O' Muslims! Raise Your Voice against the Oppressors

It was not something normal for the people of Kufa, when they saw their Caliph rushing out of his home towards the pulpit of Masjid e Kufa, in a manner never witnessed by them before. His cloak was scrubbing the ground and he was running desperately.
Then as he reaches the pulpit, he says that: "I have got the news that one of my soldiers has snatched an anklet from a Jew woman, if anyone who listens to this news and die's of grief, his death will be righteous".
Such a man was Ali ibn Abu Talib (a.s), who could not tolerate injustice done even to the woman who belongs to the staunchest enemy of the Muslims. He was prepared to be dragged without shirt on a bed of thorny cactus but not to usurp a single grain out of the mouth of an ant. One of the uniqueness of the character of Imam Ali (a.s) was his adherence and firmness on the principles of Justice. Justice when not administered in a society results into Oppression. Injustice is nothing but oppression.
Amongst the signs of a true believers is not that he is only just, but in fact a true believer cannot tolerate any form of oppression, not jut oppression done on his/her self but also oppression done on others, that too when this is done on Muslim brothers and sisters. His heart gets aggrieved and pains. But there are many amongst us who are very indifferent to the pains of others. There are many amongst us who are too involved in their daily lives and even brutally butchered bodies of the innocent children and women of Lebanon do not make any difference.
I remember a Sermon of Ameerul Momineen (a.s) which was a solo sermon delivered to Hammam, one of his companions, where he talked about the attributes of a pious believer. Even if we leave the entire sermon aside and do not even read this, one of the greatest learning's from this sermon itself is the character of Hammam. He could not bear those words and his heart broke out resulting into his demise from this world. What really made Hammam die? The same words were listened by many others before, but this thing did not happen to them, why it happened to Hammam only? It was this tender and humble (Khashe) heart which he had. His heart has reached a state that he could witness the truth in the words of Ameerul Momineen (a.s) and could not bear the pain.
The heart of a human being has different states, which are mentioned in the holy Quran:
- a contented heart,
- a heart with diseases,
- a heart which is locked,
- a heart which is open to guidance and a heart which is humble and tender (Khashe).
The Holy Quran says that when the Quran is recited in front of believers, tears roll out of the eyes. This means their hearts get affected by the verses of the Holy Quran. The heart which gets affected by truth is a humble heart, but those who are negligent, careless, immersed in their world
affairs do not get much disturbed by any truth. It is not that they are not religious. They are perfect in their worship, they might not be even missing supererogatory acts, doing propagation work also, might be delivering lectures, reading religious books regularly, everything, but still theirs hearts do not aggrieved by the atrocities and pains of others, they do not really get that tenderness in their heart. They do not get that divine pleasure from the Quran and supplications.
In a tradition it is mentioned that: "Be thankful and grateful to Allah when your heart gets numb and eyes get wet while reciting supplications (Dua), since it is a sign that Allah has not taken away the Taufeeq (Divine opportunity) from you, your heart is still alive, it is not dead, it is not sealed".
Now, I mention over here one narration which is available in Sunni books also. Our Holy Prophet (S) was very impressed by a young man in Madinah. He used to always praise him in front of other companions. The companions got concerned and wanted to know what is that uniqueness of actions in this person whom the Prophet of Allah (s) praises so much. They approached this young man and inquired him about what kind of special religious actions he performs.
He said that I am just a normal person, I do my prayers, fasting which are obligatory, I am a poor man so does not even do much charity. In fact at times I even miss out my obligatory acts, I am not even so perfect in my obligations.
The companions forced him to think, to ponder and see if there is something which is unique in him which has made him dear to the Holy Prophet (s). He thought for a while and then said, maybe there is one quality in me, which has impressed the Prophet (s). That quality is that I cannot bear any form of oppression or calamities on my Muslim brothers. Whenever I see anyone in distressed state, my heart burns, I feel aggrieved and unfortunately I am poor and helpless, so I can't even help these brothers, but still I feel the pain, I cry for them. This is where we now understand that tradition of Holy Prophet (s) which says that "One who gets up in the morning and is not concerned about the affairs of Muslim brothers, he is not a Muslim". The criteria of being a Muslim as per this tradition of Holy Prophet (s) is to be concerned, means to feel the pain of other Muslims in trouble. One who carries grief and pain for his fellow Muslim brothers and sisters despite that he/she is not perfect in other duties , still he/she becomes dear to the Holy Prophet (s).
Now, when these Muslims are none other than the children of Hussain, the followers of Ahlulbayt (a.s), what should be our state of grief? 65% of the population in Lebanon is Shiite, and majority of the areas bombarded by Israel are Shia populations, with a sole objective to kill children and
women, to cut down the generation of Islamic Resistance. And many of these Shia's are Sadaat, from the progeny of Ahlulbayt (a.s). What should then be our situation of grief and concern? If our Imam Ali (a.s) could not tolerate a small act of oppression on a Jew woman, how can we tolerate so many lives being taken every day? But why many amongst are not concerned, the way they should be. Watching news and informing others about how many were killed today is not the meaning of being concerned under the definition of Holy Prophet (s). Imagine He (as) is impressed and praises that youth who even misses out his obligations, just because this youth has a heart which carries the pain for the Ummah.
