Hazrat Muhammad al-Mahdi (AS)

Name - Muhammad

Title - Al-Mahdi, Sahib-ul-Asr, Al-Hujjat, Al-Qa'im

Kunyat - Abul Qasim

Born - Friday 15th of Shaban 255 A.H., at Samarra

Father's Name - Imam Hasan-al-Askari

Mother's Name - Nargis Khatoon

Died - Still living but in hiding and will appear before the Day of Judgement to establish justice on earth

Hazrat Hasan al-Askari (AS)

Name - Hasan

Title - Al-Askari

Kunyat - Abu Muhammad

Born - Monday 8th of Rabi-ul-Akhar 232 A.H. , at Medina

Father's Name - Ali ibn Muhammad

Mother's Name - Saleel

Died - At the age of 28 years, at Samarra, on Friday 8th Rabi-ul-Awwal 260 AH. Poisoned by Mo'tamad the Abbaside Caliph

Buried - at Samarra, Baghdad.

Hazrat Ali An-Naqi (AS)

Name - Ali

Title - An-Naqi and Al-Hadi

Kunyat - Abul Hasan

Born - Friday 15th of Zilhajj 212 A.H., at Surba

Father's Name - Muhammad ibn Ali

Mother's Name - Summana Khatoon

Died - At the age of 42 years, at Samarra , on Monday, 26th Jamadi-ul-Akhar 254 AH. Poisoned by Mu'taz the Abbaside Caliph

Buried - at Samarra, Baghdad.

Hazrat Muhammad At-Taqi (AS)

Name - Muhammad

Title - At-Taqi and Al-Jawad

Kunyat - Abu Ja'far

Born - Friday 10th of Rajab 195 A.H. , at Medina

Father's Name - Ali ibn Musa

Mother's Name - Khaizuran

Died - At the age of 25 years, at Kazmain , on Wednesday, 29th Zilqad 220 AH. Poisoned by Mu'tasin the Abbaside Caliph

Buried - in Kazmain, Bagdad.

Hazrat Ali Ar-Ridha (AS)

Name - Ali

Title - Ar-Ridha

Kunyat - Abul Hasan

Born - Thursday 11th of Zilqad 148 A.H. , at Medina

Father's Name - Moosa ibn Ja'far

Mother's Name - Ummul Baneen Najma

Died - At the age of 55 years, at Mashad in Khorasan, on Tuesday, 17th Safar 203 AH. Poisoned by Mamoon the Abbaside Caliph

Buried - in Mashad, Iran .

Hazrat Musa-al Kadhim (AS)

Name - Musa

Title - Al-Kadhim

Kunyat - Abu Ibrahim

Born - Sunday 7st of Safarb 128 A.H. , at Abwa (Between Mecca and Medina)

Father's Name - Ja'far ibn Muhammad

Mother's Name - Hamida Khatoon

Died - At the age of 55 years, at Baghdad, on Friday, 25th Rajab 183 AH. Poisoned by Harun-al-Rashid the Abbaside caliph

Buried - Kazmain, Baghdad .

Hazrat Ja'far As-Sadiq (AS)

Name - Ja'far

Title - As-Sadiq

Kunyat - Abu Abdullah

Born - Monday 17th of Rabi-ul-Awwal 83 A.H. in Medina

Father's Name - Muhammad ibn Ali

Mother's Name - Umme-e-Farwah

Died - At the age of 65 years, at Medina, on Monday, 15th Rajab 148 AH. Poisoned by Mansur Dawaneeqi the Abbasite

Buried - Jannat-ul-Baqi .

Hazrat Muhammad Baqir (AS)

Name - Muhammad

Title - Al-Baqir

Kunyat - Abu Jafar

Born - Tuesday 1st of Rajab 57 A.H. , at Medina

Father's Name - Ali ibn Husain

Mother's Name - Fatima binte Hassan

Died - At the age of 59 years, at Medina, on Monday, 7th Zilhajj 116 AH. Poisoned by Hisham bin Abdul Malik

Buried - Jannat-ul-Baqi .

