Janabe Mohsin ibne Ali (a.s.)

"And when the female infant buried alive is asked, for what sin she was killed."

(Sura At-Takwir – 81:8-9)

Mufazzal Ibn Umar, the respected companion and special deputy of Imam Sadiq (a.s) asked, “What is your opinion about these verses?

Imam (a.s) informed: “O Mufazzal, by Allah, ‘Maudato’ (i.e. infant) in this verse means Mohsin (a.s) and surely he is from us and not others. Those who claim otherwise are lying.”

Then Imam (a.s) elaborated (on the events on the Day of Resurrection) "Fatimah, the daughter of the Allah’s Messenger will supplicate ” O Allah fulfill Your Promise and Your Pledge with me with regards to those who oppressed me, usurped my rights, struck me and distressed me with regards to all my children..."1

Mohsin Ibn Ali (a.s) is the third son of Ali (a.s) and Fatimah (s.a) after Hasan (a.s) and Husain (as). He is also referred to as Mushabbar which is also the name of Prophet Haroon Ibn Imran’s (as) third son. He was no more than six months fetus at the time of the attack.2

BURNING OF THE DOOR & THE MARTYRDOM OF JANABE MOHSIN (A.S)

There are plenty of narrations which proveMohsin ibn Ali (a.s) martyrdom from the attack on Fatimah's (s.a) house. Those interested in seeking the truth of the matter should not be surprised to find scores of scholars and historians (Shia and Sunni both) record the martyrdom of Mohsin ibn Ali (as) in a manner that puts the issue beyond doubt.

Here we present a letter which Umar's  wrote to Muawiya  regarding the attack on the house of Janabe Zahra (s.a), the contents of which were as follows:

‘I went to the house of Ali, after having decided with others to bring him out of the house. Fatima came out and I told her, ‘Tell Ali to come out and swear the oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr (l.a) for all Muslims have done so.’

Fatima (s.a) replied that Ali (a.s) was busy in arranging the Quran.

I said, ’Keep this talk aside, tell Ali to come out or else we will forcefully enter the house and bring him out!’

At that moment, Fatima came and stood with her back towards the door and said, ‘O misled liars! What do you say and what do you want from us?’

I addressed her and she said, ‘what do you want O Umar?’

I replied, ‘Why has your cousin sent you here to reply while he remains seated behind veils?’

Fatima said, ‘Your rebellion has brought me out O Umar and I have ended my proof upon you, and every misled is erroneous.’

I said, ‘Keep these vain and womanish words aside and tell Ali to come out of the house.’

She replied, ‘You are not worthy of love and generosity. Do you make us fear the ‘Party of the Devil’ O Umar? Verily the Party of the Devil are the losers!’ (Surah Mujadilah (58): 19)

Hearing this I said, ‘If Ali does not come out of the house, I will bring fuel and kindle a fire and burn down the house along with its dwellers or I will take Ali to the Masjid for (the oath of) allegiance.’

Then I took the whip (of Qunfudh) and struck Fatima with it and told Khalid b. Walid, ‘Bring firewood’, then again I told her, ‘I will burn down the house!’

Fatima said, ‘O enemy of Allah and enemy of the Prophet of Allah (s.a.w.a) and the enemy of the Commander of the Faithful!’

Two hands came out from behind the door to stop me from entering the house, however I pushed back the hands and then pushed the door with force, while striking at her hands with the whip, so that she would let go of the door. She wailed and wept due to the intense pain of the whip and her weeping was such a heart-rendering scream that it was as if my heart was going to melt and I almost retreated. Suddenly, I recalled the envy and avarice which I had towards Ali because he was the one that had shed the blood of the eminent Quraish apostates and thus, I kicked at the door, however she had grasped the door such that it would not open. When I kicked at the door, I heard the cry of Fatima and thought that this cry would topple the entire city of Medina.

In this state Fatima called out, ‘O Father! O Prophet of Allah! How do they treat your beloved and your daughter! O Fizza! Hasten to my aid, for by Allah, the child in my womb has been killed.’

