Eve of Aashoora

On the Eve of Aashoora, Imam Hossain (PBUH), in front of his companions, said:

“I Glorify Allah with the best Glorifications, and I Praise Him in times of happiness as well as distress. O' Allah! We Praise You for that You have honored us by bestowing Prophethood upon us, You have taught us Qur'an, and bestowed upon us the deep understanding of Religion, and You have given us ears, eyes and hearts (to understand), so consider us among the thankful and the grateful.

...I have not known  any companions more faithful and better than you, nor have I known any family  more beneficent and loyal in family relations than my family. May Allah reward you well on my behalf. And I presume that the enemy will not spare even a single day, and I am allowing you  to leave freely, I no longer hold you to your pledge of allegiance. Use the darkness of the night -which has enveloped you- as a means for leaving; scatter to different cities and towns until Allah bestows His Faraj... .”

(Ershaad of Sheikh Mofid, Nafas-Ol-Mahmoom, …)

Under the cover of darkness of the night, some of those who were accompanying Imam Hossain (PBUH) -even though they had acknowledged the Imam's rightfulness- left the Imam that night and went on with their every day lives ... . But approximately seventy remained; to them, being with the Imam -who was the manifestation of every thing beautiful- was like being in heavens. They had chosen a goal for their lives and that was, to please God; because they had found the Truth, and their hearts were beating for it. From the bottom of their hearts, they announced their willingness to stay and said that there was no place else they would rather be but with their Imam. The pure love that they had in their hearts for their Imam stemmed from the love they felt for Allah. Truly, their faiths were tested and they passed, successfully. To them, success meant making God and His chosen one happy. The thought of living their Imam alone did not even cross their minds. By staying with their Imam, they achieved the highest ranks of Salvation and that is the celestial meaning of success. In addition to their exalted positions in heavens, their names after centuries- are still alive on earth and they are very much admired; every time you and we recite the pilgrimage prayers of Imam Hossain (PBUH), we wish that we were among the true companions of Imam Hossain so that we might have achieved their levels of Salvation and closeness to God. The most exalted Salvation and deliverance from perdition, is Allah's Pleased-ness (Red(z)waan) and approval.

Today, we are living in the dark night of Disappearance. Under the cover of Disappearance, we can just live our lives and not worry much about the truth and the last chosen one. Or, we can -in addition to making an honest living, having a family and ... - be with the Imam of our time. Imam Mahdy(PBUH) is our Kind Father and we -at his Absence- are the lonely orphans. By Anticipating his Appearance in every moment of our lives, by not letting the Truth be forgotten, guiding the lost souls, performing our religious duties, helping the helpless and hopeless, feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the homeless, being parents for the parent-less, ... we can be with Imam Mahdy (May Allah hasten his Appearance).

According to Qur'an, the cruelest people are those who attribute something that is not true to Allah, and give the lie to Him. (Qur'an, surah An'aam, verse 21)

The root for every oppression in the world is this very same cruelty; because by distorting the facts about Allah, human mind wanders from Allah and therefore, humankind loses the Right Path and thus, his eternal identity, then he wanders in the wilderness in search of the fountain of life, but he only finds mirages, and the resulting despair causes him to oppress himself and others ... . Those who deny Allah's Omnipotence, are oppressors. Any one believing that God is not observing every moment of our lives, is an oppressor. Those who claim that there is no Judgment Day, are oppressors. Any one claiming that human is free to absolutely do any thing he wishes, is an oppressor. Those who don't believe that freedom of choice is for making the believers and unbelievers known to themselves and others, are oppressors. Any one not believing in Divine Prophets, is an oppressor. Any one denying the chosen Infallible Imams, is an oppressor ... . In other words, altering the Divine Truth -which is the foundation of every thing true- is the biggest oppression. If we wish to be with Mahdi (PBUH) we can not be oppressors. Being with Mahdi means being on the Right Path. If we correctly introduce the one and only, Compassionate and Merciful Allah, and His Prophets, and the last Reminder of those Prophets -Mahdi- to humankind, then Allah may be pleased ... . If we let the world know that Mahdi is the kindest Father, then God may be pleased ... . If we let people know how much Mahdi loves them, then Allah may be pleased, and therefore, we are with Mahdy. If we encourage people to consider and obey God at all times and love one another, then we are with Mahdi. If we remember, in each and every moment of our lives, that we shall return to Allah, and remind others too, then we are with Mahdi. If we keep the hope alive in people's hearts, then we are with Mahdy. If we remind ourselves and others that Mahdi is watching us, and our sins break his loving heart, then we are with Mahdi. If we keep this feeling alive in people's hearts that life without Anticipation for the Appearance of the Truth by the Savior -as Promised by all Divine Prophets- is an aimless life, then we are with Mahdy. If we can help people visualize the magnificence and beauty of the world after Appearance, then we are with Mahdi. If we can make people fall in love with Mahdy -who is the manifestation of Divine love- then we are with Mahdi ... . If -under the dark cover of the long night of Disappearance, we do not run away to hiding-places of empty desires, and not lose hope for the ever-promised dawn of victory, then we are with Mahdi, and therefore, with Allah … .