In Search of Orthodox Islam 5/11

'A'udhu bi-Llahi min al-Shaytan al-rajim, Bismillah, al-Rahman, al-Rahim. “Rabbi shrah li sadri" (20:25), "wa yassir li amri" (20:26), "wa hlul 'uqdatan min lisani" (20:27), "yafqahu qawli” (20:28). Sadaqa Allah, Sadaqa Allahu al-Aliyyu al-Adheem. I have requested the Masumeen management that I would like to do the first part of this majlis from the podium for a reason that inshaAllah will become apparent very shortly. I mentioned last night that, Alhamdulillah, I am receiving a lot of feedback from the brothers and sisters on the subject that I have selected to speak on, which is Orthodox Islam.

For the most part, the feedback is positive and it is well received. However, there are some, some feedback that I would categorize as creative criticism. And, I have made attempts to clarify a lot of these questions from the mimbar over the last few nights, but I would like to respond to the general, I guess, overall concern in a more complete manner tonight so that inshaAllah, we can put this to bed and then continue from that. Otherwise, we will be doing this every night for the first 10, 15 minutes.

Now, I have received some feedback verbally and some via email, so I haven't had the time to collect all this and make it one response. So you will see various overlaps and repetition. One of the concerns that I have received is actually two different concerns, and I want to at first just express those concerns so that you understand what they are and then respond to them.

The first concern that I have received is that it is wrong to suggest that terrorists are being inspired, but by what is found in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, the terrorists are primarily using the Qur'an and all the videos that you find online promoted by the terrorists, show them only quoting the Qur'an and misinterpreting its meaning. Sunni Muslims have believed in the authenticity of Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim for centuries, and their preachers have used these texts without being radicalized. So this is the first concern. That my premise that Bukhari and Muslim, the authenticity of some of the reports needs to be questioned, is misplaced, because when we look at all these groups that are radical, they are using the Qur'an, they are not using Hadith. And we have had Bukhari and Muslim as is for centuries.

The second concern is that we have failed to acknowledge how Muslims in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan and other parts of the Middle East came to be radicalized. As an example, during the Cold War, the United States spent millions of dollars on textbooks and curriculum for Muslim children in Afghanistan and Pakistan to prepare them to fight the Soviets. All their textbooks had examples of guns, grenades, etc. So the United States funded these textbooks and in the textbooks, the children were taught things like what is five guns plus five guns? 10 bullets minus three bullets equals to... They were taught that sort of a way. If a Muslim...if there are 10 atheists and a Muslim kills three atheists, how many atheists are left? This is how Muslims children were taught in Afghanistan and Pakistan for a long time to prepare them to fight the Soviets. And millions of children had guns placed in their hands and were radicalized. Robert Dreyfuss, for example, has authored a book called, Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam, and it discusses what the United States had intended to do by radicalizing Muslim children. And so all this radicalization has nothing to do with Sunni teachings.

Now, my response. First, I agree with both points, and I concede that these two points were not clarified and were missed in my lectures thus far. The point that terrorists are misinterpreting the Qur'an and that there is a role that has been played by our enemies in radicalizing children. Now I ask you to consider the following. On the issue of Muslims being radicalized by enemies in the past, the Cold War was broadly between 1947 and 1991. Why are we, as Muslims, still unable to be radicalized, those who are and prevents them from more radicalization?

Do we feel confident, that now that we know the Qur'an is being misinterpreted, and now that we know how our enemies used our children in the past, that we now have the tools to stop future generations from misinterpreting the Qur'an and our enemies from taking advantage of our future generations once more? Do we? Do we feel confident that we have the tools to stop the Qur'an being misinterpreted? And further radicalization and brainwashing of our children, my series of lectures in this Muharram, are merely trying to point out one thing: that many Muslims generally think of Shi'a Islam as being a breakaway sect from mainstream Islam.

In Shi'a Islam, there are two fundamental principles, the principles of 'Adalah and Imamah that are part of our Usul Ad-Deen. I am trying to demonstrate, that if these principles, as taught by Ahl ul-Bayt, alayhimu as-salam, are acknowledged in the 'Ummah and restored as part of Orthodox Islam, then we can insulate the future generations from being radicalized again.

For example, we inculcate in our children that no matter what one does to you, you cannot justify violence against the innocent. You cannot accept that it is OK to kill someone who is innocent, whether he is Sunni or Shi'a or Ahmadiyya or Hindu or anyone for that matter. You cannot kill an innocent human being. Sunnis teach this to their children as well. But I want to show that Shi'a Islam emphasizes this concept uniquely as part of its core beliefs, with lots and lots of examples from the lives of the Ahl ul-Bayt alayhimu as-salam If we change perspectives in our future generation to say, "Yes, staying with the majority and obeying the uli al-'Amr is very important, but not at the cost of remaining silent on injustice. It changes everything. And what I'm trying to demonstrate is that in Sahih Bukhari and in Sahih Muslim, the larger emphasis is on unity and staying together as one 'Ummah without discussing differences that would cause division amongst us.

Now, let's talk about the Qur'an. The Qur'an is multifaceted, meaning that it is open to multiple interpretations. The Sufi uses the Qur'an and the Nasibi uses the Qur'an. The Shi'a uses the Qur'an, the Sunnis use the Qur'an, and everyone finds their own interpretation through the same book of Allah, Subhana Wa Ta'ala. Now, even if you offer the right interpretation of the Qur'an as a Sunni or Shi'a, those who seek to misinterpret it can still hold their ground and argue their point based on their misinterpretation of the Qur'an.

So the only way then, to resolve this, is to turn to Hadith. If you look at Nahj al-Balagha, you will see that after the battle of Siffin, when Imam Ali alayhi as-salam sent Abdullah ibn Abbas to go and discuss arbitration with the opposite side, with the camp of Mu'awiyyah. He said to them, or perhaps when he sent them to talk, to Talha ibn Zubair, I cannot remember the exact context—with the Khawarij, when he sent—ahsant— when Imam Ali sent Abdullah ibn Abbas to speak to the Khawarij, he said to them, don't argue with the Khawarij on the basis of the Qur'an because they will give their interpretation and you will give your interpretation, and you will not resolve the issue, but argue with them on the basis of the hadith of Rasul Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad]. Once you argue on an authentic hadith, it removes that option of misinterpretation.

Now, in the past, the world was not so small. Muslims did not read their hadith works directly. Sunni Muslim did not read Bukhari and Muslim. We did not read Al-Kafi. Now the world has changed. I was browsing a website today of fatawa, it was a non Shi'a website, and there were questions on it regarding the Shi'a. And I don't know what exactly the background of these Muslims are, but they were non Shi'a. And all the rulings on that was to say that the Shi'as are not Muslims. The questions were, can we marry a Shi'a? Can we eat the food of a Shi'a? Can we interact with the Shi'a? And the answers were consistently: beware of the Shi'a, they are dangerous, you should not associate with them. Don't eat their food, don't marry them. They are not Muslims because they have their own Qur'an, because they curse the Sahaba and so on and so forth. Now, what I noticed, interestingly, is that the proof that we are being given to prove that the Shi'as are not Muslim was not being given from the Qur'an. It was being given from books written by other scholars and from Hadith, which is why I'm addressing the issue that we need to question Hadith.

So what I'm saying is this: we, Shi'a and Sunni, fight back the enemies from within us, those who are influenced, as we said two nights ago, that most of the groups that display extremism and radicalism are influenced and shown to have a leaning towards the Salafi ideas. So if we are fighting back the enemies from within, it comes down to our Shi'a Sunni interpretation of the Qur'an versus their interpretation of the Qur'an or misinterpretation of the Qur'an. Now, when a young person is listening to both sides and they cannot resolve the two who is interpreting the Qur'an and who is misinterpreting it, what he or she will do is they will turn to Hadith and to the Sirah of the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, because this is the best next source to find the correct interpretation of the Qur'an. Awareness and access to Sirah and Hadith works was not so copious in the past. Now there are English translations readily available on the Internet.

