In His Name, the Most High
This is the second part in a detailed discussion on patience. The discussion is built on the seminal work (based on a series of lectures) by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khamenei. The book is published as ‘Discourses on Patience’.
The first part can be found here.
Patience in the light of Traditions (Ahadeeth)
Building on what we discussed in the previous discussion, we can now start to look at the importance of patience in the light of the traditions, or ahadeeth, from the Prophet Muhammad and his pure family, peace be upon them both.
It may be summarised, if we want to as is said, provide an ‘elevator pitch’ for what patience is, we can see that patience has been recommended by all the divine prophets and the righteous leaders to their successors, followers and disciples.
Consider, the example of a caring father, or a compassionate teacher or mentor; someone who has spent their entire life filled with efforts, of resistance and has suffered much pain, tortures and deprivations all for the sake of attaining his goals.
In the last moments of his life, all the struggles, efforts, everything that provided purpose and direction in his life are now coming to an end, and off course he still cherishes his goals.
What would the last advice, the final teaching so to speak, of such a person be to those who he feels follow his struggle, and who will keep alive his pathway, his movement?
What will his lesson be to those who will carry on taking these giant steps and carrying this heavy load closer and closer to the final destination?
Of course, it will be nothing other than the extraction, the summary, of all the theoretical and practical experiences, of all the various possessions acquired by him throughout his life of struggle, resistance and in the movement towards perfection.
Such a person will give - as part of his will - everything that he has, and if he may have to put such monumental lessons into a single sentence. Something that can serve as a capsule, containing all the precious and valuable accomplishments and all the practical know-how that he has acquired. Presented in a very concise and simple manner as guidelines for his apprentice, his trainee.
He will hand this over to his successor and follower, which - when we think about it deeply - means transference of the entirety of his life’s works, indeed of his entire legacy, to the one who succeeds him.
The profundity of this, cannot be over emphasised.
With this mission, this important task completed, he can leave this temporal domain, certain in the fact that he has handed over the proverbial baton. Such a person can then make his due preparations and depart this world, for the eternal domain.
The last parting recommendations of the prophets, the pious, the righteous, the martyrs, the truthful, the strugglers in the way of God, in the way of Truth, for their followers and those who are tasked with building this divine society, is to be patient.
The last piece of advice they give, is their strong recommendation regarding patience.
This itself requires huge reflection.
We can now look at a couple of traditions from the family of the Prophet Muhammad in this regard, and, God willing, these will help us improve our understanding of this.
The First Narration/Tradition (aka Hadeeth)
Abu Hamza ath-Thomali, one of the very well known, sincere and highly respected followers of the Prophet and his pure family, a student of the fifth Imam of the Muslims, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, and from whom he narrates:
“When the last moments of his life arrived, my father, Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon him, held me close to his chest and said: ‘My son, I recommend to you what my father (Imam Husayn) recommended to me in the last moments of his life. My son, stand for the Truth, even if it is bitter’”
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, is the successor and vicegerent of his father, Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn, Zayn al-Abedeen, and is the inheritor of the heavy burden of trust, and is responsible for continuing the movement and struggle, indeed the jihad (a term that is grossly misunderstood in our current society, and one we will work to clarify the meaning of in due course), of his father. This is in the same manner that his father himself - Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn, Zayn al-Abedeen, was responsible for continuing the movement of his father, Imam Husayn ibn Ali, the Martyr of Kerbala.
Each personality of the blessed and holy family, the household of the Prophet Muhammad, were responsible for the continuation of the divine mission of their predecessor, and all of them collectively were upholders of the divine mission of God’s final prophet, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and them all.
All of them, as per our belief, are created from a singular source of energy, of light, of pure light, and are ones who are guides towards the Truth, towards the path of Salvation.
Now consider, the final words, the will of Imam Husayn:
“My son, I recommend to you what my father recommended to me in the last moments of his life …”
It is well known how and where the final moments of Imam Husayn’s life were. He was on the barren plain of Kerbala, on the fateful day of Ashura (Muharram 10, 61AH (680CE)).