Hazrat Zain-ul-Abideen (AS)

Name - Ali-ibn-ul Husain

Title - Zain-ul Abideen

Kunyat - Abu Muhammad

Born - Saturday 15th of Jamadi-ul-Awwal, at Medina

Father's Name - Husain ibn Ali

Mother's Name - Shahr Banoo, daughter of King Yazdigard II

Died - at the age of 58 years, in Medina , on the 21st of Muharram 95 AH. Poisoned by Waleed bin Abdul Malik Marwan.

Buried - Jannat-ul-Baqi .

Hazrat Husain (AS)

As-Shaheed

Name - Husain

Title - Sayyid-ush-Shohada (Leader of Martyrs)

Kunyat - Abu Abdullah

Born - Thursday, 3rd Shaban 4 AH at Medina

Father's Name - Ali ibne abu Talib

Mother's Name - Fatima (Daughter of the Holy Prophet)

Martyred - at the age of 57 years, in Kerbala, on 10th Muharram 61 AH by Yazid-ibn-Muawiya and his ruthless army.

Buried - in Kerbala

Hazrat Hasan (AS)

Al-Mujtaba

Name - Hasan

Title - Al-Mujtaba

Kunyat - Abul Muhammad

Born - Tuesday, 15th Ramadan 3 AH at Medina

Father's Name - Ali ibne abu Talib

Mother's Name - Fatima (Daughter of the Holy Prophet)

Died - at the age of 46 years, at Medina, on Thursday, 28th Safar, 50 AH.

Buried - at the cemetery of Jannat-ul-Baqi in Medina

Hazrat Fatima Zahra (AS)

Leader of the Women of Paradise

Name - Fatima

Title - Az-Zahra

Kunyat - Umm-ul-Aimma

Born - Friday 20th of Jamadi-ul-Akhar in Mecca

Father's Name - Holy Prophet Muhammad Ibn-e-Abdulla (PBUH)

Mother's Name - Khadija bint-e-Khuwailid

Died - 14th Jamadi-ul-Awwal at Medina at the age of 18 years (due to injury inflicted upon her through force of a falling door by a hypocrite).

Buried - The cemetery of Jannatul Baqi at Medina

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

Al-Mustafa

Name - Muhammad

Title - Al-Mustafa, Al-Amin, Ar-Rasool

Kunyat - Abul Qasim

Born - Friday, the 17th of Rabi-ul Awwal

Father's Name - Abdullah Ibn Abdul Muttalib

Mother's Name - Amina bint-e-Wahab

Died - at the age of 63 years on Monday, 28th Safar 11 AH

Buried- in his house adjoining the mosque at Medina

Hazrat Ali Al-Murtaza (AS)

Amir-ul-Mo'mineen

Name - Ali

Title - Al-Murtaza, Al-Amir-ul-Mo'mineen, Abu-Turab, Asadullah

Kunyat - Abul Hasan

Born - Friday 13th of Rajab, in the Holy Ka'ba

Father's Name - Abu Talib-ibne-Abdul Muttalib

Mother's Name - Fatima bint-e-Asad

Died - at the age of 63 years, at Kufa, on Monday, the 21st Ramadan 40 AH, murdered by an assassin who mortally wounded him with a poisoned sword in the Mosque at Kufa during morning prayers on the 19th of Ramadan.

Buried - Najaf, near Kufa.

What non-Muslims Say about Imam Husain (AS)

Mahatma Gandhi
My faith is that the progress of Islam does not depend on the use of sword by its believers, but the result of the supreme sacrifice of Husain, the great saint.

Charles Dickens
"If Husain fought to quench his worldly desires, then I do not understand why his sisters, wives and children accompanied him. It stands to reason therefore that he sacrificed purely for Islam."

Dr. Rajendra Prasad
The sacrifice of Imam Husain is not limited to one country, or nation, but it is the hereditary state of the brotherhood of all mankind.

Dr. Radha Krishnan
Though Imam Husain gave his life almost 1300 years ago, but his indestructible soul rules the hearts of people even today.

Swami Shankaracharya
It is Husain's sacrifice that that has kept Islam alive or else in this world there would be no one left to take Islam's name.

