text:
Whether crimping, cutting or soldering - our trained employees work with calm hands and great precision. As soon as it goes beyond the standard cable, we assemble cables with our in-house manufacture that specifically fit your requirements.
Since the company was founded in 1982, elspec group has been able to collect an enormous amount of knowledge in the field of Radio Frequency. Even though we offer a variety of standardized cables, we also offer customized Network Analyzer Test Cables, which we craft in our own manufactory.
Good is not good enough when it comes to the quality of our products. We know for sure our RF Cable Assemblies and quality assurance is a top priority for us. This is mirrored in our excellent products. With our state of the art machinery, for example of the companies like Schleuniger and Rohde & Schwarz, we make sure that our products are of the highest quality.
Read more about our company and activity
We are a specialist for innovative and high quality cables solutions and connectors in the area of radio frequency, with a core competence up to 110 GHz.
We offer customized solutions for our customers for 35 years. With our strong international partners, such as Teledyne Storm Microwave, elspec achieves to lead the market and is able to react to ever change of market needs. It doesn't matter rather it revolves around standard cable assemblies or customized solutions for the specific needs of our customers – elspec works with great experience and technical know-how to find the perfect solution.
With its own factory in Bavaria, we are equipped with excellent machinery. We are also the Value Added Reseller for Teledyne Storm Microwave cable assemblies for Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
This optimized Storm Flex cable enables coaxial connectivity up to 110 GHz while still maintaining the flexibility to accommodate a variety of test set-ups.
Solid PTFE dielectric
High compression resistance and greater durability
Eliminates cable breakage associated with repeated bending and handling
Consistent, repeatable electrical performance with flexure
Eliminates the need for waveguides
available frequencies: up to 110 GHz
Best choice when it comes to an internal set-up.
cable always has the same length and shape
extremely good shielding effectiveness
Semi Rigid 0.047
Connector: 1.0 mm
On request also bent available
Solid PTFE
The perfect solution if your application requires cable assemblies offering phase stability and low loss, significant shielding effectiveness, value and increased durability.
Improved system performance
Less frequent calibration
Reduced insertion loss
A high Level of phase stability vs. temperature
available frequencies: up to 26.5 GHz
The ultra-low loss cable assemblies dB Miser™ 160, 190, 210, 300, 096 & 110 Series.
Ultra-low insertion loss over the specified frequency range
Excellent amplitude stability with flexure
Stable performance over operating temperature range
Increased shielding effectiveness
available frequencies: up to 50 GHz
This phase stable test and measurement cable assembly is ideal for comparative measurements and provides exceptional performance in applications requiring both durability and phase stability vs. flexure.
Calibration accuracy is maintained
Easy to use and longer life
Reduces down time
When requirements call for repeatability, reliability and excellent connector retention the FlexCore™ Cables are your cable.
Lifecycles validated to over 100K flexes
Stranded center conductor
worry-free operation
With the Hard-To-Hurt™ technology, this cable is extra durable for everyday testing at 26.5 GHz and now also up to 40 GHz, for 15,000 flexures.
One cable for broadband testing
Reduces fatigue; maintains repeatability
Extends assembly life, which reduces costs
available frequencies: up to 40 GHz
The True Blue® cable is designed to be durable. However, for applications requiring added durability, assemblies are also available ruggedized, armored, and soft armored.
Low insertion loss and excellent amplitude stability
Longer cable assembly life due to greater connector retention
Laminate construction provides low signal leakage
Reduced lead time for configured assemblies
available frequencies: up to 50 GHz
The most flexible coax cable is the best solution when installed permanently as it can be bend without loss of stability.
High compression resistance and greater durability
Stable, miniature cable assemblies for connection during test
Ultra-high strength, multilayer outer braid
available frequencies: up to 67 GHz
Always stay up to date in high-frequency technology with our newsletter.
Your data will under no circumstances be forwarded to 3rd-parties. It is stored only on our systems, so we can feed professional and useful information to you.
For lower frequencies elspec group offer cables specified to 3 GHz and up to 26.5 GHz, with the eBudget series EcoTest. It has a foamed polyethylene and PTFE dielectric, the interior conductor was coordinated to 50 Ω within a small tolerance window.
High mechanical durability
Halogen-free and flame-resistant
Excellent price/performance ratio
Lauterbachstraße 23c,
82538 Geretsried
+49 8171 4357-0
Learn more about ...
Dipl. Ing. (FH) Stefan Burger demonstrates, with the coaxial cable Storm Flex® from Teledyne Storm Microwave, how flexible cables can be. Speaker: Thomas Weber (CEO of elspec).Watch now
Coaxial measurement cables must usually provide precise measurement results on the Network Analyzer. A torque wrench is essential to ensure that the lifespan of the cable is as long as possible, and that the measurements are accurate. It prevents over-twisting and thus prevents damage to the cable.Watch now
How can I select the most suitable measurement cable for my application, and how important is a well thought-out kink-protection? Find a detailed explanation and manual on this topic in our WhitepaperNo. 5 Cable Selection.


text:
Indulge yourself in a quintessential British classic: Afternoon Tea. These events are available on select days (see below) and are held in our bright and airy upper foyer overlooking the beautiful Grove Park. Make the day extra special and book to see the accompanying show or film.
Loving our Afternoon Teas? These can be booked as private events too.
Only £7.50 per person* and price does not include event ticket unless stated otherwise. Afternoon tea is available for:
The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society(12A)
Mon 4 June
Easter Parade (U)
Sun 8 July
That Good Night(12A)
Mon 23 July
*A £2 transaction fee will be added per booking to online and telephone bookings.
TO BOOK: Type the corresponding Afternoon Tea name into the search bar and click enter or call our Box Office on 01582 60 20 80 (opt 2).
TO BOOK A PRIVATE EVENT: Please call Ellie Garrett on 01582 884 181 or email email@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Power of A Smile
It's amazing how much someone's smile can change the course of your day. Yesterday I was really bored and so uninspired to do anything. I spent most of the morning sitting on the computer just wasting away, going from blog to video to twitter and so on. That is until I came across this video from a youtuber that I'm subscribed to. It's a simple video and at only 42 seconds long it's pretty short as well. The whole video details a guy jogging with his girlfriend who happens to be taking it slow and power walking with a very determined mindset. While she's concentrating on her set path, he doesn't want to leave her behind by jogging ahead, so he starts zigzagging around her with a giant smile on his face. At first I thought the video was edited and he made it look as if he was passing by her multiple times, but by the end I realized what was going on and it instantly put a smile on my face. Something about that glow he exerted with such a strong sense of bliss lifted me up and inspired me to go out and do something.
This provoked me to go for a walk and bring my camera along to actually take some pictures for a change. It's been a while since I had taken anything that I found particularly interesting, so the prospect of having some photos that I could actually use brought my happiness levels even higher. I decided to walk to a local park near my house with my new positive disposition, my iPod and my camera bag at my side. As I started out on my walk, I noticed something about the people I was meeting along the way. I was smiling and even saying hello as I passed by people on the sidewalk, but no one reciprocated the gesture. It doesn't surprise me all that much, but what does surprise me is that not only did no one (except an elderly couple) bother to even look at me as we passed one another, people were actually going back into their houses until I passed and avoiding contact so much that they would run over to the other side of the road. Not only that, but I even had a mother call her children closer and stare at me until I was gone as if I was going to murder her entire family. I even had a cop hassle me for no apparent reason.
The thing is, none of this was happening when other people passed one another. Some even started having full on conversations with random people, but not me. Now I know this is an elitist mentality that most of the people in this area have about the way I look, but that doesn't make it right. I'm not here to hate, in fact none of those things even faltered my resolve. I'm not only an optimist, but I also believe in the power of the smile. I think if more people believed in outwardly expressing their glee with a stranger then we can make the whole world a much more connected and happier place to live in. If everyone can put aside their judgements of one another just enough to genuinely smile at a passerby, even if they are "different" from you, I guarantee you'll leave some kind of impact on that persons day. You can plant the seed of happiness, all it takes is a smile.
~~Writing Light Across The Land~~


text:
Ask The Wine Expert - Anything But Chardonnay!/
With some interesting facts, tips and tricks for buying, gifting and sipping, Modern Mississauga's resident wine expert demystifies the world's most interesting beverage.
Chardonnay is probably the most divisive wine in North America: people either love it or hate it. But most people don't realize how important Chardonnay is and how many world-class wines are made from this ubiquitous grape variety.
Did you know that Chablis is 100% Chardonnay? Or that Champagne can only be made from three different grapes and Chardonnay is one of them? How about white Burgundy? Also Chardonnay. So really, to say you hate Chardonnay is like saying you hate wine.
So why are we so confused? Well, in the New World (i.e. North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) we label the bottles and refer to a wine by the grape variety. In the Old World (i.e. Europe) it's all about the place. That's why most people have a hard time buying French and other European wines: it's not the name of the grape on the label - it's the name of the place. Bordeaux, Sancerre, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Barolo, Rioja, Champagne. They're all places, not grapes. And it takes a fair amount of knowledge to learn all of the grapes in these places. So, in North America especially, we tend to stick with wines that we can recognize the name of the grape on the label like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec or Shiraz.
Based on what we are used to here in Ontario, when someone says they love or hate Chardonnay, what they really mean is California Chardonnay – the wine we tend to associate with this grape. California Chardonnay tends to be a rich, buttery style of wine with lots of oak barrel aging which is what gives the wine notes of vanilla and caramel. Admittedly, Chardonnay from Australia, Chile, Argentina and South Africa often have a similar profile, so they get lumped into the same category. But remember, both climate and winemaking style have a huge impact on the final wine. In addition to Champagne, Chablis and white Burgundy (which are all unique and special) there are hundreds of unoaked Chardonnays made around the world (including Ontario) that are totally different from one another and distinctly un-Californian. Next time someone offers you a glass of Chardonnay, ask where it's from before you reply. Or even better: "How oaky is it?"
And while we're on the subject of misunderstood grape varieties, it's worth saying: leave Merlot alone! If you ask the average person why they don't like Merlot, they usually describe it as soft or boring. In fact, there is little evidence to support people's dislike of this grape, except for the movie Sideways. Paul Giamatti's character in this film (Miles, a wine connoisseur) goes on a rant about the mediocrity of Merlot and following the release of the film, consumption of Merlot in the English-speaking world plummeted. It's not a joke. It was a pop-culture trend that ruined Merlot's reputation. The irony is that the wine that Miles is most excited about at the end of the film, a 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is about half Merlot. Château Cheval Blanc is in Bordeaux, France where Merlot comprises some of the world's most expensive and sought-after red wines. As you can see, the place where the grapes are grown is as important (if not more so) than the grape variety itself.
