket and buried him. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) said that:

“If it were not for my aunt Saffiya (may Allah be well pleased with her), the sister of Hazrath Hamza, I would have left my uncles body to remain as it was to be consumed by birds and animals. I buried him, or else my aunt Saffiya would say that none buried my brother and she would cry from grief. On the Day Of Reckoning he would have risen from the stomach of various animals, and on presenting himself to Allah, he would have exclaimed, ‘O Allah! See how I was treated on Your Path. I was cut into pieces and eaten by animals. See how I have risen from the bellies of animals. See how I suffered.’ Then Allah would have said, ‘ My servant! If you suffered more than everyone on My Path then I will grant you honor more than everyone.’” So this was the desire of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) but considering his aunt Saffiya he buried Hazrath Hamza. So, Imam Hussain fulfilled the desire of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions). After being martyred the grandson of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) lay on the plain of Karbala, the enemy had taken of his clothing, rode horses on his blessed body, and left pieces of flesh and broken bones laying all over the field. Thus Allah will grant him an exalted status on the Day of Reckoning.

Listen, I say this and conclude my discourse. The martyrs are inmates of heaven. Someone asked me a few days ago that you say angels question us in the grave and the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) is present in the grave, then will the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) also be questioned in the grave? Will he be appearing in front of himself in his own grave? These ignorant people don’t even know that the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) is of the most exalted status for even martyrs are not questioned in the grave. Read and learn. Many servants of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) will not be questioned so the status of the Leader of all Prophets is too exalted. The martyrs will not be questioned and without reckoning they are admitted to, paradise. I was saying. That when all the inmates of heaven are admitted in heaven, amongst them will also be martyrs. Allah will enquire from the inmates of heaven, if the are happy? All will reply in the affirmative. Allah will ask them if they would like to return to the world free of grief and sorrow to live like kings therein? They will refuse to go back, irrespective of being granted lives like royalty. The martyrs will request that Allah send them back to the world, so that they may be martyred again and again too see that beauty and experience that feeling that they attained at the moment of martyrdom for they cannot feel that experience in heaven. Thus the feeling and sensation experienced at the moment of martyrdom cannot be found even in heaven. I conclude with the verses of Dr. Iqbal:

Kash na danad jud shaheed i nukta rah

Ko ba khoone kud kareed i nukta rah

Besides the martyr none knows this secret

For the martyr gave his life for knowledge of this secret

He who has not given his life ignorant of this secret

And he knows not

A lecture delivered by Hazrath Maulana Muhammad Shafee Okarvi (may Allah be well pleased with him) in South Africa in Durban, South Africa on Friday 8^th Safar 1400/ 28 December 1979 Translated by Irshad Siddique Soofi Chishti Nizami Habibi on February 3, 2005 / 23^rd Zil Hajj 1425

[1] An-ni’mah- The Grace of Allah. His Grace is an aspect of His Mercy (rahma). Ultimately, every ‘unveiling’ (kashf), every ‘tasting’ (zawq), every ‘drinking’ (shurb) and every ‘quenching’ (ri) is through Divine Grace. Without Allah’s Grace man can do nothing.

[2] Sahih Bukhari: 1.35 narrated by Abu Hurraira.

[3] Narrated by Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, ‘Ismah ibn Malik and ibn Umar

[4] At the Battle of Mu’tah in Syria

[5] Ghazi: One who participated in battle with the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) but never attained Martyrdom.

[6] Tirmidhi Hadith Numbers 6157 and 6172

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