Rabindranath Tagore
In order to keep alive justice and truth, instead of an army or weapons, success can be achieved by sacrificing lives, exactly what Imam Husain did.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
Imam Husain's sacrifice is for all groups and communities, an example of the path of rightousness.

Mrs. Sarojini Naidu
I congratulate Muslims that from among them, Husain, a great human being was born, who is reverted and honored totally by all communities.

Reynold Alleyne Nicholson
"Husayn fell, pierced by an arrow, and his brave followers were cut down beside him to the last man. Muhammadan tradition, which with rare exceptions is uniformly hostile to the Umayyad dynasty, regards Husayn as a martyr and Yazid as his murderer."

Robert Durey Osborn
"Hosain had a child named Abdallah, only a year old. He had accompanied his father in this terrible march. Touched by its cries, he took the infant in his arms and wept. At that instant, a shaft from the hostile ranks pierced the child's ear, and it expired in his father's arms. Hosain placed the little corpse upon the ground. 'We come from God, and we return to Him!' he cried; 'O Lord, give me strength to bear these misfortunes! ' . Faint with thirst, and exhausted with wounds, he fought with desperate courage, slaying several of his antagonists. At last he was cut down from behind; at the same instance a lance was thrust through his back and bore him to the ground; as the dealer of this last blow withdrew his weapon, the ill-fated son of Ali rolled over a corpse. The head was severed from the trunk; the trunk was trampled under the hoofs of the victors' horses; and the next morning the women and a surviving infant son were carried away to Koufa. The bodies of Hosain and his followers were left unburied on the spot where they fell. For three days they remained exposed to the sun and the night dews, the vultures and the prowling animals of the waste; but then the inhabitants of a neighbouring village, struck with horror that the body of a grandson of the Prophet should be thus shamefully abandoned to the unclean beasts of the field, dared the anger of Obaidallah, and interred the body of the martyr and those of his heroic friends."

Sir William Muir
"The tragedy of Karbala decided not only the fate of the caliphate, but of the Mohammedan kingdoms long after the Caliphate had waned and disappeared. "

Peter J. Chelkowski
"Hussein accepted and set out from Mecca with his family and an entourage of about seventy followers. But on the plain of Kerbela they were caught in an ambush set by the . caliph, Yazid. Though defeat was certain, Hussein refused to pay homage to him. Surrounded by a great enemy force, Hussein and his company existed without water for ten days in the burning desert of Kerbela. Finally Hussein, the adults and some male children of his family and his companions were cut to bits by the arrows and swords of Yazid's army; his women and remaining children were taken as captives to Yazid in Damascus. The renowned historian Abu Reyhan al-Biruni states; ". then fire was set to their camp and the bodies were trampled by the hoofs of the horses; nobody in the history of the human kind has seen such atrocities."

Simon Ockley
"Then Hosein mounted his horse, and took the Koran and laid it before him, and, coming up to the people, invited them to the performances of their duty: adding, 'O God, thou art my confidence in every trouble, and my hope in all adversity!'. He next reminded them of his excellency, the nobility of his birth, the greatness of his power, and his high descent, and said, 'Consider with yourselves whether or not such a man as I am is not better than you; I who am the son of your prophet's daughter, besides whom there is no other upon the face of the earth. Ali was my father; Jaafar and Hamza, the chief of the martyrs, were both my uncles; and the apostle of God, upon whom be peace, said both of me and my brother, that we were the chief of the youth of paradise. If you will believe me, what I say is true, for by God, I never told a lie in earnest since I had my understanding; for God hates a lie. If you do not believe me, ask the companions of the apostle of God [here he named them], and they will tell you the same. Let me go back to what I have.' They asked, 'What hindered him from being ruled by the rest of his relations.' He answered, 'God forbid that I should set my hand to the resignation of my right after a slavish manner. I have recourse to God from every tyrant that doth not believe in the day of account."

Edward G. Brown
"a reminder of the blood-stained field of Kerbela, where the grandson of the Apostle of God fell at length, tortured by thirst and surrounded by the bodies of his murdered kinsmen, has been at anytime since then sufficient to evoke, even in the most lukewarm and heedless, the deepest emotions, the most frantic grief, and an exaltation of spirit before which pain, danger and death shrink to unconsidered trifles."