I presumed that Fatima had stood with her back to the wall due to the extreme pain of labour and at this point, I pushed at the door with intense force and the door opened. When I entered therein, Fatima came and stood in front of me (even though she was in immense pain), but my intense anger had overwhelmed me as if a veil was cast before my eyes. In this state, I slapped her on her face, striking her veil, and she fell down to the ground.’”

(This letter is quoted by AllamahMajlisi r.a. in Behaar al-Anwaar in which he says - I have related this letter from Dalail al-Imamah vol. 2 of Emaad al-DeenTabarir.a. that after the martyrdom of Imam Husain a.s. at Karbala, Abdullah b. Umar l.a. along with a group of people from Medina came to Syria. They protested in front of Yazidl.a. regarding his atrocities at Karbala and in this gathering, Yazidl.a. told Abdullah b. Umar l.a., “Do you wish to see the letter of your father”, saying this he brought forth the letter (quoted in the text) of Umar l.a. which was kept in a case and then he gave it to Abdullah l.a..)

Hazrat Ali (a.s) came out in such a condition - his eyes were reddened and his head uncovered. He placed his cloak over Hazrat Zahra (s.a). He embraced her and called out to Fizzah,

"O Fizzah! Come and support your princess. See how she had been suffering at the door."

Hazrat Mohsin was martyred at that spot. Hazrat Ali (a.s) said,

"He will meet his grandfather - the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a) and describe this tragic event to him. O Fizzah! Please take Fatemah inside the house."3

Another narration states that Qunfuz (l.a) struck her with the whip on her face, her sides and her arms such that the blue marks of the injuries remained on her arms till she was martyred. If not anything, one can surely say that this event was the primary cause for her martyrdom.

Another report mentions that Khalid ibne Waleed struck her with his sword.

Yet another report informs us that Khalid ibne Waleed pushed the door with great force on her. It is for this reason that reliable historians hold Khalid responsible for the death of Janabe’ Mohsin in the womb of his mother.

As per another narration it is reported that, MoghayrahIbne’ Sho’bah struck her with his sword with such force that she bled profusely. Or that he caused the door to fall on her womb. Historians have also held Moghayrah responsible for the martyrdom of HazratMohsin.

Some narrations state that Umar struck Janabe’ Zahra (s.a.) with the sheath of his sword, and lashed her with a whip till her arms were blacked by the wounds.  And these marks remained with her till she died.4

Conclusion:

Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a) had frequently said: "Fatimah is a part of me. Whoever makes her angry, makes me angry."

Allah (swt) says in Qur’an:

"(O Prophet) tell (people) I don’t ask you any wage except to love my family.”(Sura Ash-Shura - 42:23).

But, those who claimed to be his sincere companions entered the house of Ali (as), J.Fatima (s.a), Hasan (a.s) and Husain (a.s) without permission, lashing the side of Lady Fatima (sa), burning the door with the fire, beating on the hands of Janabe Fatima (sa) with whip, injuring her womb and miscarriage of Mohsin (as) while a week had not been passed since the death of the Prophet (s.a.w.a).

IS THIS THE LOVE, ALLAH ORDERED FOR THE FAMILY OF PROPHET?

May Allah curse the killers of Mohsin Ibn Ali (a.s) and hasten the reappearance of the Last Imam (as) who will avenge the blood of Mohsin Ibn Ali (as).Ameen!

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1. Behaar al-Anwaar, vol. 53 pp. 23-24

2. Al-Hidaayat al-Kubra, p. 407, Behaar al-Anwaar, vol. 53 p. 19

3. Al-Hidaayatul Kubra, pg.407

4. Oppression on the Ahlulbayt (a.s) p.61-64

Mourning

Mourning is an important responsibility of every believer. It is essential for us to know the traditions narrated from our Aimmah (a.s.) to understand the importance given by them to his holy act.

