“Should poverty, illness and death not exist, man would not bow to anything.”
- Imam Hussein (as)
“Be like the flower that gives off its fragrance even to the hand that crushes it.”
- Imam Ali (as)
Islam is composed of many arts, sciences and etiquettes. It is both a simple, Bedouin faith and an ethical, intellectual, philosophical, humanitarian way of living and being. One of the great etiquettes and qualities which is enjoyed upon the believers is honor and integrity. Honor is a seemingly rare quality these days. While the modern world can often seem like an increasingly dystopian Sci-Fi novel, we all can still hopefully recognize what is moral and good, and what is noble and kind.
These twin etiquettes of honor and integrity are the hallmarks of Islamic saints, the most important of whom are referred to in metaphorical allusions in the Quran, statements of faith in the call to prayer (adhan) and oft-told tales passed down through history not only of honor and integrity, but bravery and courage in the face of mighty enemies, much like David, alayhi salam (peace be upon him), who is called Dawoud in Arabic, in his fight against Goliath (Jalut), in which he rose to the occasion at hand and fulfilled his God-appointed destiny.
From reading the Quran in melodious styles to announcing the beginning of prayer, recitation is one of the important arts in Islam. Besides the stylized and haunting musicality of conveying the basic readings of the Arabic words, to the layman there are different, seemingly cultural approaches to reading the Quran, such as the swift, angelic sounding Saudi style proliferating on the internet or the nuanced and sublime Egyptian style, whose intense, mesmerizing vocal acrobatics pierce through recordings of all types and mediums, larger than life, life-changing, faith-affirming.
Recitation in Islam is a form of remembering and proclaiming many things, including faith, belief, holy scripture, or even the daily call to prayer. The recitation of the call to prayer is called the adhan (or azan), which comes from the Arabic root word ‘adhina, or to listen, hear or be informed about. By tuning everything out except its rhythms and words, one can experience a feeling of serenity and peace in place of anxiety and worry, reminding one not only of the time for prayer, but also to leave the world aside and return to Allah.
There are some regional differences in the melody in which the adhan is recited, but more importantly there are also some different key phrases between the Sunni and Shia adhan, one of which is controversial in both camps. In the adhan, God is said to be one and Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him (pbuh), is said to be his prophet. The controversial and disputed phrase, Aliyyun waliyullah, which can mean that Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) is a spiritual helper or authority, refers to his closeness to God and being second in command to the Prophet (pbuh). However, the phrase can also mean that Ali (as) is a saint.
What is a saint? It is commonly known across all cultures and religions that saints are virtuous people that are close to God or who constantly search for His closeness in such a way that He is always near. In Islam, the word for saint is wali, or Friend of God. Sheikh Zoheir Ismail has defined saints in Shiite belief as “…people that have reached closeness to Allah due to their efforts in worship, developing their faith and knowledge, passing trials and tribulations and other such qualities” and has also written that “Shias not only accept the existence of saints but advocate a path to realize that potential in every person. The most perfect Friends of God are the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and his Household (as) as well as the prophets (as) and all of those who follow their footsteps among the Friends of God.”
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) briefly describes them further in a narration (hadith), “Be aware that the Friends of Allah are silent; their silence is remembrance, their look is meaningful, they speak and their speech is full of wisdom, and they walk and their walk is full of blessing. If there had not been fixed periods of life for each, their spirits would not have remained in their bodies, because of their eagerness for paradise and fear of chastisement.”
While scholar and Sufi Martin Lings has written that “there is scarcely a region in the empire of Islam which has not a Sufi for its Patron Saint,” the existence of and intercession of saints is still controversial in many branches of Islam. While other traditions such as Sufism and Classical Sunnism may agree with the notion of saints and their veneration, it is primarily Shiism which acknowledges the enduring high status of the Ahl al-Bayt (as), of which Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) is a part, as the foremost of creation which have no match, considering their intercession to be an integral part of the religion, and Ali (as) himself to be the foundation and pinnacle of spirituality.
Shia Muslims seek the intercession of saints like the Ahl al-Bayt (as) because of their high status with God. Their status is much, much greater than any other creation, so their intercession with God is sought by the faithful to help them in their worldly affairs and future afterlife.
