Battle of badr

And indeed Allah assisted you at Badr when you were weak, so be careful (to your duty) to Allah so that you may be of the thankful ones. When you said to the believers ‘Does it not suffice you that your Lord should assist you with three thousand angels sent down..”Sura Aal-e-Imran 3:123 & 124

Location : Badr is located about 80 miles from Madina

When the battle was fought : Friday, 17th Ramzan 2 AH, 13th March 624 AD.

Muslim Army: 313 men, mainly infantry with 2 horses & 70 camels

Mushrikeen Army: 1000 men, mainly riders with 100 horses and 700 camels

Muslim martyrs: Vary between 14 and 100 according to different traditions

Mushrikeen killed: 72 out of which 36 killed by Imam Ali(a.s.)
Result: Battle won by Muslims

The Faith of Sa’eed Ibn Jubair

The Faith of Sa’eed Ibn Jubair

 

Sa’eed Ibn Jubair was one of the steadfast and loyal companions of Imam Sajjad (a.s.).  Hajjaaj was a bloodthirsty tyrant who had ruled over Kufah, Iraq and Iran for almost twenty years after being appointed by the Bani Umayyah and Bani Marwaan.  He had killed nearly one hundred and twenty thousand people during his reign, and amongst the friends and descendants of A’li (a.s.) murdered by him, were individuals like Kumail Ibn Ziyaad, Qanbar, the slave of A’li, (a.s.) and Sa’eed Ibn Jubair.

 

Hajjaaj ordered Sa’eed to be arrested when he became aware of Sa’eed’s belief and inclination towards Imam Ali (a.s.).

 

Initially, Sa’eed fled to Isfahan, but when Hajjaaj came to know of this, he wrote to the governor of Isfahan, seeking his arrest.  The governor possessed a high regard for Sa’eed and therefore advised him to leave Isfahan for a safer resort. 

 

Acting upon this advice, Sa’eed set out towards Qum and then proceeded to Azerbaijan and then to Iraq where he sought to enter the army of A’bd al-Rahmaan Ibn Muhammad, who had initiated a rebellion against Hajjaaj.

 

A’bd al-Rahmaan was defeated and Sa’eed fled to Makkah where he lived in hiding.

 

During that period, Makkah was under the rule of Khaalid Ibn A’bdullah Qasri, a ruthless individual, who had been placed there by the Caliph, Waleed Ibn A’bd al-Malik.  Waleed wrote to him and gave him the order to arrest the well-known Iraqi personalities who were hiding in Makkah, and to send them to Hajjaj.

 

Thus, he arrested Sa’eed and had him dispatched to Kufah.  At that time, Hajjaaj was in Waasit, a city near Baghdad, where Sa’eed was eventually brought.

 

Hajjaaj questioned him about himself, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.), A’li (a.s.), Abu Bakr, U’mar, Uthmaan and many others and then asked him:

 

“How should I put you to death?”

 

“Whatever manner you may adopt to kill me, you are bound to be chastised accordingly, on the Day of Judgment,” replied Sa’eed.

 

“I would like to forgive you.”

 

“If the forgiveness is from God, then I seek it, but if it is from you, then I do not desire it,” responded Sa’eed.

 

Hajjaaj ordered the executioner to sever Sa’eed’s head before him.  Despite his hands being tied behind his back, Sa’eed recited the following verse of the holy Qur’an:

 

Surely I have turned myself, wholly to Him, Who originated the heavens and the earth, being upright, and I am not of the associators.^[124]

 

Hearing this, Hajjaaj ordered his face to be turned away from the Qiblah, whereupon he recited the following verse:

 

Whithersoever ye turn, there is the presence of Allah

 Ibid, ch. Al-Baqarah (2), vs. 115

When Hajjaaj heard this, he ordered his men to place Sa’eed’s face down, upon the ground.  When this was done, Sa’eed recited the following verse:

 

From the (earth) did We create you, and into it shall We return you, and from it shall We bring you out once again

Ibid, ch. Taha (20), vs. 55

Hajjaaj shouted, “Don’t waste any more time!  Kill him!”

