Furu-e-deen Imam Hussain (as)

Introduction: This essay that I am writing about the importance of the furu-e-deen and how it reflected on Imam Hussain and how he acted upon it throughout his life. Furu –e-deen is the commandment and acts of worship that show you are a Muslim. There are 10 furu-e-deen and they are wajib. They are a test of ones faith and the intention (niyyat) when you carry them out must be for the pleasure of all--. Throughout my essay, I will be talking about each one, however before I start that, we have to know whom Imam Hussain is. Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S.) was born on the 3rd of Shaban. Imam Hussain is the grandson of the holy prophet Muhammad –s.a.w- and son of Imam Ali and Bibi Fatema Zahra (as). He was the third Imam. The holy prophet (saw) loved Hassan and Hussain so much he said, “Whoever loves them, loves me and whoever hates them hates me”. It is also said that The Prophet (saw.), picked Hussain up in his lap and recited the Azaan in his right ear and Aqamat in the left one. Also when the holy prophet used to be in Sujood, Imam Hussain used to climb his back, and the prophet loved him so much, he’d stay in sujood until Hussain got off. Without Imam Hussain, Islam would be destroyed. He did not pay allegiance to the tyrant Yazid and sacrificed himself and his beloved family for the sake of Islam. If he paid allegiance to Yazid, Islam would be ruined. Yazid was a drunken man, he wanted to corrupt the faith and run it his own way, such as making Haram things Halal (Such as Alcohol and Wine). Hussain could not let the religion of Islam get destroyed so he sacrificed himself for Islam. He was martyred on the 10th of Muharram, Ashura by Yazid and his army, a saying from Hussain to the men of Yazid was ‘Those who worship and adore God do not worship others.” however the army men of Yazid wanted the pleasures of this life and went so far for this by killing the Prophet s.a.w grandson.

Prayer:

Now we all know a bit about Imam Hussain, I’ll start about Prayer. Prayer is the first thing that will be asked about on the day of resurrection. It is even mentioned in the Quran about

how important prayer is, in 2:3 it says “And performs prayer “. Prayer is a sign of loving All--. Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said "The person that does prayer properly, the prayer itself, blesses him with good wishes." According to a hadith a companion of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) came to him one day and asked him "What is the thing that Allah (s.w.t.) loves most?" Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) replied "The thing that Allah (s.w.t.) loves most is when his people pray salah on time." During our day we often forget All-- and All— does not want us to forget him and also why we are in this world. That's the purpose of Salah and why Allah made Salah. Salah not only helps us to remember Allah and that we are his servants. But it also keeps us on the right path, it helps us from not doing bad, it makes us clean and healthy and also it gets us closer to Allah. If you stopped offering Salah you would no longer be a proper Muslim. When you are reading Salah you must be facing the Qiblah. The Qiblah is the direction, which faces the Kaa'ba. There are a number of ways you can pray Salah, so people should not have excuses. For example: If you broke your leg and are in a hospital bed, you can still pray Salah by having the niyat and doing the actions correctly. Now look at Imam Hussain (as), and how he perfected Prayer. When he was in Karbala and time went for prayer, he got ready and performed the salah at the right time. This shows us the importance of prayer, and not only of prayer, but to also pray on time. And when the tyrants of Yazid wanted to fight him, he asked for one more days so he could perform extra prayers. The importance of prayer is so high; it is even mentioned in the Quran. In Surat Taha Ayat 20 it says "Verily, I am Allah: There is no god but I: So serve thou Me, and establish regular prayer for celebrating my praise. In Surat Ankabut it says that Prayer is a safety from Sin -Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that ye do. – In Surat Al Ma’un ayahs 4-5 it says so woe to the worshippers, who are neglectful of their prayers.

