By Shaykh Khalil Jaffer

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

The book before you is the much anticipated second volume of The Sacred Effusion by Shaykh Muhammad Khalfan – an exposition (Sharh) on the Ziyarat ‘Ashura’. The first volume covered the opening lines of this poignant salutation to the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (S), Imam al- Husayn Ibn ‘Ali, the Master of all martyrs (Sayyid ash-Shuhada), peace be on him. It highlighted his lineage and emphasised his unique status as one of God’s proofs (Hujjah) over His creation. This second volume continues with the salutation (Ziyarah), now covering the verses that invoke God’s wrath on the oppressors of Imam al-Husayn (‘a).

The issues surrounding the ‘cursing’ of God’s enemies does not escape any Muslim and yet it is one of the most misunderstood concepts in Islam, even by Muslims themselves. The author has boldly approached the subject head-on and expertly removed any misunderstands that often result in the mistreatment of the subject. Rather than avoiding it, Shaykh Khalfan has embraced the subject matter, much to the benefit of the reader.

‘Why curse at all?’ one often hears even amongst the lovers and followers of Imam al-Husayn (‘a). ‘Why focus on the negative? Why not just send blessings (salawat) on the Messenger (S) and his Household (‘a) instead?

What is to be gotten out of being hateful?’ and so on. The root of all such remarks is ignorance of what La’n represents in Islam.

Perhaps because of the loose translation of La’n into English as ‘cursing’, most people simply equate it to being abusive, or a form to express hate at best; when, in fact, the latter is not La’n but rather Sabb. The Qur’an condemns Sabb as for example in the verse:

“Do not abuse (la tasubbu) those whom they invoke besides Allah, lest they should abuse (yasubbu) Allah out of hostility, without any knowledge …” (6:108).

La’n on the other hand is a form of prayer in the negative, asking God to remove His mercy from the undeserving. In reality it is for those who have already distanced themselves from God’s mercy. The prayer is only to show one’s loyalty and confirm one’s stance, thereby reaffirming one’s faith.

The importance of this disassociation goes beyond confirming that one has no inclination towards the values and ideals of the cursed. It also removes all traces of doubt and hypocrisy from the faithful (Mu’min)’s heart. For often a person may believe in what is good but may not disassociate from evil, which in turn leads him or her to be confused and to sit on the proverbial ‘fence’ when the two opposites clash.

Before the Battle of Jamal, a man named Harith Ibn Hawt came to the Commander of the Faithful ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (‘a) and said, ‘Do you believe I can ever imagine that the people of Jamal are in the wrong?’ He was perturbed and confused about where his loyalty should lie; after all, this was to be the first civil war in the Islamic community. Never before had Muslims fought their fellow Muslims. He loved Imam ‘Ali (‘a) but could not reconcile the killing of other fellow Muslims. Imam ‘Ali, peace be on him, replied, ‘O Harith! You have glanced below yourself but not above yourself, and so you have become confused. Certainly, you have not known the right (al-Haqq) and the wrong (al-Batil), so that you can recognise the righteous and the unrighteous!’ To which Harith replied, ‘In that case, I shall withdraw along with Sa’d Ibn Malik and ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Umar.’ Imam ‘Ali (‘a) again remarked, ‘Indeed, Sa’d and ‘Umar, have neither sided with right nor forsaken wrong!’1

If asking God to curse transgressors is wrong then how would we explain the numerous verses in which God Himself invokes His La’n on those who are such?2

It is easy to stand with those in the right – even a tyrant claims to do so. La’n, however, also clarifies whom we stand against. This requires courage as it is easier to ignore such matters and to remain silent. It is perhaps for this reason that when Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (‘a) was asked about love (al- Hubb) and hate (al-Bughd), and whether they were a part of faith (Iman) and had any role to play in it, he replied with the rhetorical question, ‘Is faith (Iman) anything but love and hate? ...’3 Of course, by ‘love and hate’ he meant association with the righteous and disavowal from the unrighteous for the sake of God, and not personal love and hate for selfish reasons.

To put it differently, when all is said and done, it is not our speech, actions or even thoughts that matter, but where our hearts truly lie. This may remain eluded even from ourselves until we are asked to state our disavowal of the wrongdoers and invoke God’s wrath on them. Without revealing this other side of our faith, we can never be sure of where we stand.

A root cause of why many Muslims today are so opposed to condemning the oppressive monarchies of the Umayyads and Abbasids, that committed innumerable acts of tyranny against the Household (Ahl al-Bayt) (‘a) of the Prophet (S) and other innocent Muslims, is the generation-spanning indoctrination by these very oppressors and their agents to ‘only focus on the positives’ and ignore injustices committed by the ‘pious predecessors’, justifying it as ‘history that only God can judge and resolve’. The result of this today is that some so-called Muslims still regard the drunk debauchee and murderer of Imam al-Husayn (‘a), Yazid Ibn Mu’awiya (may Allah’s curse be on him), to be worthy of the title ‘commander of the faithful’ (Amir al-Mu’minin).