People assume that they can deduce the evidence and justification for their actions, their own selves. How many people, for example, know, that no matter how noble your intentions are to fight for the sake of Allah, you cannot go for jihad on your own whims and fences, no matter how noble it is? I might say I want to go fight ISIS. I want to go fight for a just cause. I cannot make the decision on my own. It must be on the orders and guidance of a just imam. So these individuals who can't make up their minds, which interpretation is correct, they come to Hadith for evidence and for answers. Now when they come to the Sirah and Hadith, the first and foremost place they are going to look at is the Sahihayn: Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim will be the first place because these are regarded as being the most authentic sources.

So here now we have an impasse. On one hand, those misinterpreting the Qur'an, will find evidence that they can use in Hadith, such as the misportrayal of the Prophet as sanctioning violence based on the examples that I have given you in these previous nights from Bukhari and Muslim. Now we have a choice. Either you will have to say that these hadith are sahih, but we must ignore them as we have done for centuries and continue to live peacefully as Muslims. Or you will have to call it out and say that this Hadith are not Sahih. But this is, for the most part, to my understanding, is not open to debate. Calling out Sahih Bukhari and Muslim and saying that they are not sahih or that not much or not a lot, or many of these traditions are not sahih. Now, there are Sunni scholars who are calling for this, that we need to relook at some of the traditions in the Sahihayn. But to my understanding, it is not a widespread endeavor as yet.

You see, there are many ahadith in Shi'a texts that are also problematic. There are many Hadith in al-Kafi and other, Kutub al-Arb'ah, Bihar ul-Anwar, that are very, very problematic. But if you find one, it is not difficult to remove it and say that this hadith is not true. And our scholars in Najaf and Qom are constantly commenting and sifting through these Hadith, including al-Kafi, to determine their authenticity. In fact, I have been told that there was a scholar in Qom who tried to look at al-Kafi and create a new version called Sahih al-Kafi, and the Maraji' Ulama immediately protested this and said, you cannot do that. Because then you make this a book whose authenticity cannot be questioned. My call is that the same thing that our Maraji' are doing with our books of Hadith in Najaf and Qom, the same thing needs to happen from Al-Azhar as well.

Now, I want you to watch a video clip, if I can ask Brother Rehan to play this first video clip. It's only two minutes. It's a video of the Secretary of State of the United States, Rex Tillerson, discussing the idea of extremism in Saudi Arabia. Just take a look at this, before I continue. It's finally the last question, Mr. Chairman, with your indulgence, the deal with Saudi Arabia and I couldn't get an answer on specifically how we were monitoring their support, their continued support of the exportation of Wahhabism, Salafism and the terror that goes along with that fundamentalist view of Islam around the globe. Do you know of any metrics that the department is following to support their claim that they are working on that? How are we gauging that? How are we going to determine whether they are following along with that portion of the agreement?

Well, one of the outcomes of the president's summit in Riyadh was the creation of the center to, to counter extreme Muslim messaging with Saudi Arabia. This, there's...the center it now exists. It was inaugurated while we were there. The center has a number of elements to attack extremism around the world. One of the elements that we are visiting with them about, and they have already taken steps, the Saudis, is to, is to publish new textbooks that go into the schools that are in the mosques around the world. These textbooks are to replace textbooks that are out there today that do advocate extreme Wahhabism viewpoints around the justification for violence. We have asked that they not just publish the new textbooks. We have asked that they retrieve the existing textbooks. So we get those back. That's just one example. This center is going to have a very broad range from social media to broadcast to how young imams are trained in the theological centers.

OK, now I want you to think about this. Don't the Muslims have enough knowledge and resources to identify extremist views in their own books? Do we need the White House to tell Muslims what they can teach and what they cannot and what is sahih and what is not sahih? And do we need the White House to train the young imams who will be sent around the world to the different Masajid? Now, you might be thinking and saying, well, this is all about Salafis. The vast majority that is Sunni disagrees with the Salafi movement. And Salafis are a minority. Wahabis are a minority. My point is, that this minority wants to speak for Sunni Islam and they have the resources and the backing of their allies to push scholars out for da'wah and to build mosques and centers with their imams.

Yes, it is true that Sunni Muslims are actively speaking out against Wahhabism and against Salafis. But their voice is not being heard. It is like Muslims, all of us, today, we speak out against terrorism, but we still get accused that we are not doing enough and that we are not speaking out against it. And I want you to be rest assured, that if the White House is rewriting Islamic books that will be taught to children, then Israel is going to play a major role in dictating what gets taught in the schools, what gets written in those textbooks and what training these young imams will receive.

And mark my words, it will be a repeat of what happened during the Cold War, except that now it will amplify the division between the Shi'a and the Sunni and it will vilify the Shi'a and Iran. And we will have another cycle of radicalism. But this time it won't be Muslims against non-Muslims. It will be us against each other.

Now, I want you to take a look at the second video clip, which is a shorter clip, it is the US State Department, Stewart Jones, a spokesperson, he is being asked this question, that what do you say about our relationship, the United States, with Saudi Arabia, given that they do not promote democracy? And what you will see is that for the first few minutes, he is dumbfounded. He has a brain freeze. He can absolutely not comment on it.

And then when he finally gets himself together to answering, he changes the whole question and talks about Iran being terrorists. But the question is about Saudi Arabia. Listen to the question. Watch how baffled he is to answer and then watch the answer he gives.

How would you characterize Saudi Arabia's commitment to democracy and does the administration believe that democracy is a barrier against extremism?

The same thing we say is that at this meeting, we were able to make significant progress with Saudi and GCC partners in both making a strong statement against extremism and also and also putting—putting in place certain measures through this GCC mechanism where we can combat extremism. Clearly, one source of extremism, one source, one terrorism threat is coming from Iran. And that's coming from a part of the Iranian apparatus that is not at all responsive to its electorate. Thank you.

What was the question? The question is we are seeing ourselves standing beside Saudi Arabia and we know they don't speak for democracy. What are we doing to buffer and to combat this and there is silence, and when it comes to answers like the problem is not Saudi Arabia, the problem is Iran. Right. And this is going to come out from the center where these textbooks, these imams will come out with this kind of training. Now, in the coming nights, I will mention, even though very briefly, the close relationship between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but Rasul Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

He said: "man asbaha wa lam yahtim bi umuri al-Muslimeen fa laysa minhum". Whoever wakes up in the morning and is not concerned with the affairs of the Muslims is not one of them. These are times when we need to stay alert, we need to be aware of what is happening. A lot of us are seeing, for example, small pieces of information. The Kurds are fighting for independence. How many of us know that in their fight for independence, they are strongly backed by Israel. And if they get that independence, you will have a state in the north of Iraq now, what does that mean for Muslims there? The Kurds are waving Israeli flags, if you are watching the news, these are things that we as Muslims need to talk about.

Now, you might think all that I have said here proves that I shouldn't be talking about the differences between Shi'a and Sunni. We now have two choices. Choice number one, we can continue insisting that there is nothing wrong in the books of the Shi'a or the Sunni, and the only issue is a small group of radicals that are misusing the Qur'an and Bukhari and Muslim are absolutely sahih, let's just not talk about anything that mis-portrays the Prophet or his family or the Sahaba. And let's just ignore this and say that terrorism is a political problem. It has nothing to do with religion. We can just ignore what is in our books of Sirah and Hadith.

The problem is we can ignore it, but our enemies are not. They are publishing books to say this is the Prophet of Islam. If you go on Amazon and search on Islam, you will find most of the books are against Islam, not in favor of Islam, they speak against the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, and they put a lot of quotations from our sources of Hadith. So we now live in a different world, we don't live in a village where the Shi'as do their own thing and preach what they want in their masajid and the Sunnis do their own thing. And we all live and let live. We now live in a global village. We need to come together and we need to strategize.

