Religion

Imam Ali (a.s), raised by the Prophet (pbuh) from a very young age, learned knowledge, wisdom and morality from him. Imam Ali (a.s), son of Abu Talib and grandson of ‘Abd al-Muttalib, was the first who believed in, joined and prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). In fact the first person who embraced Islam after Muhammad (pbuh) was Imam Ali (a.s). “For seven years, the angels and Ali had been praying with me, while there was no one else there beside me,” the Holy Prophet (pbuh) said.

Imam Ali (a.s) also says in Nahj al-Balagha: “My Lord! I am the first who returned to you, heard your divine message, and accepted the call of your Prophet. Indeed no one has overtaken me except your Prophet.”

There is a well-known tradition from the Holy Prophet (pbuh) widely narrated by the scholars and traditionalists in their books that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) prophesied, this nation will have twelve leaders and guides and all of them will be from Quraish. The one who has distanced himself from them, will be among the losers, because his death will be that of ignorance.
The tradition of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) clearly highlights that there will only be twelve Imams till the Day of Judgment and all these leaders will be from the tribe of Quraish , from Bani Hashim, all chosen by Allah Almighty.

Regarding the tradition from the Holy Prophet (pbuh), “I leave among you two weighty things (Saqalain), the Book of Allah and my progeny”.
Imam Ali (a.s) was asked, who is the progeny? He replied:
I, Hasan , Husayn and the nine Imams from the progeny of Husayn, of whom the ninth one will be the Mahdi. Neither will they separate from the Book of Allah nor will the Book of Allah separate from them, till they meet the Messenger of Allah at the Pool of Kausar.”

Imam Ali (a.s), the first divine successor of the Holy Prophet(pbuh) was the only leader in history who milled during his presidency and patched his shoes. He is the only righteous man who was always on the right direction. Even if all people were allied against him, and the earth, the plain, and the desert were filled with the enemies, he would never be afraid of following the straight path. Imam Ali (a.s) was not like other rulers who contemplated their own governance and neglected the guidance, which is the most important duty of a ruler. For this reason, Nahj al-Balagha is full of theoretical and practical ethics guidelines. Imam Ali’s moral expressions have a significant dependence on his worldview and etymology.

Backbiting and gossiping about people, dispute, obstinacy, enmity, anger, jealousy, arrogance, greed, and prejudice are examples of the undesirable and unpleasant immorality that Imam Ali has dealt with in the book, and on the other hand, politeness, controlling the tongue, acting the good deeds, patience and perseverance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge and tolerance are of the lessons of good moral from the Commander of faithful (a.s).

Describing Ali’s virtue, Dhiraar, the son of Zamara said,
“The oppressed and the needy were not afraid that they would be oppressed from His side, and the powerful did not have a way to achieve their falsehoods”.

Another quote stated by Suda Hamdani, right after Imam Ali’s (a.s)martyrdom is,
“O God! Send your blessings on that pure soul, as when he was entombed, justice was buried along as well”.

In patience and forgiveness, Imam Ali (a.s) has overtaken all people. In order to prove this, it is enough to consider the highest levels of his patience, encountering his enemies after he won the Battle of Jamal, especially Marwan b. Hakam and ‘Abd Allah b. al-Zubayr, who were both of the most hostile opponents of Ali (a.s), and his most ardent enemies, insulting him openly, nevertheless he forgave and let them free.

Seven unique Features of Ali, son of Abu Talib (a.s), said by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh):
The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: “O Ali, you have seven attributes that no one else has. If he did, he would never reach you to that high range.

You are the first person to believe and join my religion.

You are the most faithful to God’s covenant.

You dealt with people’s pain and you are fair with everyone.

Everywhere and at all times God’s command is a priority to you.

You have Alavi justice.

The insight of judgment in your rule is admirable.

You are of the nearest to God.

The Eid of Forgiveness

Eid al-Fitr is the day of being freed from the wards of sin and disobedience, the day of erasure from any filth and abomination. The Greatest Prophet of Allah (pbuh) said “God says to the angels on the day of Eid: What is the reward of those who fulfilled their duties?” The angels will say, “O God, They would be rewarded by you”. God says, “You angels, attest that I have forgiven my servants.”