Now imagine why Ayatullah Khomeini (r.a) is so great. He was the Imam of Mustadhafeen (Oppressed). He proclaimed openly that anywhere in the world if someone is oppressed, we will support him irrespective of religion, caste, creed and sect. Why? It was this aggrieved and tender heart which Ayatullah Khomeini had. It was this pain for the Ummah which made took him to such a degree of perfection and nearness to Allah (s). Sitting on the praying mat and shedding tears on our own sins is also a sort of selfishness, where my concerns are only towards my self. Paraphrasing the Ayah of the Holy Quran which says that O you believers if you commit sins repent to Allah and do good deeds, Allah will forgive you... This means repentance has to be acquainted with good deeds, which definitely implies to social services.
Today what Lebanon needs is not just few dollars of charity from us.
As explicitly mentioned by Sayed Nasrallah that if you are sending food, medicines etc to us, fine, thanks, but this is not what Lebanon needs and this does not show your love for Lebanon. If you love Lebanon than raise your voice, specifically raise it in Western gatherings.
How many protests have been organized in U.S., how much courage have we demonstrated with our slogans in America? The American Muslims want to fulfil their duties by send emails to the President of America. Do we expect him to show mercy on us? We don't want them to come and stop their own baby Israel. We need to show them our power, we need to create a striking terror in their hearts, that America can also be turned into Lebanon through the power of faith which we Muslims have.
Make them fear our power of faith; make them realize through our voice, that we Muslims are ready to sacrifice everything. The day they are convinced that we are prepared to give our lives for the sake of dignity, that day is the day of their disaster. They have done this experiment in Lebanon and they have seen that this nation has not succumbed to the pressure, they are still supporting the brave combatants of Hezbollah. Yes, the anger amongst the Muslims is increasing, but still the quantum is very low. All the Muslims would be angry on Israel and America, their hatred has
increased, but what difference it has made on their lives and our actions?
This is the fundamental question. Are we really burning with grief and pain at least? We ourselves can answer this question, our life styles; our daily chores have an answer to these questions. The shopping malls are still full, Summer festivals are still on it's peak, shopping is as usual, holidays, fun parks, expensive dining are all going in the same way.. So what difference have these 1000 martyred souls made on our lives?
After all we are the followers of Ameerul Momineen (a.s), and now we are getting ready to celebrate his birth anniversary, yes with a happy heart, but what Ali (a.s) needs today is the heart of this youth with whom the Prophet was impressed, he needs the heart of Hammam in us, he needs us to follow his line of thoughts on the matters of justice and oppression.
Then only we can really pay tribute to Ali ibn Abi Talib on his birth anniversary. The place where Ali (s) ruled for 4 years, the place where he is buried, how many stains of blood of innocent Shia's are there on the walls of Najaf, Baghdad and all over Iraq, does this make Ali (a) not concerned ? He is in the same pain as he was at his time, and there is hardly any difference with the Ummah, they were least bothered about his state at that time also and now also. Thanks to these brave mujahideens of Hezbollah, who have in a way challenged the Zeal (ghairat) of the Muslim Ummah? Who have made the quote of Ayatullah Khomeini practical, that we Muslims if we just throw one bucket of water then Israel will perish. The question is, are those hands ready to throw this bucket, that too when water in our lives is replaced with Israel supporters Coke, then how can we do this. These brave combatants in tough environment have demonstrated us the path towards perishment and eradication of Israel.
We Muslims can do it, even without the support of the rulers. If we wake up, raise our voice and then turn these voices into actions, it would happen. Infidelity can never win against Faith. It is just the matter of certainty on your Faith. The more we are certain about our beliefs the more we deliver. We all our delivering our religious duties to some extent or other, but without that level of certainty. Our religion which has been adulterated with our culture and rituals, have brought us to this stage, where realization of truth becomes difficult. On one side luxuries of life have taken away some from truth and on other end the cultural and ritual (innovated ones) have given a totally different flavour to religion. A man on these two extremes finds it very difficult to get on the right path. At the end of the day, we are always more concerned in defending our families, community and tribes. If one incident occurs in our family, one small act of injustice, we make so much noise, but when it occurs with other Muslims, that too done by the hands of the worst enemy of Islam, we are heedless.
It is time now to at least do this much what Nasrallah wants us to do, raise our voice. We are the followers of Ali ibn Abu Talib, how can we be indifferent to truth, how can we be afraid of worldly losses, how can we fear anyone else other than Allah (s). Let us now celebrate 13th Rajab with
an aggrieved heart and truthfully present our state of concern to the Master of Monotheism.