Despite the immense trials and tribulations in which one can find oneself in their worldly affairs, it is the often the wisdom and sacrifices of the Prophet (pbuh) and his Holy Family, the Ahl al-Bayt (as), who experienced even greater trials and tribulations, that helps to keep many Muslims strong and prevents them from casting their faith aside. The piercing truth of their statements, the way they lived their lives, their constant connection to God, their patience in adversity, their private and public prayers and petitions to God.
In Shia Islam, believers are admonished to recite constant blessings upon Prophet Muhammad and his Holy and Perfected Progeny (as) not only to thank them for their efforts and sacrifices on behalf of humanity and religion, but also to raise the spiritual status of the petitioner by invoking blessings on their names and receiving barakat (blessings) in return from Allah.
As mentioned previously, two such saints from the Ahl al-Bayt (as) are immortalized multiple times a day across the Shiite world in the call to prayer in which Muhammad (pbuh) is declared to be a prophet of Allah and Ali (as) is announced as as spiritual authority or “Friend of God.” A saint in Islam, as we said, is referred to as a “friend” or wali of God, but who is Ali (as), one of the foremost Friends of God of all time?
It is both a simple and complicated question.
In order to speak of him properly, one must mention his role in history, politics, justice, law, warfare, chivalry, and brotherhood, but even that is not all. One must mention where he was born – inside the Kaaba – and who he was related to, who hated him, who pushed him aside, who cursed him, who fought against him, and who cruelly killed him. His final words after being martyred and returning to his Lord were, “I have succeeded by the Lord (Nourisher and Sustainer) of the Kaaba (House of God).” Yet the orphans and the poor mourned the one who came every night to care for them, not knowing who he was, only that he no longer fed them and no one else came in his place. He was a successful warrior in defense of Islam and yet his literary abilities were such that a collection of his speeches, letters and aphorisms is called Nahj al-Balagha, or The Peak of Eloquence. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) once said about him, “The truth is with Ali and Ali is with the truth.”
Thus, it goes without saying that he is an important figure in Islam who cannot be overlooked, but the truth of the matter is that he often was and still is ignored both by a large majority of Muslims and scholars of both East and West. Even if we just briefly mention a portion of his ancestry and kin, his importance in Islam cannot be denied, for he was the cousin, son-in-law, and friend of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the husband of his holy daughter Fatima (as), and the father of the noble youths, Hassan and Hussein (as).[1]
Sunnis consider him to be the fourth caliph, while Shias consider him to be the first imam who was pushed aside after the death of his best friend, father-in-law and prophet by politics, greed and the desire for worldly status and leadership that usurped his Divinely-appointed office. The decision was not that of man, but of God alone, because sainthood and religious authority in Islam are things which must be given by Allah Himself, they are not simply acquired by sheer force of will or desire. Allah alone knows our hearts, intentions and deeds, from where they derive and the states and stations in which they reside.
For those unfamiliar with him, and raised on pop culture mysticism, one might think of him as both a heroic or even Yoda-type figure, clearly exhibiting such astonishing abilities of insight, thought, rhetoric, valor, servitude, and spiritual understanding to such a heightened degree, that we can say, in the old 60s parlance, that his words blow people’s minds to this very day. Where it came from – whether God or some secularist answer such as evolution or simple chance – is lost in the simple astonishment and speechlessness for the Worldly and even Otherworldly truths of which he speaks, which astound even the most committed of atheists or polytheists. His wisdom cannot be denied. For Shias, he is a Divinely-ordained protector of the Message from God, which began with the Tawrat of Moses (as) and the Injeel (Gospel) of Jesus (as) and was finalized in the Quran and the religion of Islam; he was blessed with bravery, courage, moral certitude, the sinlessness of infallibility and God-given wisdom in eternal service to his prophet and friend, Muhammad (pbuh).