I have said every night since I began the first night of Muharram that the vast majority of Muslims who are Sunnis are not radical. But when others prey on Muslims, they seek the path of least resistance. They may find people to radicalize, even in the Shi'a faith. But the Shi'as have something to offer, is what I am trying to say. And it is this fact that in the Shi'a madhab, the emphasis is not on staying with the majority. The emphasis is on fighting for justice, even if it means overthrowing those in power. It is based on the statement of Abu Abdullah al-Husayn, "Hayhat min adh-dhilla." We will not bow before injustice and be humiliated. We will give our heads, but we will not give our hands.

You see, even when Yazid wanted to kill him, Imam Husayn, he could not just say, go kill Husayn, he had to find scholars to issue a fatwa to say that Husayn is wrong in rising against the caliph of the time. He needed that stamp of approval from the clergy before he could go and kill the grandson of the Prophet.

You will remember that when ISIS began killing Shi'as in Iraq, there were some Shi'a groups that took on a militant stance and attacked some Sunni families and groups. Ayatollah Sistani Hafeedha Allah immediately clamped it down and said this must stop immediately because this is not what Imam Husayn gave his blood for. Why was it easy to clamp this down and stop it? It was easy. Firstly, because Marja'iyyah in Tashayyu is directly linked to the concept of Imamah, which is why there are people who are so keen to play down the importance of Marja'iyyah. And some of those people are unfortunately within the Shi'a community. And we will talk about this as we come close towards the end of this series.

The second reason is because there is a huge emphasis of 'Adalah in Shi'a theology, not that it doesn't exist in Sunni Islam, but I'm trying to get to a point where I can explain what 'Adalah is in Shi'a Islam, and you must allow me the time to get to that before jumping to the conclusion that when I say 'Adalah, I mean simply justice in the common sense of justice or suggesting that Sunnis don't believe in justice, that is not at all what I'm saying. I'm saying there is something that the Shi'a have to offer that is worth a second look at. You see, otherwise, the Shi'a militants would simply ignore the fatwa. I want to show you in this series of orthodox Islam that if we consider the Shi'a understanding of 'Adalah and Imamah, which I shall attempt to define tonight, then as an 'Ummah, we are better insulated against radicalisation and being misused by our enemies and the enemies of Islam.

Now, I received an email as well, via the Masumeen management from a sister, and I can't read the whole email, but I want to quote parts of it. And the sister had originally emailed me, but unfortunately the email did not get to me, and then she emailed the Masumeen management and they sent me that and then she forwarded the email back to Masumeen management and they forwarded to me just an hour, half hour before I came here. So it's going to be a bit of a mix here. But I do want to first and foremost say that I am really appreciative of this. The one thing that stood out to me, and I don't know if the sister is here tonight or if she's listening online, but I was amazed at the politeness, the akhlaq, and the sincerity with which she wrote the email, because when you are upset, it's very easy to be confrontational and to be rude about it. But she was...Touchingly polite, and that made me feel I need to respond to this because it, you know, for someone with children during the month of Muharram, when it's busy to take the time to write a lengthy email with akhlaq, with adab chose this genuine sincerity and concern. And I want to thank her from the deepest of my heart. And therefore, I'm going to give this some more elaboration.

The first thing, and I'm quoting parts of that comment and email and some is from the email to me and some is from the email to the management. The one thing she says is: "the comments made on the third lecture were not only unnecessary, but inappropriate, and they further divide Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. I also believe that comments such as those that he made, meaning the ones that I made, further isolate our community among the wider Ontario community. I think we are playing with fire when we say things like the idea of 'Adalah and justice that has been infused in us from the Ahl ul-Bayt, prevent us from behaving in a certain manner", end quote. First of all, this is not true as a simple Google search will pull up Shi'a Muslims that have committed heinous crimes.

Now my comment to that. Just because a concept that insulates from violence is found in Shi'a Islam does not mean that it has reached every Shi'a. What we are trying to say is that Tashayyu' in its aqeedah, has some things that help insulate us from violence. But of course, not every Shi'a has understood that concept. So, yes, there will be Shi'as who will commit crimes and extremism. But if we still find evidence for its usefulness, this principle of 'Adalah in Tashayyu that could help mainstream majority Muslims, then it is still worthy of consideration. Furthermore, as I have said, I haven't had a chance to explain the concept of 'Adalah in Tashayyu. So you need to allow me the time.

The other comment from the sister is that saying that Muslims, Sunni Muslims are responsible for committing the crimes because there is something instilled in them when we as Shi'as don't have that in us is not only dangerous, but is exactly the Islamophobe argument. It is the argument of RCMP, CSIS, FBI, etc, who make against the Muslim community that they have something within them, a doctrine, history, belief, philosophy that gives them the potential to be radical and terrorists.

My response to this is that I am actually saying exactly the opposite of this. I have not been saying that there is something in Sunni Islam that makes them prone to radicalisation. What I have been saying is that there is something in Shi'a Islam that insulates you from radicalisation. And these two things are not exactly the same as I will explain further. I will explain further in a bit. There is something in the Shi'a madhab that allows this extra protection, and I want to share that and offer it to the Muslim 'Ummah as a gift from the Ahl ul-Bayt, alayhimu as-salam, to consider. I have said this over the nights that the aim is not to say the Sunnis are wrong and we need to convert them and make them Shi'a, otherwise they are radical. I even went as far as saying that at the end of this, the Shi'a can remain Shi'a and the Sunni can remain Sunni. But we are looking to introduce principles that would benefit the 'Ummah at large. So. Just because the Shi'as have this concept of 'Adalah doesn't mean that all Shi'as are 'Adil. And likewise, just because Sunnis don't have that same definition of 'Adalah and Imamah as Shi'as does not mean that that is the reason and the cause of them being radicalized.

So I give an analogy yesterday of a flu shot. Right, even if you take the flu shot, you could still get a flu with a new strain of the virus, and even if you don't get the flu shot, you may still not get the flu. But it makes sense to at least lend an ear to someone who is introducing that flu shot to you and see if it will be a cause and a reason to reduce pain.

The other comment from the sister was a terrorist is neither a Muslim, a Jew or a Christian. Terrorists can adopt names and use doctrines, but the history and doctrines they may use do not make them mass murderers. My comment to this is that I clarified yesterday and I said, yes, terrorism has nothing to do with religion. I agree. Yes, absolutely. But it is done in the name of religion. And as an 'Ummah, we should consider how we protect our religion from being misused. So I ask a question. If you wanted to use Islam to justify terror, what would you do first? The first thing you would do is you would misinterpret the Qur'an. What is the best way to prevent this, the best way is to ensure that the interpretation of the Qur'an does not allow it.

But giving the multiple dimensions of the Qur'an and that it is open to multiple interpretations, we therefore need to promote Hadith that is sahih so that we can argue our case and say, no, this is not what the Qur'an is saying. This is what it is saying. But if we meet a contradiction between an authentic Hadith and the Qur'an now, what should we do? That was the question I was asking. Are we willing now to say that that Hadith that contradicts the Qur'an is not authentic?

You said there are principles and ideas and a history of the Ummayids and the Abbasids of how they forge tradition and how they promoted a misinterpretation of the Qur'an that met their needs. And I'm trying to get to that to show you how they did this. So we must be able to point this out and separate them and consider that some of their misinterpretations may have infiltrated the books that we consider to be most authentic.

The final comment from the sister, actually, the second last, it says, I do not believe the comments made our comments my children need to hear. I do not feel welcome to the center. I do not believe such comments help one to learn about history, rather, they further divide us. And a simple example is I heard some youth saying, you see, even the Mawlana believes all Sunnis are terrorists and I am truly, truly heartbroken. And what breaks my heart, is that any one amongst you should give up on the Masumeen Center because of what I am saying? To be sincerely honest, I really have a hard time understanding how my listeners are coming to this conclusion that I am saying Sunnis are terrorists. I don't know if some of you are getting that sense. And if you are, I would really appreciate it, from the youth, from the elders, do not just come and tell me very nice lectures. Tell me if you genuinely feel what I am saying is dividing us and if you genuinely feel what I am saying is suggesting that Sunnis are prone to terrorism and that they are terrorists.

