Points to Ponder
On 10th of Rabi al-Awwal is the anniversary of that grand day in history, when the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messengers, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), started a new life at the age of 25 years by sealing the blessed marital union with the purest lady of his age, Hazrat Khadija the daughter of Khwailed (peace upon her).
For over 25 years the two shared an exemplary life that saw the Prophet formally proclaim his mission, while the faithful wife stood firmly beside him through every thick and thin. She spent all her proverbial wealth to alleviate the sufferings of the neo Muslims as the husband tirelessly strove to bring out people from the darkness of polytheism and vices into the light of monotheism and moral virtues. The fruit of this auspicious union was the noblest lady of all times, Hazrat Fatema az-Zahra (peace upon her), who in turn was to marry the Prophet’s impeccable cousin and divinely-decreed vicegerent, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Thus was laid the foundation of the spotlessly pure Ahl al-Bayt or the Blessed Household of the Prophet, whose 12th and Last Heir, is the Awaited Saviour of mankind, Imam Mahdi (AS), whose mission formally started on the 9th of Rabi al-Awwal, and who after a fairly long period of occultation will reappear in the end times to cleanse the Planet of all traces of oppression and corruption by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity and justice.
The marriage of the Prophet and the noble Khadija, was indeed made in heaven. She undoubtedly remains the One and Only Mother of All True Believers, or Omm al-Momineen. The marriage ceremony was solemnised by no other person than the Prophet’s beloved uncle and guardian, Abu Taleb, who had brought up his orphaned nephew as his own son. Two decades later, Abu Taleb’s son, Imam Ali (AS) was to wed the daughter of the Prophet and Khadija, and start the noble lineage of the Prophet’s progeny. Although out of social necessity, the middle-aged Prophet was to marry several women in the last ten years of his life, following the death of the noble Khadija, none of these spouses was equal to the First Lady of Islam, whose offspring is the Lord of our Age, the Awaited Redeemer of mankind. Let us explore some important facts in this regard.
“He who dies without knowing the Imam of his time, dies the death of (the days of) ignorance (Jahiliyya).”
What you heard is a famous hadith or saying of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), which is found in the authoritative books of both the Shi’ites and Sunnis, including Sahih Bukhari. It means that we Muslims ought to be cognizant of the Imam of our times – a living Imam rather than the one that has passed away. Perhaps, some may ask: Who is the Imam of our age, whose cognition is compulsory upon us? The answer to this question is crucial, otherwise, despite our fervent claims to be Muslims (and that too practising Muslims), we risk dying the un-Islamic death of a person living in the times and state of ignorance and polytheism. There have been many self-styled Imams in every age and generation. Today as Islam continues its rapid spread around the world, more and more mosques are coming up, all of which require Imams or prayer leaders to lead the congregational prayers. It means the tens of millions of mosques worldwide, have an equal, if not greater number of Imams to serve – in shifts as well as congregations grow. Did the Prophet mean such Imams in this vital hadith? Certainly not, otherwise there would be chaos and confusion all around, in view of the nature of these respectable Imams, their degrees of faith and piety, their sectarian bigotry, their professional rivalry, and in some cases their fickleness of faith.
So whom did the Prophet mean while warning Muslims against the death of ignorance? He ought to have left clear indications as to who should be in charge of Muslim affairs, not just after his departure from the mortal world, but for all times and places, since Islam is the universal religion of all mankind till the Day of Resurrection? As the Final Emissary of God, and not the elected or selected leader of the Arabs of the days of ignorance (Jahiliyya), the mission of the Seal of Prophethood would be incomplete, were he to leave people in the dark or vaguely hint at someone who had spent the greater part of his life in idolatry and the sordid practices of the pre-Islamic era of Jahiliyya. Such a thought is blasphemy, as all conscientious Muslims concerned about the journey of their soul in afterlife, by not wishing to die the death of jahiliyya, would agree. We have no intention here to refer to the event of Ghadeer-Khom following revelation of ayah 67 of Surah Ma’edah that prompted the Prophet to proclaim his dear cousin, the spotlessly pure, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) as Mowla (or Master) after him – an event chronicled by all authoritative books of hadith and history, including those of our Sunni brethren. Neither do we want to repeat the Hadith Thaqalayn that emphasizes the pivotal position of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt along with the holy Qur’an – even though some dispute the Prophet used the word Sunnah (behaviour and practice) and not Itrah (progeny), and these disputers fail to realize that love and affection for the Ahl al-Bayt is not just the Prophet’s Sunnah but also an article of faith as per God’s commandment in the holy Qur’an, especially in ayah 23 of Surah Shurah.
We also leave out here any detailed discussion of the words of the Prophet on the public proclamation of the message of Islam on the Day of Dhul-Ashira, when no one responded to his call except the below-the-teen years Ali (AS), and he said: You are my Wasi (testamentary Legatee) and Khalifa (Successor). What we would like to say here is that the Prophet while expressing the hadith that ought to save Muslims from dying the death of ignorance, meant a truly divinely-decreed Imam, in the manner of his illustrious ancestor, Abraham, regarding whom God says in ayah 124 of Surah Baqara: “I make you the Imam of mankind; said he (Abraham) from among my descendants? He (God) said: My covenant does not reach the unjust.” Here another famous hadith of the Prophet recorded among others in such main sources of hadith of our Sunni brethren as Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan ibn Dawoud, Sunan Termidhi, etc reads with slight variations: “The (Islamic) religion will continue until the Hour (day of resurrection), having twelve Caliphs for you, all of them will be from Quraysh.”
Glory to God for making it clear to Prophet Abraham (AS) that the unjust and unprincipled from his progeny, the Quraysh, will never be trustees of the Leadership of mankind even if they were to seize political power and style themselves as caliphs by usurping the place of the Prophet. And praise be to Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) for removing doubts over the exact number of his true and righteous successors which automatically nullifies the political rule of all those who violated his instructions and the commandments of God to usurp the caliphate. On this auspicious day of the 9th Rabi al-Awwal, when the lists of all claimants to the caliphate have been crossed out – the Godless Omayyads numbered 13, while the equally ungodly Abbasids totalled 49 – the figure that emerges for saving Muslims from the death of ignorance is the 12th and last Infallible Successor of the Prophet, whose divine mission as the Imam of the Age, started in 260 AH. He is in the state of occultation by God’s command, but like the sun when hidden by the clouds, continues to provide cognizance and guidance to the faithful, until his reappearance by God’s command, as Qa’em al-Mahdi (AS), to cleanse the world of all vestiges of corruption and oppression by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity, and justice. (Cited by all authentic Sunni sources)
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