At the age of ten, Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) accepted Islam, making him the third Muslim of his era, after Lady Khadija (Prophet Muhammad’s wife, peace be upon her) and Prophet Muhammad himself (pbuh). For Shias, he is the Prince of Believers, unmatched in courage and bravery, except by his sons Hassan and Hussein (as) with the Prophet’s daughter (as), and later, Abbas (as), with Umm al-Baneen (as) after the tragic demise of his first wife.
His bravery, honesty and integrity was such that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) utilized him in a myriad of ways – from substituting him for himself in his bed when plots to kill him forced him to escape to another city to appointing him as a scribe of the revelations of the Holy Quran to writing down peace treaties, settling disputes, fighting in defensive wars to declaring him to be his successor after he died. When the Prophet needed him in battle, he called out, Ya Ali Madad! (O Ali, Help Me!), which, incidentally, Shia Muslims also use to cry out when in need to this very day.
Imam Ali (as) was not taken from humanity in battle, but in prayer, when the Judas-like figure of Ibn Muljam struck him in the head as he was at the mosque bowing his head in submission to Allah, conscious only of Him, in the early morning before dawn. Shias say the origin of modern terrorism lies in both what happened at the mosque that morning, and in what happened after Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) died, due to revolt, vigilantism, and power-seeking in reaction to Ali (as) as a leader and guide of the nascent Islamic community, all despite being appointed by God in pre-eternity, and declared by Muhammad (pbuh) as his successor before a large crowd of believers in the hot desert sun on the way back to Medina after the Prophet’s last hajj.
Sunnis often accuse the Shia of worshipping Ali (as) due to the sometimes extreme reverence that they exhibit towards him, while the Shia counter that they emphasize the name and holy personage of Ali (as) because he was ignored and overlooked, even cursed on the pulpit, despite being one of the pre-eminent believers of all time and despite his title of Prince of Believers (Amir al-Mumineen).
One of his famous quotes – “People are of two kinds: either your brothers in faith or your equals in humanity” – renders the idea that Islam equals terrorism an absolute lie. In fact, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan mentioned this hadith as reflecting the general founding principles of the United Nations Charter of Rights at the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which took place at the University of Tehran in 1997, and where Imam Ali (as) was mentioned in the same vein as Confucius and Thomas Jefferson. Later, Mr. Annan called Imam Ali (as) the fairest governor in human history. In 2002, the United Nations Development Program released its Arab Human Development Report that advised Arab countries to take Imam Ali (as) as an example in establishing regimes based on justice and democracy and encouraged the seeking of knowledge.
It must be said that the Ahl al-Bayt (as), who have clearly been given special abilities by God, are not the beneficiaries of nepotism, but guides and preservers of age-old wisdom and traditions, who were created to be representatives of the Prophet (as) of the primordial religion ordained by God for all humanity from the beginning of time. For Muslims, Islam does not equal the exclusion of Jesus (as), but rather his inclusion, in an ongoing historical and religious narrative which begins and ends with Muhammad (pbuh) and the Ahlulbayt (as). Just as Joseph (as) was the successor of Jacob (as), no other living being but Ali (as) could fulfill that office which was originally designated by God. Anyone else would be a preposter. Anything else goes against the will of God.
The veil between truth and falsehood among human beings is not always as thin as we’d like to believe. A constant barrage of lies throughout history can obfuscate the truth, whether on a personal or communal level. It can often be hard to discern the truth, and thus the need for guides and protectors, for saints and sages, who can uphold the religion and who are eternally righteous, who can protect and explain tradition and guide the faithful.
Thus, we can see here, by briefly looking at the story of Joseph and Jacob (as), which is often mentioned by Muslim preachers and is also recounted in the Quran, that there is a parallel between the story of Joseph (as) and the story of Ali (as) and even that of the Shias themselves. Originally, there was only one Islam, but after the Prophet (pbuh) died, the desire for power, and the jealousy and hatred exhibited toward Ali (as) created schisms and factions that eventually turned into Sunni and Shia Islams.
Every member of the Ahl al-Bayt (as) is a personification of honor and integrity, but a special place is reserved in the heart of every Shia for Imam Ali (as) and his son Imam Hussein (as), who sacrificed his life in battle upon the plains of Karbala while standing up to an increasingly unjust and morally corrupt leadership, sixty-one years after the Prophet’s (as) escape and migration from Mecca to Medina under the cover of night.