Got a wine question for our expert? Send them to firstname.lastname@example.com and engage with Tim Reed Manessy via Instagram and Twitter via @sommontherun
We'll post answers to your wine questions on modernmississauga.com
Tim Reed Manessy [Sommelier CAPS, CMS] is a wine instructor at George Brown College, restaurant consultant, private & corporate event specialist and really annoying at a dinner party.


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Scott Morrison and his international counterparts have received a report card on how they are performing in pursuit of economic growth.
'Could do better' would appear to be the mark.
The treasurer is in the German spa town of Baden-Baden for the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has released its 2017 edition of 'Going for Growth' at the meeting.
The Paris-based institution believes a prolonged period of stagnating living standards has affected a large share of the population in many countries, and is undermining confidence in governments' reform agenda.
"Growing political headwinds is clearly one factor contributing to the steady slowdown in the pace of reforms," OECD chief economist Catherine Mann says.
"Yet governments in most countries need reforms of structural and macro policies both to escape the low-growth trap and prepare for rapid technological changes."
On Australia, it says there has been notable progress in the past two years through the government's innovation policy, which has added impetus to reform.
But it must press on with competition changes through the Harper review, along with road construction and broadband upgrades.
While welcoming the government's plan to cut the corporate tax rate and reforms to the superannuation taxation, the OECD has again noted consumption taxes like the GST are "relatively light" while income taxes are "heavy".
It says there should be a wider package of tax reforms that raises the 10 per cent GST rate or broadens its base, while making further cuts to direct taxation and the removal of inefficient taxes such as state levies.
At the meeting, Mr Morrison will take the opportunity to hold talks for the first time with new United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, as well as China's newly appointed Finance Minister Xiao Jie.


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SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate 0x000b 200 200 051 Pre-fail Always - 0
3 Spin_Up_Time 0x0007 106 103 021 Pre-fail Always - 3541
4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 099 099 040 Old_age Always - 1119
5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0032 200 200 112 Old_age Always - 0
7 Seek_Error_Rate 0x000b 200 200 051 Pre-fail Always - 0
9 Power_On_Hours 0x0032 066 066 000 Old_age Always - 25086
10 Spin_Retry_Count 0x0013 100 100 051 Pre-fail Always - 0
11 Calibration_Retry_Count 0x0013 100 100 051 Pre-fail Always - 0
12 Power_Cycle_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 764
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0
197 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0012 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable 0x0012 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count 0x000a 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0
200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate 0x0009 200 200 051 Pre-fail Offline - 0
SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged
SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num Test_Description Status Remaining LifeTime(hours) LBA_of_first_error
# 1 Extended offline Completed without error 00% 1056 -
So yeah. This weeks theme is dying.
Sometime late Friday night, the power supply on my development server internally burnt to a crisp and stopped working. I hate getting new power supplies; I've found that even the cheapest replacement ones cost at least $35 where as a brand new case is $40. In the past, I've always just bought the new case figuring "power is power, who cares." I suspect that assumption is false - they must put some really shitty power supplies in those $40 cases.
Off on a tangent...
So, off to the Renton Fry's I went... ... god What a joke that place is. The store is always mess. Their point-of-sale system is a million years old. The staff are a bunch idiots. Their inventory is always a mess. The checkout process is incredibly strange. The item you need has a 50/50 chance of being in stock, which makes them very hard to count on.
I really, truly don't understand how Fry's remains in business. They try be everything to everybody and offer a deep selection of every type of product. But really, I can't imagine going there to buy a dishwasher, air conditioning unit, computer books, or even a TV. I'd probably get the dishwasher from a hardware store, the AC unit from either Costco or the hardware store, the computer book from my local bookstore, and the TV from Video Only. For AV equipment like cabling, they compete with Radio Shack. For non-emergency computer equipment, the Internet is a HUGE competitor. For "normal people" computer equipment, the have to compete with Dell, Circuit Shitty, Best Buy and every other "big box" tech store.
Don't think I'm whining by the way or I'm somehow deeply hurt. I'm not, trust me. To me, Fry's makes for a fascinating business study that is full of many useful lessons. By trying to be everything to everybody, Fry's has no clear niche in which they can easily dominate--no place where a consumer would say "Fry's would be the 1st place I'd go to purchase this item". Being everything to everybody means having to stock books, resistors, food-products, cell phones, refrigerators, kitchen appliances, TV's and more. That adds up to a hell of a lot of vendor relationships to manage. Unless you are Walmart and have a billion dollar inventory management system to handle all the details, you've created a huge burden for yoursel. No wonder they are always out of stock!
Trying to be everything to everybody also dictates a very, very complex backend system that must handle a lot of weird cases. Clearly they haven't perfected this; go to their cafeteria to see why. Ordering a simple item like a double, vanilla 16oz requires the poor cashier to leaf through a 40 page book of barcodes and scan in the SKU's - one for the latte, one for the flavor, and one for the extra shot; all three are found in different sections of the book. It takes a minute for the guy to ring up your order; heaven forbid you dared to add a bagel with cream cheese to that order - now it's 5 SKU's. What an inefficient use of paid labor - an inventory management system created to handle the purchase of a $5000 dishwasher on a line of credit does not scale down to a $2.50 latte purchased with cash!
Having numerious inefficient processes and no clear market leadership spells trouble. It keeps them from hiring quality sales staff. They lack the funds to invest in new computer systems. They can't afford to improve their supply chain management. Hell, they can't afford to hire a guy who cleans the fucking shelves up so the place looks like shit all the time. And once a place looks like shit, the broken window theory kicks, and both employee and management alike begin to think on a very subconscious level "gee, it looks like nobody cares about this place and so I shouldn't either". Bad moral sets in. The business falls apart.
So I ask you, dear reader, how does Fry's stay in business. Maybe they are like like a movie theatre or a gas station. A movie theatre shows movies, which is why you go there, but they dont make any money from your tickets. They make money on selling you high margin things like $2.00 popcorn and $3 drinks; they are really in the junk-food business. You go to a gas station to fill up the tank, but the station doesn't make money when you buy gas. No sir, they are lucky to see a few pennies profit on a full tank of gas. A gas station hopes you'll stroll on inside and buy yourself pack of smokes, some chips and a three day old hot-dog; gas stations are in the junk-food business.
Maybe, just maybe, Fry's isn't in really in the "computers ,blenders, and books" business after all. Maybe they dont make a dime off that new dishwasher you bought. Could they really be hoping you'll walk down that isle to pay for your fancy new HDTV and buy yourself a pack of Red Vines and some cheap batteries? Perhaps, just like the movie theatre or your local gas station, Fry's is really just another place hoping you'll help yourself to some overpriced junk-food...
... Back on track
So where was I? Friday, I found out one of the RAID'ed disks on ansel, Photographica's server, is is dead. One mis-matched IDE disk down, one to go... better back all those pics up! Hopefully I can afford to replace the thing with a couple "real" 1U Dell's and turn it into a mere reverse-proxy server. That poor old thing just can't handle the load anymore.
But the fun doesn't just stop there kids! The %&$# POS Linksys router is dying too. Goddamn thing has been dropping its wireless AND WIRED connections all the damn time now. Not a day goes by where I have to hard-reset the router, thus killing all my SSH sessions.
With one exception, I have YET to purchase a reliable broadband router. For nine months, I had that "cute" netgear router. Its wireless connections were poor; the laptop would take forever to connect. Towards the end of it's life, it stopped routing packets at random times until I hard-rebooted it. Now this linksys is doing the same thing.
Regardless of the hardware, I can't help but to wonder if the poor wireless connection is a function of my laptop or the surrounding environment.
Both routers have lived at dense area inside an old-sk00l brick apartment building. It seems as though around here, everybody has a wireless router. At any given time, netstumbler will find at least 20 access points1. Thus, in my mind, there is a lot of RF-"noise" around here.
What happens is upon startup/wake-up, the laptop will act like it has connected to my access point. Windows will pop up it's little "connected to JOEBLOW" and assign the correct IP info. However, the card doesn't receive any packets from the access point. Windows then drops the connection by itself, sits around for a few seconds, then acts like it reconnects; popping up the "connect to...". Still no packets received. It drops, and then repeats this cycle until it either connects, I disable and re-enable the wireless card on the laptop, or I hard-reset the router. I've used netsumbler to find the least used wireless channel, and that doesn't make a difference.
More interesting is the laptop does not have this problem in less RF-noisy areas such as a friends house. When there is only one visible access point, the laptop will boot up and connect right away with no problem. Better still, I never had this problem when I'd bring the laptop to school. The university had quite a few different wireless networks and was very RF-noisy, but the damn thing always had a solid, stable connection.
So my question is, who is at fault? Does the laptop have a shitty wireless card? Do I have bad luck with 802.11b broadband routers? Is it the brick buildings? Is it the 20 other access points around me?
1 Of which 90% are locked down and have non-default settings
|< I was out for a bit | BBC White season: 'Rivers of Blood' >


text:
Version: 1.6
License: Freeware
Description: IcoFX is a complete all-in-one solution for icon creation, extraction and editing. It supports transparency and has tools and more than 40 effects to create icons. It can also import and export various images formats and has batch processing capability.
Website: http://icofx.ro/
Size: 1.65 MB (installed) / 1.38 MB (compressed)
Installer: Download


text:
Helicobacter pylori is an organism that has been associated with malignancy of the GI tract. There are studies to indicate that we eradicate too many of the H. pylori organisms. The conventional treatment for H. pylori is a Prepac which is not usually tolerated by most patients.
For this reason there has been another effective treatment which involves a drug called Nitazoxanide (Alinia). I have used Alinia to treat parasites for the last 20 years. This has been largely due to Dr. Kevin Cahill (Parasitologist in New York City). Alinia is involved in a new study regiment using two other antibiotics and an H2 blocker like omeprazole. Most patients do not tolerate this either. I think it is unique to use Alinia as I have always believed it has other properties as anti bacterial and anti viral in addition to its anit parasitic.