Pain, torture, tragedy, heartbreak dominated the situation, that day on the plain of Kerbala.
Despite that, despite the fact that Imam Husayn was encircled by the blood thirsty, savage, child killing wolves, Imam Husayn, took advantage of the small and very short opportunity to go back to his camp before he made his final stand on the battlefield.
It is narrated in the books of history, that after having a brief meeting with the members of his family, who in and of themselves were carriers of his message, he held a very short, but sufficient, effective and very important discussion with his successor, his vicegerent, Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn, Zayn al-Abedeen.
These kinds of discussion, in common terms may be called ‘farewell meetings’, but we must understand that a pious leader, a true Imam, is far above sentimentality and such passions.
Indeed in that last opportunity of his life, he would only speak for important issues, important matters. All reports (narrations, historical accounts, traditions, and the like) that remain of such meetings, testify to this fact.
Indeed, as a sidebar, we can see in the many books of traditions from the Prophet and his pure family, peace be upon them, we can see that the wills of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali, of Imam Hasan, Imam Husayn, and all of the pure Imams are akin to this, and none of them contain any sentimentality or such passions but are only concerned with moving forward, and ensuring that the path is traversed correctly and successfully.
The Imam understood, that at that sensitive moment, that the heavy burden of trust for which he had struggled his entire life, and more so since his leadership started (following the martyrdom of his brother, Imam Hasan), this burden of trust, was something that had been carried by the Prophet Muhammad (and countless prophets before him), it had been carried by his father, Imam Ali, and his brother, Imam Hasan.
Each and every one of them had suffered all manner of pain, and were subjected to great hardships on account of them staying on this path, this path of Truth. This trust, would now be handed over to the next person. The powerful arms, the steadfast steps of his successor, his vicegerent would be assigned this responsibility, that of carrying this huge burden of trust, and taking it forward.
Therefore, when Imam Husayn had his ‘farewell meeting’ with Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn, also known as Imam Sajjad, he had come to advise him about the most important, the single most important, issue of his mission.
What was that important and cherished advice?
Now, we must also understand that Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn, who found himself in a condition similar to his father’s, explained the key issues to his son and his vicegerent, his successor, and offered recommendations accordingly.
He also emphasised that, as we have discussed, that his father Imam Husayn, had also been instructed by his father, Imam Ali, in the same manner:
”What his father recommended …”
The advice has been continually emphasised on, since it was first given by the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali, to the next Imam-designate, and onwards through all the successive Imams by the Imam that came before them.
What was that recommendation?
The outcome and summation of that advice is, and was, “patience”.
“My son, stand for the Truth, even if it is bitter”
My son, stand for the truth, and be patient, even if it be bitter and/or inconvenient.
In other words, on the road of Truth, one should never give up, one should never be frustrated by obstacles and difficulties. Once you know, and recognise the path of Truth, you must adhere to it, support it, all the way, as the saying goes ‘come hell or high water’.
All hardships, bitterness, failures, inconveniences and more, should be born patiently in order to continue the journey forward.
Of course, it is well known, indeed one might say it is obvious, that the confrontation of Truth and falsehood is laced with hardships, with bitterness, with pain and inconvenience, and one should not consider such a journey to be a proverbial ‘bed of roses’.
Indeed, if someone finds that their life is ‘too easy’, then they need to reflect back upon themselves, because it is entirely possible, that while they think they are doing something good, they have tragically fallen foul of the machinations of satan and his hoard. After all in the Holy Quran, Allah says:
قُلْ هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُم بِالْأَخْسَرِينَ أَعْمَالًا
الَّذِينَ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعًاSay, “Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in their works?”
“Those whose efforts in this world are misguided, while they assume that they are doing well.”- Quran, Surah al-Kahf (the Chapter of the Cave) #18, Verses 103 to 104
All of these issues, inconveniences, and hardships should be resisted and overcome with great patience and for the sake of Truth.