Fasting All - - advised us that fasting is very important and that it has many benefits. Fasting not only requires staying away from food but to also watch all of your actions carefully. When you fast all of your senses should fast, for example you use the sense of touch, to not touch anything bad, you use the sense of sight to not look at anything bad, you use the sense of hearing to not hear anything bad such as music. This builds and strengthens a person's self-control, making them closer towards All--. Fasting gives person patience and also manners. Whenever you eat, you don’t think of the poor people in the world who have no food, let alone water. Most of them die with starvation, so fasting makes a person feel of the poor and hungry people living all around the world. Fasting also has health benefits and it can make people who feel ill, feel a lot better. Although fasting is recommended on many days, it is required during every day in the Ramadan. One reason why the month of Ramadan was for fasting is because the Quran was first revealed during the month of Ramadan on laylat al-qadr. The importance of Fasting is mentioned in the Holy Quran in the following verses: “And men who fast and women who fast…God has prepared for them forgiveness and a vast reward.” (33:35) O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may learn selfrestraint. 2:183 Fasting for a fixed number of days; but if any of you are ill, or on a journey, the prescribed number (should be made up) from days later. For those who can do it with hardship, is a payment, the feeding of one that is indigent. But he that will give more, of his own free wills, it is better for him. And it is better for you that you fast, if you only knew. 2:184

Now look at Imam Hussain and how fasting was perfected in his life. While all of his family and friends were dying, being struck down one by one in front of him. Imam Hussain refrained from anger and had self-control. Imam Hussain and his family fasted for days without food and water. Being struck with an arrow killed little Baby Asghar! , The tyrants did not even let a little baby live. Imam Hussain could have reacted in anger and go kill everyone as he was so strong, but he restrained his anger. His little daughter Sakina was asking for water and did not even get a drop. This is a good example now because whenever you see water, you should not waste it. You should restrain yourself from everything that leads you away from Islam. Fasting makes you feel the pain of the poor and feel what Imam Hussain and his family and friends had felt. On the 7th of Muharram, when Yazid wanted Hussain and his family and friends tent to move away from the river he didn't fight for it, he simply agreed and moved away. Then on Ashura when Hazrat Abbas when to get water for baby Sakina, when he saw it he was about to drink and he said to himself, how could I drink this water when children like Ali Asghar and Sakina are thirsty. Another example is that when Ali Akber went out to fight and came back, he was very thirsty. Imam Hussain then put his tongue in Ali Akber’s mouth to give him any water droplets left in his mouth. Then Ali Akber replied, “Father Your mouth is even drier than mine”. This meant that Imam Hussain fasted and refrained from water so that other people could get the water before him.

Hajj Hajj is a unique gathering for Muslims, which every adult Muslim must undertake at least once in their life if they can afford it and are physically able. The importance of Hajj is very high, because there is a whole surah in the Quran that is named Al Hajj. It is also mentioned in other Surahs of the Quran, for example in Surah Al – Imran it says In it are clear signs, the standing place of Ibrahim, and whoever enters it shall be secure, and pilgrimage to the House is incumbent upon men for the sake of Allah,

(upon) every one who is able to undertake the journey to it; and whoever disbelieves, then surely Allah is Selfsufficient, above any need of the worlds. "Do not associate with Me anything, and purify My house for those who circle around it and stand to pray and bow and prostrate themselves. And proclaim among the people the pilgrimage. They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel from every remote path that they may witness the benefits for them and mention the name of Allah during the appointed days over what He has given them." (22:26-28) Every year about two million Muslims come together in Mecca - the holiest place in Islam. Many Muslims save for years in order to perform Hajj, as it is expensive for some. They often have to travel thousands of miles to get to Mecca, some travel by plane, some walk, some even go by boat. Then, once they arrive, they must go through the hot heat of the desert as they perform the Hajj. All—gifted everyone who goes on Hajj with a celebration, which is called Eid. It is thanks to Prophet Ibrahim who was willing to sacrifice his own son for All— that now everyone does Qurbani. All—was impressed that Prophet Ibrahim was willing to sacrifice his own son for the sake of Islam, that he put a sheep in place of Ismael. Now that is one sacrifice for All--, however if you look at Imam Hussain (as) you will be amazed. Seventy of his closest friends and family were all brutally killed and murdered one by one in front of him for Islam. He then sacrificed himself for the sake of Islam. Look at Imam Hussain, When Yazid sent men with daggers and spears to kill him in Mecca, he could have had the battle in Mecca, and however he left it because he didn’t want to spill blood on the holy land. This shows us all how important Hajj is and how important the place is. Jihad If you look at this world now, the enemies of Islam use Jihad as a weapon to attack the religion. Jihad simply only means to strive or to struggle. If you now go look at the news, the enemies of Islam will say that Jihad is just

