The highest level of generosity and\nbounty is sacrifice. It was one of the slogans of the Messenger of Allah\n(PBUH&HP). The importance of sacrifice is to the extent that Allah (SWT)\ndescribes the believers in the Holy Quran by saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026and they give\nothers preference over themselves, even though they were in need of that\u2026 (1)\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been narrated that Prophet\nMoses (PBUH) asked Allah (SWT) to show him some of the ranks of Prophet\nMuhammad (PBUH&HP) and his nation. When he realized their high rank, he\nasked about the reason for such bestowment. Allah (SWT) said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is because\nof a merit I have exclusively given to him (among the Prophets), and that is\nsacrifice (2)\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best examples of sacrifice can be\nfound in the incident of Karbala. In fact, one of the main characteristics of\nthe incident of Karbala is sacrifice. And when it comes to sacrifice, is there\na better example than Ab al-Fadl al-Abbas (PBUH)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The manifesting of this humane and\nIslamic character was one of the purposes of the incident of Karbala. It seems\nAbbas (PBUH) was made responsible for this task. One of the manifestations of\nthe sacrifice of Abbas (PBUH) was when he fought the army surrounding Euphrates,\nand he entered the river with his horse. There, water reached the stomach of\nthe horse. He could fill the container he had without dismounting from his\nhorse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once he filled the container, he took\nsome water with his hand and raised his hand to drink the water. People were\nwitnessing this scene from far; however, all they have narrated is that he\npoured the water and did not drink it. But why would he do that? At first, no\none realized why Abbas (PBUH) did so. The history says, \u201dhe remembered the thirst\nof his brother. He thought with himself that it was not appropriate for him to\ndrink water while Imam Hussain (PBUH) was thirsty in the tents\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But how does this point is concluded\nfrom history? It is inferred the poems of Abbas (PBUH). When he exited the\nriver, he started reciting poems. People realized from these poems why he had\nrefused to drink water. In his poems, Abbas (PBUH) addressed himself by saying,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cO Abbas! I do\nnot want you to remain alive after Hussain. You want to drink water and stay\nalive? O Abbas! Hussain is thirsty in his tent and you want to drink cold\nwater? I swear to Allah (SWT) that this is not the way a brother, a follower of\nan Imam, or a loyal person would act\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, Karbala is the complete\nmanifestation of sacrifice, and Abbas ibn Ali (PBUT) is its best example. He\nbecame the example of sacrifice when the enemy brought him a letter of safety\nbut he refused to accept, when he gave a sermon on the night of Ashura and\nintroduced himself as a sacrifice for Imam Hussain (PBUH), and when he refused\nto drink water while he was extremely thirsty. Abbas (PBUH) preferred his Imam\nand his religion over his own life. He exemplified an outstanding lesson of\nsacrifice for all the people throughout the entire history. Such a sacrifice and\nloyalty is what makes Prophet Moses (PBUH) wonder about the merits of Prophet\nMuhammad (PBUH&HP) and his nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The above is a\nselection from \u201cHamaseye Husseini\u201d, by Late Martyr Scholar Muratada Mutahhari,\nwith minor changes)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd website offers its\ncondolences upon the remembrance day of the teacher of sacrifice and the\ndefender of the position of Wilayah, Abbas ibn Ali ibn Abitalib (PBUT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. The Holy\nQuran, (59:9)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. The\nCollection of Warram, vol. 1. p. 173<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The highest level of generosity and bounty is sacrifice. It was one of the slogans of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP). The importance of sacrifice is to the extent that Allah (SWT) describes the believers in the Holy Quran by saying: \u201c\u2026and they give others preference over themselves, even though they were in need of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28425,28555,28248],"tags":[24551,17778,24374,18131,20756,18426,18418,17943,24552,24550],"class_list":["post-4832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abbas-ibn-ali-pbuh","category-martyrdom-en-abbas-ibn-ali-pbuh","category-occasional-letters","tag-2010-12-15","tag-allah","tag-hadrat-abbas","tag-holy","tag-importance","tag-messenger","tag-occasion-letters","tag-quran","tag-sacrifice","tag-the-example-of-sacrifice"],"yoast_head":"\n