This was the last will of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali, given to his son Imam Hasan, and subsequently given to all the Imams from the family of the Prophet by their predecessors.
Indeed it is that which was given to our master, the Awaited Imam, Imam al-Mahdi, may our souls be his ransom, by his father Imam Hasan al-Askari, and indeed, as followers of Imam Mahdi, this is an instruction that the Imam has given to us, which if we abide by, if we follow, will hasten our meeting with our beloved Imam, and ensure that we are from the successful.
All of these, were given in the last moments of their lives, as they were defending the Truth, and accepting the consequences, even when it was the ultimate price, that their lives on this temporal realm were extinguished and they ascended to the eternal domain.
There is an Arabic couplet, which I have tried to translate poetically below, that they were manifestations of, and we must understand that while the Imams and Prophets are its primary manifestations, we also have more contemporary manifestations of the same.
From the likes of Imam Khomeini, Hajj Redhwan, from Hajj Qassem, Hajj Abu Mahdi, Hajj Abu Hadi and countless others from the Martyrs and the Truthful, may God shower his peace and blessings upon them all, they have all encouraged their lovers, their followers, their adherents to the same.
“I practiced patience in my life at the highest level.
Such that, even patience bears witness, to my patience in resisting all even that which is the most bitter.
Patience, indeed, bears witness, that through all trials and tribulations, I never faltered, I remain steadfast and patient.”
Therefore, on the basis of this first tradition, we can see that the importance of patience is profound. It is a key quality found in all the infallible Imams of the Prophet Muhammad’s pure family, may God’s blessings and peace be upon them all.
They have all enjoined this priceless jewel of a quality, and kept it as part of their noble inheritance that is handed down from one generation to another, and to all their followers and lovers, and indeed to all of humanity who seek the Truth.
It’s importance is such that, in their very last moments, they ensured that they passed it on, no matter how difficult the situation.
The Second Narration/Tradition (aka Hadeeth)
From the book titled ‘Fiqh ar-Ridha’, which is from the eighth Imam of the Muslims, Imam Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha; we can find narrated, the wills of the Prophets, all of which say:
“Be patient for the Truth, even if it is bitter”
This book, Fiqh ar-Ridha, is one of the most important books of jurisprudence, of law, and as mentioned it is attributed to the eighth Imam of the Muslims, Imam ar-Ridha.
A portion of the book deals with legal issues and affairs in Islam.
Of course being a book that is generally considered to be about Fiqh, or Islamic Jurisprudence, or Islamic Law, will make some consider that this is dry, or something not very interesting.
But this is the tragedy, that as Muslims, we have silo’d Islamic concepts and teachings into their individual, disconnected silos. We don’t understand that Islam is holistic, everything is combined, everything is linked. Such that even when attempting to understand falsehood, and deduce a lie - for example in social media, we can understand how to determine its veracity from the teachings of Fiqh, and specifically the teachings about purity and purification.
I will not delve into that here; perhaps in a future session we can discuss that, God willing.
However, the major portion of the book, is an ocean of understanding on various key aspects of Islamic Learning; and indeed does deal with the interpretation of Quran and the Traditions of the Prophet Muhammad and his pure family also.
Indeed, it could be said, that true Islamic Jurisprudence, when understood correctly, is in fact the true Islamic Learning and the details surrounding such learnings, how to understand such learnings and how they impact our every day lives, that is the true understanding of Islamic Law, of Islamic Jurisprudence, all built from the primary source which is Quran, and the traditions, teachings and narrations from Prophet Muhammad and his pure family, peace be upon them all.
Let us also not forget that all of these Islamic and indeed secular sciences; are combined; since all that is True is from God, and God is not something that is made up of parts; rather He is the ultimate Whole, the ultimate and most Unique entity (though calling him an entity is incorrect, since by definition an entity has limitations, while God has no limitations, and He has authority over all things, and is aware of all things).