True Eid

In Islamic culture, Eid has a high and constructive meaning. Imam Ali (a.s) says, “Every day in which the slave of God does not commit sins is the day of Eid.” In a hadith from the Infallible imams, stated: “The real Eid is for those who are not dressed in new clothes, but for someone who has worn safety from the promises of God’s punishment.” On the day of Eid al-Fitr, valuable programs such as giving alms, helping the needy, appeasing orphans and wearing clean clothes have been ordered by the infallibles. According to a hadith, “Allah adorned his Eid with Takbir” and in another hadith we read: “He adorned Eid al-Fitr and Al-Qorban by saying La ilah-a illa Allah, Allahu Akbar, Alhamdu lillah and Sobhan Allah.”

Eid like Resurrection

The Day of Judgment is similar to the day of Eid al-Fitr in many respects. 1.The Eve of Eid, all people are waiting to hear the news of Eid to prepare for celebrating the next day. On the Day of Judgment, all human beings are waiting for the bloat to blow up, and by blowing it, they all gather in the scorching desert. 2.People go to the mosque in different clothes on the Day of Eid . On the Day of Judgment, some people wear Paradise haliyah and some wear qataris (the clothes of the hellish ones). 3.The nature of Eid worshippers are also different. On the Day of Resurrection, the nature of the great people are different, some go on horseback, a group walks and a group passes like electricity and wind.

Fighting Arrogance

The day of Eid al-Fitr can also be considered as the day of fighting the tyrants, and the great gathering of the people on this day shows the unity of Muslims. The kindness of believers to each other and the abandonment of grudges, spreads the fragrance of good unity and empathy in society, and the enemy, in ambush, is angered by this unity , and Satan becomes humiliated. The mass movement of people towards the congressional prayer to hold the glorious Eid prayer is itself a struggle against arrogance. Before the prayer, Takbirs are also a striking blow to the tyrants because the enemy is terrified of takbir, just as the Islamic Revolution of Iran, under the slogan of Allahu Akbar, shattered the power of the pahlavi dictatorship and the colonization of global arrogance.

The Rewards of fasting

Hasan b. Rashid says: I said to Imam al-Sadiq (a): People believe that forgiveness for the person who fasted in the month of Ramadan will be revealed on the Night of Qadr. Imam (a. s) said: “O Hasan! They pay the worker after he goes to work. Therefore, the forgiveness of the fasting and their rewards will be given to them on the eve of Eid al-Fitr. Then I asked, ” What action is the best on that night? The Prophet (pbuh) said: “After Adhan, recite the three rak’as of the Maghreb and then raise your hands and say, “O owner of the continuous endowment! Oh, owner of the year! O the holy prophet Muhammad, and his companion Ali (a.s)! Salute Muhammad and Salute Ahlul-Bayt (a) and forgive all the sins I have committed and forget it, while my sins are recorded with you and in your revealing book. Then put your forehead on the ground and prostrate, say 100 times that I repent to God.”

The Importance of Holidays

It is during the New year and spring holiday that a new life begins. So a society that doesn’t have Eid, would have no history and no movement. In our school of thought, the end of Ramadan is Eid, the Eid of transformation, the beginning and, of course, the salvation of other days. If in Ramadan, you do not learn the new lesson, do not see the heat of the sun during the Eid al-Fitr and do not gain great power, then you are condemned to stay in winter and in the freezing ward. The end of Ramadan is Eid, a holiday whose sun radios the warmth of faith on dead trees

Eid al-Fitr, Muslim Gathering

In a message in 1979, Imam Khomeini described Eid al-Fitr as an opportunity for Muslims to gather in Islamic society and said, “Islam is the religion of politics, a religion which is clearly seen in his rulings…. Every week, a large gathering to hold Friday prayers where the issues of the day and the needs of the country are presented in political, social and economic aspects. In each year, there are two Eids in which people gather, and in two sermons of Eid prayers, after praise and greetings to the Prophet (pbuh) and , political, social, economic, and generally the needs of the country and the region are discussed, thereby informing the people of the issues.”

Some Rulings of the Eve of Eid

On the day of Eid al-Fitr, fasting is forbidden and invalid, and the person who realizes that it is Eid should break his fast and if he finds out after the Maghreb then it is ok. After the end of the holy month of Ramadan, i.e. on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, those who meet the requirements must pay zakat of Fitr and the amount of Zakat is , three kilograms of wheat or barley or dates or rice, etc. The time of necessity of zakat al-fitra is the eve of Eid al-Fitr and the time of payment is from the eve of Eid al-Fitr to noon on the day of Eid al-Fitr. If he abandons Fitr, he cannot take it for himself and leave other funds for Fitr.

