Salamun alaykum,
On the plains of Karbala, as the night was drawing to a close and Ashura, the 10th day approached, Imam Husayn tested his companions as seen in the below speech:
Imam Husayn a.s. addresses his companions on the night of Ashura:
"I thank Allah to the best of my ability and praise Him during the time of injury and affliction.
O Lord! I thank You because You have honored us by means of Prophethood, taught us the Qur'an, made us comprehend the religion and its commandments, granted us eyes, ears and hearts; kept us free from the pollution of polytheism and then enabled us to thank You for Your blessings.
It is a fact that I am not aware of any companions more faithful and honest than my companions and any relatives more righteous and kind than my relatives. May Allah grant all of you a good reward.
I think that the day of our fighting with this army has arrived. I permit all of you to go away. You are free to depart without any restriction and should take advantage of the darkness of night".
What was the response of the companions ?
None of the historians who recorded this incident mention that any companion of Imam Husayn went away.
His brothers, sons, nephews and the sons of Abdullah bin Ja'far led by Abbas bin Ali said first of all with one voice: "Should we go away to live after you? We pray to Allah that the time may not come when you may be killed and we may remain alive".
Other companions also expressed similar views.
Imam invoked Divine blessings for them and returned to his tent.
Our plea to Imam:
In one of the lines of Ziyaratul Waritha which we recite regularly we fervently exclaim : Ya Laytana kunna ma’akum … Oh Imam how we long we had been with you…
Point for reflection :
Imagine being present in the audience of companions listening to the above referred address by Imam Husayn.
What would have been our reaction to the offer by Imam Husayn freeing one of all his allegiance to the Imam?
The key to our response to the above scenario lies in our commitment today in upholding the values for which Imam Husayn and his noble companions achieved martyrdom.
May Allah SWT enable us to mould our living with Imam Husayn as our role Model.
Wa ma tawfiqi illa billah
With salaams and duas
Fazle Abbas Datoo
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Resident Alim
Wessex Shia Ithna Asheri Jamaat
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Wessex Shia Ithna Asheri Jamaat. Al Mahdi, Wickham Road, Fareham, Hampshire . PO17 5BU. Reg. Charity Number: 1010076. Tel: 01329 832537. Fax: 02392-529766
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.: Jamaat Web Site: www.almahdi.org.uk:
Project Web Site: www.almahdi.org.uk/almahdiproject
Member of the Council of European Jamaats
Member of Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Wessex Shia Ithna Asheri Jamaat. Al Mahdi, Wickham Road, Fareham, Hampshire . PO17 5BU. Reg. Charity Number: 1010076. Tel: 01329 832537. Fax: 02392-529766
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.: Jamaat Web Site: www.almahdi.org.uk: Project Web Site: www.almahdi.org.uk/almahdiproject
Member of the Council of European Jamaats
Member of Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board