For natural treatment of H. pylori, I utilize a berberine containing plant (there are 4 berberine containing plants). The other treatment is Mastica which is a resin from the Mastica tree. Mastica is made from the sap of the tree Pistachia Lentiscus var. chia, which is grown only on the southern coast of Chios. Mastica has been cultivated since ancient times due to its healing properties, unique taste, and the variety of uses.
Until tomorrow...


text:
What are you needing in your practice?
More strength? A quiet reprieve from your day? Quality time with your friends while you sweat it out? I offer group lessons and private sessions to help you make the most of your hour on the mat.
Private Sessions
Not confident about your Adho Mukha Svanasana? Feeling confused in group classes at your Studio?
That is where the beauty of private lessons comes in.
With Private Sessions, I can cater the class to you. We will discuss beforehand what you are looking for in your practice; target areas to build strength, injuries you are wanting to work through, and desired outcome.
You will have the opportunity to take your practice to a much deeper level as we workshop postures and focus on alignment.
Each class will be tailored to your specific needs and level of practice.
Private Session Pricing:
1 Hour yoga session - $60
Let's get started. Contact me.
Group Lessons
My group classes are unique.
The majority are offered at homes in an intimate setting. If you have a small space to clear, we can make it happen. This makes for a relaxed, unintimidating atmosphere. Dirty laundry in the corner? Welcome to the club.
They're also small classes.
The teacher to student ratio is usually 1:4. This allows me to pay attention to each person, keep an eye out for "red flags" and prevent injuries as much as possible.
Group lessons pricing:
Interested in setting up a group class in your home? Contact me.


text:
The official GTK# (mono/gtk-sharp) views for LibVLCSharp.
This package contains the views that allows to display a video played with LibVLCSharp
in a GTK# app.
LibVLCSharp.Forms.Platforms.GTK depends on this package.
This package depends on LibVLCSharp.
libvlc needs to be installed separately.
There is a newer version of this package available.
See the version list below for details.
See the version list below for details.
Install-Package LibVLCSharp.GTK -Version 3.0.1
dotnet add package LibVLCSharp.GTK --version 3.0.1
<PackageReference Include="LibVLCSharp.GTK" Version="3.0.1" />
For projects that support PackageReference, copy this XML node into the project file to reference the package.
paket add LibVLCSharp.GTK --version 3.0.1
The NuGet Team does not provide support for this client. Please contact its maintainers for support.
Release Notes
.NETFramework 4.7
- LibVLCSharp (>= 3.0.1)
- System.Runtime.InteropServices.RuntimeInformation (>= 4.3.0)
GitHub Usage
This package is not used by any popular GitHub repositories.


text:
Building the "the speach" took me about 1 year (not consecutive). The idea of it was there for years, but the realization took ages.
Clever artworks, especially sculptures are nowadays designed in a way making it possible to decompose it. Art mustn't live for centuries. I'd like my art to vanish into thin air - which might be not possible because I most of the time use plastic, especially Floppy Disks.
The sculpture in the Video was standing on the balcony of a German artist house. Over 1 1/2 years wind, rain, ice, snow has clogged the floppy disks. Many labels were gone, many labels where illegible - BUT: the plastic is still in good, or even perfect shape.
Plastic is the hostage of humanity - and we are still using it for mass-produce.
Check the time leaps video "Decompose sculpture"


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Last updateSat, 17 Feb 2018 3pm
After hatching the conspiracy and achieving ultimate martyrdom of Imam Hassan (A.S), Muawiya started campaigning openly for the succession of his son Yazid to the office of Caliphate. Until that time he had always planned in secret about this intention. To materialize his plans, he started his campaign among his most trusted people in Syria where he had established his headquarters. Later on, his missionaries took the message to other parts of the Islamic world and with the help of lot of money and bribery he got support for the caliphate of Yazid from a number of important Islamic cities.After his death in Shabaan of the 60th Hijrah, Yazid sat on his throne and started the campaign of getting Baiyat of all Muslims so that they would accept him as the Caliph. The materialistic personalities of that time came forward and accepted his caliphate. Among them were mostly the people who were known for their enmity towards the Ahlul-Bayt (A.S) of our Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P). The other group was of the people who were either coerced by force or treachery or their loyalties were bought through material offers.When the campaign crossed the borders of Syria, instructions were sent to the Governor of Medina – Walid ibn-e-Aqba ibn-e-Abu Sufyan – as well to get the baiyat of Imam Hussein (A.S). According to some historians, Yazid also mentioned that if Imam Hussein (A.S) declines his baiyat then Walid should kill him and send his head to Syria. Walid invited the Imam (A.S) to his court and gave him the orders of Yazid and demanded his baiyat. Imam (A.S) replied "A person like me would never accept the baiyat of a person like Yazid". In this statement, Imam (A.S) gave a clear guideline for all the future time to come.One of the advisors of Walid named Marwan bin Hakm incited Walid on getting Imam (A.S) killed right there but Imam (A.S) was joined by a few of his followers from Bani Hashim under the leadership of Hazrat Abbas (A.S) and returned safely from the court.Within a few days time, the political developments made it very clear that Yazid is going all out to either obtain the baiyat of Imam Hussein (A.S) or to get him killed. Imam (A.S) had the sanctity of Medina as well as the salvation of the religion of Islam in his mind, therefore, he decided to leave Medina and go towards Iraq. He asked for the preparation of a Caravan of his selected family members and his trusted friends and set off for this long journey on the 28th of Rajab.When Imam (A.S) had made his decision to leave Madina, he went to the grave of his brother Imam Hassan (A.S) with a very heavy heart. There he stayed for some time talking to his brother saying "O brother now your killers are after my blood. It looks like time for my martyrdom is near and I am leaving you now.". I imagine that Imam Hassan (A.S) would have replied from his grave – O my brother I bid you farewell and give you my son Qasim to become your sacrifice in Karbala.After that Imam (A.S) went to the grave of his grandfather, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P). He stayed there for a long time and wept a lot until he went to sleep. He saw the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) in his dream and said to him "O my grandfather, my salutations to you. The land of Medina has become small for me. Tyrants among your ummah are after my blood and I am leaving Medina with a heavy heart".Finally Imam Hussein (A.S) came to the grave of his mother Hazrat Fatima Zahra (S.A). Historians write that Imam (A.S) ran towards her grave just like a child runs toward his mother and he fell on her grave just like a child falls in the lap of the mother. Imam (A.S) said "O my mother accept my last salam. I am leaving the land of Medina and would not come back. The prophecy of my grandfather is about to come true". I imagine that Hazrat Zahra (S.A) would have said from her grave "O my beloved son, O the one whom I have raised by keeping awake in the night, I would not let you go alone. From this day I would not rest in my grave but I would accompany you throughout your journey."Historians write that throughout the journey various people reported to Imam (A.S) that when everyone goes asleep during the night, we hear feminine voices of weeping and Bibi's voice crying "Ya Hussein, Ya Hussein". Imam (A.S) told them "O my trusted companions this is my mother Zahra (S.A) who is with me ever since I have left Medina".Derived from: Imam Reza.Network
The 9th of Rabi'al Awwal marks a turning point in the history of the Ahlul Bait (A.S) and their followers. This day is a day of joy and happiness for the lovers of the Ahlul Bait (A.S). The hadith which speaks about this day refers to it as the 'Greatest Eid in the sight of the Ahlul Bait (A.S) and those who love and follow them.Indeed, it is after going through close to 70 days of grief and sorrow in which we commemorated the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (A.S) and his family and friends in Karbala and the other martyrdoms which we have marked over this period - including the demise of our 2nd Imam, 4th Imam 8th Imam, 11th Imam, and of course our beloved Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) – that we have finally reached this day of blessings when we can adorn ourselves with the clothing of piety which we have learned from the ceremonies over the past two and a half months.One particular hadith which speaks of this day tells us that while in a gathering with the Prophet of Islam, Imam Ali and his two sons, Hasan, and Husain (A.S), the Prophet, with a smile on his face, said, "It is on this day that Allah will destroy your enemies and the enemies of your grandfather and it is on this day when Allah will accept the actions of your Shia and those who love you." This is the day when the words of Allah came true where He said (in the Qur`an): 'So those are the houses fallen down because they were unjust…' (27:52) and this is the day when the Pharaoh of the time of the Ahlul Bait (A.S) was destroyed…"On this day, one of the important things which we should bring to mind is the start of the Imamate and leadership of our 12th and Living Imam, Al-Mahdi (A.S). With the tragic death of his father at such a young age, the Awaited Savior began the mission of his Imamate on this day – and it continues even now during the period of the Occultation until Allah permits him to make his advent to establish the universal government of Islam over the entire planet!We should also keep in our hearts two of the most important pillars of our Furu ad-Din – namely Tawalla and Tabarra – or showing love for the Ahlul Bait (A.S) and those who love them and showing and expressing our dislike for the enemies of the Ahlul Bait (A.S) during this day and the gatherings which we attend. The concept of love and hate is something which is engrained in the Quran in many verses and is something which we must live our life by – we must know who our friends are and love and support them, and we must know who our enemies are so that we can keep away from them and their wicked plots and ideas.This is the day of Eid for faithful and marks the end of the mourning period after the events of Karbala. According to Ulema, this is the day when the key murderers of Imam Hussain (A.S), Umar Ibn Saad and Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad were killed and sent to the Hell. When their heads were presented to Imam Sajjad (A.S) by the forces of Mukhtar Al-Saqafi, Imam (A.S) prostrated and thanked Allah (S.W.T) that he had granted him long enough life that he could see the heads of the killers of Imam Hussain (A.S).This was the first time since the events of Karbala that the people saw smile on the face of Imam Sajjad (A.S). Therefore, the faithful of Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) and his Ahlul Bait (A.S) should celebrate this day as an Eid day. Allah (S.W.T) has reserved great reward for anyone who declares and celebrates this day as Eid day.This Eid day achieves more heights of honor, glory and excellence as on this auspicious day the crown of Imamate is passed to Imam of our era, the last 12th Imam Al-Mahdi (A.S). A saying of Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) goes: "One, who dies without knowing the Imam of his time, dies a death of ignorance."Imam Al-Mahdi (A.S) is our Imam, Imam of our time and as the verse 71 of chapter Bani Israel of holy Quran says: "(Remember) the day (of Judgment) when we shall call every people with their Imam". we will be called and presented with our Imam on Resurrection Day.Friends of Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) should celebrate this day with great happiness, for our joys are with the joys of Ahlul Bait (A.S) and our grief and sorrows are for them alone.Derived from The Universal Center of Imam Al-Mahdi.