I think the issue is being conflated because I said very clearly when I mentioned ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Shabab, Sipah-e Sahaba, al-Qaida, Taliban, I said very clearly that most of these groups have clear leanings towards Wahhabism and they do not represent Sunni Islam. And I have repeatedly emphasized that it is not the Sunnis who are terrorists, but simply that the Shi'a faith has something to offer that we should look at that might help further insulate our future generation and we could include these Shi'a principles into Orthodox Islam.

So to draw this conclusion that Sunnis are terrorists, I think is is a misinterpretation, and if these youths are in front of me, I think I'd shake them a little and wake them up. I want to mention one final point. It's a beautiful analogy the sister gave that that got me thinking. The sister said to me "to suggest that because most of acts of terrorism have been committed by Sunnis, therefore a Sunni is most likely to commit terrorism is like saying because most crimes are committed by black people, therefore, a black person is more likely to commit a crime". This was just an analogy, but it's a powerful analogy and it is a good one to think about. Now, I want to use the same analogy to clarify what I am trying to say. You see, if I say, a black person is more likely to commit crime because he is black, that is unfair, that is unjust, that is labelling, that is characterization, that is xenophobia, that is bigotry. That is whatever you want to call it is absolutely wrong. Even if I say that most crimes are committed by black people and it is because they are black and therefore a black person is more likely to commit crimes because he is black, that is wrong.

But supposing I look at a neighborhood that is predominantly black. And then I say most of the crimes being committed here are by the blacks, it is a fact. The statistics show that. Now I ask the question, what is missing in this neighborhood that is causing the black people to predominantly commit a crime? And then I say that the blacks are more likely to commit a crime in this neighborhood for these reasons. Now, I am not labeling and saying that they are committing crimes because of the color of their skin. I am saying there are other factors, the fact that the neighborhood is predominantly black is just a coincidence. The factors might be poverty, might be lack of education, might be lack of opportunities.

And there are communities in the United States where this has actually been done. You can go look this up, where different groups have identified neighborhoods of different ethnicities, whether it's Latinos or blacks or whatever, and they have said in this neighborhood there is a lot of problems, drugs, crime, whatever. And they have gone in and looked for reasons and said this community and this ethnicity is lacking proper schools, proper help, proper education funding. And they have gone in and provided what is missing. And then those communities have thrived.

So if I say now, first of all, I did not say that because all terrorist groups are Sunni, therefore a Sunni is more likely to commit an act of terror. I said all terrorist groups are Wahabi. Therefore, if you extend that argument, what I would have said is that a Wahhabi, and I mentioned last night that there are many Salafis who are not violent. But if I was to say something, then I might have said that a Wahhabi is more likely to commit an act of terror. But have you noticed that every night I have been arguing that there is something missing, missing ingredients, missing ingredients. Have I not been saying that? Why am I saying this? Is because I am trying to show that what is missing is the concept of 'Adalah and Imamah that Tashayyu is offering. So what I am trying to say is if we find radicalization is more prone in a particular Madhab of Islam, the reason is not because of that madhab, it's not because the person is Sunni or Wahhabi or anything else. It is because there is something missing in that school of thought. And we are offering a principle that might help solve the problem or at the very least offer further protection.

So the aim of asking this question is not to demonize or target any group, it is to try and get to a solution. If I'm saying why are more blacks committing crime in this neighborhood? And my aim is to find a solution to the problem, that is not being unfair and unjust, that is trying to see if there is any relationship between that community and the circumstances and the kind of lives they lead.

So I now have a message for my Sunni brothers and sisters, and then I have a message for my Shi'a brothers and sisters, and I will end and I shall send them over in whatever time I have I will use in masa'ib. This, by the way, is part of my Majilis, so do not fear there is not going to be another one hour of Majlis. I have exceeded my time every night and I thank you for your patience.

Now first my message to my Sunni brothers and sisters. Let us suppose that I have stated matters in my lectures thus far, that are incorrect and have offended you. If you shun these lectures, then the misperceptions and misconceptions that I am spreading will remain. If you boycott these lectures, I will never know you are absent, but I will also not know your concerns. And if I am mis-stating something, then my crowd here, which is predominantly Shi'i, will also carry that misconception and misperception with them. But if you provide me feedback, then one of two things will happen. Either I will clarify and answer your concern and convince you on my point, or you will convince me and I will correct myself and thereby correct the perception of the Shi'a community, just like I considered this today and I said, yes, the two points I raised. First, the terrorists use Qur'an and that there is a history of our enemies radicalizing our children through textbooks and so on. I can see that this was missed and I never mentioned it before and I should have.

So what I think is beautiful about these Muharram lectures is that we don't want it to be one sided. Where I feed you information and you accept it, I stand to be corrected and we can continue realigning and recalibrating until we get to the final lecture. I do believe that at the end of this series, I will still be able to prove that the reason for the Muslim plight today, is that we have forgotten the true meaning of 'Adalah in Islam and that we have ignored the need for divine leadership.

But in the process of doing this, I do not want for any wrong perceptions to be shared and that further divide us as Muslims. So what I'm asking my Sunni brothers and sisters is that if you know of anyone who has stopped coming to the Masumeen Center because of what I have said in the last few nights, please pass this message to them: as you listen to me speak, you be my sounding board and give me your perspective. I am more than willing to listen, but you should also be open to the possibility that what I am saying may be painful, yet true.

I mentioned on the first night that the Qur'an addresses the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, and tells him that when you debate even with the polytheists, tell them, "Wa inna wa iyyakum la'ala hudan aw fee dhalalin mubeen." Come, let us debate, you and us. One of us is on guidance and one of us is surely misguided. The Prophet even does not tell them I am right, you are wrong. If I make a statement that is hateful and insightful, then yes, that is divisive, but if I make a statement that is worthy of consideration, then it may divide us in opinion.

But if we say that this is dividing us, let's not talk about it and that this is going to be a problem for the 'Ummah and let us just stay with the majority versus standing up for truth and justice, then we are doing exactly what I'm describing to be the problem with the 'Ummah today, the emphasis that let us stay as a majority and let us not discuss any differences. You must give the speaker the benefit of the doubt and allow a subject to develop, at least for a few nights before you draw a conclusion.

Now, a message to my Shi'a brothers and sisters. In all the madhabs, there are people of different views and some are extreme. The only way to resolve this is to seek the advice of our maraji'. I mentioned a few nights when discussing the Shi'a concerns with regards to the wife of the Prophet Aisha that I completely disassociate from those so-called Shi'a scholars who run satellite channels where all they do is curse and mock and rebuke the personalities that our Sunni brothers and sisters look up to. I have mentioned the fatawa of Ayatollah Sistani, Ayatollah Khomeini and others who have clearly condemned this. I mentioned to you that Ayatollah Sistani said the Sunni are not just our brothers and sisters. They are like our Nafs.

I have come to know that some individuals who attend my lectures are delighted at what I am raising as criticisms against the Sahaba and the wives of the Prophet. I want to state categorically.

A) I do not speak for you and I do not support the idea of mocking during insulting anyone. I follow the adhab and akhlaq of the Ahl ul-Bayt alayhimu as-salam. I have never read any authentic Shi'a Hadith where the imams from Ahl ul-Bayt alayhimu as-salam mocked, jeered, insulted Abu Bakr or Umar or Uthman or Aisha or anyone else. Yes, they have disagreed. They have expressed the userption of their rights. They have condemned the stance that was taken to marginalize their role and their importance in Islam. They have complained that their rights were taken. They have asked to promote the role and they have spoken against those who are promoted but were not vested with authority in Islam. They have even prayed against those who have hurt them, but their language has never been foul, offensive, or vulgar. And we must be the same.