Ignaz Goldziher
"Ever since the black day of Karbala, the history of this family . has been a continuous series of sufferings and persecutions. These are narrated in poetry and prose, in a richly cultivated literature of martyrologies - a Shi'i specialty - and form the theme of Shi'i gatherings in the first third of the month of Muharram, whose tenth day ('ashura) is kept as the anniversary of the tragedy at Karbala. Scenes of that tragedy are also presented on this day of commemmoration in dramatic form (ta'ziya). 'Our feast days are our assemblies of mourning.' So concludes a poem by a prince of Shi'i disposition recalling the many mihan of the Prophet's family. Weeping and lamentation over the evils and persecutions suffered by the 'Alid family, and mourning for its martyrs: these are things from which loyal supporters of the cause cannot cease. 'More touching than the tears of the Shi'is' has even become an Arabic proverb."

Edward Gibbon
"In a distant age and climate the tragic scene of the death of Hosein will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader."

Thomas Carlyle
"The best lesson which we get from the tragedy of Karbala is that Husain and his companions were the rigid believers of God. They illustrated that numerical superiority does not count when it comes to truth and falsehood. The victory of Husain despite his minority marvels me!"

Dr. K. Sheldrake
"Husain marched with his little company not to glory, not to power or wealth, but to a supreme sacrifice and every member of that gallant band, male and female, knew that the foes were implacable, were not only ready to fight but to kill. Denied even water for the children, they remained parched under a burning sun, amid scorching sands yet no one faltered for a moment and bravely faced the greatest odds without flinching."

The Significant factor of the Revolution of Imam Hussain (A.S.)

(By Ali Khalfan)

"You are the best of people raised up for the benefit of mankind. Enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong and believing in Allah..." (Qur'an, 3:110)

Ponder on the couching of this verse, especially with regard to the quality bestowed on “the best people”. That is, it is merely by virtue of their upholding the religious duty of “enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong”, they have earned that sublime praise. So, the worth of this ummah (community) is in its upholding this obligation.

Abu 'Amr az-Zubayri narrates from as-Sadiq (a.s.) about the words of Allah: "You are the best people raised up for the benefit of mankind..." that he said (Allah) means the ummah (group nation) for which the prayer of Ibrahim (a.s.) was granted; and they are the people Allah raised (His Messenger) among them, and from them and to them; and they are the medium nation, and they are the best nation that has been raised up for the people." (Majma'u 'l-bayan; at-Tafsir al-Ayyashi)
In sharp contrast to this verse, Allah says:
"The hypocritical men and the hypocritical women are all alike; they enjoin evil and forbid good and withhold their hands; they have forsaken Allah, so He has forsaken them; surely the hypocrites are the transgressors." (Qur'an 9:67)

Question: If Yazid had not demanded allegiance from Imam Husain for his caliphate and if the thousands of Muslims in Kufa had not invited the Imam to Kufa, would the revolution of Imam Husayn still take place?

When the Imam left Medina, he wrote a will and left it with his brother Mohammad bin al-Hanafiyah; among its contents was this statement, “I did not set out driven by arrogance, or recklessness, or a desire for spreading corruption, or injustice. All what I am intending is seeking to reform the community of my grandfather. ” This was the rationale behind the Imam’s movement. In another letter he wrote to bin al-Hanafiyah, the Imam mentioned about Yazid's demand from him to pledge allegiance but not a single reference about the invitation of the Kufans to set up a rival caliphate in Kufa.
The Imam, a man of great piety, had openly declared "A man like me (the grandson of the Prophet, pbuh) cannot bear allegiance to a man like Yazid." The connotation of this declaration is that being the grandson of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and a member of the medium nation mentioned in the Qur'an, and belonging to the best nation raised for the benefit of the people, possessing and discharging the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil, he can never and will not endorse Yazid's succession to the caliphate. The Imam's position was forthright and clear.

