Shi'a Pundit

Devoted to the viewpoint of Islam of Muhammad SAW and Amir ul-Mumineen, Ali ibn Abi Talib SA, in the Shi'a Fatimi Ismaili Dawoodi Bohra tradition.

Lanat upon Yazid.
http://shiapundit.blogspot.com/2007/12/zakir-naiks-comments-on-battle-of.html

Indscribe of An Indian Muslim's Blog writes with outrage over recent comments by Dr Zakir Naik during the Aman Conference in Mumbai. In a nutshell, Naik seeks to portray the martyrdom of Imam Husain AS as nothing more than a political dispute rather than the manifestation of good vs evil, which is the concensus view of most muslims regardless of sect or ideology. Indscribe comments,

It is unthinkable to eulogize and glorify Yazid. Dozens of Muslim organisations and scholars have condemned the statement. Says Hafiz Syed Tahir Ali, 'the battle between Hazrat Imam Husain and Yazid was a fight between good and evil'.

Muslim leaders have questioned how a person like Yazid, who was responsible for the brutal killings of the grandson of Prophet and his family & companions, and the person who led the destruction at Medinah, could be held in such a high esteem by Naik.

Such thinking has nothing to do with Shia-Sunni difference as non-Muslims also take inspiration from the sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Husain. I remember once a guy was expressing similar sentiments about Yazid in a drawing room conversation and all of us were outraged(of course, everybody was a Sunni there).

It seems clear that the only reason for a provocative statement is to provoke. The idea that Shi'a are apostates, innovators, etc is an insidious poison in the muslim polity, much like anti-Semitism in the West, and on occasion it finds an outlet. Hence anything associated with Shi'a must be discredited, even Imam Husain AS and Karbala itself. This is analogous to Holocaust denial on the part of skinhead Nazis and other rightwing Western groups. There is no other explanation for a statement so at odds with the historical record, consensus, and common sense.

Labels: karbala

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Eid ul-Ghadir mubarak.

In the year 10 AH, after performing his last pilgrimage to Hajj, the Prophet SAW declared as his successor, Amirul Mumineen, Moula Ali ibn Talib AS.

The Qur'an says:

'O Apostle! Proclaim (the message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allah will protect you from Mankind. Verily Allah guides not the people who disbelieve. (5: 67)

Thus it was at Ghadir-e-Khum, the point on the journey from which the various pilgrims would disperse to their respective destinations as they returned home from Hajj, that Rasulullah SAW called all the pilgrims for one great assemblage. A multitude of seventy thousand gathered about the Prophet SAW, Salman (R.A.) and other Ashab Kiram were instructed to use rocks to make a pulpit, and the Prophet of Allah sat on the mimbar for nearly three hours, and in his moving eloquence, recited 100 verses from the Holy Qur'an and on 73 occasions reminded the assembled, and warned them of their deeds and hereafter.

The sermon of Rasulallah (SAW) and the events of Ghadir-e-Khum have been extensively narrated by historians, but for us Mumineen the prophetic words - 'man kunto mawlahu fa' Aliyan mawlahu' have become the foundation of our faith. It is the bedrock on which the edifice of our faith is built, as such, the day of 18th Zil Hijjah is an landmark day in our calendar - it is celebration and triumph of our Deen.

The Qur'an says,

This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen Islam as your religion' (5:3)

Islam was perfected only when the rightful vasi was conferred with nass - and each year we mumineen reaffirm our allegiance (misak), a celebration of the nass conferred by Rasulullah SAW on Moulana Ali (AS). Misak is in fact a reaffirmation of our faith, our piety, our continuity, our submission to the Will of Allah and His Vali.

This celebration is epitomized in the words of Syedna Taher Saifuddin Moula (AQ):

madihokumu ya ala fatema-tal-ridha
ila suhekum li khairo hadin va sa'eki

As is our custom, I am fasting today in observance of this sacred event.

Reference: Mumineen.org Archive

Labels: Eid

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Abdullah to hear Shi'a concerns.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_ID=10&article_ID=87571&categ_id=2

via John at Crossroads Arabia, comes this AFP report that the Saudi government is sending an official delegation to hear the concerns of the Shi'a community, and convey them to King Abdullah:

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s government-run human rights watchdog said on Tuesday that it had sent a delegation to listen to the grievances of the kingdom’s Shiite minority. “A delegation from the Human Rights Commission has gone to see Shiite leaders to study their demands and complaints and then pass them on to King Abdullah,” the commission’s head Turki al-Sudairi told Dubai satellite television. Sudairi, who has the rank of minister, acknowledged that, “Shiites often suffer from discrimination in the judicial field,” the first senior Saudi official to do so. He pointed to the recent “refusal by a judge to accept the testimony of a Shiite.” In April, King Abdullah warned Saudis against sectarian differences which he said threatened the unity and security of the kingdom. - AFP

King Abdullah should be commended - not just for his genuine concern for the minority populations, but also his recent pardon of Qatif Girl, and even his foresighted plan for middle east peace.

Labels: Saudi

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Yaum al-Arafat and Eid ul-Adha.

Today, by the reckoning of the Fatimid lunar calendar, is Yaum ul Arafat, the 9th of Zil-hajj.

Below is an aerial view of the great tent city of Mina outside Mecca where the pilgrims live:


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And here is an aerial image of mount Arafat itself:


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Tomorrow is Eid al-Adha, arguably the more important than Eid al-Fitr after Ramadan (though Eid al Ghadir, the third Eid, has a significance all its own). Andrea Useem of ReligionWriter.com interviews Asma Mobin-Uddin about a children's book the latter wrote about Eid al-Adha, and I found this to be particularly insightful:

RW: Eid al-Adha, in religious terms, is supposed to be the biggest religious holiday of the year for Muslims. In the U.S. however, Eid al-Fitr is often a “bigger deal.” Why is this? Is it a problem that Eid al-Adha is somewhat neglected?

Mobin-Uddin: The religious practices that lead up to these two holidays have a different immediacy for Muslims in America. Eid al-Fitr follows the month of fasting in Ramadan, Eid al-Adha occurs toward the end of the Hajj pilgrimage.

For Muslims who are fasting in Ramadan, the rigors of the fast are very real and very personal. People deny themselves and work hard to observe this period of abstinence and spirituality. As a result, there is a sense of personal accomplishment after the month, and the celebration that follows feels like a reward for the commitment and self-denial they chose to engage in during Ramadan.

However, in some ways, the celebration, sacrifice and spirituality that is happening leading up to Eid al-Adha is most real for those who are actually on the Hajj pilgrimage themselves or who perhaps have loved ones there. The rest of the people may feel more of a distance between themselves and the celebration. In short, the sacrifice leading up to the holiday for many is not as personal, so the reward of the holiday may not seem as sweet or appreciated.

I am fasting today and my thoughts and prayers are with the pilgrims gathered upon the plain of Arafat today.

Labels: Eid

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About Shi'a Pundit

Shi'a Pundit was launched in 2002 during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. The blog focuses on issues pertaining to Shi'a Islam in the west and in the Islamic world. The author is a member of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community. Bohras adhere to the Shi'a Fatimi tradition of Islam, headed by the 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS).

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