Yahya bin Nu\u2019maan narrates that:\u201d I\nwas with Imam Hussain (PBUH) when an Arab masked man with a dark face entered\nand greeted the Imam (PBUH). Imam Hussain (PBUH) responded his greeting. The\nman said,\u201d O son of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP)! I have a question\u201d.\nImam Hussain (PBUH) replied,\u201d Go ahead\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man asked,\u201d What is the distance\nbetween faith and certainty?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Hussain (PBUH) replied,\u201d As much\nas four fingers\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Arab man asked,\u201d How?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Hussain (PBUH) said,\u201d Faith is\n<\/p>\n\n\n
[regarding]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
what we hear [and acknowledge], and certainty is [regarding] what\nwe see [with our eyes and accept them], and the distance between one\u2019s ears and\neyes are as much as four fingers\u201d (1).\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man asked,\u201d What is the distance\nbetween the earth and the heavens?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Hussain (PBUH) replied,\u201d As much\nas an accepted prayer\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Arab man asked,\u201d What is the glory\nof person?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Hussain (PBUH) replied,\u201d His\nindependence from people\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man asked,\u201d What is the ugliest\nthing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Hussain (PBUH) replied,\u201d (The\nugliest thing is) lewdness and shamelessness in the elderly, brutality in the\npowerful, lying of the noble, stinginess for the rich, and greed for the\nknowledgeable\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man said then,\u201d You are right, O\nson of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP)! Now tell me about the number of\nthe Imams after the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP)\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Hussain (PBUH) replied,\u201d Twelve;\nas many as the successors among the children of Israel\u201d (2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man said, “Name them please”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The narrater says: Imam Hussain (PBUH)\n(lowered his head and) paused for a while, then he raised his head and said,\u201d\nYes my Arab brother! I will inform you. Verily the Imams after the Messenger of\nAllah (PBUH&HP) and his successors are the Commander of the Believers, Ali\n(PBUH), Hassan (PBUH), myself, and nine people from my progeny; my son Ali\n(PBUH), then his son Muhammad (PBUH), then Muhammad\u2019s son named Ja\u2019far (PBUH),\nthen Ja\u2019far\u2019s son named Musa (PBUH), then Musa\u2019s son named Ali (PBUH), then\nAli\u2019s son named Muhammad (PBUH), then Muhammad\u2019s son named Ali (PBUH), then\nAli\u2019s son named Hassan (PBUH), and after Hassan is Mahdi (PBUH) (the Promised\none), who is my ninth progeny. He shall take responsibility of the religion at\nthe end of time.\u201d (3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The narrator says: The Arab man got\nup, while he was whispering,\u201d the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) moved his\nhand (out of mercy) on the face of Hussain (PBUH), that is why his face is\nshining and brilliant. His parents are the best among Quraish, and his\ngrandfather is the best of grandfathers\u201d. (4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The above is a\nselection taken from \u201cMusnad al-Imam al-Shahid\u201d (5), by Hujjat al-Islam\nAzizullah Atarudi)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website congratulates all\nMuslims, especially you dear friend, upon 3rd of Sha\u2019ban, the birthday\nanniversary of the ore of wisdom and the arch of rescue of the nation, the\nthird Imam of the Shiites, Imam Hassain ibn Ali (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. This\nstatement of the Imam Hassan (PBUH) refers to this point that faith is belief\nin a reality based on what one hears and testifies due to evidences, whereas\ncertainty is belief in a reality after seeing it with eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. It refers to\nverse 12 of the 5th chapter of the Holy Quran where Allah (SWT) says,\u201d And\ncertainly Allah made a covenant with the children of Israel (to obey Our\ncommands), and We raised up among them twelve chieftains (leaders and guardians)\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. It is\nnoteworthy that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) had clearly mentioned 12\npeople as his successors previously, and also provided their descriptions\n(Sahih Bukhari, vol. 8, p. 127 \u2013 Sahih Muslim, vol. 6, p. 3 \u2013 Sahih Tirmizi,\nvol. 3, p. 340). Therefore, this was not the first time the Imams were\nintroduced. In fact, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) had named his\nsuccessors one by one in several occasions. For example, after verse 59 of\nchapter 4 of the Holy Quran was revealed, he named all the infallible Imams\n(PBUT) one by one, according to the Hadith Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari has\nnarrated (see Kamal al-Din, vol. 1, p. 253). Or in another instance, he named\nall his successor one by one on sermon he delivered towards the end of his\nblessed life (see Kifayah al-Athar, p. 40). Moreover, some Hadiths narrated in\nSunni references also indicate that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) had\nexplicitly named all his 12 successor (see Faraid al-Simtayn, vol. 2, p. 134 \u2013\nMaqtal Kharazmi, vol. 1, p. 146 \u2013 Yanabi al-Mawaddah, vol. 3, p. 380).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. This Hadith\nis also narrated in Kifayah al-Athar, p. 232 and Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 36, p.\n385.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. This Hadith\nis narrated in the third volume of the book, page 100. The above passage is\ntaken from the Farsi translation of the book named \u201cThe Encyclopedia of the\nsayings of Imam Hussain (PBUH)\u201d, page 807.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yahya bin Nu\u2019maan narrates that:\u201d I was with Imam Hussain (PBUH) when an Arab masked man with a dark face entered and greeted the Imam (PBUH). Imam Hussain (PBUH) responded his greeting. The man said,\u201d O son of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP)! I have a question\u201d. Imam Hussain (PBUH) replied,\u201d Go ahead\u201d. The man […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[20064,20066,18882,19565,17892,18418,18207,20065,20067,20063],"class_list":["post-4193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized-fa","tag-2013-06-12","tag-accepted","tag-arab","tag-dark","tag-imam-hussain","tag-occasion-letters","tag-prayer","tag-responded","tag-ugliest","tag-wise-answers"],"yoast_head":"\n