Editing Sunnis (section)

=== Imam al-Hussain’s virtues in the words of the Prophet ===
1. On his own chain of transmission [sanad], Bukhari quotes Na‘im saying, “Ibn Umar was asked, ‘What is the verdict of a muḥrim (a person visiting the holy and inviolable House of Allah) who kills a fly?’ Ibn ‘Umar answered, ‘The people of Iraq are more concerned to ask about killing flies ignoring the fact that they killed the son of the Prophet’s daughter.’ Then he added, ‘The Noble Prophet has said, ‘Al-Hasan and al-Hussain are my sweet-smelling flowers in this world’.”<ref>Ṣaḥiḥ Bukhari, vol. 5, p. 33, the Book [kitab] on Fada’il al-Sahabah (Virtues of the Companions, the Section [bab] on Manaqib al-Hasan wa al-Husayn (The Virtues of al-Ḥasan and al-Husayn)</ref>

2. On his own chain of transmission, al-Hakim al-Neyshaburi recounts that, “Salman Farsi said, ‘Allah’s Prophet used to say,

الحسن والحسین إبنای، من أحبّهما احبّنی، ومن أحبّنی أحبّه الله، ومن أحبّه الله أدخله الجنة، ومن أبغضهما أبغضنی، ومن أبغضنی أبغضه الله، ومن أبغضه الله أدخله النا

‘Al-Hasan and al-Hussain are my two children. Whoever loves them has in fact loved me. Whoever loves me is loved by Allah and whoever is loved by Allah will enter Paradise. Anyone who hates these two has in fact hated me. Anyone who hates me is hated by Allah, and whoever is hated by Allah will be cast into the hell fire.’’”<ref>Al-Hakim al-Neyshaburi, Al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn, vol. 3, p. 166</ref>

3. Also on his own chain of transmission, al-Hakim al-Neyshaburi has narrated that, “Ibn ‘Umar said, ‘The Prophet of Allah said,

الحسن والحسین سیدا شباب أهل الجنة وأبوهما خیرٌ منهما

‘Al-Hasan and al-Hussain are the chiefs of the youths of Paradise, and their father is better than these two.’’"<ref>Ibid., p. 167</ref>

4. On his own chain of transmission, al-Tirmidhi quotes from Yusuf ibn Ibrahim from Anas ibn Malik, “The Prophet was asked about whom among the [[Ahl al-Bayt]] was more beloved to him. He answered, ‘Al-Hasan and al-Hussain.’ The Prophet always used to tell Fatima, ‘Bring my two children to me.’ He would then press them against his chest and smell their sweet scent.”<ref>Al-Tirmidhi, Sunan, vol. 5, p. 323, no. 3861</ref>

5. Ya‘la ibn Marrah says, “The Holy Prophet and I left the house to attend a social gathering we had been invited to. Along the way, the Prophet caught sight of al-Hussain. He was busy playing. Allah’s Prophet quickly went to al-Hussain and spread his arms wide open in order to embrace him, but al-Hussain teasingly kept running from side to side in a playful manner. Both of them started laughing. Finally, the Prophet managed to catch al-Hussain.

He put one of his hands under al-Hussain’s chin and the other one on his head. Finally, they embraced and kissed each other. The Prophet then said,

حسین منّی وأنا منه، أحبّ الله من أحبّه، الحسن والحسین سبطان من الأسباط.

‘Al-Hussain is from me and I am from al-Hussain. Allah loves whoever loves al-Hussain. Al-Hasan and al-Hussain are two of my grandchildren’.”<ref>Al-Tabarani, Al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir, vol. 22, p. 274; Al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal, vol. 13, p. 662; Ibn ‘Asakir, Mukhtasar Tarikh Damishq, vol. 14, p. 150</ref>

We interpret the sentence ‘Al-Hussain is from me and I am from al-Hussain,’ as follows:

a) The first part of the hadith which says, ‘Al-Hussain is from me,’ means that al-Hussain descends from and is a product of the Prophet of Allah. Although his biological father is ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, the explicit wording of the Qur’anic Verse of [[Mubahala]] clearly states that Imam ‘Ali is a part of the soul of Allah’s Prophet. For this reason, Imam al-Hussain is rightly considered as the Prophet’s child.

b) Commenting on the second part of the hadith which says, ‘And I am from al-Hussain,’ it can be said, after proclaiming his prophetic mission, the Noble Prophet cannot be regarded as an ordinary person anymore. On the contrary, he is looked upon as a man with a divine mission. Allah’s Prophet is the epitome of the prophetic mission. His life is his prophetic mission and his prophetic mission is his life.

c) Also, we all know that every father makes an effort to have a child who will succeed him, defend his father’s character, and protect and revive his mission. The child is the one who is charged with the duty of continuing his father’s way. Regarding Imam al-Hussain, the reason why the Holy Prophet says, ‘I am from al-Hussain,’ is that al-Hussain’s uprising and martyrdom kept alive the mission of the Holy Prophet.

For this reason, the Holy Prophet conferred the dignity of ‘I am from al-Hussain,’ on him. This implies that the continuity of the prophetic mission depends on al-Hussain. It is for this reason that it has been said, “Islam transpired through Muhammad and survived through al-Hussain.”

6. Yazid ibn Abi Yazid says, “Fatima’s house was located along the Prophet’s way from ‘A’ishah’s house. One day, as the Prophet was leaving ‘A’ishah’s house, he heard al-Hussain crying. The Noble Prophet said, ‘O Fatima! Do you not know that I am bothered and pained when I hear him crying?’”<ref>Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, vol. 9, p. 201</ref>

7. Al-Hakim al-Neyshaburi recounts that he personally heard Abu Hurairah saying, “I saw Allah’s Prophet embracing al-Hussain. He kept saying, ‘O my Allah! I love him. Love him too!’”<ref>Al-Hakim al-Neyshaburi, Al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn, vol. 3, p. 177</ref>