"O Spirit of Allah, I have come to ask for the hand of the daughter of your successor Simon in marriage for this son of mine…" (The words of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) addressing Prophet Jesus (A.S))Bishr ibn Sulayman was one of the lovers of Imam Hadi (A.S) and Imam al-Askari (A.S). He was the neighbor of these two Imams in Samarra. He has narrated that:One day Imam Hadi (A.S) called me. He then wrote a letter in Roman, stamped it with his ring, gave the letter to me along with two hundred and twenty gold coins and said," Take these to Baghdad, and get to a specific location. Some boats which carry a group of captives will arrive there in the morning". Then he described one of the captives for me, and ordered me to give her the letter, and to say that I was the representative of the owner of the letter, so that she would follow me.I acted as Imam Hadi (A.S) had ordered me. I found the captive the Imam (A.S) had described, and gave her the letter. When she saw the letter, she was driven to tears, and agreed to follow me. When we reached a resting area in Baghdad, she took the letter of Imam Hadi (A.S) out, started kissing it and wiping it over her eyes. I asked her in shock," You are kissing a letter whose writer you do not know?"She said," You cannot understand the greatness of the children and successors of the Prophets. Listen to me so that I narrate my story. I am "Malakah", daughter of "Yashu'a" (son of the Roman Emperor). My mother is a descendant of Simon, the successor of Prophet Jesus (A.S).One night, I saw Prophet Jesus (A.S) and his disciples in my dream making a pulpit of light. Then, the Prophet of Islam, Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) and his successor and son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S) and a number of the Imams among his children blessed the palace with their presence.Then, Prophet Jesus (A.S) received Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P). Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) said," O Spirit of Allah, I have come to ask for the hand of the daughter of your successor Simon in marriage for this son of mine", and he pointed to Imam al-Askari (A.S).Prophet Jesus (A.S) then said to Simon," The glory of the two worlds has turned to you. Connect your progeny with that of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P)".Simon accepted the offer, so all of them went on top of the pulpit. Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) recited a sermon, and he and Prophet Jesus (A.S) married me to Imam al-Askari (A.S), while children of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) and the disciples were witnessing.Later, Imam al-Askari (A.S) came to my dream and informed me that:" Your grandfather will send an army to the Muslim territories. You have to join them while wearing the clothes of the maids so that you would not be recognized". I followed the instructions. The Muslim army fought ours and achieved victory, so we were caught as captives, and you saw how it ended. No one other than you knows that I am the daughter of the Roman Emperor. I introduced myself to the old man who made ma captive as "Narjis".Bishr ibn Sulayman narrates that:"When I took her to Imam Hadi (A.S) in Samarra, he asked her," How did Allah (S.W.T) show you the glory of Islam and the honor of Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) and his family?She replied," How can I describe to you something which you know better than me?"Imam Hadi (A.S) said," Glad tidings to you for a son that shall become the king of the east and the west of world. He shall fill the earth with justice and equity after it will be filled with injustice and oppression. He is the son of the person whom the Messenger of Allah (S.W.T) married you to".Then, he said to his sister, Hakimah Khatun," Take her home and teach her the obligatory and recommended acts, as she is the wife of Imam al-Askari (A.S) and the mother of the Saahib al-Zaman (Owner of Time, referring to Imam Mahdi(A.S))".Indeed Narjis had the best social status and the best means of joy and comfort in the Roman Empire at that time; however, she manifested purity and sincerity in herself in a way that the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H&H.P) married her to Imam al-Askari (A.S), and she was honored to become the mother of unique savior of the world. Nevertheless, Imam Hadi (A.S) has taught is that besides all the qualifications, the best and most fundamental foundation for a family is based on knowing the commands of Allah (S.W.T) and fulfilling them. Therefore, when such a family, which will create the destiny of mankind, was about to form, the first step was to learn the Divine commands.So on what basis do we form our lives?(The above is a selection taken from "Al-Abqari al-Hisan fi Ahwal Maulana Sahib al-Zaman", by Ayatullah Shaykh Ali Akbar Nahawandi (with some changes and additions))Taken from: Roshd Islamic Shia Website
Abyssinia Christian king saves the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P)
Humbleness is an outstanding feature in the lives of Ahlul Bayt.Ibn Masud reports: A person came to the presence of Allah's Messenger and when he started to speak, he was trembling. The Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) said, "Calm down; I am not a king." [Makarim al-Akhlaq: 16]Another person reports: A group of people and I went to the presence of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) and said, "You are our master." The Holy Prophet said, "Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, is the Master." [Sunan Abi-Dawud, 254/4]Abu-Basir reports: Imam Sadiq (A.S) went to the public bath whose owner said, "Let me evacuate the public bath for you!" Imam Sadiq (A.S) said, "No, it is not necessary. The pious believer does not bother for those things." [Al-Kafi: 503/6, H. 37]It is also reported that Imam Reza (A.S) went to a public bath. A person who had not recognized him said, "O gentleman! Rub me with this flannel!" Imam Reza (A.S) did so. At this time people who were in the bath introduced Imam Reza to him, the man became ashamed; he made an apology and an attempted to draw himself aside. However the Imam calmed him with his words and kept on rubbing him with the flannel! [Al-Manaqib: 362/4]Humility is like a seed, which when sown in the earth will bear abundant fruits. With their humility, the Ahlul Bayt made the realm of obedience come to fruition. Some of these fruits are knowledge, awareness and vision. They have been chosen as leaders of guidance until the Judgment Day because of their in-depth insight into the truth of universe. Hence, all should be aware that to take lead ahead of them will cause perdition and to ignore them will cause bewilderment. The Holy Prophet has said: Do not take lead ahead of my Ahlul Bayt, for you will come to perdition nor do you teach them, for they are more knowledgeable than you. [Al-Kafi: 294/1, H. 3]He has also said: Be aware that Ahlul Bayt are the wisest in childhood and the most knowledgeable in their maturity. They will never misguide you nor will they take you out of true guidance. [Bihar al-Anwar 23:144]Imam Baqir (A.S) said to Salamah ibn Kuhayl and Hakam ibn Utaybah: You will never attain sound knowledge neither in the east nor in the west but with us, Ahlul Bayt. [Al-Kafi: 399/1, H. 3]The Imam (A.S) has also said: We, the Ahl al-Bayt, are treasures of Divine knowledge. [Al-Kafi: 192/1, H. 3]Imam Hussain (A.S) has said: We do not know why people harbor enmity against us while we are from the House of mercy, the tree of Prophet Hood and the source of knowledge. [Nuzhat al-Nadhir: 85]Imam Sadiq (A.S) reports: When it was noontime, Ali ibn Hussain performed his prayer and then was engaged in invocations and greeted the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) and Ahlul Bayt (A.S) as follows: O Allah; Send greetings on Muhammad and on the descendants of Muhammad, the evergreen tree of Prophet Hood, the destination of the Divine messages, the academy where angels came to learn and know, the depository of wisdom, and the household of Divine Revelation.Derived from: Imam Reza.Network
No one in the history of Islam shares the words of praise that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) used for Imam Ali (A.S). For example he said:"If all the trees were pens, if all the seas were ink, if all the jinn and men wrote them down, even then the merits of Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S) could not be counted.""Ali and I are from the same Light""Ali is from me and I am from Ali.""Ali is the first person to believe in my Prophet hood and will be the first person to meet me on the Day of Judgment.""I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its door. He who wants to gain knowledge should come through the door.""I am the store-house of wisdom and Ali is its door.""Whoever wishes to see Adam in his knowledge, Noah in his piety, Abraham in his patience, Moses in his strength, and Jesus in his worship and devotion should look at Ali ibn Abi Talib.""He who loves Ali loves me and he who hates Ali hates me.""O Ali! You are the leader in this world and the hereafter.""Ali is with the Truth and Truth is with Ali."Ref: Shia Books for Children
Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Umar al-Je'abi reported from Abu Abdullah Muhammad b. al-Qasim al-Muharibi, who reports from Ismail b. Ishaq al-Rashidi, who reported from Muhammad b. al-Harith, who reported from Ibrahim b. Muhammad, from Muslim al-A'awar, from Habbah al-Arni, from Abu al-Haytham b. al-Teehan al-Ansari, who reported that:The Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) said: "Allah, Most High, created the souls two thousand years earlier than the bodies attached it to the Throne and ordered them to greet me and obey me. So the first one among men who greeted me and expressed his obedience to me was the soul of Ali Ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him."Ref: Al Hassanain.com
Historians did not announce on similarity of the Householders to the prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) except in about Ali Al-Akbar.Jabir Al-Ansari narrated that Fatima similar to her father when she walks. And the narration of Al-Sadoq witnessing that Al-Hassan (A.S) similar to his grandfather in his prestige and the glory, and Al-Hussain in his generosity and courage. (Alkhesal, V 1, page 39).Al Hakim Al Naisaburi also narrated from Ali (A.S): the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H&H.P) said to Jafar al-Tayyar: You are similar to me in my appearance and my attitudes. (Mustadrak Al Hakim, V 3, Page 211).The esteemed Sheikh Fakhr-Al Din Al Turaihi in Almontakhab saying: Hussain (A.S) said about his infant (was killed with his father in Karbala): O our Allah, you are a witness on people killed one who most look like with the messenger of Allah Muhammad. (P.B.U.H&H.P).These evidences are proof on similarity of the pure progeny to the Messenger of Allah in every precious quality. But the golden words of Imam Hussain (A.S) in behalf of his elder son: ("0 Lord! Bear witness on those people for he who emerged to them is bearing a strong likeness to Your Prophet in all departments - resemblance of disposition, complexion, and logic. Hence we look at him when we crave to see Your Apostle.) (Allahof by sayed Ibn tawos: Page 63, Sidon.) This statement shows the deceased of house of the prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) was in his life reflecting the beauties of the prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) and was an example for his eloquent wonderful logic that which made his father (A.S) when he longing to see that cheerful face which made Hassan bin Thabet to recite this poem without exaggeration:'My eyes have not seen more beautiful person than youNo women has given birth to a more beautiful person than youYou have been created without any weakness and blemishAs if you have been created as you wished to be created'Ref: imamhussain-lib.com
The city of Kufa was the capital of the Islamic Government. People from all over the World used to gather at that point to get the benefit of knowledge and learning from that great Islamic University.One of those days two men came across each other in the vicinity of the city one of them was Ali (A.S) and the other was a Christian who did not recognize him. The Christian man was moving towards the suburban area of Kufa, whereas, Ali (A.S) was on his way to kufa.They mutually agreed to accompany each other for a while, talking to each other, so that they do not get tired.They reached a point where two ways split out, so that each one wanted to move on one of those two different roads. The Christian bade Farwell and went on his way but he observed that his Muslim companion, whose way was on the opposite side, was moving towards him. So he stopped and questioned him, "Don't you want to go to kufa?"Ali (A.S) said, "Yes". The Christian man said, "Then why are you coming towards this direction?"Ali (A.S) replied, "I wish to accompany you to a certain length of distance because the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) said, "When two persons are together on a way (journey companions) they get a right over each other.""Now that you have got a right upon me, I go along with you up to a certain distance so that I must pay you (discharge) that light of yours in this world. Then I will part off on my own way." The Christian man was much pleased and moved by this humanly attitude and conduct and he liked his talk and said, "It is befitting that I should also embrace Islam which has such a culture and students."His amazement and astonishment was only too enhanced when he discovered that his travel companion is Ali (A.S), the ruler of Islam. So he immediately accepted and embraced Islam at his hand.Ref: Almujtaba Islamic Articles Page
