After being conquered by the Muslims,\nShaam had seen people like Khalid ibn Walid and Mu\u2019awiah ibn Abu Sufyan as its\nrulers. The people of that region had neither benefited from the presence of\nthe Prophet (PBUH&HP), nor had they any idea of the method of his\ncompanions. The few companions of the Prophet (PBUH&HP) who resided there\nwere separate from each other and did not have any influence on the viewpoint\nof the people of Shaam. As a result, the people of Shaam, used to take the\nbehavior of Mu\u2019awiah and his group as Islamic behavior, and because they had\nthe Roman imperators as their rulers for centuries, saw the Islamic methods of\ngovernance more just than the previous ones and supported it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This unawareness was considerable to\nan extent that it has been narrated in the historical sources that once some of\nthe prominent figures of Shaam came to visit Saffah, the Abbasid caliph, they\ntold him: \u201cBy God, we never knew that the Prophet of God had any relative other\nthan Bani Umayyah to be his heir, until you became the caliph.\u201d(1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now such area, with the abovementioned\nbackground, has become the battle ground for Imam Sajjad (PBUH) to act his\nhistorical role in defending the achievements of the events of Karbala, and\nguide the people toward God. Imam (PBUH) as a captive and after witnessing the\nhorrible scenes of Karbala entered the city of Shaam, while history testifies\nthat his hands and neck were chained,(2) and as he could not keep himself on\nthe top of the camel because of illness, his feet were tied together under the\nbelly of the camel. (3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this situation, when the captives\nof Karbala were entering Damascus, a man stood against Imam Ali ibn Hussain\n(PBUT) and said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThanks the God\nwho killed you and destroyed you, and made the people safe from your vices, and\nhelped the Amir al-Mu\u2019minin \u2013 Yazid- to prevail upon you. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Sajjad (PBUH) silenced until the\nman from Shaam expressed his feelings. Then he entered the following\nconversation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Have you read the\nQuran?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Have you read the\nverse \u201cO Prophet! Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my\nAhl al-Bayt\u201d (4)?\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Yes I have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Have you read the\nverse \u201cAnd give to the near of kin their due\u201d (5)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Yes I have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Have you read the\nverse \u201cVerily Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O\npeople of the House (Ahl al-Bayt)! and to purify you a (thorough) purifying\u201d(6)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Yes I have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then the Imam (PBUH) told the man: \u201cO\nold man! These verses are revealed about us. We are the \u201cnear of kins\u201d and we\nare \u201cpurified Ahl al-Bayt\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After hearing the statements of Imam\n(PBUH), the old man realized that what he had heard about these captives was\nnot true. They are not foreigners; rather they are the children of the Prophet\n(PBUH&HP). Therefore he was ashamed and said: \u201cO God! I repent from the\nhatred I had toward these. I hate the enemies of Muhammad and his Household.\u201d(7)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By more investigating the historical\ndocuments, we will come across more material pertaining to the situation in\nShaam and the approach of Imam Sajjad\u2019s (PBUH) enlightening. For example\nIbrahim, the son of Talha, who then resided in Shaam went to watch the captives\nof Karbala when they were entering the city. When he saw Imam Sajjad (PBUH) he\nasked him: \u201cO Ali bin Hussain! Now, who is the winner?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this word he had a tacit hint to\nthe Jamal battle that had occurred between the army of Imam Ali (PBUH) and\nTalha and Zubair, in which Talha, the father of Ibrahim, was killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Sajjad (PBUH) replied: \u201cWant you\nto know who the winner is, before performing the Salat, recite the Azan and\nIghamah [to see what name you mention].\u201d(8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can realize that Imam (PBUH) has\nsubtly replied Ibrahim that the challenge is about monotheism and admitting to\noneness of God; not about the governorship of Hashim or Umayyah.(9)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the testimony of historical\nsources, Imam Sajjad (PBUH), with making the best decisions and making use of\nthe most efficient methods (10), fought against the powers of ignorance and\ninjustice. Moreover, he could defend the culture of Ashura and its achievement\nin the most profound way, and he could continue the way of the epic makers of\nKarbala, and make it eternal upon the height of history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The above is a\nselection from \u201cThe Life of Ali ibn al-Hussain (PBUH)\u201d, By Dr. Sayyed Ja\u2019far\nShahidi, whit minor changes)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website offers condolences\nto all Muslims, especially you dear friend, upon 25th of Muharram, the\nanniversary of the martyrdom of master of worshipers and the leader of the\npious, Imam Ali ibn Hussain (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Al-Hafawat\nal-Naadirah, p. 371- Moruj al-Dhahab, vol. 2, p. 73<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Amaali Sheikh\nSaduq, vol. 1, p. 90 \u2013 Maqtal Khawarazmi vol. 2, p. 40<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Naasikh\nal-Tawaarikh, vol. 3, p. 30<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. The Holy\nQuran, (42:23)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. The Holy\nQuran, (17:26)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. The Holy\nQuran, (33:33)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7. Maqtal\nKhawarazmi vol. 2, p. 61 \u2013 Lohuf, p. 74<\/p>\n\n\n\n
8. Amaali Sheikh\nToosi, p. 677<\/p>\n\n\n\n
9- From the\nstatements of the son of Talha it becomes clear that some of the prominent\nfigures among the Muhajirin (Immigrants) and Quraish never understood Islam as\nthey should, and if we hesitate to think of them as people who fought beside\nthe Great Prophet (PBUH&HP) for wealth and power, their children did not\nreach the level of faithfulness. How is it possible to think about the battle\nof Jamal or the conquest of Mecca and the event of Karbala and the martyrdom of\nImam Hussain (PBUH) as the victory of Bani Hashim or Bani Umayyah, and how is\nit possible that this person as a son of an Immigrant who is not from the\nUmayyah tribe is contented that in the event of Karbala as opposed to battle of\nBadr, the Umayyads were victorious upon the Hashemites?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
10- One of the\nmethods used in this respect was stating point in regards to in the prayers. A\ncollection of these prayers is available in a volume known as \u201cSahifa\nal-Sajjadiah.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After being conquered by the Muslims, Shaam had seen people like Khalid ibn Walid and Mu\u2019awiah ibn Abu Sufyan as its rulers. The people of that region had neither benefited from the presence of the Prophet (PBUH&HP), nor had they any idea of the method of his companions. The few companions of the Prophet (PBUH&HP) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[21009,18478,21011,20431,22,18418,21008,17955,21010,21012],"class_list":["post-4338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2011-12-21","tag-house","tag-idea","tag-imam-sajjad","tag-muslims","tag-occasion-letters","tag-pages-from-the-book-of-shaam","tag-people","tag-shaam","tag-supported"],"yoast_head":"\n