Sacrifices in the way of Imam Zamana (a,t.f.s.)

Allah, mighty and blessed be He says in Holy Quran

لَنْ تَنالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّى تُنْفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ وَ ما تُنْفِقُوا مِنْ شَيْ‏ءٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِهِ عَليم‏

You will not attain goodness till you sacrifice from what you love. (S. Aale Imran – 92)

It’s a very clear and direct formula and lesson of life, that Allah is mentioning in this verse. We all, in our daily lives do not spend a moment but to achieve something. As children we played, to entertain ourselves; we studied to get good marks; we earn, to ensure a good life for ourselves and our families. We pray to Allah to gain proximity to Him and make our hereafter fruitful. And, if we ponder deep, to achieve all of these we have knowingly or unknowingly made many sacrifices along the way.

Let us now look at the ultimate achievement that we are aiming for. Allah (swt) says

وَ ما خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَ الْإِنْسَ إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُون‏

And I have not created the angels and the men except they worship me (S. Hadid – 56)

Through the tradition of Sayyadus Shohada we conclude that here worship means recognition of the Imam of the time. Hence, to achieve recognition of Imam Zamana (a), which the zenith of goodness will not be a cake walk. We will have to sincerely and regularly go on sacrificing things which are close to our heart.

Whenever we hear the word sacrifice our attention goes nowhere but to Karbala. And why not, because the sacrifices made in Karbala on the day of Ashura were, are and will be unmatched by any human or angel. The peak of sacrifices from people of all age groups, tribes and gender are displayed in this event.

We neither have the courage nor the taufeeq to deliver those sacrifices, however we can take some lessons from them and try to do our best for our Imam (atfs)

Let us turn back the pages of history and glance an eye on the sacrifices of the companions of Imams and then try to replicate in our lives

Sacrifice Ego and Arrogance

As we have read in the history that Janabe Zuhair ibn Qyain al Bajali was an Usmani i.e. follower of Usman (l.a.). He always disassociated himself from Imam Husain (a) and did not speak with him. The malice in his heart for Imam was so great that while his caravan was travelling alongside Imam Husain (a) he set up his camps at distance from Imam Husain (a) so that they don’t face each other. However, the benevolent Imam sent him an invite to meet, but he refused saying that ‘what do I have to do with (Imam) Husain (a)’. His wife insisted that he should go and at least meet Imam. With some resistance he agreed. History is not sure what the conversation was, but it changed J. Zuhair’s world and hereafter forever. A few minutes ago, he was not ready to face Imam and now he is divorcing his wife so that he may accompany Imam to sacrifice his life.

Learning: If at that moment of arrogance if he had been adamant at his stand of not meeting Imam, history would not have remembered Zuhair ibn Qain (a) as it does today. Sometimes, we get opportunities to work for Imam but due to some ego and arrogance we do not appreciate it and the opportunity is lost. We do not know what work of ours will be liked by Imam (a) and we may attain a great status and reward. 

Giving preference to Imam wishes over ours

Janabe Salman e Mohammadi (a) was called Mohammadi for three reasons viz: 1) He preferred company of poor over the rich 2) He preferred company of scholars over the illiterate and 3) He gave preference to the wishes of Imam Ali (a) to his wish. But this is a small example of what we shall discuss. To give preference to the wish of others over us is not easy especially if it’s not in line with what we intend to. Janabe Salman (a) did it. However, in Karbala we have an example that J. Salman (a) may be proud of. The standard bearer of Imam Husain (a) was Abul Fazl Abbas (a) whose reason for coming to this world was defending Imam (a) in Karbala. At every juncture of life, whenever he got an opportunity to tear away the enemies he was stopped saying ‘this is not Karbala’. Hence, he was always waiting for the moment to arrive. And when it actually arrived he did not get the permission to fight. Hazrat Abbas (a) without any ‘ifs and buts’ adhered to the command of his master and laid his life for Islam.

Sacrifice your life for Imam

Yes, the title may sound difficult but that’s not we are going to look at though that may be an ultimate thing but not easy. The context of bring this topic here is that presently this may not apply to us however; we can relate it to our lives.

Those who gave their lives in the way of Imam were people like us i.e. they were having a family, job, social commitments and so. And when they drove their swords from the sheaths, they were very much sure that they will not put them in again. Yet, they were ready for it. It requires great courage to leave your dependants behind you especially knowing that what they will be going through. But the companions of Abi Abdillah (a) were ready for it.

Learning: We being attached to an institution that strives to spread the name of Yusuf e Zahra (atfs) have to sometimes sacrifice our family time to fulfill our commitments with the organization. However, we do it at our own leisure. Once everything in our lives is settled, then we go for the service of Hazrat (atfs). Unlike the martyrs of Karbala, when we leave our families we know that we are going to return to our families, yet we hesitate. Giving time to Hazrat is sacrificing family time and it’s on us whether we chose to do it or no.

Learning: We all have desires to perform a particular act however sometimes it is against the will of Imam (a). In these situations we have weigh our priorities against Imam’s will. Whether we are giving preference to the wish/work of Imam or are we giving preference to self. This is what sacrifice is.

Let us pray to Allah that He gives us the Taufeeq of sacrificing in the way of Hazrat (atfs) and He accepts our sacrifice.