We start our discussion with the help of this tradition of Hazrat Imam Ali Reza (a.s.) who said to his companion Ibn Shabeeb (a.r)

ثُمَّ قَالَ يَا ابْنَ‏ شَبِيبٍ‏ ….

يَا ابْنَ‏ شَبِيبٍ‏ إِنْ بَكَيْتَ عَلَى الْحُسَيْنِ ع حَتَّى تَصِيرَ دُمُوعُكَ عَلَى خَدَّيْكَ غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَكَ كُلَّ ذَنْبٍ أَذْنَبْتَهُ صَغِيراً كَانَ أَوْ كَبِيراً قَلِيلًا كَانَ أَوْ كَثِيراً

1)    "O son of Shabeeb! If you weep over the afflictions of Husain (a.s) such that tears flow from your eyes and fall upon your cheeks, Allah will forgive all your sins whether big or small and less or large in number."

يَا ابْنَ‏ شَبِيبٍ‏ إِنْ سَرَّكَ أَنْ تَلْقَى اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ لَا ذَنْبَ عَلَيْكَ فَزُرِ الْحُسَيْنَ ع

2)    "O son of Shabeeb! If you desire to meet Allah the Glorified in a state purified of all sins, then go for the pilgrimage to the grave of Imam Husain (a.s.)

يَا ابْنَ‏ شَبِيبٍ‏ إِنْ سَرَّكَ أَنْ تَسْكُنَ الْغُرَفَ الْمَبْنِيَّةَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ وَ آلِهِ ص فَالْعَنْ قَتَلَةَ الْحُسَيْنِ

3)    "O son of Shabeeb! If you desire that you may abide in the palaces of Paradise in the company of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s) and his Progeny, then invoke Allah's curse upon the murderers of Imam Husain (a.s)."

يَا ابْنَ‏ شَبِيبٍ‏ إِنْ سَرَّكَ أَنْ تَكُونَ لَكَ مِنَ الثَّوَابِ مِثْلَ مَا لِمَنِ اسْتُشْهِدَ مَعَ الْحُسَيْنِ ع فَقُلْ مَتَى مَا ذَكَرْتَهُ‏ يا لَيْتَنِي كُنْتُ مَعَهُمْ فَأَفُوزَ فَوْزاً عَظِيماً

4)    "O son of Shabeeb! If you desire to earn the reward of those who were martyred alongwith Imam Husain (a.s), then whenever you remember him, say: I wish I had been with them, then I too would have attained the Great Triumph."

يَا ابْنَ‏ شَبِيبٍ‏ إِنْ سَرَّكَ أَنْ تَكُونَ مَعَنَا فِي الدَّرَجَاتِ الْعُلَى مِنَ الْجِنَانِ فَاحْزَنْ لِحُزْنِنَا وَ افْرَحْ لِفَرَحِنَا وَ عَلَيْكَ بِوَلَايَتِنَا فَلَوْ أَنَّ رَجُلًا تَوَلَّى حَجَراً لَحَشَرَهُ اللَّهُ مَعَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَة

5)    "O son of Shabeeb! If you desire to reside in the exalted status of Para­dise alongwith us, then bemoan our sorrows and sufferings and rejoice in our happiness and remain attached to our love. For even if a person is attached to a stone in this world, Allah shall make him arise with it on the day of Qiyamah." (Nafasul Mehmoon, Section 2, Tradition no 1)

6)    Ali ibn Musa ar-Reza (a.s) says: "When the month of Moharram would approach, no one would see my father (Imam Moosa al Kazim) ever laughing until the tenth, and grief would prevail upon him. And the tenth would be the day of sorrow, grief and lamenting, and he would say: This is the day when Husain (a.s) was massacred."