Imam Hussein (as) is so important to the legacy of Islam that there is a narration about him which is said about no other holy person in Islam – “Surely there exists in the hearts of all True Believers (Mumineen), with respect to the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a fire that can never be extinguished.” One can easily see this during the annual mourning seasons of his death across the entire world when hearts come alive with the fervor of his remembrance.
Imam Hussein (as) himself has said about Karbala:
“I have not risen out of self-interest, for the sake of seeking pleasure, corruption or oppression. I rise up only for the sake of the rectification of the nation of my grandfather, the Messenger of Allah.”
Imam Hussein (as) was of noble birth, raised in the lap of holiness and sainthood of his father, Ali (as), his mother Lady Fatima (as) and his grandfather, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). His heart and soul were blessed and purified by God, and he relied on Him completely, just as his father, mother, and grandfather had. He is quoted as saying in prayer, “O God, you are my trust in every calamity, you are my only hope in every hardship. You are the only promise in anxiety and distress in which the hearts become weak and human actions become feeble, in which one is deserted and forsaken by his friends.”
Various other imams and members of the Ahl al-Bayt (as) have gone on record as saying that weeping over Imam Hussein (as) will cause God to erase and forgive all your sins, no matter how large or small, that one will be sinless upon return home from his visitation in Iraq, that one would be taken by the hand and led into paradise by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) for men and Lady Fatima (as) for women, respectively, and that Imam Hussein (as) actually sees them weeping and seeks their forgiveness from God and asks his holy relations to seek forgiveness for them as well.
Still, generations later in Islamic history, descendants of Imam Hussein (as) and members of the Ahl al-Bayt, like Imam Sadiq (as), could not forget him, and would be reported to be found on the anniversary day of his death “pale and grief-stricken, with tears streaming from his eyes like falling pearls.” Imam Sadiq (as) himself has said that Imam Hussein (as) “sees those who come to his shrine and knows them by their names, their father’s names and their ranks in the eyes of Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, better than you know your own children.”
There is a hadith narrated by Imam Ali (as) in which he recounted a story about Jesus (as) to a companion. Once, when he happened to pass by Karbala, Jesus (as) sat down and began to weep. His disciples who were observing him, followed suit and began weeping too, although they did not understand the reason for his sorrow. So they asked Jesus (as), “O Spirit of God! What is it that makes you weep?” Jesus (as) replied, “Do you know what land this is?” The disciples said they did not. Then Jesus (as) informed them, “This is the land on which the son of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) shall be killed.”
Not only do holy family members and prophets cry about his martyrdom, Imam al-Baqir (as), the father of Imam al-Sadiq (as), has said that “humans, jinn, birds and wild beasts all mourned and wept over the tragedy which befell Hussein, son of Ali.” Even the sky had cried for forty days over the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (as), he has told us. His position was such that Imam al-Sadiq (as) said that Allah appointed four thousand anguished and grief-stricken angels to stand by his grave and weep over him until the Day of Judgment.
Another member of the Ahl al-Bayt (as), Imam Ridha (as) has advised, “If it makes you happy (and you desire) to be with us in the elevated ranks of paradise, then be sad in our grief and happy at our happiness.” His day of martyrdom is such that believers have been advised to leave all their worldly activities behind to mourn and cry for him (along with the 72 other martyrs, which included many members of his family, friends and supporters (as), as well as his sole surviving son, Imam al-Sajjad (as) and the widows and orphans (as) left behind. Imam Ridha (as) has said that God will grant you the desires of this world and the Hereafter if one does so. Likewise, Imam al-Sajjad (as) used to say, “Every mu’min (believer), whose eyes shed tears upon the killing of Hussein ibn Ali (as) and his companions, such that tears roll down his cheeks, Allah shall accommodate him in the elevated rooms of Paradise.”