The uprising of Imam Hussein (A.S) has not only affected the Shiite Islamic societies, but also people of other faiths. We will review some of the important social and individual effects of this movement in the following paragraphs.I–Social EffectsThe uprising of Imam Hussein (A.S) and his companions caused a significant effect on the Islamic community of that time as well as those of later centuries. Some of the social effects are:- Removal of Ignorance:In many narrations and scripts for pilgrimages (Ziarat), the most important social message of this movement is considered to be "fighting against ignorance in the society and people's unawareness." The tyrants of that time had done everything to diminish the limits between right and wrong, and Imam Hussein (A.S) intended to redefine that for the society. This movement not only caused a general awareness in Islamic communities, but also enlightened the non-Muslim communities as well. For instance, some of the representatives of non-Muslim counties in Yazid's palace and some of the monks were deeply affected and eventually were guided on the right path. Indeed, the guidance which is a result of this uprising is still in place and leads many free men to the right path. Further, the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (A.S) and his companions proves the trueness of Islam. The first goal of the movement of Ashura is to bring about awareness in people of reasonable thoughts and behaviors. Obviously if this movement were based exclusively on emotions and taking advantage of people's emotions, then it would not encourage people to refer to their intellect, and it would not lead to general awareness in society.- A General Uprising:There were a number of uprisings after the movement of Ashura (both in that period of time and in later years) against oppression and tyranny of governments. Among them, the uprising of the people of Medina was one of the most important ones. Those who started the movement were not thinking about victory, but they decided to stand against tyranny as a social duty. There were other Islamic and non-Islamic movements in later years which had the teachings of Karbala in mind. Moreover, there were many religious and non-religious uprisings throughout history which had set their goal to fight against oppression. But most of them had affected their own period of time and not further; or they had taken advantage of people's emotions and were later forgotten. On the contrary, the event of Ashura was not limited to a few years after its taking place; it affected societies from the first day until the present time. Further, the motivation of this movement was divine, unlike other uprisings, and therefore, it calls upon people to rise up against oppression based on divine values and human principles.- An Uprising Only for the Sake of Allah Almighty (S.W.T):Obviously, the most important and ultimate effect of Imam Hussein's (A.S) uprising, whether socially or individually, is only to act for the sake of Allah Almighty (S.W.T). Imam Hussain (A.S) sacrificed all he had for Allah (S.W.T). He did not even consider victory at the battlefield as a condition to rise up against the oppressive government.He told his companions and family on the night before the battle (the night of Ashura) that: "These people have animosity only for me; you can take advantage of the dark and leave. Know that whosoever stays here will be killed tomorrow." Furthermore, in the hardest condition of the day of Ashura, Imam Hussein (A.S) said: "This is easy for me because Allah is watching me."II–Individual EffectsThe uprising of Imam Hussein (A.S) affects every individual and constructs a practical path for social improvements. Some of the most important individual improvements are:- To practice the commands of Allah (S.W.T) and to abandon sin:Whoever benefits from the event of Ashura in any way will receive a sensation of obedience toward Allah (S.W.T) and a unique pleasure in submission to His command. Furthermore, even the act of committing a sin will appear ugly and unpleasant to that individual. However, the extent to which an individual leaves his sinful behavior depends upon his individual capacity for understanding the event of Ashura and Imam Hussein's (A.S) movement. This fact can be seen through individual experiences.- Freedom:After so many years, one of the quotes of Hussein (A.S) is still remembered – "If you do not believe in religion, at least be free in your world." This saying invites the whole world to practice freedom. The message of Hussein (A.S) continues, and his followers reject submission to oppression. Freedom from enslavement by tyrants or anyone except Allah (S.W.T) is one of the points of Imam Hussein's (A.S) revolution that can be used to realize the true values of Islam in this day and time. Hence, those who are in love with Hussein (A.S), no matter what religion they have, will try to free themselves from misfortune and obedience to anyone except Allah (S.W.T) by following Hussein's (A.S) path.- Patience and strength:Shiite Muslims and others who think about the events of Ashura have learned from the patience of Imam Hussein (A.S) such that in the most difficult situations of their lives, they remember their beloved leader. Therefore, they remain steadfast and patient in difficulties by remembering the difficulties Hussein (A.S) faced:1. Surrounded in the hot desert without any water, and the river blocked for three consecutive days by the enemy.2. The killing of his six-month old infant son with an arrow.3. The killing and subsequent mutilation of his young son, who was the most similar in looks and moralities to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP).Hussein (A.S) never complained and did not stop thanking and remembering Allah (S.W.T). This was the only way his broken heart could be healed.Human demands for the teachings of Ashura are not only still on the rise after many centuries, but they are increasing at a fast pace due to the age of technology. One reason is that as humans quickly satisfy their materialistic needs, they feel the need to improve their spiritual capabilities as well. Such development can help them in their lives and take them closer to the goal and purpose of life, that is, perfection and becoming closer to Allah (S.W.T). The event of Ashura, nowadays, has such a critical responsibility. If the people of 1300 years ago could not fully understand what Hussein Ibn Ali (A.S) had accomplished at that time, mankind today has more capability of understanding what Hussein's (A.S) movement was all about. They have more to ponder over at their own level of concentration. By comprehending the philosophy of his movement, humans may be able to do something about the present spiritual problems, such as their routine life and apathy toward their Creator and the Resurrection Day.Furthermore, one could contemplate the ceremonies held for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein and Ahl al-Bayt (A.S) (the household of the Prophet (PBUH&HP)) by Shiite communities from a different point of view.The human body is totally dependent upon its soul. Unlike the materialistic part of the body, the soul is everlasting. That is why the spiritual connection is deeper and more sophisticated than the physical or materialistic connection. But when does a spiritual connection happen between two distinct individuals? The answer is when they have the same spiritual/divine values. The connection between Shiite Muslims and the household of the Prophet (PBUH&HP) is a spiritual relationship, which is much deeper and stronger than any materialistic relationship. Therefore, the sad the tragic ceremonies that Shiite communities hold are absolutely logical, since their spiritual relationship continues to exist, even though the souls of those martyrs are not in this world. Allah (S.W.T) says: "Do not think of those who are killed in the Way of Allah as dead. Nay, they are alive with their Lord and receive sustenance from Him." (The Holy Quran, 3:169). Thus Shiites have a spiritual connection with their Imams (A.S) even centuries after their martyrdom, since they are alive and a spiritual relationship is independent of time and place.For the same reason Shiites cry and commemorate the martyrdom of their beloved Imams (A.S). There is an advantage to their tears. Crying is a good means for increasing the love and care for a beloved one. So, crying and weeping is a result of love and improves that love in its nature. This way the people who sincerely love Allah (S.W.T) and Ahl al-Bayt (A.S) can escalate their spiritual level and get closer to perfection. It is true that weeping is not the only way to improve spirituality, but there lies a hidden point in weeping. The presentation of real love and the proof of a claim of a lover is demonstrated when the lover forgets every other one but his beloved. Indeed weeping fulfills this mission in its best way; it also clears one's mirror of heart and prepares the heart for being influenced by the best humans in all of creation.Finally, the remembrance of Ashura and Imam Hussein's (A.S) movement should be undertaken with logic and wisdom at all times. There are many ideological and moral needs, which can be satisfied by understanding his movement, which can lead to improvement of the spiritual life of the human being, as well as avoid any possible superstitions.Ref: Roshd magazine
Zechariah, who was a Christian, drew the attention of his Muslim friend Abdollah towards a person who was going to the mosque, and said: "Do you know him? Do you know how kind he is?Abdollah replied: Yes, but I thought that only Muslims know him and not the followers of other religions.Zechariah, the Christian gentleman, who was still not properly acquainted with the identity of the man going towards the mosque, said: I am indebted for my life to him. Once when I had lost my way in the desert and was dying of thirst, he kindly approached me, gave me water to drink from his goatskin water carrier, although it was almost empty. He even gave his food to me and showed me the way towards Medina. I thought Prophet Jesus (A.S) has come to my help.Abdollah told his Christian friend: He is the leader of Muslims; he is Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (A.S) who is a direct descendant of Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H&H.P). He adheres to the ways and behavior of his forefathers and his name is a byword for generosity, forgiveness and virtue.Zechariah, the Christian gentleman, who had pinned his eyes to the mosque even after Imam Sadiq (A.S) had entered it, saw several youths hurrying towards the mosque although it was not the time for prayer. He asked his friends: Why are they going to the mosque?Abdollah replied: Soon Imam Sadiq (A.S) will start giving lessons and these are his students who have come from different lands to learn different sciences from him.Zechariah enthusiastically got up and said he was eager to hear the words of the Imam.Abdollah said: do not hurry, we will go together. I am one of his students and I have benefited much from the vast sea of his knowledge.The two entered the mosque and sat down among the students. Although a Christian, Zechariah listened with rapt attention to the Imam's discourse. He felt amazed at the depth of knowledge of Imam Sadiq (A.S). He had regularly visited Churches and monasteries but had never heard such wise words with clear reasoning.Abdollah realized the change of state of Zechariah and turning to him said that soon you will be a student and disciple of the Prophet's successor. It was not long when the clear reasoning and rational proofs of the 6th Imam transformed Zechariah into a devoted Muslim and follower of the Ahlul-Bayt.Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (A.S) was thus the 6th infallible Imam. He was born in 83 AH and was twelve years old when his grandfather, Imam Zayn al-Abidin, the survivor of the tragedy of Karbala, passed away. At the age of 31 the mantle of divinely-decreed leadership fell on his shoulders when his father, Imam Muhammad Baqir (A.S), was fatally poisoned. For the next 34 years Imam Sadiq built up the nucleus of the Muslim society by training a whole generation of Islamic scholars in various fields of knowledge including practical sciences. Jabir ibn Hayyan who is considered as the Father of Chemistry, was among his students. The political conditions of the time when the Omayyad and the Abbasid were fighting for control of the realm, provided precious breathing space to Imam Sadiq (A.S) to propound to the Muslim masses the practice, behavior, hadith and jurisprudence of the Prophet. For this reason, the genuine Islamic jurisprudence is also known as Fiqh-e Ja'fari in honor of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (A.S) although whatever he thought was not innovation but the word and deed of Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H&H.P). This school of thought with its dynamic concept of Ijtihad or independent reasoning on the basis of the Holy Qur'an and the teachings of the Prophet had excellently catered to the expanding human needs in view of the times and conditions .On the auspicious birthday of Imam Sadiq (A.S) we bring you two wise statements from that him: He said:"Either be a scholar, or try to seek knowledge or at least be a follower of the possessors of knowledge.""No comfort is better than good temper. Good temper promotes love and affection." Ref: Islamic Education Center