B) If there is anyone in this crowd or online who thinks that these lectures are a Sunni bashing exercise, you are utterly mistaken. If anything, I condemn and I disassociate from anyone who calls himself or herself a Shi'a and then believes that Sunnis are not Muslims or marrying them is haram or their food is haram to consume, etc. Our imams used to encourage us to go and pray in the mosques with those who didn't follow them and to sit with them and introduce to them the teachings of the Ahl ul-Bayt, which is what I said on the first night, that this is our takleef.

If we don't interact with our Sunni brother and sister, how do we introduce to them the real teachings of the Ahl ul-Bayt? The Ahl ul-Bayt, alayhimu as-salam, knew that the leading cause of xenophobia is keeping aloof from each other. We need to be well versed with the teachings of the Ahl ul-Bayt, and then we need to confidently engage our Sunni brethren and first seek to understand and then to be understood. It is in this way that we can prepare the 'Ummah for the return of the Mahdi, ajal Allahu Ta'ala farajahu ash-Sharif [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad]. We have ironclad evidence and all the logic to support the school of the Ahl ul-Bayt and to show its supremacy over other schools of thought. We don't need to resort to vile means and immature tactics to prove who's right and who's wrong. And I have mentioned the fatwa of our maraaji'.

C) The reason I speak of issues regarding the Sahaba and the wives of the Prophet is simply to explain the concerns that the Shi'a have based on historic facts and to attempt to say to the Sunni Muslims that if we don't accept the 'Adalah of all the Sahaba and if we refuse to send blessings on the As-hab ajma'in, it is because of valid concerns based on our reading of Sunni sources. And therefore, unless you tell us where we are wrong in reading these historic facts, our distancing ourselves from the early caliphs, our distancing ourselves from Abu Bakr and Umar, and Uthman is not a reason to consider that we are Kafir.

D) And almost final, in the coming nights, from tomorrow onwards, I will be discussing khilafat of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, and I will speak in detail of the issues that the Shi'a have with the methods of their governance and how they ruled. And I will be critical of their governance from a Shi'a perspective, from the perspective of the Ahl ul-Bayt alayhi as-salam. But the aim, again, will not be to vilify them, but to show that this is why we do not accept their khilafat and why we are only interpreting historic facts as sincerely as we can in order to arrive at the conclusion of: is the condition of Muslims today a direct result of not having placed the Ahl ul-Bayt where they should have been placed and missing these ingredients in Islam?

Is to arrive at a conclusion that will help us then move forward and find solutions for the 'Ummah. It's not just for the sake of. And this we do sincerely, but these could not be reasons that should be used to pronounce takfir of the Shi'a. Above all, I will discuss their Khilafah and of those who came after them to make this one point: what is the difference in the view that the Shi'a have of 'Adalah and Imamah? And how would history have unfolded if the imams of the Ahl ul-Bayt, alayhimu as-salam had been allowed to lead the Muslim 'Ummah?

And finally, this is an academic exercise and hopefully food for thought for all of us. I will continue to welcome feedback from all of you, Shi'a and Sunni. And I hope this now puts the issue to bed, I would have loved to open the floor to questions, comments, feedback, but in the interest of time, I cannot do it right now. But please be assured: I mean well. I have sought refuge with Allah that I should not be a cause of division amongst the Muslim 'Ummah, because then I will have to answer Rasul Allah Yawm al-Qiyamah when he says, "We gave you the platform, we gave you the pulpit and what did you do for my people?"

So, I mean, well, and I'm trying to be as sincere and genuine as I can and let us continue to help each other and grow as an 'Ummah and let us hold hands together and unite as the Qur'an, says, "Ka'annahum bunyanun marsoos" (61:4), Like a solid pillar or a wall of steel. We have the best Uswat ul-Hasanah, which Khatim ul-Anbiya Rasul Allah al-Mustafa salla Allahu Alayhi wa alihi wa sallam. And we have the Qur'an and we have the Ahl ul-Bayt alayhimu as-salam, and we can do this, inshaAllah. We don't need the White House to do it for us.

I thank you very much. If you can recite three salawats and Brother Rehan, if you can pull the projector up and if I can request some of you to, all of you actually to stand up and move a little forward so that others behind have room and we will, inshaAllah, continue the Majlis from the mimbar. Thank you.

'A'udhu billahi min al-Shaytan al-rajim, Bismillah, al-Rahman, al-Rahim. Al-hamdulillah Rabbi 'l-alameen, bari' al-khalaa'iqi ajma'en. Wa as-salat wa as-salam 'ala asharafi al-anbiya'i wa'l-mursalin, sayyidina wa nabiyyina wa habibi qulubina wa tabibi nufusina, wa shafi'i dhunubina Abil Qasimi Muhammad. [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad]. Thumma as-salatu wa as-salam 'ala aali baytihi at-tayyibeen at-tahareen al-madhlumeen. Wa la'anatu Allahi 'ala a'da'ihim ajma'en min yawmi 'adaawatihim ila yawmi ad-Deen. Amma ba'd, faqad qal Allahu tabaraka wa ta'la. Bismillahi, al-rahman, al-Rahim. "Wa a'tasimu bi habl Illahi jami'an wa la taffaraqu wa adhkuroo ni'amata Allahi alaykum idh kuntum aa'daan faallafa bayna quloobikum fa asbahtum bi ni'amatihi ikhwaana, wa kuntum ala shafa'a hufratin min an-naar fa anqadhakum minha, qadhalika yubayn Ullahi lakum aayatihi la'allakum tahtadoon" (3:103). Salawat [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad]

Our time is actually up, to be honest, and I fully realize tomorrow is a working day. And rightfully speaking, I should get into masa'ib, but if you allow me five minutes, 10 minutes, what I would like to do is catch up just a little bit on where we left off yesterday so that tomorrow inshaAllah we have a starting point from which we can continue and we are all on the same page.

I am going to have to make a change in the synopsis in light of all these additional clarifications that I have had to do. Last night as I begin discussing all the reasons for which the Shi'a are not easily accepted as being part of the mainstream Islam and seen as a separate group, I said that there are three different categories in which you can place all these misconceptions. One was things, these differences. One was misconceptions and lies, things that are said about the Shi'a that are simply untrue that we talked about last night. The second one of the differences we have that are strongly opposed by many of our Sunni brethren that are in our Ahkam, in our Fiqh. And then the third was theology.

Now. Unfortunately, because last night as well, I told you in terms of the content and where I want to take you in this discussion, I'm already behind by two lectures and now I'm behind by three. So what I'm going to do is I'm not going to discuss the differences in Fiqh and Ahkaam. Some of these are very important. And when you look on the Internet, the discussions are very passionate. And I would have loved to do this, but I will leave them, if we have time, at the end. By some miracle, I run out of material, then inshaAllah, we will cover it at the end. But I will tell you at a high level what the issues were that I was going to discuss.

On the matters of Ahkam, I was going to discuss the zawwaj al-mut'ah. The Shi'as have a concept of a fixed term marriage. And this is very strongly opposed by our Sunni brethren that this is just nothing but a legalized form of sin. So I was going to discuss this with with some level of detail. The other issue was the Shi'as don't fold their hands in prayers or do wudhu differently. The other is that the Shi'as prostrate on a turbah or the Shi'as worship this turbah of Husayn and so on. The other was that the Shi'as joined their prayers, Dhuhr and Asr and Maghrib and Isha, so they only pray three times a day. They don't pray five times.