Whether in the elevated rooms of paradise or the lower rooms of the lower world (dunya), grief against injustice and oppression in the symbolic sacrifice of Imam Hussein (as) is glorification, worship and jihad. Imam al-Sadiq (as) has said, “The breath of one who is aggrieved upon the injustice and oppression subjected to us is tasbeeh (glorification of Allah) and his grief for us is ibadah (worship of Allah) and his concealing of our secrets is jihad in the path of Allah.” The Imam (as) then added, “This tradition should be written in gold.”
Sometimes, despite or even because of one’s best efforts, there can be a spiritual death instead of a spiritual re-awakening, when the dark night of the soul becomes a secret habit, and the promise of victory or paradise, even in this very life, becomes a distant memory, no matter how much effort one exerts in their own personal jihad. And then, just as one loses all hope in salvation, one’s entire soul and being lights up like an exuberant galaxy of illuminated stars. One might hear the name of Ali (as), the eternal companion of nobility and righteousness, mentioned on someone’s tongue or beautifully stylized in one of the daily callings of the adhan, or the story of Hussein (as) mentioned in history, literature or song, and faith is returned – restored and renewed like a soaring eagle, transcending pain and doubt with certainty and truth until the next turn of the heart might test even this ecstasy.
And yet.
If one is strong and sincere enough, if one fights for their faith and still desperately cries out in petition to God, quoting, say, from the line in the famous supplicatory prayer of Imam Ali (as) called Dua Kumayl, “O He whose Name is a medicine and whose remembrance is healing!” Or one might call out into those nights and days of the soul which can envelop an individual and cloud and clothe them in darkness and oppression, “Ya Ali Maddad!” Or one might simply cry out, “Ya Hussein!”
Why? Because to say their names is to proclaim victory. To ask for their help is to ensure success. To celebrate their existence is to honor God. And what victory can be greater than that?
As Friends of God and as part of the Ahl al-Bayt (as), their missions were the same, although their assignments were different. Some of us may not know of Ali’s place in history, but that of Hussein’s can oftentimes be more obscure. It is said that Hussein (as) was the sacrificial lamb that was eventually given in place of Isaac (as) – the choice of following God’s will at all costs is handed to Ishmael (as) in the Quran as he was Prophet Abraham’s (as) rightful firstborn son according to Islam – and that it was only a matter of historical time for the lamb of Hussein (as) to be cruelly slaughtered on the heat-scorched plains of Karbala in Iraq when the very notions and practices of Islam were at stake.
One can think and speak of many, many things in relation to these two purified guides of humanity, but honor and integrity are the hallmarks of their clan. Imam Ali (as) and Imam Hussein (as) are indeed two great saints of Islam who are immortalized forever, both openly and in secret, in the haunting lines of the Quran, in history and politics, and the ecstatic utterances of poets and religious singers who never tire of singing their praises or recording their sorrows, in the melodious versions of adhan summoning the faithful in the call to prayer, and in the memories, hearts and minds of all people all over the world, whether Shia, Sunni, Sufi, Christian, Jew, Hindu or beyond, who know them and their stories and who are forever transformed upon hearing them.
Kawther Rahmani
Thanksgiving, November 25, 2021 CE/Rabi’ al-Thani 20, 1433 AH
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This essay was written to explain the following poem to a non-Muslim audience who may not be familiar with these two holy personages that deserve a place in every believer’s heart, no matter their religion or creed.
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When honor wants to admire itself, it calls out YA ALI!
When honor wants to define itself, it calls out YA ALI!
When honor wants to show itself, it calls out YA ALI!
When honor has been dishonored, it calls out YA ALI!
When honor has been oppressed, it calls out YA ALI!
When honor has been forgotten, it calls out YA ALI!
When honor wants to be revived, it calls out YA ALI!
When honor wants to never cease, it calls out YA ALI!
When honor wants to be immortal, it calls out YA ALI!
But when honor witnesses the death of Ali, it calls out,
YA HUSSEIN!
Kawther Rahmani
Ramadan 23, 1439 AH/June 7, 2018 CE
[1] These five saintly figures are collectively known as the Holy Five, Panjatan Pak (Purified Five) or Ahl al-Kisa (People of the Cloak), depending on the cultural tradition.