 

Sa’eed testified to the Unity of God and the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) and prayed: O’ God! Do not grant Hajjaaj respite after me in order that he does not kill anyone else.  As he uttered these words, the executioner severed his head.  

 

After the martyrdom of this epitome of perfect faith, Hajjaaj suffered a derangement of his senses and did not live for more than fifteen nights.  Before his death, he would occasionally lose consciousness, but regaining it, he would repeatedly mutter:

 

“Why did I ever get involved with Sa’eed Ibn Jubair?

Daastaan-ha-e-Maa, vol. 2, pgs. 39-45.

Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness

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Allah, the Wise, has said:

Surely Allah commands you to render back your trusts to their owners.

Holy Qur’an, ch. Al-Nisaa (4), vs. 58.

Imam Baqir (a.s.) said:

(If the murderer of Imam A’li (a.s.) places a trust in my possession, I would surely return it back to him).

Al-Kafi, vol. 5, pg. 133

If anything is placed in trust with someone, safeguarding of that thing is obligatory and unfaithfulness with respect to it is prohibited, irrespective of whether its owner is a believer or a disbeliever.

A trustworthy person, as a result of safeguarding people’s belongings, becomes the beneficiary of God’s grace and favour.

A person who is unfaithful towards people’s trust can be compared to a thief and God cloaks such a person with poverty and indigence.

One of the signs of perfect faith is not being unfaithful towards the trusts.

A trust can be in the form of money, things or even secrets. Shaitan leads astray a trustworthy person by causing him to become unfaithful towards the trust placed with him.

Makkah al-Mukarramah

The Holy Ka’aba: The House of Allah and the birth place of Imam Ali b. Abi Taalib [a]

Hajar al-Aswad (The Black Stone)

Maqam Ibrahim

Hijr Ismail: This was the location of the house of Prophet Ismael [a] to anyone because he did not like it to be walked on. Other prophets are buried in this place also. According to Imam Baqir [a], the place between Rukn and Maqam is full of graves of the Prophets. According to Imam Sadiq [a], seventy prophets are buried between; Rukn al-Aiman and Hajar al-Aswad.

Well of Zamzam

Mizabe Rahmah: the golden trough (water channel) between Rukn Iraqi and Rukn Shami.

Shadharwan

Mustajar: This is just before Rukn Yamani whilst walking from Rukn Shami to Rukn Yamani. It has also been defined as the area between the Black Stone (hajar al-aswad) and the door of the Ka’aba.

Mutaawadh or Multazam: The place between Rukn Yamani and the Black Stone (hajar al-aswad)

Hatwim: According to the book “Adabul Haramain”, this is the place between the door of the Ka’aba and Hajar al-Aswad. It is called Hatwim “the smasher” because it smashes major and minor sins of one who seeks forgiveness here. It is said that this is the place where Adam [a] was forgiven. According to the book “Umra & Ziyarat”, this is the place where Prophet Ismail, his mother and many other prophets are buried. See Hijr Ismail above.

Rukn al-Aiman (the right-hand side corner of the Ka’aba):This is opposite the Black Stone behind the House. The Prophet [s] said “Whenever I come at this point, I find Jibril is already there before me.” Imam al-Sadiq [a] said: “Ruknal-Aiman is our gate to Paradise”. He also said: “In this place is one of the doors of Paradise that has never been closed since it was opened. There is a river from Paradise in which deeds of the servants are dropped.” Also called Rukn al-Junubi. It comes before the Black Stone corner.

Rukn Shami/Gharbi: This is the corner of the Ka’aba that comes after Hijr Ismail.

Rukn al-Sharqi: This is the corner where Hajar al-Aswad rests.

Rukn al-Shimali / Iraqi: This is corner that comes after the Ka’aba’s door before one reaches Hijr Ismail.

Mount Safa: When going to Safa for Sa’y, use the same door that the Prophet [s] used, which is Bab as-Safa, opposite the Black Stone.

Mount Marwa