7)    Abu Haroon Makfoof, who says that once I went to the presence of Imam Ja'far as Sadiq (a.s). Imam told me to recite some couplets to which I started reciting. Then Imam (a.s) said, "Not like this, recite as you do so for him (Imam Husain) among yourselves and (standing) on the head of his grave." Then I recited, ….Then Imam (a.s) started weeping and hence I became silent. Imam Sadiq told me to continue and recite some more, thus I recited ….Abu Haroon continues that Imam Sadiq wept bitterly and the women of his household too wept. When they became silent, Imam said, "O Abu Haroon! If a person recites couplets about Imam Husain (a.s) and makes ten people weep by it then Paradise is reserved for him at that very mo­ment." Then Imam started reducing the number of persons till he reached one and said, "If a person recites couplets about Imam Husain (a.s) and makes a single person weep by it, then Paradise is reserved for him at that very moment."

8)  Musme' Kardeen who says that one day Imam Ja'far as Sadiq (a.s) told me, "O Musme'! Being a resident of Iraq do you go for the pilgrimage to the grave of Imam Husain (a.s)"? I replied, "No, for the people of Basra know me well and they are the adherents of the Caliph and there are numerous enemies from the nasibies (those who bear enmity towards the Prophet's Ahlulbait) of the clans and others around us. I fear lest they malign me in presence of the sons of Sulayman (bin Abdul Malik, the Abbaside Caliph), who would then torture and harass me." Then Imam said, "Then do you remember the troubles which were inflicted on Imam Husain" and I replied in the affirmative. Imam again asked, "Are you then disturbed by it"? I replied, "Verily yes, by Allah! And this grief effects me such that the people of my family see this (it's effects) upon my face, and I even leave my meals while this sorrow becomes apparent on my cheeks." Imam Sadiq said, "May Allah have mercy upon your tears! Verily you are of those people who are afflicted by our grief, those who rejoice at our prosperity and lament over our sorrows, and who are attached to us in our time of dread and peace. In fact when you die, you will find our Blessed Forefathers close to you and they will counsel the Angel of death regarding you, and glad tidings shall be given to you which will illuminate your eyes. Then he shall be more  compassionate and merciful towards you than a mother is to her son."

9)    Imam Ja'far as Sadiq (a.s) once told Fuzayl that, "Do you discuss our traditions when you sit in each others company"? Fuzayl replied, "Yes we certainly do so, may I be your ransom"! Imam said, "Whoever remembers our traditions, or in whose presence we are discussed and tear equal to the  size of a wing of a fly flow from his eyes, Allah will forgive all his sins although they be equal in number to the foam (of the water) of the river."

10)   Imam Ali ar Reza (a.s) said, "Whoever avoids attending to his worldly affairs on the tenth of Moharram, Allah will fulfill all the wishes and desires of this world as well as the hereafter. Whoever considers this day to be a day of mourning, sorrow and weeping for himself, Allah the Glorified will make the day of Qiyamah to be a day of rejoicing for him and his eyes will be cooled in Paradise on account of us. And whoever considers the tenth of Moharram to be a day of prosperity and buys something for his house (considering it a good omen), then Allah will not give him affluence in that thing. And on the day of Qiyamah he will be made to arise alongwith Yazeed, Ubaydullah bin Ziyad and Umar ibne Sa'ad (may Allah's curse be on all of them) and will be thrown into the lowest abyss of hell."

11)  The Narrator Dawood Raqqi, says that once I was in the presence of  Imam Ja'far as Sadiq (a.s) when he asked for water to drink. When he drank it, grief overtook him and his eyes became full of tears. Then he said, "O Dawood! May Allah's curse be upon the murderers of Imam Husain (a.s). There is no servant (of Allah) who drinks water and remembers Husain and curses his enemies, except that Allah writes one lac virtues in his record, and forgives one lac sins of his, and elevates his position one lac times. It is as if he has freed one lac slaves, and on the day of Qiyamah he shall arise satiated."

Each of the above tradition from the Section 2 of the book Nafasul Mahommom introduces some acts done by Aimmah (a.s.) for Imam Husain (a.s.). These traditions are teaching us to seeking nearness to Imam Husain (a.s.) by performing them. May Allah give us the taufeeq to be greivious, sorrowful, tearful throught the month of Moharrum and Safar.