It worked well for the Umayyads to teach people to ignore wrong and only focus on right and create an atmosphere of infallibility for all who ruled as ‘caliphs of God’:

عن سفيان بن عيينة عن أبي عبد اللّٰه (ع) قال إن بني أميَّة أطلقوا للناس تعليم الإيمان ولم يطلقوا تعليم الشرك لكي إذا حملوهم عليه لم يعرفوه

Sufyan Ibn ‘Uyaynah reports from Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (‘a) who said, ‘The Umayyads allowed people to teach (matters of) faith (al-Iman) but did not permit teaching about polytheism (ash-shirk) so that when they (the Umayyads) would impose it on them (the people) would not recognise it.’4

This trend continues to this day. Nations claiming to be the custodians of Islam will speak at length on the unity of God (Tawhid) but ignore and even refuse to speak of the enemies of Tawhid from whom they take help and support. Our position could be comparable to this if we on one hand claim to love the Household (Ahl al-Bayt) (‘a) of the Prophet (S), but on the other hand take exception to cursing their enemies.

Let us consider the opposite: to acknowledge whom we disassociate from and to declare this with firm faith can save us from eternal damnation even at the very last moments of our lives. Hurr Ibn Yazid al-Riyahi and Zuhayr Ibn al-Qayn are radiating examples of this in Karbala, when they joined Imam al-Husayn (‘a) and attained the ranks of the loftiest, despite their previous opposition to him.

Besides all of this, if the philosophy of La’n is understood, it can also be soul-purifying and can nurture spiritual growth. I cannot put this better than the esteemed author (in his preface to this volume):

When we invoke curses, for example, is our aim a reflection of our narrow- minded personal rancour or a reflection of the innate human concern of dispelling harm from a nation whose purpose is to progress and soar towards the heights of perfection? When we detach ourselves from the fundamental oppressors of our sacred religion, are we detaching ourselves from innocent extensions of our species, or keeping away from the roots of imperfection and human destruction?

In other words, it is only by professing words such as those in the Ziyarat ‘Ashura that one can gain a level of certainty that if one was in place of those he curses, he or she would have acted otherwise.

In conclusion, I would like to stress once again: how we express La’n must reflect all the aspects mentioned above. It must be done as a stand for truth rather than an emotional expression aimed at antagonising others. The latter is not what the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) would want nor will it drive people to their door and arouse in them a curiosity to know more about the Prophet (S)’s sacred Household.

Concluding Remarks

Neither the venerable Shaykh Muhammad Mahmud Khalfan nor his writings need an introduction. But I would like to stress that I cannot think of a better scholar who could have undertaken the task of writing this exposition. Not only because of the dear Shaykh’s inimitable style of writing but also because of his unique ability to dissect words and bring out new and fresh perspectives from their etymology.

Such works - with expert analysis and insights composed originally in English - are much needed in the Shi’a Muslim world today, as they usually tend to exist only in Arabic and other Eastern Islamic languages such as Farsi, which, when translated into English, often hold no appeal to a western audience due to their characteristic verbosity, or because they use examples and analogies that Western readers find it difficult to relate to. The value and worth of this work is such that it would not surprise me if this title will, in the near future inshaAllah, be rendered into Arabic and other Islamic languages from which translations normally originate.

Supplications and salutations are often simply seen as pious expressions to be used within Islamic rituals; but one who takes the time to patiently reflect on them and analyse them (as the author has done in this work) will be pleasantly surprised at the wealth of Islamic theological, social and even philosophical and metaphysical concepts to be found within them. These concepts are often more lucid and more reliable than traditional reports in other sources whose chains of transmission may not be easy to authenticate.

I beseech the Almighty One besides Whom there is none, to always cause us to abide in all the good that He has caused Muhammad (S) and the progeny (Aal) of Muhammad (‘a) to abide in and to keep us away from all ill that He has kept Muhammad (S) and the progeny (Aal) of Muhammad, the Ahl Al-Bayt (‘a) away from; and that this work may become a spiritual treasure trove, a source of mercy and a shade for the author on the Day when there is no shade except that of Allah, the Almighty and Exalted Lord, Amen.

Shaykh Khalil Jaffer

Toronto, Canada

15th Muharram 1433 AH / 11th December 2011

• 1. Nahj al-Balaghah, aphorism 272.
• 2. See for example, Qur’an: 2:89, 2:161, 3:61, 3:87, 7:44, 11:18, 24:7.
• 3. Al-Kafi, v.2, p. 125, h. 5.
• 4. Al-Kafi, v.2, p. 416, h. 1. Note: Polytheism (ash-shirk) is the greatest form of injustice. See the following Verse of the Holy Qur’an:
  “And when Luqman said to his son while he admonished him: O my son! do not associate aught with Allah; most surely polytheism is a grievous iniquity” (31:13).