There is no doubt that the Imam's rejection to the oppressive and repressive regime of Yazid and his Islamic duty to attend to the call of the Kufans to set up a caliphate in Kufa are some of the contributory factors that led to his revolution but the most significant is the factor which was his Islamic obligation and that of every believer to answer the call of Allah and the Prophet (pbuh) to enjoin good and forbid evil. In short, if Yazid had not demanded allegiance from Imam Hussain and if the Kufans had not invited him, the revolution would still have taken place. It is the promise of Allah in the Qur'an that the religion of Islam will eventually prevail over all religions and that the good will prevail over evil (9:36, 61:9) and this is an ongoing process.

Some people have over-exaggerated the factor of the Kufans' invitation so much so that they have given the impression that it was the most significant factor. Let us assume that the invitation of the Kufans was the over-riding factor for his revolt and we know that the Kufans did not keep their word. Would the Imam then give up his revolt and allow this factor to supersede the factor of his religious obligation to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong? A scholar has correctly written that the factor of the Kufans' invitation was not the most important; rather, it was the least important among the contributory factors that led to the Imam’s revolt. The Imam gave a sermon after Kufa fell to the Ummayyads in which he issued a clear message that he was acting in accordance with the obligation of “enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong”, and that he was under no illusions that that was his prime motive for launching his revolt.

There is another point worth mentioning. If the Imam had not responded positively to the invitation from the Kufans, he would have been criticized for not fulfilling his duty to attend to the affairs of the Muslims and probably it was for this very same reason, the Imam accepted the invitation despite the fact that all indications were telling him that the Kufans were not ready and sincere in their intentions. There is an interesting narration in which it is mentioned that on the way to Kufa, the Imam met the famous poet, Farazdaq, who was on his way to Mecca and the Imam inquired about the conditions in Kufa. Farazdaq replied: "Their hearts are with you but their swords are (with the Ummayads) against you".

Since the Imam set out on his journey from Medina to Kerbala, he was always talking about death in dignity and honor, i.e. the death in the cause of right, truth, and justice. In his famous sermon in Mina, he told the people that death to him is akin to a beautiful necklace that adorns the neck of a young woman. In opposing and rejecting the usurper of the mantle of the khilafah, the Imam echoed to the whole world and for generations to come:

"I would rather die an honorable death than live a life of humiliation"

Some of the Aspects of Imam Husain's Character

Imam Husain's Relationship with Allah

We can better understand the depth of Imam Hussein's (a.s.) relationship with Allah, the Most High, if we don't lose sight of the fact that the Prophet (s.a.w.) himself taught him the ideology of Islam and brought him up spiritually as he had done with his father, Imam Ali, his mother, al-Zahra', and his brother, Imam Hassan (a.s.). By so doing, his path was defined and his character was formed.

One day he was asked, "How great is your fear of your Lord?"

"No one would be secure on the Day of Judgment except those who feared Allah in this life," he replied.

His face would turn pale, and he would tremble at the time of doing his ablution. He was asked about this and answered,

"Whoever stands in the presence of the Almighty Allah is not to blame if his color turns pale and his limbs shake."

On the night before the tenth of the month of Muharram, Imam Hussein (a.s.) asked the Ummayyad army to delay the battle till the following morning. He said, "This night we want to offer our prayers to our Lord, and we want to ask His forgiveness. He knows that I love to offer my prayer to Him, recite His Book, and pray much asking f or His forgiveness."

During the most critical and horrifying hours of the last day of his earthly life, he realized that it was midday and he had to perform his prayer. The battle of Karbala' was in full swing. He asked the enemies to stop fighting so as to let him and his followers offer their prayer. No better testimony than this can reflect the depth and strength of his relationship with Allah and his love for Him. He used to recite this supplication, "O Lord! Grant me the desire for the other world, till I realize that it is a real thing in my heart, through my apathy to this world. O Lord! Grant me perception with regard to the other world so much that I will seek the divine reward with acute longing, and flee from the bad deeds out of fearing You, O Lord...".