The other, which is again, very sensitive, is the issue of tatbeer and Zanjeer. And you'll see a lot of pictures, videos going around of Shi'as beating themselves and so on and so forth. The other is the issue that Shi'as use names that suggest Shi'a, like Abdul Husayn and Abdul Nabiyy and so on. And you can only be the Abd of Allah. This is mostly coming from a Salafi Wahhabi perspective. There are many Sunnis who have names like Abdul Nabiyy and so on. So. This would have taken a good part of our lecture discussing all this, and there is a lot of information in our books as well to respond to this that inshaAllah you can look for if we'd never get to it.

I was also going to discuss at length that the Shi'as are accused of loving Ali Ibn Abi Talib excessively and with an exaggerated love. And I was going to, you know, at a very high level, mention all the popular verses of Qur'an, ahadith in our, not in our books, but in Sunni authentic sources regarding Ali Ibn Abi Talib, alayhi as-salam just to show that his Maqaam and His Eminence far, far exceeds that of any Sahaba. And that is why he is not one of the Sahabah but he is from the Ahl ul-Bayt, alayhimu as-salam. And the Sunni Muslims as well have a special title for him, uniquely him and him alone. They use a suffix for him: Karrama Allahu wajhah. And they said the reason for everyone else is Radiy Allahu, may Allah be pleased with him. But for Ali, may Allah brighten his faith and nobilities, because he is the only Sahaba who never prostrated before an idol before Islam. So there are so many Ayat and so many ahadith. I mean, just when I bulleted them, there were like 50 and I haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg here.

But many of these come from Sunni sources. And yesterday I mentioned as well that at an individual level there has been amazing cooperation between the Shi'as and the Sunni Ulama. We are talking of differences now at a communal level, to say at a communal level, we are missing some ingredients. But when you talk at an individual level, there has been a lot of work that Shi'as have borrowed from Sunnis and Sunnis have borrowed from Shi'as.

So, for example, even today, if you look at it, tafsir of Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi, if you look at it, tafsir of Alama Tabataba'i and all, you will find that there is copious references and commenting on the views of Fakhruddin Razi and Zamakhshari and Ghazali and Suyuti and Ibni Katheer and so on. And so and when we begin to talk of tafsir ul-Manar and Muhammad Abdu and Rashid Rida and how they were influenced by a Shi'a Jamaluddin Afghani and so on, you will begin to see how this sort of cooperation has always existed. One of the things that many Shi'as don't know is that many of the Sunni scholars sacrificed their lives for the Ahl ul-Bayt, alayhimu as-salamm.

As an example, there is Imam Nasa'i. Imam Nasa'i has a Sunan, which is one of the Sihah as-Sitta, out of the six authentic books, one of them is called the Sunan Nasa'i. If you look into how did Imam Nasai die and he's considered to be a shaheed of the Ahl ul-Bayt, is because he went to Damascus and he found in Damascus, the people had been poisoned by Mu'awiyyah so much that they hated Ali Ibn Abi Talib excessively. He was very disturbed by this. So he compiled a book on the excellences and Fada'il of Ali Ibn Abi Talib. Then he went up on the pulpit and he began reading this ahadith of the Prophet in fada'il of Ali Ibn Abi Talib. And the Syrians were really offended by this. So they said to him, "Why don't you recite the Fada'il of Mu'awiyyah?" He said, "I don't know of any." This is Imam Nasa'i, not a Shi'a. He says, "I don't know of any Fada'il of Mu'awiyyah except the hadith of the Prophet that said, 'La ashba Allahu batna Mu'awiyyah.' May Allah not satiate the belly of Mu'awiyyah."

And the reason is because there is a Hadith that says that one day when Abdullah ibn Abbas was young, the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, told Abdullah ibn Abbas, "Go call Mu'awiyyah for me." So he went and Mu'awiyyah said, "Tell the Prophet I am eating." So he came back and he said, Mu'awiyyah says he's eating. Then the Prophet said again, go call Mu'awiyyah for him. He went again and said Ya Rasul Allah, Mu'awiyyah says he is eating. So the Prophet said, "Oh Allah, may his belly never be full or satiated," and history records that Mu'awiyyah would eat and eat and eat until he would get tired, but he wouldn't be satiated. So Imam Nasa'i tells the Syrians, I don't know of any Fada'il of Mu'awiyyah except this one hadith of the Prophet that may Allah never fill the belly of Mu'awiyyah.

And they said, is there nothing else that you can say about Mu'awiyyah and some reports say he told them, if Mu'awiyyah makes it to Salvation, that will be his Fada'il. So they were so upset they pulled him down from the pulpit, they beat him with sticks until he died, or the injured him severely and he died from those injuries. Now, it's easy to say this, but it takes a tremendous amount of courage to go to a place like Damascus in those days and ascend the pulpit. You are now in the lion snare, and to read the Fada'il of Ali in front of the enemies of Ali, and then to criticize Mu'awiyyah in this way, like he was asking for death.

Right, so we have had these sort of sacrifices and we need to acknowledge that. But one of the points we are trying to drive towards is to say love of Ali, love of Ahl ul-Bayt is very important. But equally important is to consider their Aqeedah and their fiqh as well, because there are solutions for the Muslim 'Ummah in the aqa'id and the fiqh of the Ahl ul-Bayt, which to a large extent has not been appreciated by the Muslim community.

They have focused on the spirituality, the Akhlaq, the adab, the hadith of the Imams. Imam ash-Shafi, for example, when he heard that those who love the Ahl ul-Bayt would be called, Rafidi, Rafidi, Rafidi, he composed poetry in which he says: In kana rafdan hubbu aali Muhammad. If Rafd or being a dissident is the love of aali Muhammad, Fal yashud ath-thaqalayn, ana Rafidi. Then let the universe bear witness, I am Rafidi. This is Imam Shafi, one of the founder of the four schools.

And you know, Shaheed professor Sibta Ja'fer, my favorite poet, perhaps after Miranese. I mentioned some of his words the previous night. He has this poetry that starts with "Makrud khudnu ma'iyy ka'ist dormay, jabnu mallumho ajnabee, kownhai." in that he has a verse referring to these words of Imam Shafi'. He says, "Hum to hai Rafidhee ur ghalee magar. Hum to hai rafidhee ur ghalee magar. Tum bataawukai ash-Shafiee kownhai."

So he is pointing to this fact that there was tremendous love and I have so many other traditions here that I cannot get to right away. So what we are asking for and driving towards is that we need to acknowledge divine, the Ahl ul-Bayt alayhim as-salam, not just as people of high respect and knowledge, but divine leaders and rightful heirs of the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

And I want to end by saying that, and this is no exaggeration, you can take this as a concept and go test it yourself. The difference between the Ahl ul-Bayt, alayhim as-salam, and the Sahaba is this: that if you remove the Sahaba's contribution, it changes things, but not as much, but if you remove the Ahl ul-Bayt, alayhum as-salam, then the history of Islam collapses. If you look at the contributions of the Ahl ul-Bayt, you look at the contribution of Amir al-Mu'minin, alayhi as-salam in all the battles, for example. In the battle of Uhud, Allah protects his Prophet, but he protects it through a means. If Ali was not there, the Prophet would have been assassinated. In the battle of Khandaq, when Amr ibn Abd al-Wud crossed the trench, and hadith, riwayat say that the Sahaba were sitting so still, it was like there was a bird on their head. It was Ali who saved Islam that day.

At Khaybar, many of the Sahaba went and could not bring victory. It was Ali who brought victory. You look at the night of Hijrah, you have a perfect example where you have, you know, Abu Bakr as a Sahaba, journeying with the Prophet to Medina, and you have Ali, alayhim as-salam sleeping in the bed of the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam. Now, a Sunni Muslim might argue that the sacrifices and contributions of Abu Bakr in journeying with the Prophet were great. Undoubtedly, they were great. But if you argue on that basis that undoubtedly they were great. However, if Abu Bakr had not gone with the Prophet, the Prophet would still have migrated to Medina. But what would have happened if Ali would not have slept in the bed of the Prophet? [Subhana Allah]

There were many Sahaba who gave in and pledged bay'ah to Yazid. But if Husayn would have pledged bay'ah, things would have been very different in Islam today. So the Ahl ul-Bayt, alayihim as-salam, would be trying to demonstrate is that they were chosen by Allah and they have a very special place in Islam and they have a role to play, not just as an adornment to make Muslims look eminent, that they have such high respect and love for the family of the Prophet.

