By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz

 

“O’ Allah, send blessings on Hasan bin Ali bin Muhammad, the Pious, the God-fearing, the Truthful, the Faithful, the Many-Splendoured Light, the Custodian of Your Knowledge, who, at all events talked about Your “Tawheed” (Indivisibility); the Guardian of Your Commands, the Vicegerent of the Righteous Guides of the religion, and the Decisive Argument over mankind. Therefore send blessings on him O’ Lord; many more blessings than You bestowed on any of Your sincerely attached Servants, Your Proofs, and the Progeny of Your Messengers; O Lord of the worlds!”

We are on the threshold of the 8th of Rabi al-Awwal, that doleful day on which departed from the mortal world the Penultimate Imam of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), after writhing in pain for a week, following the deadly dose of poison administered to him through fruits sent by Mu’tamid the self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime.

Imam Hasan Askari (AS) needs no introduction. He was the 11th Infallible Heir of the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger to mankind, and the Father of the Awaited Imam Qa’em al-Mahdi (AS), who on his reappearance in the end times will end all vestiges of oppression and corruption on Planet Earth by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity and justice.

As a matter of fact, these two factors, that is, being the Prophet’s Righteous Successor and the Father of the Redeemer of mankind, made the Abbasids deprive him of freedom and liberties.

It would be repetitive to say that Imam Askari (AS) was born in Medina in 232 AH (846 AD), came to Samarra in Iraq as a toddler when his father Imam Ali an-Naqi al-Hadi (AS) was forced to come to the Abbasid capital by the tyrant Mutawakkil, grew up away from public limelight because of the restrictions placed upon the blessed family by the regime, became the Divinely-designate Imam at the age of 22 on the martyrdom of his father through poison in 254 AH, was himself martyred six years later in 260 AH, and laid to rest beside his father in the family home – expanded over the centuries to become the sprawling golden-domed shrine that continues to host millions of pilgrims throughout the year, despite the two blasphemous bomb blasts triggered by the Takfiri terrorists a decade ago (blowing up of the dome on 22nd February 2006 and blowing up of the two minarets on 13th June 2007).    

To be more precise, it were these six crucial years of his Imamate that laid the firm foundations of the foolproof system of “wikala” or the network of deputation that kept the Imam connected with the Ummah through a chain of trusted scholars in those critical years of constant watch over him and his activities.

The caliphs, dreadful of the approaching figure of “12 Imams” in view of the Prophet’s famous hadith of “Twelve Successors, the last of whom will rise as Qa’em al-Mahdi”, kept the 11th Imam, either in prison or under house arrest, in a vain bid to prevent the birth of the Promised One.

The regime and its agents thought that through such measures, the Prophet’s hadith would be belied and if Imam Hasan Askari (AS) were to die or be killed without having issue, Abbasid power would continue for endless centuries.

It was obvious the ungodly caliphs had reckoned without taking account the Infinite Power of God Almighty. They had not even bothered to learn lessons from the holy Qur’an which says how the Lord Most High ensured the birth of Prophet Moses and his growing up in the Pharaoh’s palace itself, despite the fact the Egyptian tyrant had slaughtered all newborn males born to the Israelites that year on being informed by soothsayers of the imminent birth of the person who would end his rule.

Thus, the Power that fashioned Adam from clay into the perfect human being superior to all other forms of creation, and decreed the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary without the involvement of any male, made sure than no signs of pregnancy would appear on the mother of the Awaited Mahdi (AS).

In fact, years earlier in the lifetime of the 10th Imam, while the eyes of the Abbasids were glued to Imam Hadi’s (AS) elder son, Muhammad (AS), as the potential successor to his father, a marriage had taken place in Samarra between Imam Askari (AS) and the virtuous Byzantine Princess, Narjis (SA), who a year after the mantle of Imamate settled on the shoulders of her husband, became the proud mother in secrecy of the Prophesied Mahdi (AS) in the year 255 AH.

The boy was being brought up in secrecy in the cellar of the 11th Imam’s house, and except for some very close confidantes, no one was aware of his birth and identity.

After al-Muhtadi’s less than a year reign, Mu’tamid the son of Mutawakkil assumed power as caliph in Samarra, and delegated the all administrative activities to his younger and equally evil brother, Muwaffeq.

As a result, the 11th Imam was subjected to frequent bouts of imprisonment, and finally martyred at the young age of 28. Yet, during the brief intervals of his freedom he rationally clarified many issues of the Prophet’s dynamic shari’ah, taught the exegesis of part of the holy Qur’an, and elaborated on the proper manner of “ziyarah” or salutation at the shrines of his illustrious ancestors. He also expressed words of wisdom and held discourses on not just the pillars of Islam but metaphysical issues and matters of science and technology to the seekers of truth.

Alas, when the people of Samarra heard the news of the death of the venerable descendant of the Prophet, the whole bazaar was closed and people flocked to the house of Imam Hasan Askari (AS) to offer condolences.

Amazed at the popularity of his victim, the caliph and his courtiers resorted to hypocrisy and attended the funeral prayer, where to the surprise of the congregation a 5-year before appeared from nowhere, led the prayer and disappeared back into the house.

On learning that the boy was the son of the deceased Imam, the regime launched a massive manhunt, but couldn’t find him. For two years this manhunt continued in Samarra, in Baghdad, in Mecca, in Medina, and in towns and cities, but no trace was found.

It was the Will of God Almighty that Imam Mahdi (AS) would be safe from the prying eyes of the Abbasids, and thanks to his father’s efforts in building the foolproof network of “wikala”, he would remain connected to the Ummah in the state of “ghayba” or occultation, before eventually reappearing by God’s Will to fulfill the Divine Promise of the global government of justice.