Imam Husain's Relationship with People

A look at the ethical side of Imam Hussein's (a.s.) character would be enough to shed light on the vividness of his relations with the ummah, for he was the most perfect and exemplary leader during his time. We don't mean that Imam Hussein (a.s.) was different from the other Imams in this respect. The nature of the relationship between the Imam and the ummah is actually outlined by the Divine Message. Imams represent it, as personified in their daily life. Following are some examples of that great, high and brilliant relationship.

Imam Husain's Humbleness

Once Imam Hussein (a.s.) passed by poor men eating crumbs of bread on a mat. He greeted them and they invited him to their meal. He sat among them and said: "If your food were not alms, I would have eaten with you. Come home with me," he asked them. There, he fed them, clothed them and provided them with money. One could easily detect the depth of his humbleness through examination of this vivid testimony, particularly when we take into consideration that Imam Hussein (a.s.) was the political and ideological figure who was appointed as the legitimate leader of the Muslims by Allah, through His Messenger (s.a.w.). As for his social position, he was so matchless and unique, that Ibn Abbas, the revered companion of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.), used to hold the stirrup of his horse when he would mount it. Ibn Abbas was older than Imam Hussein (a.s.), but he did this out of his respect for him. It is because of his glorious social status that the people would dismount from their horses and camels, on the way to Mecca to perform their pilgrimage, as long as he would travel on foot. Another example reflecting his humble nature is that of his acceptance of an invitation to having food with the poor. He encountered a number of poor men. Having had their food they hastened to ask him to share with them. He dismounted from, his horse saying, "Surely, Allah doesn't like the haughty." He partook of their food and said: "I have accepted your invitation. Won't you accept mine?" "Certainly, we Will," said they. He took them to his house and said to al-Rabab, his wife, "Bring us what you have been storing." He did care for the people. He would always help them, even though, for the most part, they wouldn't recognize his legitimate right. Shu'aib bin Abdul-Rahman is reported to have said: "On the way of al-Taf (battle of Karbala', wherein he was martyred) a mark was seen on the back of Hussein bin Ali (a.s.). Imam Zain al-Abideen (a.s.) (his eldest son, and the son who survived the battle) was asked about it. 'It is the trace,' he replied, 'of the bag, which he puts on his back (carrying food) to the house of the widows, orphans and the poor." This fact attests to his remarkable humbleness, his care for the ummah, his awareness and deep feeling of his responsibility toward the people.

Imam Husain's Forgiveness of the Wrongdoers

This is another one of his key attributes. Once a young servant of his did something which deserved punishment. When Imam Hussein (a.s.) wanted to punish him, the servant said:

"Who curb their anger." "Let him go", said the Imam.

"And those who forgive their fellow-man," added the servant.

"I forgive you," said the Imam.

"And Allah loves the charitable, sir," said the servant.

"I set you free, for the sake of Allah," said the Imam. "Henceforth I am going to give you the double of what I have been giving you."

These are only brief instances of the ethical side of the character of Imam Hussein (a.s.).

Aspects of Imam Husain's Thought

We deem it suitable to mention some of his activities in the field of Islamic thought. These texts testify to his great intellectual capacity, polished by the divine message and set on the right track by Allah, the Almighty. Nafi' bin al-Azraq, the head of the Azraqis who were among the Khawarij (those who mutinied against Imam Ali (a.s.) after the Battle of Siffeen), once asked him to describe his Lord Whom he worshipped. "O Nafi'!," Imam Hussein (a.s.) started, "Whoever uses symbolism in religious matters will always remain in confusion, deviated as he stumbles off the right path, sticking to deviation wherever he goes, straying off the right course, and saying bad, and worthless things. O son of al-Azraq! I can describe my Lord with the very words He used to describe Himself: Never recognized by the five senses. Never compared to man. Very close but not to the point of being touched. Very far but not so far that He can't be detected. He is One and can't be partitioned. Known by His signs. Described by His attributes. There is no god but He, the Great, the Exalted."

At that point Ibn al-Azraq wept and said: "What beautiful words are yours."