This book, Fiqh ar-Ridha, contains this profound narration; which we will try to interpret and expound through the course of these series of discussions
“We narrate this important tradition, which is the inheritance and memory of our noble family, left by our fathers and their ancestors, who left this last will for us, and in turn we willed it to our successors:
The will of all the divine prophets and their vicegerents, inheritors, trustees, flag bearers of the divine movements, and students of the divine schools of thought was:
‘Stand for the Truth, and be patient, even if it is bitter and inconvenient.’”
As we have discussed, this is exactly the same sentence spoken by the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali, without any variance.
Perhaps, this short, but meaningful sentence left by the prophets and their vicegerents, their successors, could be the best example for showing, for explaining the importance of patience.
Therefore on the basis of the two above traditions, these two narrations, we are able to define patience as follows:
“The will enjoined by the divine Prophets and Imams to their inheritors and disciples”
It is quite clear that this Islamic characteristic has so much weight, importance and indeed influence within the structure of the divine religion of Islam, that all the prophets included it within their last wills and testaments.
Now, as we have been reflecting on the last moments of Imam Husayn, and the will, the last testimony that he gave to his son Imam as-Sajjad, it behooves us to take ourselves to the great difficulty that the Imam faced in Kerbala.
It was not so much, that the numbers of Imam’s companions were few, and that of the enemy were large. That is almost inconsequential in this regard.
Rather; it is the tragedy that even with a thriving Muslim community, and after a mere 50 years following the departure of the Prophet Muhammad, the Muslim community as a whole had essentially reverted back to polytheism, while professing to be monotheists. Rather than actually being Muslim, they chose to merely ‘identify’ as Muslims.
The difference is subtle, but one that bears great reflection; God willing, this notion of being and merely identifying as will be covered in an upcoming part of this series.
The real tragedy was that Islam - the true teachings of Islam - had become so polluted, so damaged - that verses of the Quran were being used to allow for huge crimes to be justified (and deemed valid).
Indeed, there was the notion that given that Quran speaks of:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ ۖ فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلًا
O you who believe! Obey God and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you dispute over anything, refer it to God and the Messenger, if you believe in God and the Last Day. That is best, and a most excellent determination.
- Quran, Surah an-Nisa (the Chapter of the Women) #4, Verse 59
This verse, which tells the people to obey God, to obey the messenger and to obey those ‘in authority over you’, is tragically massively misunderstood by many people. Historically and even in contemporary times, it is used as a means to allow the worst of the worst to become ‘leaders’ of a given Muslim community.
Sadly, since the initial stanza of the verse indicates ‘obey God, obey the Messenger, and those in authority over you’ many people simply stop discussing that verse at this point.
They assume that there is an equivalence between obeying Allah, and obeying the Messenger, and those in authority over you. This is an invalid understanding and missed the entire nuance and point of this divine teaching.
The key points in the verse, are after this. Which gives us the criteria for following ‘those in authority over you’, and that is that whatever is done, should be referred back to God and His Messenger, that any action of one ‘in authority over you’ be in sync with belief in God, and belief in the Last Day (i.e. in accountability, and therefore only doing that which is in line with the teachings and commandments of God and the Messenger).
Allah, even says in no uncertain terms, that this is the best way, if someone believes in God (truly believes), and in the Last Day (accountability).
We can also easily infer that if one in ‘authority over you’, is going against the commandments of God and His Messenger, then as I explain further; said person might feel they have ‘authority over you’; but they have nothing.
Indeed, a person who may profess to be righteous, but they act as if they have no accountability, they are not from those who can have any authority over the believer, or over the free people of this world.
This is important. This means that obeying God and the Prophet is the key, and that you determine those in authority over you, not simply by virtue of the fact that they have somehow been placed in a position of authority over you; but rather, by virtue of the fact that they - those in authority - are also obeying God and His messenger.