Imam Sadiq (A.S) reports: Ali ibn Abi-Talib (A.S) was tasked by the Holy Prophet to go to the market and purchase a shirt. He went to the market and purchased a shirt for twelve dirhams. The Holy Prophet asked, "How much did you pay for it?""Twelve dirhams", said Imam Ali (A.S)."I do not like it so much! I would like to have a less expensive one. Is the seller ready to take it back, if so, please return it?" Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) said to him "I do not know, Allah's Messenger," replied Imam Ali (A.S)."Go and see whether he agrees to take it back or not," asked the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P).Ali took the shirt along with him and returned to the market to ask the seller, "The Holy Prophet wants a shirt which is less expensive in price than this. Are you ready to pay back our money and take back the shirt?"The seller accepted it; Ali took the money and returned to the Holy Prophet. Then they both went towards the market. On the way, the Holy Prophet saw a slave-girl crying."Why are you crying?" he asked."My master gave me four dirhams and sent me to the market for shopping. I do not know how I lost the money. At present, I am scared to go back home."The Holy Prophet gave her four dirhams from those twelve dirhams and said, "Buy what you want and go back home!" Then, he went to the market, purchased a shirt for four dirhams and put it on.On his return, he saw a naked man; he immediately took off his shirt and gave it to him. He returned to the market and purchased another shirt for four dirhams. He put it on and took to the way towards his house. On the way, he saw the same slave-girl sitting, puzzled, embarrassed and perplexed."Why didn't you go back home?" he asked."O Allah's Messenger, it is too late. I am afraid they might beat me, for I have been slightly delayed.""Let us go together. Show me the way to your house! I will intercede for you with them so that they may not bother you."The Holy Prophet accompanied the slave-girl. As they reached the house, the girl said, "This is the house."The Holy Prophet said in a high voice from behind the door, "O people of the house, peace be upon you." He did not get any reply. Thus he said again, yet there was no reply. For the third time, he saluted, and they replied, "O Allah's Messenger, peace and Allah's mercy and blessings be upon you.""Why did you not reply for the first time, didn't you hear my voice?""Of course, yes! We heard your voice the first time and came to know that it was you!""Then what was the reason for your delay?""O Allah's Messenger! We love to hear your voice again and again. Your salaam is peace, blessing and grace for our house.""This slave-girl of yours was delayed. I came here to ask you not to pester her.""O Allah's Messenger! Because of your gracious visit, this slave-girl is free from now on."The Holy Prophet said, "Thanks to Allah, how blessed these twelve Dirhams were; which became the dress of two naked persons and a slave-girl got her freedom."(Al-Khisal: 271/1, H. 13)Taken from: Imam Reza.Network
The Eighth Holy Imam Ali Al-Ridha (A.S) son of the Imam Musa al-Kadhim (A.S) and lady Najmah. He died, by poisoning mixed in his fruit by Al-Ma'mun.His body was prepared for burial by his son the Imam Mohammad AI-Jawad (A.S) and he was buried in Mashhad, Khorasan in Iran, where his shrine stands now.It is needless to speak of his achievements in vast knowledge, virtue, nobility, generosity, moral perfections, humbleness and worship of Allah (S.W.T).Ma'mun Al-Abbassi, then the Caliph asked him to take charge of the administration of the Muslim government but he did not accept it because he knew that things will not go the way he liked them to go.It was just like the case of his great grandfather the Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (A.S) who did not accept the post of leadership with the condition set by the counsel that he should run the government according to the book of Allah (S.W.T), the traditions of The Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) and the policies of the two previous Caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar ibn Al-Khattab.Imam Ali (A.S) couldn't of course and didn't accept such an offer but Othman accepted it. Hence he was appointed the third Caliph, over Imam Ali (A.S)!When the Eighth Imam (A.S) did not accept the post of the leadership of the Muslim government, Ma'mun then asked him to be his successor and the Imam (A.S) reluctantly accepted it with the condition that he will not be asked to take part in any governmental tasks and policies, , during the life time of Ma'mun.Because quite simply, Ma'mun's government policies were completely contrary to Islam principles and the teachings of The Holy Prophet Mohammad Al-Mustafa (P.B.U.H&H.P).Some examples of his vast knowledge came to light when Ma'mun invited the scholars of different schools of thought to attend a seminar of debate over the theological issues and matters of the doctrines of faith.For his worship he would stay up for many nights and read the whole book of Holy Koran in just over three days. Very often he would fast and also pray a thousand prayers in twenty four hours.He was very generous to everyone especially the poor. He would help the needy during the night so that no one would recognize him.Imam Ali Al- Ridha (A.S) never did any injustice to any one in words or deeds. He was not loud spoken but always spoke softly with a polite manner and was cordial with everyone. He always sat very politely and never slouched in the presence of others. He would call all the members of his family and servants to have dinner or lunch together.Taken from: Almujtaba Islamic Articles Page
Abu Bakr, son of Abu Quhafa, was the first caliph after the Prophet's demise. There are differing views on his name being either 'Abd Allah or 'Atiq. Apparently, many individuals have insisted on saying that his name was 'Abd Allah but he had previously been called 'Atiq. He belonged to the Banu Taym tribe, one of the tribes of the Quraysh.During the Dark Age, this tribe maintained minimal special standing among the other tribes. This claim is evidenced by Abu Sufyan's words once Abu Bakr assumed power. He said, "How come the government has fallen to the least populated and meanest tribes of the Quraysh?" [Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, vol. V, p. 451; Mustadrak, vol. II, p. 78]There is a story that one day, Abu Bakr was speaking with Dhaghfal about his lineage and both agreed that Banu Taym was one of the weakest tribes of the Quraysh [Majma'al-amthal, vol. I, p. 27]. Another time, Abu Bakr asked Qays Ibn 'Asim why he buried his daughters alive. Qays Ibn Asim replied, "So that they do not give birth to children like you." [Ibn Abi l-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. XIII, p. 177]There are different views also on his occupation prior to the advent of Islam. Those who intended to attribute a high position to him in the Dark Age said he was a merchant. On the other hand, there are documents that say he had menial jobs such as milking and of that nature. [Al-Faiq fi gharib al-hadith, vol. IV, p. 12]Another story says Abu Bakr had financial problems and was a teacher in the Dark Age and later, became a tailor following the advent of Islam. [Al-Ifsah, p. 176]Abu bakr was two years younger than the Prophet of Islam and he is considered to be among one of the first Muslims. There is however conflicting ideas concerning whether he was the first or the fifty-first Muslim as one quotation has put it. [As-Sahih Min Sira al-Nabi, vol. I, pp 247,289,290]Such notions about him are natural considering he was the first caliph. We have not heard about any special pressures he may have faced in the years of invitation to Islam in Mecca. He did not accompany the Muhajirun to Abyssinia, but he found an opportunity to be with the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) in the night of Hijra. According to various discussions about Hijra, after the Prophet left the house, Abu Bakr went to see Imam Ali(A.S) and when found out that Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) had gone, he had set off and joined him.Abu Bakr's relationship with the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) grew stronger following the Prophet's marriage with Ayesha. Ayesha was a clever woman who tried to have a role in all political developments of her time. This helped strengthen Abu Bakr's position to some extent.Abu Bakr did not have any political or military responsibility during his ten years of stay in Medina, but he could gain power by understanding the situation of the internal wings of the Quraysh and taking advantage of the Quraysh's enmity towards Imam Ali (A.S) as well as the collaboration of the middle wings of the Quraysh. This group was neither among the Umayyad nor the Hashemite.Abu Bakr grasped a serious chance. When he took over the caliphate, a wave of apostasy and opposition to Islam swept across Hijaz and Muslims who all saw the principle of Islam endangered realized that opposing Abu Bakr was not to their interests.It is interesting to know that immediately after Abu Bakr's coming to power, rifts emerged between the Ansar and the Quraysh over a sarcastic poem composed by Abu Bakr about the Ansar. Afterwards, the Ansar kept some distance from Abu Bakr and Amr Ibn As who was instigated by the Quraysh spoke against them.On the other hand, Fal Ibn Abbas and then, Imam Ali (A.S) praised the Ansar. Hassan Ibn Thabit composed poems in praise of Imam Ali (A.S) for his support of the Ansar and implicitly, referred to the efforts of some men of the Quraysh who wanted to take Imam Ali's position [Tarikh al-Ya'qubi, vol. II, p. 128]. However, when oppositions heightened, the Ansar moved towards the claimants of prophet Hood and other apostates.Abu Bakr reiterated several times that there were some people who deserved the caliphate more than him. After the people swore allegiance to him, he said in a sermon, "I took over the rule over you while I'm not any better than you. If I behave well, help me; if not, guide me. Obey me as long as I am obedient to God; otherwise, you won't need to obey me" [Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, vol. XI, p. 326; Tarikh at-Tabari, vol. III, p. 336; al-Imamah wal-Siyasah, vol. I, p. 34]. This shows that Abu Bakr believed it was not necessary for a ruler to be the best of the people.It is necessary to admit that Abu Bakr had an eloquent language and we are sure that it was his clam words at the Saqifa more effective than 'Umar's harsh words, though they were complementary.Later, Abu Bakr once pointed to his tongue and said, "This is what helped me reach this rank." [Nathr ad-Durr, vol. II, p. 13]He has been quoted as saying," Umar is stronger than me and Salim is more pious" [Nathr ad-Durr, vol. II, p. 15]. But his emphasis on having the rule is surprising. Abu Bakr introduced his government as the "Caliphate of Prophet Hood" to convey the religious aspect of his caliphate. He considered his rule not as a caliphate from God, but a succession to the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) and named himself the "Caliph of the Messenger of Allah".His first measure was dispatching Usama's army, an army which the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) had prepared to send to Damascus in the final days of his life. Political opposition caused delays in the deployment of the army under the pretext of Usama's young age. Now that the issues seemed to have been settled, the same people who were opposed decided to send Usama's army in spite of the critical situation on Hijaz.Responding to opposition against the army's dispatch, they said they could not ignore doing something that the Prophet had wanted. Abu Bakr said he would send the army even if the beasts would tear him apart in Medina [Tarikh Khalifat Ibn Khayyat, pp 100-101]. Usama's army left for Damascus and returned after forty days with no serious clashes. Since the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) had included Umar in Usama's army, Abu Bakr asked Usama to let Umar stay with him.This article borrowed from Imam Reza.Network.