But to me, the two interpreters of the Qur'an to be the heirs and the Warith of the knowledge of the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, and to guide the 'Ummah. One of the things I will address a few nights after when I come to the khilafah of Amir ul-Mu'minin, alayhi as-salam, and this is very important, is that what is the difference between hereditary Imamah and a dynastic rule or a monarchy or nepotism?

You see the Banu Umayyid, Banu Abbas, they all went father, son, father son, father son. Up to today, when you look at the aal-Sa'ud, it's within a family in the Arabs, they use this idea of a family that rules. Now, someone can throw this back at us and say, when you look at your Imams, it's the same thing. It's father son, father son, father, son. What is the difference? There is some fundamental difference between this concept and that concept. And inshaAllah, I will get to that. What I had really, really hoped to do tonight was to talk about when we say 'Adalah and Imamah, what do we mean when we say the Shi'as have 'Adalah and Imamah and these are missing ingredients in Islam and this can help improve the 'Ummah, this can insulate us from radicalism. What do we mean by that?

You see, I spent a good and I'm coming to a conclusion I spent a good part of today just tormenting myself over this thought that why is it that I have been saying all these nights that the Shi'a concept of 'Adalah and Imamah can help insulate the 'Ummah from radicalisation? But my audience is interpreting this to mean that the Sunni Muslims have something in them that make them prone to radicalisation. And when I began thinking, why is this being misunderstood, I came to the conclusion.

The reason is because I haven't yet introduced what I mean by 'Adalah and Imamah. And that's why I wanted to do it tonight in connection to what I presented earlier, so inshaAllah, if you are still not satisfied with the answer. Bear with me until tomorrow night. Allow me to explain what is unique about the concept of justice in Tashayyu and what is unique about the concept of Imamah in Tashayyu and you will, I hope, immediately see why I keep saying that this can help the 'Ummah of Islam. If you can recite a Salawat ala Muhammad [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad wa ajjal farajahum]. Salla Allahu wa sallama alayka ya Aba Abdillah. Ruhi wa arwahu 'alameena laka al-fidha. Ya laytana kunna ma'akum Aba Abdilla, fa nafuzu fawzan Adheema. Adhama Allahu ujurana wa ujurakum bi musabina bi 'l-Husayn, alayhi as-salam.

Tonight is the fifth night of Muharram. And we continue offering our condolences to Aba Abdillah al-Husayn, over the loss of his As-hab and Ansar. And we said last night that Husayn alayhi as-salaam had a very special place in his heart for his companions and that he had handpicked them individually one by one. You see Imam Al-Husayn alayhi as-salam, had this tremendous amount of compassion for humanity at large. We are told on the day of Ashura, he was crying for his enemies. This is a man whose children have been slaughtered in front of him. This is a man who knows they are going to kill him. He is crying for them. And when a man saw Aba Abdillah al-Husayn crying, he said, Ya Aba Abdillah, why do you weep? He said, "Abki li qawmin yadkuluna an-Naar fiyah". I am crying for a community that will go to the fire of hell because of me.

Even after his Ali Akbar had been killed, he was pleading with the community and says, if you still stop right now, don't shed my blood and destroy your Akhira, I will still forgive you. You will not find any example like this in humanity. So if he had such compassion for his enemies, can you even begin to understand how dear these companions were to him, how dear was Burayr to him, how dear was Zuhayr to him? How dear was Muslim to him? And I said last night that tonight I want to dedicate and speak in particular about the most beloved companion of Husayn. This is the Habib of Husayn. You see all the Ash-ab of Husayn came to Husayn later in his life, he came to know them over time. Some of them fought with him in Siffin, some of them he met in Madinah and so on. But Habib was a childhood friend of Husayn, a childhood they grew up together. And I say this every time I recite the Masa'ib of Habib, that in this there is an example for us of how important it is to name your child with names that will inspire the child.

When we name our children with the names of the Ahl ul-Bayt alayhmu as-salam, it is to bring barakah in our homes so that in our homes, when we call out our children's name, our walls echo with Ali, Haidar, Abbas, Zaynab, Fatimah. We want these names around our homes. It is also to preserve their memory, just like Imam Husayn named all his sons Ali. But it is also to inspire that child, you will find the children when they grow up and become adults a lot of time the names they were given become subliminally an inspiration for them. We spoke of Hurr, two nights ago that when Imam al-Husayn came to him, he said: "Ma akhta't ummuka in sammaytuka Hurr". Oh Hurr, your mother did not make a mistake when she named your Hurr. "Anta hurrun fi id-Dunya wa al-Akhirah". You see how beautiful and perfect a name is.

This child was named Habib. Habib means beloved, beloved friend. We are told the author of Ma'alia Sibtayn says that one day Rasul Allah was sitting with his As-hab and Ansar and there were children outside before him playing with Husayn. Suddenly Rasul Allah stood up and he walked towards the children and he lifted Habib. And he took Habib back to him and he sat Habib on his lap and he began kissing me and rubbing his hand on the head of Habib. The As-hab said Ya Rasul Allah, why do you do this only with the son of Madhahir? He said: you did not see what I saw. What I saw is that wherever my Husayn was walking, Habib was following behind and Habib was taking the dust from the feet of Husayn and rubbing it on his head. This child will help my Husayn in Karbala.

Habib had this deep love for Husayn. And Habib was a commander, Habib was from the Banu Asad, he was a man that was a leader of his tribe. In fact, when Imam Al-Husayn bought the land of Karbala from the Banu Asad, when Habib came to Karbala, he went to speak to the Banu Asad to convince them to fight for Husayn, but Umar ibn Sa'ad threatened them. So they backed off. There came a time when Husayn, alayhi as-salam, was in Medina. And Habib was in Kufa. Imam Al-Husayn alayhi as-salam, again, look at the maqam of Habib, those of you who have been to Karbala, you will see that all the shuhada are buried in one place that is called the Gang Ash-Shu'ada. But Habib has his own dharih and he is buried in front of the qabar of Husayn. So amongst the family of Husayn, the Alamdar and the spokesperson was Abu 'l-Fadl al-Abbas, but amongst the As-hab, it was Habib. Habib was the commander of the As haab in Karbala. And to this day in Karbala, when you enter the dharih of Husayn, Habib is in the front guarding the qabr of Husayn. This is Habib.

Habib was in Kufa when Muslim came. Habib was one of those who spoke to Muslim. And people pledged allegiance because of him. When things changed in Kufa and Muslim was killed and a curfew was put in place, Habib was encouraging whoever he could to leave Kufa. You could not leave through the main gates of Kufa, but there were rivers behind, and marshlands, and people would go in the night through the marshlands to try and escape. And this is how Muslim had escaped to Karbala. There came a time when Habib had no news of his Aqa and Mawla, and he was in Kufa and Husayn, alayhi as-salam, was in Karbala. On the 3rd of Muharram, Umar ibn Sa'ad, la'nat Ullah alayh, came to Karbala with three thousand men and took over the command from Hurr. And day after day from that day, different commanders came with large troops. Sukhuli came with three or four thousand men. Harmala came with three or four thousand men. Shabbath bin Rabiyy came with four or five thousand men. Hasin bin Nameer came with three or four thousand men, and when they came to Karbala, they found out that Husayn has brought his women and his children with them.

