Sermon of Imam Sajjad in Madina
Sermon of Imam Sajjad in Madina is a speech delivered by Imam Sajjad to the people of Madina when the caravan of captives returned from Damascus to Hijaz.
Context[edit | edit source]
After the brave speeches of Zaynab and Imam Sajjad, Yazid became so afraid of rumours and trouble that he ordered No'aman Ibn Bashir to take the ladies of the Ahl al-Bayt and the remainder of the Prophet's family back to their homes in Madina and his fear was so great that he ordered him to take them back during the night[1]. Before entering Madina, the Imam gathered the people outside its perimeters and spoke to them. At that time, the governor of Madina was Walid ibn ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Sufyan. During his governorship, the situation in Madina was far from calm and peaceful, because, in a period of two years, the position of governor had changed three times. Finally, Yazid discharged Walid ibn ‘Uqbah and awarded his post to Uthman ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Sufyan.[2]
The Sermon[edit | edit source]
“All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds; Master of the Day of Resurrection. He is the One who nourishes all creatures; the One who is somewhere high above the skies, yet so near to His servants that He can hear them whispering. We thank Him, during our hardship, for all disastrous times, tragic events, the burning of stings and deadly, unpleasant and horrible calamities.
O nation! Allah the Exalted – to whom we should be thankful – has made us face great suffering and behold a huge crack in Islam. Imam Hussain has been killed, the women and the children of his family were made captives and his head was paraded through many cities, fixed on the top of a spear. This is such a suffering incomparable to any other.
Which person from amongst you would not be depressed at his martyrdom? Which heart would not be sad? Which eye can control its tears after having seen the heavens weeping over Imam Hussain’s martyrdom, after having known that the waves of the seas, the elements of the skies, the earth, the leaves of the trees, the fish within the ocean’s watery depths and the esteemed angels have wept for Imam Hussain?
O people! Where is the heart, which does not shatter into pieces at Imam Hussain’s martyrdom? Which is the soul that does not feel sorry for Imam Hussain’s martyrdom? And which is the ear that hears this mournful news in Islam and does not become deaf, feeling intensely forlorn?! O people! We were rejected and expelled as if we were from among the Turks or from Kabul. But we were not the guilty ones, nor did we kill anyone; we also did not do anything improper, nor did we cause a slight crack in the wall of Islam. We also did not hear anything like this from our grandparents and forefathers. What has been said about us is nothing but a lie.
I swear, by Allah, that had the holy Prophet recommended you to fight and make battle against us to the same extent that he recommended kindness and beneficence, they could not have oppressed us more. Thus, indeed, we belong to Allah and to Him we, indeed, return. For our suffering, which is immense, painful, tragic, breaking, terrible, sore and unfavourable, we, for all our sufferings, only ask Him for our return because He is the only Beloved and Avenger.[3] ”
Main Themes[edit | edit source]
This sermon, though concise, portrayed the event of Karbala in the most realistic manner; it underlined the condition of the oppressed members of Ahl al-Bayt. In this speech we also come of learn of Imam Hussain being painfully slaughtered; we see the holy Household of the Prophet being removed to Damascus as captives and we come to know about the disrespect that Yazid and his officials showed them. We then come to understand that the heads of the martyred were fixed on the top of spears, especially the holy head of Imam Hussain.
In continuation of his sermon, Imam Sajjad indicated what the holy Household of the Prophet had to face and mentioned the time they were taken captive, faced with the offensive, abusive and inappropriate behaviour that their enemies displayed towards them. He referred to the sufferings of those who indeed were the offspring of prophethood and the people of inspiration, those who were the leaders of the believers of Islam and those who were the source of peace and prosperity for all.
The Imam finished his speech after describing the slaughter perpetrated on the holy Household of the Prophet by the Umayyad army. Because if, for example, the Prophet had ordered them to kill and mutilate his own Household they would not have been able to be more obediently effective than their recent actions had revealed them to have been. While, on the contrary, we see that the holy Prophet even forbade his nation from mutilating a mad dog; and on many occasions, he recommended his nation to respect his holy Household. The Prophet equalized the respect given to his Household to the respect given to him. He never asked his nation for anything in return for his prophecy but to respect his Household. Bearing all this in mind, can anyone favour the deadly actions of the Umayyad army?
Imam Sajjad tried, in his talk, to make people aware of the oppression and suffering that the holy Household of the Prophet faced. He wanted to awaken the spirit of revolution in the people of Madinah against the Umayyad’s oppression and dictatorship as well as to put an end to the Umayyad’s transgression.
Source[edit | edit source]
- A BIOGRAPHY OF THE FOURTH SHI’AH IMAM 'ALI ibn AL-HUSSAIN (AS) ZAIN AL-’ABIDIN, AHL AL-BAIT GLOBAL ASSEMBLY