Indeed, based on this, while a tyrant, who is working actively against the teachings of Truth and acting as an oppressor, and flaunting all decency and such; such a person; while they may attempt to impose their authority upon the people; in reality they have no authority upon the people.
This is because the authority is contingent upon them abiding by the rules and obeying the commandments of Allah and His messenger, as well as accepting and believing in the Last Day, and thereby accepting they will be held accountable for every little thing that they have done.
If we examine the leadership of Yazid, and I will be brief as I don’t want to go into this in great detail at this time, but it is always valuable to remember from the epic of Ashura when we have a discussion.
If we examine the leadership of Yazid, we can see he was openly flaunting the rulings of God and that taught by the Prophet. Yet there are people who suggested, that we should silently simply obey him, since he has authority over us.
Never. This is what the concept of patience, and sticking with the truth regardless of how bitter it may be, becomes paramount. Where when you have someone in authority who transgresses all the bounds, who rejects the divine rulings; and who actively flaunts the rules. Who acts in a manner where he thinks he will never be held accountable.
A ‘leader’ who has one rule for himself and his cronies, and another rule for the masses. Tragically, not unlike the situation in the many parts of the world, and more so in the collective West (including its vassals), in 2024, where the leaders expect the population to do one thing, but themselves they operate in a totally different way. The population must freeze in winter and no support will be given, but they themselves give themselves support.
The population must starve, but the ‘leaders’ give the rights of the people, the funds of the people to war mongers who then go on committing genocides and massacres, again in an entirely unaccountable manner, or at least they feel they are unaccountable.
Such a ruler, such a ‘leader’ is not only operating contrary to God and His Messenger’s teachings, he is - perhaps without realising - placing himself at the very least on a par with God and His Messenger, which is tantamount to polytheism, and something unforgivable.
In reality, as discussed earlier; do such ‘leaders’ have in reality any authority over the people? Not at all, the only place they have any ‘authority’ and that too by way of delusion, is in their own damaged minds. The free people of the world, will never succumb to such tyrants, in the past this has been the case, in the present it is the case and it will remain the case going forward.
But the question is then, who are these ‘free people of the world’. This is something that we will discuss later in this series, God willing.
The one who actually obey’s God, and His Messenger, will never accept such a deviated and corrupt ruler, for to do so, would be to accept humiliation, and the believer does not ever accept humiliation.
It should also be noted, that even if a ‘leader’, ‘one who is in authority over you’, so to speak, even if said leader feigns adherence to God and His messengers commands, but works in a manner that is harmful to the people, where the people are oppressed unjustly, then regardless of what pretence of righteousness said leader might have, they have no authority over the righteous.
In contemporary times, we have ‘leaders’ of the so-called Muslim world, who feign religiosity, they goto the mosques, in their speeches they say things that are wonderful to hear, but behind closed doors they fraternise with the enemy, but they are not believers.
Their like has been clearly mentioned in the Holy Quran:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَبِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَمَا هُم بِمُؤْمِنِينَ
يُخَادِعُونَ اللَّهَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّا أَنفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ
فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ فَزَادَهُمُ اللَّهُ مَرَضًا ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ
أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَشْعُرُونَ
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ آمِنُوا كَمَا آمَنَ النَّاسُ قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ كَمَا آمَنَ السُّفَهَاءُ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ السُّفَهَاءُ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ
وَإِذَا لَقُوا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَالُوا آمَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْا إِلَىٰ شَيَاطِينِهِمْ قَالُوا إِنَّا مَعَكُمْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُسْتَهْزِئُونَ
اللَّهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ وَيَمُدُّهُمْ فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ
أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُا الضَّلَالَةَ بِالْهُدَىٰ فَمَا رَبِحَت تِّجَارَتُهُمْ وَمَا كَانُوا مُهْتَدِينَ
Among the people are those who say, “We believe in God and in the Last Day,” but they are not believers.