Jabir, the son of Abdullah Ansari has been narrated as saying: The Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) saw a man with badly disheveled hair. He asked him: Did he not find anything to comb his hair with? He saw another person with filthy clothes. He shouted: Did he not find any water to wash his clothes? [Mizan al-Hikmat, v.10, p.92]Imam Baqir (A.S) said: Sweeping your houses will eliminate poverty. [Mizan al-Hikmat, v.10, p.93]The sixth Imam (A.S) said: Washing the dishes and sweeping your courtyards will increase your daily bread. [Mizan al-Hikmat, v.10, p.93]The Commander of the Faithful (A.S) said: Do not collect the trash outside your house since it is a source of evil. [Mizan al-Hikmat, v.10, p.93]It is wonderful that the divine viewpoint of the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) and the Imams informed the people about microbes' centuries before their discovery.The Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) said: Do not leave the unusable food leftovers at home overnight, and take them out of the house in broad daylight. In fact, these unusable leftovers are a source of evil. [Mizan al-Hikmat, v.10, p.95]He also said: Attend to cleaning with all your strength, since God the Almighty has established Islam on cleanliness. No one shall enter Heaven, but the clean. [Mizan al-Hikmat, v.10, p.95]Imam Reza (A.S) said: Cleanliness is one of the attributes of divine Prophets. [Mizan al-Hikmat, v.10, p.95]Considering the verses of the Quran regarding cleanliness and cleansing agents, and God's love of cleanliness and purity, and many traditions in this regard, it is the duty of the members of the family to clean their body and clothes, the furniture and the house as much as they can. As the Quran has recommended mutual cooperation based on kindness and piety, the man should help his wife in cleaning. Women are morally bound to clean the house, the furniture and clothes to please their husbands and God. This will also guarantee the family's health and will defeat pain, illness, distress and suffering. Housewives should remember that working at home to provide for the family's comfort is a form of worship and it certainly has divine reward.Ref: Aldhiaa.com
Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) wept whenever he was foretold the tragedy that would befall on Hussain (A.S) and his companions.Musnad Abu Ya'la Mosuli, Volume 1 page 298 Hadith 363:Abdullah ibn Naji narrated from his father who said: 'I went with Ali, they faced Nainawa as they were going to the battle of Siffin then Ali called out and said: 'O Aba Abdullah, have patience, O Aba Abdullah have patience on the bank of the Euphrates'. I asked: 'What do you mean by Aba Abdullah'? Ali replied: 'One day I went into the room of the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) whilst his eyes were gushing with tears, I therefore asked of him: 'O Prophet, has someone angered you? What makes your eyes gush with tears?' He (P.B.U.H&H.P) replied: 'Gabriel has just left me; he (Gabriel) told me that Hussain will be killed on the banks of the Euphrates River. Gabriel then said to him (P.B.U.H&H.P): 'Shall I let you smell its soil (wherein Hussain will be killed)? I said: 'Yes'. So Gabriel extended his hand and presented a handful of the soil and gave it to me, I was then unable to prevent my eyes from gushing into tears'''.We also read in Musnad Abu Ya'la Mosuli, Vol 6, p 129, Hadith 3402:Anas bin Malik said: 'The angel of rain asked permission from his Lord to visit the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) who granted permission. On that day the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) was with Umm Salama. The Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) told her: 'Guard the door and do not let anyone in'. While she was at the door, Hussain bin Ali burst into the room, so the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) began to hug and kiss him. The angel said to Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P): 'Do you love him?". He (P.B.U.H&H.P) replied: 'Yes'. The angel said: 'Your nation will kill him. If you wish, I can show you the place wherein they will kill him'. The Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) said: 'Yes'. So the angel took a handful of soil from the spot of his (Hussain's) murder and showed it and it was Sahla or red soil'. So Umm Salama took the soil and put it in her clothing'.Al-Albaani records a 'Sahih' Hadith:Gabriel came to me and informed me that my nation will kill my son Hussain. I asked: 'This Hussain?' He (P.B.U.H&H.P) replied: 'Yes' he then brought me some of its soil that was red. Narrated by Lubaba bint al-Harith that she went to the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) and said: 'O Prophet, I have seen an unclear dream tonight'. He (P.B.U.H&H.P) asked: 'What is it?' She replied: 'I saw that as if a part of your body was cut off from you and was placed upon my chest'. He (P.B.U.H&H.P) said: 'You have seen something good. Inshallah Fatimah will bear a baby boy and he will be upon your chest.' So Fatima gave birth to Hussain and he was on my chest as the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) had notified me. On one day I went to the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) and put Hussain on his chest then he turned his face to the side and I witnessed his (P.B.U.H&H.P) eyes flowing with tears. I asked: "Prophet of Allah, my parents be sacrificed for you, what is wrong?" he (P.B.U.H&H.P) then mentioned it (the above hadith).Silsilah Al-Ahadith Al-Sahiyah, Volume 2 page 462 Hadith 821.We can see from these traditions that Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) was foretold about the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (A.S) on three separate occasions, by three different angels. Upon being notified of the tragic demise of his grandson, Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) broke down into tears, distraught at what was to become of him. On none of these occasions did Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) appear impassive and motionless at the news, his emotions overtook and his eyes were filled with tears when he was notified of what harm would befall his grandson (A.S). If Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) cried so profusely at the news of what was to happen to his grandson in the future, can one imagine his state would be on the Day of Karbala, when Hussain (A.S) was showered with arrows, his head decapitated and horses trampled over his body? This proves that crying when hearing of the suffering of Hussain (A.S) is a tradition (Sunnah) of Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P).The tradition can also be read in:Al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, page 641Derived from Shia Pen.