On his way to Karbala', he assessed the general situation, pointing to the great deviation the ummah had been drawn into, and talked about his determination to win martyrdom, in the following words:

"Life has certainly changed disguises and its good has gone forever. This has continued till the remaining good in it amounts to the thin sediment at the bottom of a drinking utensil. Life is a mean food, a pasture covered with bad grass. Do you not see that the truth is not followed and falsehood not discouraged? The faithful must certainly desire to meet his Lord righteously. I do not deem death other than felicity and life among the unjust other than suffering and boredom. People are certainly enthralled with life. Faith is only something licked by them. They take good care of it as long as it secures their living. But once put to the tests of tribulation, religious men should be rarely found amongst them."

With his sharp awareness, he defines the different levels of the relationship with Allah. He says:

"Some people serve Allah desiring (His rewards). It is the worship of merchants. Some people serve Allah out of fear. It is the worship of slaves. And some people serve Allah out of gratitude. This is the worship of the free. It is the best kind of worship."

He addressed the people, prior to the battle of Karbala', defining the characteristics of the Ummayyad rule, and analyzing the political and administrative situation from an Islamic point of view He said:

"...O people! the Prophet of Allah (s.a.w.) had said: 'Whoever witnesses an unjust ruler considering the prohibitions of Allah as permissible, breaking the covenant of Allah, opposing the practices of the Prophet of Allah (s.a.w.), treating His servant sinfully and cruelly, and had seen all these misdeeds but did not oppose him bywords or actions, Allah surely will punish him as He wills.'

"Certainly these people have come to staunchly obey Satan, and given up obeying the Compassionate. They showed mischief, stopped acting in accordance with Islamic laws, took Muslims' property to themselves, made the haram designated by Allah, halal, and turned His halal to haram. I am more entitled than anyone else (to make the change). Your letters arrived, and your envoys came to me carrying your pledge of allegiance that you will not hand me over to my enemy, nor will you f ail me. Should you stick to your pledge of allegiance, you have surely made the right decision. I am Hussein bin Ali, and the son of Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.). I am, myself, with you, and my family is with yours. You find a good example in me. But, however, if you will not hold onto your pledge of allegiance, break your covenant, and throw off my pledge of allegiance, then, by Allah, it is not the first time you do it. You did it with my father, and you have done it with my brother, and my cousin Muslim bin Aqeel. He is certainly gullible who is deceived by you. You are missing your luck and losing your lot. He who breaks his oath, breaks it at his own peril. Allah will certainly compensate me if you leave me."

These are only scattered small examples of his great thought which occupies the center of original, serene Islam. Should the dear reader tend to know more about Imam Hussein (a.s.), he can refer to the books which dealt with his life. He will find out himself how deep and great were Imam Hussein's (a.s.) thought and faith.

Why Hazrat Imam Ali Reza a.s called Imam e Zaamin a.s ?

Hazrat Imam Ali Ar-Reza (A.S.) is also known as Imam-e- Zaamin (A.S.). Zaamin means ‘The Guarantor’. When Muslims go on journeys they take with them something called ‘Imam-e-Zaamin’ which is some money tied in a cloth. This tradition probably came from the time of Imam Reza (A.S.) when people used to carry money with them especially because it had Holy Imam's (A.S.) name on it. As Ma'mun, the Abbasid caliph the contemporary of Imam Reza (A.S.), had coins minted with the name of Imam Reza (A.S.) on them, it was very easy for the Muslims to carry the name of Holy Imam (A.S.) with them, especially when they went on journeys. One day when Imam Reza (A.S.) was on his historical journey from Madinah to Marw (Khurasan), while in a jungle the Holy Imam (A.S.) came across a hunter who was about to kill a deer. The deer was trying to get away and when she saw Holy Imam (A.S.), she said something to him. Holy Imam (A.S.) asked the hunter to free the deer so that she could go and feed her little baby deer that were very hungry. Imam Reza (A.S.) also told the hunter that once the deer had fed her babies she would come back. The hunter allowed the deer to go because Holy Imam (A.S.) had told him to, but he did not think the deer will come back. But Imam Reza (A.S.) waited with the hunter until the deer returned with her young ones. The hunter was amazed on witnessing this miraculous event and he set the deer free as a mark of respect for Imam Reza (A.S.). After this historical event Imam Reza (A.S.) became famous as Imam Zaamin (A.S.).