They seek to deceive God and those who believe, but they deceive none but themselves, though they are not aware.
In their hearts is sickness, and God has increased their sickness. They will have a painful punishment because of their denial.
And when it is said to them, “Do not make trouble on earth,” they say, “We are only peacemakers.”
In fact, they are the troublemakers, but they are not aware.
And when it is said to them, “Believe as the people have believed,” they say, “Shall we believe as the fools have believed?” In fact, it is they who are the fools, but they do not know.
And when they come across those who believe, they say, “We believe”; but when they are alone with their devils, they say, “We are with you; we were only ridiculing.”
It is God who ridicules them, and leaves them bewildered in their transgression.
Those are they who have bartered error for guidance; but their trade does not profit them, and they are not guided.
- Quran, Surah al-Baqarah (the Chapter of the Cow) #2, Verses 8 to 16
Tragically, this was the condition of the Muslims a mere 50 years after the Prophet. There were scholars who rejected the idea of making that divine resistance against Yazid and his cronies; who declared that since he was the ‘caliph’, he had authority and therefore based on an invalid understanding (or worse yet manipulation) of the verse quoted above, they claimed that all are duty bound to follow him, regardless of his conduct, behaviour, belief, or lack of the above.
Indeed, in Kufa, we have the famous event, when the true lover of Imam Husayn, Hani ibn Urwa, was arrested by the tyrant Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, and dragged to the dungeons. The representative - direct representative - of Imam Husayn, who had come to Kufa, to determine if the people were sincere in their claim of being ready to take Imam Husayn as their leader, Muslim ibn Aqeel, asked the believers in Kufa to rise up against the tyranny of Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, to work to free Hani from the dungeons, and to liberate the occupied government.
Yet sadly, that never happened, indeed, Muslim himself was betrayed, captured and then murdered, along with Hani ibn Urwa by Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad.
Now the tragedy is not so much that they were martyred; off course, that was tragic, but the reason why they were captured, betrayed, was what was truly tragic.
The ‘elites’ the ‘leaders’, the ‘scholars’ in Kufa, and chief amongst them, the ‘main scholar’, the ‘leading elite’ of Kufa, a person named Sulayman ibn Surad al-Khuzaa’i, who the wider population looked up to, and who was in the presence of Muslim ibn Aqeel, the representative of the Imam, when the call to rise up was made.
At this point, instead of being with Muslim, though, without a doubt it would have been difficult, it would have required much pain, and would be - for want of a better word - inconvenient, he chose instead, to say that he was not in support of an uprising against the regime.
He, Sulayman ibn Surad, felt it was not ‘justified’, and was not the right thing to do from a religious perspective, from a position of Islamic Thought.
Due to his position, the people refused to help Muslim, and that which should never have happened, tragically happened.
This is what is meant by being patient, what Muslim ibn Aqeel did, that is being patient, however to miss the entire point, to completely be lost, to waver from the path of Truth, is what was done by Sulayman ibn Surad.
Now, granted, some might say, that ‘well perhaps Sulayman thought that they didn’t have the capability to defeat the governor appointed by Yazid, Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, maybe he felt that the regime was too powerful’, and yes, that is perhaps the case; but he - Sulayman ibn Surad - had also said, that since the ruling to rise was not coming explicitly from Imam Husayn, but was from his representative, he would not support it.
Furthermore, he had clearly forgotten, if he was thinking in this way, that Allah has said many times; that He will help those who - metaphorically speaking - help Him:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن تَنصُرُوا اللَّهَ يَنصُرْكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَكُمْ
O you who believe! If you help God, He will help you, and will strengthen your foothold.
- Quran, Surah Muhammad (the Chapter of Muhammad) #47, Verse 7
That means, that Sulayman was both extremely wrong; but he was going against the verse of the Holy Quran mentioned earlier, and indeed he had totally forgotten the verse I have quoted above.