Islam does not allow us to marry off our daughters to several groups of people including the corrupt, the stupid, the ill-tempered, and the alcoholics. Thus by prohibiting such marriages, a woman's respect and honor are safeguarded. In the same manner, Islam prohibits the marriage of young noble, believing men with those women who do not meet divine and Islamic conditions. There exist many important traditions cited in authentic books regarding this issue which have been cited from the sources of revelations. A reference is made to some of them here.The Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) said: Avoid marrying stupid women since living with them will ruin your life and their children will be oppressors. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.103, pp.232-237]He (P.B.U.H&H.P) also said: Avoid a trashy beauty. He (P.B.U.H&H.P) was asked: What do you mean by a trash beauty? He (P.B.U.H&H.P) replied: I mean a beautiful woman who is raised in a bad family. [Ibid]The Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) used to say in his prayers to God: I seek refuge in Thee from a child who orders me around instead of being obedient; from property which goes to waste without giving any profit; and from a woman who makes me old too fast due to her stupidity and bad behavior; and from a friend who is deceitful. [Marriage in Islam, pp.75-77]The Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) said: The worst of your women are the ones who are sterile; filthy; stubborn; disobedient; disgusted by the family, and dear to themselves; disobedient to the husband and submissive to others. [Ibid]He (P.B.U.H&H.P) also said: Three things have a bad omen: a woman, a quadruped and a house. A woman's bad omen is in her nuptial gift and sterility. [Ibid]He (P.B.U.H&H.P) also said: A bad woman is the worst thing. [Mustadrak, Nekah book, Chapters 6 and 8]The Commander of the Faithful (Imam Ali) (A.S) stated: The worst wife is a woman who is not complaisant. [Ibid]The Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) said: Should I not introduce the worst women? Those who are not respectable in their own family; who are haughty to their husbands; who are sterile; who are malicious; who do not stop doing evil deeds; who adorn themselves in the absence of their husbands, and do not adorn themselves in his presence; who are disobedient to their husbands, and do not please them in their own privacy; who do not accept their husband's apology and do not forgive them. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.100, p.235]Adopted from: Almujtaba Islamic network
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا
"This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." (Al Quran Chapter.5 Verse.3)
Imam Sadiq (A.S) said:
قال الصادق (علیه السلام): (عید الغدیر) و هو عيد اللّه الأكبر
"It (Eid al-Ghadir) is the greatest Eid of Allah (S.W.T)."(Source: Wasail us Shia Vol.5 Pg.224)
قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الصَّادِقَ ع يَقُولُ صِيَامُ يَوْمِ غَدِيرِ خُمٍّ يَعْدِلُ صِيَامَ عُمُرِ الدُّنْيَا …وَ هُوَ عِيدُ اللَّهِ الْأَكْبَرُ وَ مَا بَعَثَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ نَبِيّاً قَطُّ إِلَّا وَ تَعَيَّدَ فِي هَذَا الْيَوْمِ وَ عَرَفَ حُرْمَتَهُ وَ اسْمُهُ فِي السَّمَاءِ يَوْمُ الْعَهْدِ الْمَعْهُودِ … لَعَلَّكَ تَرَى أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ خَلَقَ يَوْماً أَعْظَمَ حُرْمَةً مِنْهُ لَا وَ اللَّهِ لَا وَ اللَّهِ لَا وَ اللَّه
Imam Sadiq (A.S) said:"Fasting on the day of Ghadeer is equivalent to fasting throughout the entire age of the world… It is the greatest festival of Allah. Allah has not sent any prophet but that he celebrated this day as Eid and was aware of its sanctity. It is known in the heavens as 'The Day of the Famous Covenant'… You might think that Allah, the mighty and the majestic, has created a day more sacred than that. No, by Allah! No, by Allah! No, by Allah!"(Complete tradition (Hadees) is not quoted here)(Source: Tahdhib Al Ahkam – Sheikh Toosi Vol.3 Pg.143)
فَقَالَ الرِّضَا ع حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي عَنْ أَبِيهِ ع قَالَ إِنَّ يَوْمَ الْغَدِيرِ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَشْهَرُ مِنْهُ فِي الْأَرْض … وَ اللَّهِ لَوْ عَرَفَ النَّاسُ فَضْلَ هَذَا الْيَوْمِ بِحَقِيقَتِهِ لَصَافَحَتْهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ عَشْرَ مَرَّات
Imam Reza (A.S) narrates from his father (A.S):"Certainly, the day of Ghadir is more famous in the heavens than in the earth… and by Allah, had people truly known the superiority of this day, the angels would have been shaking hands with them ten times a day."(Complete tradition (Hadees) is not quoted here)(Source: Tahdhib Al Ahkam – Sheikh Toosi Vol.6 Pg.24) Ibrahim bin Hashim narrated from Qasim bin Yahya, from Hassan bin Rashid, who said:I asked Aba Abdillah, Jaafar bin Mohammad (A.S), "May I sacrifice myself for you! Is there an Eid (feast) other than the two Eids and Fridays for the Muslims?"Abu Abdillah (A.S) replied, "Yes, there is an Eid that is more important than any other Eid. It is the day on which the Messenger of Allah (S.W.T) announced Ali bin Abi Taleb (A.S) as his successor and ordered the people to pay allegiance to Ali (A.S) in the Ghadeer (brook) of Khum."I asked, "Which day is that?"Abu Abdillah (A.S) replied, "It is the eighteenth day of the month of Dhul Hijjah. And the reward for any good deed on this day is equal to the reward of all good deeds for eighty months. On that day, (people) should increasingly send blessings on the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) and the family of the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) and be more generous with their families."(Source: Basharat ul Mustafa Le Shiyyat e Murtuza, Chapter 8, Hadees 4 / Thawab AI-A'maal ol Sadouq, P 68 / Bihar ul Anwar, Vol 92, P 112)Someone asked Imam Jafar bin Mohammad (A.S), "What did the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) mean by the word MOWLA on the day of Ghadeer when He said: 'of whomsoever I am their Mowla, Ali is their Mowla. O Allah! Befriend his friends and be the enemy of his enemies."Jafar bin Mohammad (A.S) sat up straight and said, "I swear to Allah that people asked the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H&H.P) the same question and the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) replied an the following way:Allah is my master and has more authority on me than I do on myself. I do not have any authority on myself compared to His authority on me.I am the master of the believers, and I have more authority on them than they have on themselves. They do not have any authority on themselves compared to my authority (on them).And Ali is the master of the believers, and Ali has more authority on them than they have on themselves. They do not have any authority on themselves compared to Ali's authority (on them).(Source: Basharat ul Mustafa Le Shiyyat e Murtuza, Chapter 2, Hadees 24 / Bihar ul Anwar, Vol 37, Pg 222)The Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H&H.P) said:The day of Ghadeer Al-Khum is the best EID (feast) of my nation. It is the days that Allah ordered me to appoint Ali bin Abi Taleb as the flag so that my nation would be guided by him after me. It is the day that Allah perfected the religion and completed His favor and accepted Islam as a religion for the people.O people! Ali bin Abi Taleb is from me and I am from Ali.He is the Commander of the Believers, the leader of religion, the leader of the companions of Paradise and the best of successors.Ali is the husband of the Master of All of the Worlds' Women and the father of the Imams of guidance.O People! I love those who love Ali and I hate those who hate Ali. I connect with those who connect with Ali and I dissociate myself from those who dissociate themselves from Ali. I turn away from those who turn away from Ali. I am the friend of his friends and I am the enemy of his enemies.O People! I am the city of wisdom and Ali is the door and you cannot enter the city without entering from the door.Those who think they love me and hate Ali are liars.O People! I swear to Allah, who sent me as a messenger and who chose me from amongst the entire creation, that I did not appoint Ali to be the flag (of guidance) until Allah ordered me (to do so) by specifying his name and made following him mandatory on His angels.(Source: Basharat ul Mustafa Le Shiyyat e Murtuza, Chapter 2, Hadees 24 / Amaali of Sheikh Sadouq, Pg 109)Ref: Marefate AhleBait (A.S).com
The Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) was on the bed of ailment and illness. His head was in the lap of Ali (A.S) and Fatima (S.A) was weeping holding the hand of her father. Suddenly, the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) opened his eyes and when he saw her weeping. He (P.B.U.H&H.P) said, "Oh daughter! Recite the holy Quran for me." Fatima (S.A) recited a few verses from the holy Quran. The Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) by getting her dear daughter recites the verses meant to listen her voice in the last moments of his life. No sooner, the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) passed away the house turned into a mourning house. The delicate heart of Fatima (S.A) took a deep effect by her father's death. Only a few hours later, another big grief took shape i.e., the right of her husband was extorted and usurped. Fatima (S.A), with the help of a few faithful companions of his father, defended the right of her husband strongly. So far so, that one day she went to the Prophet's mosque along with the women of Bani Hashim and Ansar and by delivering a speech described her object and point of view. So that, all the audience started weeping. But there was no body to give a positive response to the voice of Fatima (S.A). They were no longer true and faithful. Their faces were covered with the dust of abjectness, misery and misfortune. She returned to her house with a heave and grieved heart and said to Ali (A.S), "Oh Abul Hassan why have you sit down with your hands upon each other like weak, feeble, powerless and unable men and why don't you defend your right?" Ali (A.S) said, "Oh the daughter of Prophet Do you not want that your father's name be pronounced in the mosque? Don't you have the desire that the cause and mission of your father remains alive? Fatima (S.A) said, "Why not?"Then he said, "If I draw the sword today (as the enemy wishes) the efforts of your father will be finished and we will become unsuccessful. On hearing this, Fatima (S.A) got silent and thereafter, she did not utter any word. She started her silent war in the same manner as her husband Ali (A.S) spent twenty-five years in a great-oppressed state.Source: Almujtaba Islamic network
Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Abu Zahir or another man from Muhammad ibn Hammad from his brother Ahmad ibn Hammad from Ibrahim from his father who has said the following."I said to Abu al-Hassan al-Thani (A.S), "May Allah take my soul in service for your cause, would you tell me about the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.U&H.P) who inherited all the prophets." The Imam (A.S) said, "Yes, I may do so. I asked, "Did he inherit from Adam up to his-self?" The Imam (A.S) said, "Of every prophet that Allah sent Prophet Muhammad (A.S) was more knowledgeable." I then said, "Jesus son of Mary would bring the dead to life by the permission of Allah."The Imam (A.S) said, "You spoke the truth.""I said, "Solomon son of David could understand the language of the birds. The Holy Prophet (P.B.U.U&H.P) was also capable of doing such things." The narrator has said that the Imam (Divine Supreme Covenant Body) then said, "Solomon son of David said to the (Hoopoe) Hud-Hud when he found him missing and had doubts about the bird." (Solomon) inspected the birds and said, "How is it that I cannot see the hoopoe (when he did not find him present and became angry). Is he absent? (27:20). I shall certainly punish him severely or slaughter him unless he has a good reason for his absence." (27:21) He became angry because the bird would show him how to find water. This is only a bird but is given something that is not given to Solomon. The wind, ants, man, Jinn, devils and the rebels obeyed him in submission but he did not know about the water in the space but the bird knew it as Allah says in His Book."Even if the Quran would make mountains move, cut the earth into pieces and make the dead able to speak . . ." (13:31) we have inherited this Quran which contains such things that can make the mountains move, cross the lands and make the dead to come to life. We know there is water in space. In the book of Allah there are verses that are indicative of certain issues only if Allah would give permission. This is along with the fact that Allah sometime grants permission to make use of the things that people of the past had written. Allah has set them for us in the origin of the Book as Allah says, "All the secrets in heavens and earth are recorded in the illustrious Book. (27:75) Then Allah has said, "We gave the Book as an inheritance to our chosen servants," (35:32) we are the ones whom Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, has chosen and has given this which contain the explanation of all things."[Source: Al-Kafi Vol, 1 P, 227 / Basaair Al Darajat, Vol, 1, Chapter, 21, Hadees, 1]Taken from: Marefate AhleBait (A.S).com
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I am rather chagrined to admit that dealing with a baby after so many years, at my stage in life (more than 29, more than 39, heck even…okay, I'm going to stop while I'm ahead!) has proven to be a bit more challenging than expected.
Surprisingly enough, the tons of help EVERYONE in my family promised has yet to materialize. Conveniently the Obnoxious One is at university in Ontario, which does make taking care of midnight calls for attention a wee bit difficult. The Demon Child magically disappears into the deep dark cave she calls her room anytime I suggest there is something to be done. After 12 to 15 hours in the office when he finally arrives home, the Original Obnoxious One plays dumb – is that a puddle on the floor? No dear, it's a magic lake that will disappear on its own shortly.
Somehow I forgot the many challenges and delights of having a young one in the family, such as:
- the mess of toys, shoes and paper everywhere
- the full face wet kisses
- the exact science and higher learning involved in teaching NO
- the wrestling with anyone or anything at absolutely any hour of the day or night
- the moaning and the groaning and the whining when wishes are denied
- the excitement when I come home after being away for a couple of hours
- the inability to leave my side even for a moment, even when I have to take a shower or use the toilet
- the press of the warm, floppy body against my own
- the accidents in the house – little lakes and little piles discreetly hidden just for my pleasure
- the absolute certainty on that cute little face that you are THE most important person in the whole wide world.
The wonder of the five month old male puppy.


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