By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz

 

“That is the good news Allah gives to His servants who have faith and do righteous deeds! Say (O’ Muhammad to the people), ‘I do not ask you any reward for it (preaching Islam) except love of [my] closest kin.’… (Holy Qur’an 42:23)

The above Words of the Almighty Creator are clear. His messengers, as is evident by similar Ayahs of the Heavenly Scripture regarding their missions, have always politely turned down the offers of worldly gifts by their followers for having delivered them from the darkness of disbelief. They pointed out that it is their duty to guide people to the path of monotheism and virtue, and it is God Alone Who rewards them.

The Lord Most High raised Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) as the Last and Greatest of His Messengers with the universal message of Islam as “Mercy to the entire creation”.

The Prophet thus does not need any kind of reward from anyone for making them cognizant of the One and Only God, and instilling in them humanitarian values and virtue to discern good from evil in order they become deserving of the bliss of Paradise.

So, in the light of the above-mentioned Ayah, what is the token of gratitude of the Muslims towards Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) for saving them from sins, aimless life, agnosticism, and the pitfalls of Hell?

Is it love and affection for one’s own relatives, even if they happen to be wayward, murderers, blasphemers, traitors, terrorists, atheists, and all sorts of sinners – as some have misconstrued?

God revealed this Ayah for clarifying this very point. He does not leave His creatures in the dark. As is obvious by the wordings, it explicitly says it is obligatory for any real Muslim to have love, affection, and respect for the Prophet’s closest of kin, that is, his immediate blood relatives, who are faith and virtue personified, and are free from any sort of uncleanness and impurity, as is evident by another Ayah of the Holy Qur’an:

“Allah desires to keep away uncleanness from you Ahl al-Bayt, and preserve you thoroughly purified.” (33:33)  

Those in doubt about the identity of the Immaculate Group “Ahl al-Bayt” – which does not include any wife of the Prophet even if virtuous, since these were born in idolatrous families – should study the Holy Qur’an more closely. They should read the undeniable facts of the principal events of the life of the Seal of Messengers that made Islam victorious in all encounters.

The Ayah that comes to our rescue here is 61 of Surah Aal-e Imran, on revelation of which the Prophet, as per Divine Commandment, challenged the Christians of Najran to a unique contest of malediction for making truth triumphant. He took with him to the field of the crucial parley none of his companions or spouses, but his only daughter Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), her husband Imam Ali (AS), and her two sons, Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS).

Did all those who claim to be Muslims obeyed the Divine Commandment and followed the instructions of the Prophet to respect, venerate, honour, and show affection for the Ahl al-Bayt, by regarding them as not just spiritual, but also political heirs of the Last and Greatest Emissary of God, in order to be true believers in the Sight of God?

Alas, the answer is a big NO. If they had, the Ummah would not have splintered into so many sects today, with some indulging in the most bestial form of cannibalistic terrorism, and yet shamelessly claiming to be Muslims.

The Prophet had practically shown to the Arabs the loftiest humanitarian values, yet there were some who, though they paid lip service to Islam and outwardly performed prayer and fasting, harboured in their hearts the deepest form of malice and rancour against the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, otherwise God would not have revealed a Surah titled “Munafeqoon” (Hypocrites).

No sooner did the Prophet leave the mortal world, these hypocrites committed the first act of terrorism in the history of Islam by usurping the political leadership of Muslims, and then assaulting the house of Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA). They threatened to burn down the house where the Prophet used to salute every morning, and vowed to kill the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, if Imam Ali (AS), the Prophet’s Divinely-Designated Vicegerent did not give pledge of allegiance to their Godless rule.

It was but natural for the Noblest-Ever Lady to try to awaken their frozen conscience by drawing their attention to the commandments of God in the Qur’an and the exemplary conduct of her father. They refused to listen, and did not even pay heed to the Prophet’s famous saying:

“Fatema is a part of me, and whoever hurts her, has hurt me, and whoever hurts me, has displeased God.”         

The chief terrorist – whose name is not worth mentioning – set the threshold of the blessed house on fire and then smashed the burning door on Hazrat Fatema (SA), who was pinned to the wall and suffered miscarriage, with the stillborn Mohsin, becoming the first martyr of the Ahl al-Bayt. 

The terrorists then put a rope round the neck of the victor of many a crucial battle in the days of the Prophet and with swords drawn, dragged Imam Ali (AS) for forced oath of allegiance to their misrule. When the Prophet’s injured daughter clung to the waist of her husband, imploring, “let go of Abu’l-Hasan”, the terrorist-in-chief ordered the wretch Qunfudh to strike her hands with a whip.

The history of Islam, especially events after the Prophet’s departure, is indeed painful reading. 

The Pride of the Virgin Mary (SA) finally succumbed to her wounds on the 3rd of Jamadi al-Akher (95 days after her father), never missed any opportunity to defend the “Wilayah” (Divinely-designated authority) of Imam Ali (AS) that was proclaimed by the Prophet on the 18th of Zil-Hijja 10 AH, at Ghadeer-Khom before a huge gathering of 120,000 Hajj pilgrims.

Her memorable sermon in eloquent Arabic and covering the fundamentals of faith (including the feminine virtues of hijab and chastity), bears testimony to this day of how to discern right from wrong. Below is a passage from this sermon, which exposes the terrorists and traitors amongst the Muslims in their true heathen colours:

 “Now hang on to this cheap dromedary of caliphate of yours and release it not, but beware; the hump of this camel is injured while there are blisters and holes in its feet. It carries the scars of ignominy and the sign of the wrath of Allah. Eternal shame is attached to it.”