Divine radiance on the blessed head of Imam Hussain (May Allah be well pleased with him)

 

Divine radiance on the blessed head of Imam Hussain

(May Allah be well pleased with him)

 

The famous Hadith expert of the 4^th century Hijri Hadhrat Muhammad bin Hibban Tameemi Daarimi (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) (Dec. 354) has written:

 

Translation: ‘Ubaidullah bin Zyad gave the order that the women of the Prophet’s Family, who are the very embodiments of chastity, their beloved children and the blessed head of Imam Hussain (May Allah be well pleased with him) should be taken to Syria.  Wherever the caravan would stop, they would take out the blessed head of Imam Hussain (May Allah be well pleased with him) from a box, place it on a spear and guard it.  When they would be ready to go, they would replace the blessed head of the Imam in the box and restart their journey.

 

In this manner, they stopped at a place where there a Christian house of worship.  An ascetic lived there.  As per their custom, those rogues placed the head of Imam Hussain (May Allah be well pleased with him) on a spear and placed that spear in an area of the Christian house of worship.  The Christian who lived there saw at night that a great radiance was going up till the sky from that place.

 

He immediately came to them and asked:  Who are you people and whose blessed head is this?  They replied:  We are the people of Syria and this head is of Imam Hussain (May Allah be well pleased with him).  He berated them:  What kind of accursed people are you?  By God!  If any descendent of ‘Isa (May peace be upon him) was among us, we would respect that person a lot.

 

He then said:  O people!  I have 10,000 Dinar which I received as inheritance.  If I give you those 10,000 Dinar, will you allow me to keep the head with me for tonight?  They said:  Why not?

 

The Christian ascetic emptied his bag of money before them.  They counted the money and placed it in a bag.  They sealed the bag and placed it in a box.  Then they extended the blessed head of Imam Hussain (May Allah be well pleased with him) to the Christian ascetic.

 

He reverentially washed the head.  He then placed it in his lap and cried for the whole night.  When dawn drew near, he said:  O blessed head!  I have power only over myself and I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah Most High and your maternal grandfather is the Prophet of Allah.  Thus, the Christian ascetic embraced Islam and included himself in the slaves of Imam Hussain (May Allah be well pleased with him).  He then handed over the head back to those people.

 

They again placed it in a box and resumed their journey.  When they reached Damascus, they said to each other:  We will distribute the 10,000 Dinar among ourselves.  If Yazid comes to know of it, he will take it away from us.  When they opened the box and the bag of money, they found that the Dinar had changed into pebbles.  At the same time, a verse of the Holy Quran was found written on one side of that lane:

 

Think not that Allah does not heed the deeds of those who do wrong. He but gives them respite against a Day when the eyes will fixedly stare in horror.  Surah Ibraheem (14:42)

 

On the other side, it was written:

 

…And those who do wrong will soon come to know to what place of turning they will turn back (after death).  Surah Shu’ara (26:227)

 

On seeing this, some people repented and some others remained the same.  (Ath Thiqaat Li Ibn Hibban; As Siyarah Li Ibn Hibban)

 

What the Christian ascetic had said that those Dinar were his inheritance, it implied that even if the wealth of the ancestors is gone, let it be, but the company of Imam Hussain (May Allah be well pleased with him) for a single moment is a great bounty.  The wealth of this world can turn into pebbles, but what one gives for the hereafter will remain intact.

 

This is something to be reflected over.  A Christian ascetic looks at the radiance and blessings of the blessed head of the Imam and embraces Islam and those who were apparently “Muslims” either did not see that radiance or still remained steeped in wretchedness even after seeing it.  They drew no benefit from those blessings.

 

Thus, we learn that love and devotion for the Prophet’s Family grants faith to non-believer and hatred and enmity for them keeps apparent “Muslims” bereft of the blessings of faith.

 

How great a difference this is!  Some people traded away their faith for worldly wealth and exercised cruelty over the Prophet’s Family and a non-Muslim spends his wealth to treat the Prophet’s Family with kindness, respect and honor and faith is granted to that person.

 

Here, faith is being traded for wealth and there, wealth is being spent to gain faith.

 

Radiance from the earth to the heavens

 

‘Allama Ibn Atheer (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) has related a Tradition:

 

Translation: After the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (May Allah be well pleased with him), the blessed heads of the Imam and other martyrs were sent to Ibn Zyad along with Khauli bin Yazid and Hameed bin Muslim.  Khauli found the doors of the palace to be closed.  He came to his own house.

 

He placed the blessed head of the Imam under a big vessel and approached his bed to take rest.  He told his wife, whose name was Nawaar:  I have brought great worldly wealth.  The head of Imam Hussain (May Allah be well pleased with him) is along with you in this house.  The pious wife said:  It is a pit of hell for you.  People bring gold and silver and you brought the head of the venerable grandson of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)!  By Allah!  Your head and mine will never be under the same roof again.

 

She then left the house.  She says:  I saw a radiance descending like a pillar (of light) on the vessel.  I also saw white birds flying towards it.  (Al Kaamil Fit Tareekh, Dhikru Maqtalil Hussain, Pg. No. 178)