IECRC (USA & Canada)

Issue 10

February 2006 / Muharram 1427

Wa qul jaa al Haqqu

wa zahaqal baatil

Inna baatila kaana zahooqa

And proclaim,

“The Truth has arrived

and falsehood has vanished; indeed falsehood had to vanish.”

[The Holy Quran 17:81]

The timeless struggle between truth and falsehood, good and evil, is epitomized in no other chronicle of Islamic history than on the banks of the river Euphrates in the plains of Karbala, Iraq. What the soil of Iraq witnessed in 61 Hijra / 680 CE was a testimony and lesson for all time to come that sacrifices are inevitable on the Path of Truth and that those who are closest to their Lord and therefore most committed to the Path are to endure the severest of hardships.

To further this salient message, the Islamic Educational and Cultural Research Center of Northern California observed the momentous day of Ashura at its weekly Dhikr location in Fremont, California on Sunday, February 12, 2006. Derived from the Arabic word for ten, Ashura is commemorated on the 10^th day of the Sacred month of Muharram, the first in the Islamic lunar calendar. This historic day carries in it the heartrending reminder of the martyrdom in Karbala of Hazrat Imam Husayn ibn Ali (may  Allah be well pleased with them both), the most beloved grandson of the Beloved of Allah   Almighty, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Countless Peace & Prayers Of Allah Almighty Be Upon Him.)

The Crown of Saints, Hazrat Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (1077/8-1166 CE, may Allah Almighty be well pleased with him) narrates authentic Prophetic traditions in his magnum opus, “Al-Ghunya li-Taalibi Tareeq al-Haqq “ rendered into English as “Sufficient Provision for Seekers of the Path of Truth”, that Ashura is the day in which Allah Almighty created the heavens and the earth, the Tablet and the Pen; it is also the day in which Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) and his community were delivered from the unjust reins of the Pharaoh; it is also the day in which this world will come to an end; and above all it is the day that Allah Almighty chose to honor Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah be well pleased with him) with his pre-ordained martyrdom to grant him the elevated rank of the martyrdom of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (may Allah be well pleased with them).  It is worth reflecting that despite the fact that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) had been made aware of this fatal fate of Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah be well pleased with him) by Angel Jibraeel (peace be upon him) as is taught to us through authentic Prophetic narrations; and despite the fact that any supplications by the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) to change this fate would have been accepted by Allah Almighty, no such prayer was made. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) chose and agreed to give up the life of His beloved grandson for the sake of His Ummah (community) so that we may learn the essential lessons of sacrifice.  Peace Be Upon Him and His Noble Family! [For the benefit of our readers it must be pointed out here that committing suicide or taking the lives of civilians is completely antithetical to Islamic teachings.]

The great 11^th century CE Sufi scholar, Hazrat Abul Hasan Syed Ali bin Uthman Hujweri famous as Hazrat Daata Ganj Baksh (may Allah be well pleased with him) writes in his encyclopedic treatise on Tasawwuf (Sufism), the “Kashf-ul-Mahjoob” rendered into English as “Unveiling the Veiled”:

“[Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah be well pleased with him)] is one of the great Awliya Allah devoted exclusively to Allah and famous for renunciation, patience and forbearance in the hours of extreme affliction, such as that experienced in the massacre at Karbala.”

Hazrat Daata Ganj Baksh (may Allah be well pleased with him) further quotes Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah be well pleased with him) in the Kashf-ul-Mahjoob:

“We are the people called Ahl-e-bala (sufferers).

We love bala (calamities) and feel pleased with it.

We live for others and not for ourselves.”

This is the foundational spiritual teaching of Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah Almighty be well pleased with him) and the essential message of unconditional service to others that the Islamic Educational and Cultural Research Center (IECRC) attempts to convey and promote to the community through its various conferences, events and especially the Urs (memorial) days observed for the Awliya Kiram (Noble Friends of Allah Almighty or Sufi Saints, may Allah have mercy on them all).  This is the message of all the Sufi Saints of the Islamic tradition.  IECRC’s commemoration of the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah Almighty be well pleased with him) in February 2006 in Fremont, California was no exception.  Poignant couplets were recited by various community members including young children, reminding the audience of the great sacrifice that this luminary of the Islamic tradition gave in order to uphold the principles of Islam.  He gave his head but did not pledge allegiance to the tyranny of the then ruler of the Muslims.

Seventy thousand angels alighted in the grave of Imam al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali (may Allah Almighty be pleased with them both) on the day when he was mortally wounded, and they will continue to weep over him until the day of Resurrection.

[Al-Ghunya li-Talibi]

The highlight of IECRC’s commemorative evening was a most informative talk by Hafiz Prof. Dr. Mohammad Abdullah Qadri who delivered his important speech via telephone in which he emphasized the importance of remembering that those who are martyred in the Path of Allah Almighty are not to be considered dead as is taught by the Holy Quran. He also highlighted that Muslims should hold on tightly to the obligatory prayers and principles of Islam for the upholding of which Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah Almighty be well pleased with him) gave up his life.

Also quoted at this spiritual gathering were the profound words of Hazrat Allama Iqbal (may Allah have mercy on him), the great 19^th century Urdu poet-philosopher of Pakistan:

Qatl-e-Husayn  asal mein

marg-e Yazid hai

Islam zinda hota hai har Karbala ke baad

The slaughter of Husayn  [Truth] is in reality the death of Yazid [Falsehood]

Islam is revived after every Karbala

The above couplet is an intense reminder of the ongoing struggle between good and evil, truth and falsehood that not just played itself out on the plains of Karbala, but is the constant activity of the human soul. Every moment we are faced with an inner battle between the lower (falsehood) and higher (truth) self and whenever the higher self wins it revives a state of peace, a state of Islam.