Have you ever heard of Yawm al-Hadm?  It means the day of destruction.

Eighty-eight years ago, on the eighth day of Shawwal month, the hands of ignorant and uncoordinated Wahhabism came out of the sleeve of oppression and razed the sacred sanctuary of magnificent leaders of guidance, four infallible  Imams’ graves  in al-Baqi cemetery, and hurt the hearts of millions of Shiites  and Sunnis who would like Ahlul-Bayt (a.s).

Not only were the graves of Imams, Imam Hassan (the second imam), Imam Sajad (the fourth imam), Imam Baqir (the fifth imam), Imam Sadiq (the sixth imam) (a.s) destroyed, but also all the historical monuments of Mecca and Medina, each of which was a sign of the greatness of Islam and the expressive history of Muslims in the world, were destructed due to the idiotic thoughts.

While the whole world is trying to preserve its historical monuments, which indicate the roots of its civilization, these foolish people have ruined the most important historical artefacts of Islam and Islamic civilization for which the hearts of Muslims beat, depriving the Muslim world of these precious treasures, and causing great damage that with nothing Could be compensated.

Wahhabism trade personal property with these Islamic heritages and suppose that Mecca and Medina belong only to them and can do whatever they want with this Islamic endowment. The Muslim should yell and shout at them while these are reserves belonging to all Muslims of the world, in the past and present, and no one in any position has the right to act arbitrarily with them as private property, even the Saudi Wahhabi muftis, who have only very superficial information about Islamic principles and books and traditions, have no right to decide on these matters and issues.

The demonic goal of the enemies by this insult and policy was to eliminate the backing and root of Islamic history and the objective documents of history. The works and buildings and officials and observers should be preserved, but in order to protect their privacy and privilege,  Saudi Wahhabis have completely destroyed the all manifestations of Islamic views.
None of the religions had the honour of these backings, these sacred monuments were a strong fence that was in fact to preserve the history and the first era of Islam.

The character of the Prophet (pbuh), the Messenger of Allah, his household, the identity of his divine invitation and the all great days of the Islamic history, were the manifestations of this.
These works should be renovated, especially the observation and officials, such as the birthplace of the Prophet (pbuh) in Makkah, A place that his great grandfather and   uncle and his dedicated wife were buried in and the neighbourhood of Bani Hashim.

In Medina,  the graves of Hamza and other martyrs and the oppressed in baqi’ should be revived, especially the position and shrine of Imams (a), Imam Hasan Mujtaba and Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin and Imam Muhammad Baqir and Imam Ja’far sadiq (pbuh), these unique honours of the Islamic world and humanity should be renewed. The house of Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (a.s), which is one of the places of the reciting and interpreting  the Verses of the Holy Quran.

In particular, Shiites are to remember these documents of history and this insult that has been made to the Ahlul-Bayt (a.s) in the Holy land of Allah and the oppression which still continues.

By the arrival of the eighth day of  Shawwal this year, the tragic memory of the destruction of the graves of Imams (a.s.) is renewed in memory of awake Muslims who deeply love  the Prophet’s (pbuh)and Ahl al-Bayt  – since they have a rightful ear and heart for  the hadith of Thaqalayn.

The muslims should condemn and consider this crime as unforgettable event and declare this day the day of al-Baqi’.

Wahhabism is a fake sect that has created a world of arrogance to bring about breakaway. While condemning this criminal act and the offensive destruction of all Islamic works that exist in Saudi Arabia, It should be  announced to the Wahhabism sect that by taking the path of enmity and stubbornness, they would never be present in the debate scenes with logic and reason to stop the divisions and disagreement among people and put an end to fratricide and corruption. It should be pointed out that today is the day of the Islamic awakening. Awakenings become more powerful, day by day with the unity, decision, endurance, breaking the boundaries of the opposition one after another, and putting their rights at the forefront of their work, the right that all belong to. Therefore, All Muslims in the world would be restored and the disputers and opponents of the Ahl ul-Bayt (pbuh) way would be blackened.*

*Retrieved from grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani and grand Ayatollah Hossein Noori-Hamedani, the most senior Shiite clerics’ speeches

Dahw al-Ard (Arabic: دَحوُ الأرض ) is made up of two words: “dahw” which means extension/spread and “ard” which means land. Some have even interpreted “dahw” to mean to move something from its original place. Therefore, “Dahw al-Ard” means the expansion of the land.