So they decided in order to frighten the children of Husayn and to torment them further, when we enter Karbala, we will develop our forces with force and frighten the children as we shake the land of Karbala. And so as they came into Karbala, they beat drums and they galloped and they made all sorts of noise and the children would cry. And Umm al-Masa'ib Zaynab, alayha as-salam, had to comfort these children. There came a point when Zaynab, alayha as-salam, came to her brother Husayn, she said, oh, Aba Abdillah, these troops are coming one after the other. The children are frightened. The children are scared that we are alone. We don't have enough to help us.

Oh, Husayn, do you not have any Habib that can come to our help? Husayn remembered his childhood friend Habib. He wrote a letter to Habib and found a messenger and sent him through the darkness of the night into Kufa. We are told there was a night when Habib was seated with his wife eating their supper. When they heard a knock on the door, Habib came to the door. This is a time of fear and curfew. He whispered and said. Who is this? He heard a voice on the other side saying: ana baridu al-Husayn, I am the messenger of Husayn. Now look at Habib and his love for Husayn. Habib immediately opened the door. The messenger gave a letter to Husayn and disappeared into the darkness of the night. Habib took the letter of Husayn Habib, placed the letter of Husayn on his head. Habib placed the letter of Husayn on his eyes. Habib kissed the letter of Husayn. Then Habib opened the letter to read, and it said: min Husayn ibn Ali ilaa rajulin faqeeh Habib. From Husayn bin Ali to the most learned Habib.

Habib, Husayn has become Ghareeb. Habib, Husayn is now surrounded by enemies in Karbala. And I need your help, Habib. Come to me: al-'ajal, al-ajal. Oh, Habib. Do not hold yourself back from coming to my help. My Jadd Rasul Allah will reward you. Bas, Habib saw this letter. He closed the letter. He went back inside. He sat down again at the table with his wife. His wife said to him, oh Habib, who is the letter from? She said, he said it is from Husayn. What does Husayn say? Husayn is asking for my help in asking me to go to his aid in Karbala.

Now, look at the wife of Habib, the wife of Habib says then oh Habib, what do you intend to do? Habib begins to test his wife. He says, I am concerned about you and thinking what will happen to you if I go? The wife of Habib stood up. She said, Oh, Habib, the son of Zahra' is calling you, and you are concerned about me! By Allah, oh Habib. If you do not go to Husayn, I will go and help Husayn. Habib is encouraged by this. Habib takes a small provision. He asks his servant to wait outside Kufa for him and says, I will come alone and meet you on the outskirts of Kufa when he is about to leave the Arbab of Aza' say, the wife of Habib says, oh Habib, I let you go to Karbala on one condition. When you get to Karbala, kiss the hands and feet of Abaa Abdillah and give him my salam.

Bas, Habib bids farewell to his wife and his child for the last time. Habib leaves his home in the dark of the night. Habib, it takes him a while to get to the outskirts of Kufa. When he comes to the outskirts of Kufa, he finds his servant waiting with his horse. The servant has his hands around the steed of Habib, and the servant is speaking to the horse and saying, Oh, steed of my master, if Habib does not come, I will mount you and go to Karbala and help Husayn.

Habib begins to weep. Alas what times have befallen on the grandson of Rasul Allah, that slaves are yearning to help Husayn. Go, I have freed you, the man said, if you have freed me, then I wish to come with you to Karbala. Bas, the slave and the master get on the horse. They now gallop towards Karbala. On this side, Habib is coming towards Karbala. On that side, Husayn is waiting for his Habib.

The books of Aza' say Husayn prepare the alams and rayats for his commanders. Husayn prepared twelve rayats, twelve alams for his commanders. When they were ready, he gave one to Burayr and said, Oh Burayr, this is your alam. He gave one to Muslim and said, Oh, Muslim, this is your alam. He gave one to Zuhayr and said, Oh, Zuhayr, this is your alam. He gave one to Abu 'l-Fadl Al-Abbas. Oh, Abbas, this is your alam.

When he had distributed eleven albums. Then Husayn kept one alam, on the side and everyone would ask him: Aqa, whose alam is this? He would say, This is my Habib's. He will come. I know I have written to him. He will come look at trust that Husayn has on his Habib. Looking at the ihtimad that an Imam has for his Shi'a: I have written to my Habib, my Habib will come. Husayn, on the morning before the day of Ashura, he sees a cloud of dust approaching towards Karbala. He sees only one horse. There is a lone rider with a man behind him. Habib comes closer. Habib sees Husayn. Husayn Habib. Habib gets off his horse. He comes close to Husayn. He first fulfilled his pledge. He kisses, the feet and hands of Husayn. Aqa Mawla Husayn! My wife gives you salaams. Husayn, I am an old man, but when I see you, I feel energized. Habib stood up upright. Oh Husayn, I am ready for jihad.

The As-hab and Ansar come and meet Habib. There is joy and laughter in the camp of Husayn. The As-hab have are full of laughter enjoying the camp of Husayn. Zaynab, alayha as-salam, hears a commotion outside. She hears the As-hab of Husayn are rejoicing, she says: Fidhdha, Fidhdha go see what is happening outside in the camp of my brother. Fidhdha goes out and sees she comes back, she says: oh daughter of Ali! Habib has come from Kufa. Bas when Zaynab hears Habib has come, she says: go quick Fidhdha! Go Fidhdha! Tell Habib Zaynab sends you salaams. Ajrukum 'ala Allah! Ajrukum 'ala Allah!

Now, the books of riwayat, now, the books of riwayat, when Fidhdha comes to Habib and says, Oh, Habib, the daughter of Zahra' sends you salaams. The books of Aza say: "fa latama al-Habib ala kaddihi". Habib began slapping his cheeks. "Wa aththa at-turab 'ala rasihi". Then he took the dust from Karbala, he began throwing it on his head. Then he began saying: "man ana? Wa man akun, hatta tusallima alayha binti Amir Al-Mu'minin?" Habib, who are you, and who will you ever become, that the daughter of Amir Al-Mu'minin will send you salams? Habib! Habib of Husayn! The day of Ashura comes, every time Husayn goes to take the lash of his As-hab and Ansar, Habib goes with Husayn to help Husayn bring the lash of his As-hab and Ansar, and to take the wasiya of As-hab and Ansar. There comes a time when Habib has to go for jihad. I do not know how Husayn parts from his childhood friend. Habib goes for jihad. Some of the ruwayats says he kills sixty two of the people.

When Habib falls, he calls out: "as-salamu alayka ya Aba Abdillah! Adrikni!". Husayn runs out to his childhood friend. Husayn places the head of Habib on his lap. There are words of Husayn that are written in the dharih of Habib, he says, ya Habib, ya Habib, kunta fadhilan, oh Habib you, what an excellent men you are. Or Habib, I, Husayn bear witness you used to recite the Qur'an while standing up all night in prayer. Go, oh Habib. My Jadd will quench your thirst! The Arbab of Aza' say: when this qafila left Karbala and went to Kufa, Habib had a son. The son did not know that his father had been killed. Now this, this is As-hab, this qafila is being paraded in the streets of Kufa. There are two riwayats here.

Some said that the son of Habib was a young child, he was seen running behind a horse. He kept running behind the horse. When the man holding Habib's head on the spear saw the child, he turned behind and said, What is it you want? He said, This is my baba's head. Give it back to me. This is my baba's head on this spear. Give it back to me. And he kept running behind those asking for his father's head.

Some of the riwayats say, no, the child was growing up. The child was a young man. When he saw the head of his father on the spear. He went to the soldier. He began fighting and arguing with him until he got the head of his father. Then he took the head of his father, Habib. He wiped the sand and blood from the face of his father, Habib. Then he said, baba! baba! wa nusuwarith is alive, his head is not paraded in the bazars. Baba, your warith is alive, they will not take your head around.

Suddenly there was a sound of chain and shackles, I would say, Oh son of Habib! Watch what you say! Zayn al-Abidin is behind! He is also watching the head of his father on a spear! He is also crying out and say: Baba! Your Warith is alive, but I cannot help you! Wa Madhluma! Wa Shahida! Wa Ghariba!