blowing yourself up and killing many innocents , however the true meaning has been ruined by the so-called Muslims who committed these terrorist attacks. This makes people think of Islam as a religion where people just blow each other up, but these Wahabbi’s have ruined the whole words meaning. There are two types of Jihads. Jihad al Akber (to control the spirit) and Jihad al Asgher (the physical struggle). We can remember these two types by Ali Asgher & Ali Akber who were brutally martyred in Karbala. Wars in the holy prophet (s.a.w) time were all fought in self-defence. And by the soul and Him Who perfected it, then showed it what is right and what is wrong for it - indeed, he succeeds who purifies his soul, and, indeed, he fails who corrupts his soul." (91:7). Jihad as fighting must be for just causes and to defend the freedom, liberty, and integrity of societies - and when these issues are at stake, fighting is not only permitted, but required. "Fight against oppressors until oppression is stopped." (2:193) Now by looking at Imam Hussain (as), he perfected both of these Jihads. He saw all of his companions killed in front of him one by one, however he did not attack them, he only attacked when he was attached, that is self defence. Imam Hussain got martyred in Karbala for the sake of Islam, that is Jihad Al Akber. The way Imam Hussain perfected Jihad Al Asghar is that if he paid allegiance and went with Yazid he would be teaching them wrong, but by not paying allegiance to the tyrant, he was teaching everyone the right path. Amr bil Ma'rūf & Nahy al-Munkar These are the 7th and 8th furu-e-deen. Both of these help to make a better community and keep society on track. Amr Bil Maruf means to means to encourage people to do the good in life, when they forget to do for example forgetting Salah.and Nahy Al Munkar means to forbid evil. If someone is talking about Islam being wrong, it is our duty as Muslims to speak up for it. There was a story when Prophet Shoaib had 100,000 people, 60,000 of them were bad and 40,000 of them were good. But because the good people did not teach the bad about being good they got slightly punished. Now look at Imam Hussain as a shining example, when Imam Hussain left Medina he said, “This

fight is not for power but for Amr Bil Maruf and Nahy Al Munkar.” The importance of this is mentioned in Surah 22:41 where it says, “Those who enjoin the right and forbid wrong All- - has a good end decision of them.” In Surah 3: 104 it says: “The best of people are those who joining in what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah.”

Tawala & Tabara:

These are the ninth and tenth furu–e-deen. Tawala means expressing love and acting on the examples of all of the Ahlulbayt and give obedience to them. Tabara means to stay clear and stay away from people who are enemies of Islam & the AhlulBayt. We should disassociate from the opressors, for example Zionists. Zionists supports countries that love to oppress people. For example, Ali should stay away from Marks and Spencer’s because they support Israel and then the Jews kill the Muslims. Some ayahs from the Quran about this is on Surah 33:57, it says in this ayah “Those who annoy Allah and his Messenger, Allah has cursed them in this world and in the hereafter, and has prepared for them a humiliating punishment.” This tells us to stand up for our religion. "Let not the believers take the disbelievers as supporters and helpers and friends instead of the believers. And whoever does that will never be helped by Allah in any way." (3:28) this ayat tells us to not be friends of the Zionists and evil, so don’t associate with them.

Zakaat and Khums;

Zakaat. The zakaat is a type of giving which must be paid yearly on the following items if a person owns them: wheat, barley, dates, raisins, gold, silver, camels, cows, and sheep. Most of the mosques on eid day, they have two boxes... One is the green box, and the other is white box. The green box is the seyed box, where all the seyed have to pay their zakat. The white box is the non-sayeds, and they put their zakat in it.

Khums. Khums should be paid yearly on 20% 1/5 of the profit that a person gains. The profit is the extra money that remains after a person pays for food, clothing, shelter, and other important items for his family. The money must be given to a person who is a worthy person, such as a marja. For example I have a shirt that I haven’t worn for a year, and it cost £20, you have to give 20% of that £20 which is 4 pounds away. The khums has been mentioned in the Qur'an: "And know that whatever profit you may attain, one fifth of it is assigned to Allah and the Messenger, and to the near relatives [of the Messenger] and the orphans, the destitute, and the wayfarer, if you have believed in Allah and that which We sent down to our servant [Muhammad]." (8:41)