Since Muslim ibn Aqeel had authority from Imam Husayn, and since he was from the righteous; since he was standing for Truth, that he was making resistance; he did in fact have authority over the people, and over Sulayman.
Sulayman’s failure to obey the representative of Imam Husayn, was a manifestation of his failure to obey God and God’s messenger, and was a monumental sin, that had consequences that resonate to this day.
As mentioned earlier; the notion of obeying ‘those in authority over you’ can only be applied, if you understand those in authority over you. Just someone being your ‘elite’, your ‘leader’, ‘your boss’, or the prime minister or president or even king or queen of a given place, there mere fact that they choose to give themselves titles and attempt to exude authority, this doesn’t confer real authority, and as a result, obedience to such is not what is meant in the verse of Quran quoted above.
As explained previously, but since it is important I’ll repeat it, since they (those who claim to have authority) are not themselves obeying God, nor are they obeying His messenger, therefore, their authority is meaningless, and they are not to be obeyed.
However, if you have a honourable person in authority, such as in Kufa, they had Muslim ibn Aqeel, who is asking the people to do something; then that obedience is mandatory; since the one in authority is saying that which has been and is being said by God and His messenger.
This is nuanced, but it is a very important notion. Above all, this type of understanding requires great patience, requires great adherence to the Truth, because it will be difficult, it will be painful, it will have much confusion and the whispers of Satan will be strong in creating more confusion.
Indeed in some cases, it might even be fatal. But as is said; the journey is not easy, journey to the final destination is not easy; rather it a journey that requires resistance, patience and perseverance, and removing obstacle after obstacle, and staying firm on the path towards perfection.
The work, on the journey that moves a person forwards, this is what is important, and the final destination, this is in the Hands of God.
Acting in a weak manner, as was the case with Sulayman, acting in a manner that acquiesces to the oppressor, to the tyrant, will endanger that the pure message of the true Islam of Muhammad, it will create a usurped, and destroyed, corrupted and broken, and ultimately lost understanding of the true Islam, where the real the actual true Islam of Muhammad, is lost to the proverbial sands of time - as sadly has been the case with the messages of many of God’s prophets.
It was down to this acquiescence following the passing of Prophet, to manipulations in Islam, to blindly accepting those perceived to be in authority, without challenging their claims, without checking if they were abiding by and obeying God and His messenger, this leads to a tragedy, this is the worst type of weakness, and it can destroy entire societies and indeed nations, civilisations and humanity as a whole.
Therefore, for Imam Husayn, standing against it was not just a mere requirement, it was rather an obligation, one might argue greater than even prayers of fasting, for Imam Husayn to rise against the corruption and threat that Yazid and those with him posed to the true Islam.
This is because if a person accepts tyranny and injustice, while continuing to pray; and gives themselves a false sense of piety, that they are fine ‘because they pray and fast’; such a person is in a terrible state of loss. Because, they have without actively doing it, put themselves in a position, were they have placed someone - the tyrant/the oppressor - above God, they have chosen to allow the oppressor to remain unchallenged, and to be ‘quiet’, while professing to continue to obey God and His messenger.
The victim here (the one who accepts tyranny, oppression and injustice, feeling they can’t do anything, and continues to pray and fast and so on), the victim has effectively placed the tyrant on a par with God; since while they claim to obey God, His messenger, they also obey the tyrant since they accept that the tyrant has ‘authority over them’, and ultimately it can be argued this is a form of polytheism.
The importance of this as part of the journey towards Truth, and the movement with patience, with resistance cannot be under estimated or under emphasised.
In 1979, when Imam Khomeini rose against the US owned and now dead Shah of Iran, may God curse him eternally, he had to do so on the basis of the wills of the prophets and Imams, there was no other option.
The Truth was being usurped, the Truth was being corrupted. He had to do it since the one who claimed to have authority, was not only unfit, he was a vassal of the US empire. Therefore to accept such a situation, would be to place the Great Satan on a par with God, the Mighty, the Wise.