According to the findings of geology, in the beginning all the surfaces of earth were covered with water as a result of the first flood rains until the present continents were first formed three billion years ago. They were formed as a result of the separation of continental rocks due to their hard and thick nature from ocean beds and achieved their current altitude.

Based on Islamic history resources, the first place that rose was Makka (the Kaʿba). Dahw al-Ard (corresponding to the 25th of Zilqada, the 11th month of the lunar calendar) is the day that the land expanded from beneath the Kaʿba.

In the book “Al-Furqan fi al-Tafsir al-Quran”, the following narration has been cited: a man asked Imam Ali (peace be on him), (the first Imam of the Shias and the only person in the world to be born in the Kaʿba) why Makka is known as Makka? The Imam replied: Because God has expanded dry land from beneath it.

The secret to the allocation of the most honorable place on the earth to the foundation of the Kaʿba and its establishment as the Qibla (point towards which Muslims face to offer their prayers) for all the Muslims by Prophet Muhammad al-Mustafa (peace be on him and his household) as mentioned in the following verse [2: 149]: “ … فولّ وجهک شطر المسجد الحرام : …turn your face towards the Holy Mosque…”  and similarly, the building of the Kaʿba by Prophet Ibrahim (peace be on him) as indicated in the verse[2: 127] : “وإذ یرفع إبراهیم القواعد من البیت : As Abraham raised the foundations of the House…” , all refer to the noble issue of Dahw al-Ard.

According to some exegetes, verse 30 of the chapter al-Naziat [30:79]: “ َالْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَلِکَ دَحَاهَا: Thereafter He spread out the earth.” Also refers to this event. It has been stated in the exegesis of this verse that God spread the land in a way that it is ready for human life and cultivation of plants and living things; He filled pits and steep and dangerous precipices through the erosion of mountains and changing rocks to sand and made them flat and inhabitable whereas initially, they were such that they did not allow human beings to live on them.

In reality, Dahw al-Ard is a historical event that indicates how dry land and the prerequisites to the beginning of life on earth were formed and accordingly, Islam considers the expansion of the land on this day to be the start of human life.

Apart from this, other narrations mention the occurrence of other important events such as the birth of Prophet Abraham (peace be on him) and Jesus (peace be on him) on the night of Dahw al-Ard, the landing of Noah’s Ark on Mount Judi, the Holy Prophet’s (peace be on him and his household), leaving of Madina along with thousands of those wishing to perform the rites of Hajj for Makka to perform the Farewell Pilgrimage, and the uprising of the savior of justice for humanity (Imam Mahdi peace be on him).

Considering the abovementioned content which indicated the importance of Dahw al-Ard, the religion of Islam has advised us to perform some acts of worship specific to this day and night to elevate the human spirit; some of which are the following:

1. Staying awake the whole(in worship);

2. Fasting on this day, the rewards of which have been mentioned to be equal to fasting for 70 years;

3. Major ablution (ghusl) with the intention of Dahw al-Ard;

4. Offering two units of prayer before noon. In each unit one must recite the chapter of al-Hamd and thereafter 5 times the chapter of al-Shams. After finishing the prayer one must say:

لا حَوْلَ وَ لا قُوَّةَ إِلا بِاللَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ

There is no power and no strength except with Allah, the Most High, the All-great.[duas.org]

And then recite the following supplication:

يَا مُقِيلَ الْعَثَرَاتِ أَقِلْنِي عَثْرَتِي يَا مُجِيبَ الدَّعَوَاتِ أَجِبْ دَعْوَتِي يَا سَامِعَ الْأَصْوَاتِ اسْمَعْ صَوْتِي وَ ارْحَمْنِي وَ  تَجَاوَزْ عَنْ سَيِّئَاتِي وَ مَا عِنْدِي يَا ذَا الْجَلالِ وَ الْإِكْرَامِ

O He Who overlooks slips, (please) overlook my slip. O He Who responds to prayers, (please) respond to my prayer. O He Who hears all sounds, (please) listen to mine, have mercy on me, and excuse my wrongdoings and whatever I have committed. O Lord of majesty and honor![Ibid]

5. Supplications and prayers.

translator: Rashed