The Journey to Martyrom Begins here

When the Eminent Lord of the Martyrs, peace be upon him, decided to set out from Mecca to Iraq, he delivered a speech, saying:

All Praise belongs to Allah. Whatever Allah wants will occur. There is no strength and no power except Allah; Greetings upon his Messenger, the one he sent.

Death is inevitable for all the descendants of Adam.

How I long to meet upon those of my family who have died and gone before me; like Jacob longed to see Joseph!

A place has been specified and chosen for me, upon which my body must fall: I must reach that place.

It is as if even now I can see the wolves of the desert between Nawawees and Karbala are tearing me apart piece by piece, and filling their ravenous stomachs to the brim with me.

No where can one escape from the day that the Pen of Destiny has inscribed; what satisfies Allah is what satisfies us, the Ahl Bait. We are patient and persevere in the face of His trials; and He will bestow upon us the complete and total blessings and rewards of the steadfast.

The family of the Messenger of Allah, can never be separated from him, any more than the weave of a fabric can be separated from the fabric. They will join with him in the highest heaven. And the Messenger of Allah’s eyes will be delighted upon seeing them, and thus, the promise that Allah gave to His Messenger regarding his close family will be fulfilled.

So, whoever is one of us, and is ready to sacrifice his life, to give up his life blood, and has prepared his soul to meet Allah—travel, move along with us, as I am ready to leave in the morning, may Allah, the Exalted so will.

When that Eminent one began to move toward Kufa, Farazdaq ibn Ghalib, who was one of the well know poets of the time came across him upon the way. When he met him, he said,

“O son of the Messenger of Allah! How can you trust the Kufans? They have killed your cousin Muslim ibn Aqil and his followers!”

That Eminent one sought Allah’s mercy upon Muslim ibn Aqil and said, “Muslim took this journey for the satisfaction of Allah. He did his duty; our duty is yet upon us.”

Then he recited this poem:

And if it is so that the world is considered valuable; then it must be known that the next life, which is the home of blessings and divine rewards, therefore is finer to that and more noble.

And if it is such that the human body was created to die; then it must be known that being killed by the sword in the way of Allah, therefore, is higher.

And if it is such that the sustenance of the Creator is apportioned into specified, pre-destined amounts, then it must be known that being less greedy in pursuing one’s livelihood is more beautiful and finer.

And if it is such that in the end, after gathering wealth, one must eventually leave it behind, then what benefit does something have that must be left behind, that a person should be stingy and greedy about it.

The Lord of the Martyrs recited this same poem on the day of Ashura, as a battle cry.

The poet Farazdaq also reported:

“When I had decided not to stay longer in Kufa, I returned. On my way back, Husain, peace be upon him, saw me and said:

‘O, Abu Faros! What news do you have of the place you have left?’

I said, ‘Shall I tell you the truth?’ He said, ‘Yes, I want the truth!’ I said, ‘The hearts of the Kufans are with you, but all their swords are in the service of the Umayyids! Support and help is from Allah!’

He said, ‘Yes, this is something you said out of honesty and truthfulness.
--People are the slaves and servants of mundane wealth.
--Whatever they say about religion is only empty words which run from their tongues.
--They stand up for their religion only insofar as it will provide them with an abundant livelihood.
--When they are faced with trials and test, it becomes so clear that those who are truly religious are few.