The pure message and stance and revolution of Imam Husayn was being sidelined and diluted with uncleanliness; such as people would go to the mosques, and mourn Imam Husayn, but as they come out of the mosques and centres, they would immediately be acting in a manner, that would ensure they would be ranked against Imam Husayn.
Such a profound cognitive dissonance, where a person thinks one thing and thinks they are doing something good, but they are doing some terrible, and indeed, they profess, or identify that they believe in a particular way, but their actions are entirely contradictory to the beliefs they profess, such a profound cognitive dissonance, would render the true Islam of Muhammad a historical relic, studied in universities and seminaries, but without any substance, without any exemplar.
But of course, Allah, has in Quran, has promised that He will protect this message, and indeed he has made a powerful promise that it is protected:
فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِمَوَاقِعِ النُّجُومِ
وَإِنَّهُ لَقَسَمٌ لَّوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عَظِيمٌ
إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ
فِي كِتَابٍ مَّكْنُونٍ
لَّا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
تَنزِيلٌ مِّن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
أَفَبِهَٰذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَنتُم مُّدْهِنُونَ
وَتَجْعَلُونَ رِزْقَكُمْ أَنَّكُمْ تُكَذِّبُونَ
I swear by the locations of the stars.
It is an oath, if you only knew, that is tremendous.
It is a noble recitation (Quran).
In a well-protected Book.
None can grasp it except the purified.
A revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.
Is it this discourse that you take so lightly?
And you make it your livelihood to deny it?
- Quran, Surah al-Waqiah (the Chapter of the Inevitable Event) #56, Verses 75 to 82
In this series of verses, we can see that Allah has vowed to protect the Quran, its teachings; and to not allow them to be corrupted. This was achieved by and will continue to be achieved by patience, by resistance against falsehood, by speaking and enjoining the Truth, regardless of how bitter it may be.
When we see the Zionists, on this the first anniversary of the al-Aqsa Flood, spewing their lies, we see them claiming that others are killing women and children, when it is well known, and clearly evidenced, that they are the ones doing the infanticide and the killing of innocents, the path of Truth, of patience becomes very clear; and that is the path to opposing such criminals and those Satanic forces that are behind them, and they are well known.
Such Satanic forces, that give the right of ‘defence’ to one party (that even according to their own laws does not have the right of defence), and take it from another party, simple because one is with them, the other is opposed to them.
It is well known that Nimrud, the despotic tyrant at the time of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), may peace and blessings be upon him, used to also consider himself to be a ‘god’, that he could give and take life as per his desire. Yet ultimately it is well known that he was killed by a tiny insect that burrowed into his brain and lobotomised him, all while he thought, high up on his tower of Babel, he would be able to fire an arrow at the Lord of the Universes and kill him.
Such is the delusion of those who believe their own lies; and this is why all free people, all honest people, must strive towards the Truth, must always make that sacred resistance against falsehood, and towards Truth, and ensure they remain on the road to salvation, no matter the obstacles, no matter the difficultly.
Indeed, his delusion was decimated by Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), when he told him, okay, so you think you’re god. Okay, in that case, my Lord (God), makes the sun rise in the East and set in the West, if you are really God, let me see you make the sun rise in the West and set in the East.
This destroyed the tyrant, and he attempted to destroy Prophet Ibrahim, and I won’t go into that story further as it is well known, but suffice it to say, the schemes of Nimrud was destroyed and he was humiliated and cursed in this world and the next.
And to all, who feel heartbroken, have no fear, and know, that you are not alone, for Allah is in the arena.
And from Him alone is all ability and He has authority over all things.
In Memory of our dear Abbas, martyred alongside Abu Hadi, may your and Abu Hadi’s eternal souls rest in peace, please pray that we are able to live up to and proceed on the path of Truth that you have, through God, guided us onto.