11th ShehrAllah 1441
Surat al-Feil. During the time of Maulana AbdulMuttalib AS, the king of Abyssinia sought to destroy BaitAllah with his elephant-led army. By the barakat of Rasul Allah’s SA birth which took place later that year, Bait Allah was protected.
As Abrahat’s army approach Makkah, its inhabitants fled to perceived safety. However, Maulana AbdulMuttalib AS announced that I will not leave the sanctity of Allah’s haram, and seek protection elsewhere. Abrahat approached him and asked him is there anything he would like? Maulana AbdulMuttalib AS replied that some of your soldiers have seized my camels, direct them to return them to me. Upon hearing this response, Abrahat countered, I had held you to be a man of great wisdom and discernment. I was under the impression that you would ask me to spare BaitAllah, yet all you ask for is your camels. Maulana AbdulMuttalib AS replied that BaitAllah is the house of Allah, and He will protect what is His. Abrahat was taken aback by this response, and soon a flock of birds descended upon the invading armies and dropped stones upon them, causing them to flee.
Over the ages adversaries continued to plot against the House of Allah. In the time of Syedna Abdullah Badruddin RA, one such person threatened to create strife and turmoil in Dawat. Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA responded by penning down two verses of Maulana AbdulMuttalib AS and sending it to him. One of these verses is: ‘This House has a Lord, its Protector, the one who intends to bring it destruction will be uprooted’.
Similarly, during Syedna Taher Saifuddin’s RA time there were incessant attempts to raze this House. In one qasida mubaraka, Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA beseeches Allah:
O Lord, the Vanquisher, lead astray the plot conceived by the aggressors to destroy your House, and bring upon them divine retribution.
O Lord, send upon them flocks of birds just as you had sent upon the Men of the Elephant, the oppressors.
The above two verses and the one that follows are collectively recited every night by students of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah.:
O Aale Mohammed! It is through your service that our days are sanctified, and it is through your remembrance that our nights are blessed.
By including them in the daily night majlis, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS has turned the home of each Mumin into Jamea.
It was also added that Allah is mentioned 2699 in the Quran.
Today’s bayan on medicine covered three aspects:
- Every illness has a cure
- Conviction
- Shifa in the zikr of Imam Husain AS
Ibrahim Nabi AS states: ‘When I fall ill, it is He (Allah) who cures me’. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA would always guide us to do this tasbih during illnesses.
Today there are a range of treatments for the illnesses that afflict man, yet regardless of the treatment undertaken a decisive element of success is the patient possessing conviction in the treatment and trust in his doctor.
Awliya Allah AS are aware of the illnesses that affect people, which treatment to give, in what measure and to what extent.
Imam Jafar us Sadiq AS visited the governor of Madina, Mohammed bin Khalid, who was suffering from a stomach ailment. Imam AS mentioned to him that someone had come to Rasul Allah SA complaining of the same. Rasul Allah SA directed him to consume honey with 3, 5 or 7 kalonji (nigella) seeds and he was cured. As Imam AS finished, a man standing there countered that I too had heard of this method, but having tried it, I found it to be ineffective. Imam AS swiftly rebuked him saying that these methods only benefit those of conviction and use them with sincerity, not those who only seek to experiment with them.
Syedna Qadi Noman RA writes that Imam Moiz AS gave us all apples from the gardens of Imam Mahdi AS and Imam Qaim AS in North Africa. Imam AS added, ‘take them for they are barakat’. Syedna Qadi Noman RA writes, ‘later that very night, I was referring to some texts when I felt a sudden sharp pain on the left side of my body, as if someone had stabbed me with a knife. I was in no position to even call out for help and I had almost resigned myself to my fate. At that time I remembered the apple Imam AS had given me. From it I took a small bite and the very moment I consumed it the pain subsided. The next day I recollected the events of the previous night to Imam AS. He replied that you were cured because of your sincerity, conviction and pure intentions’.
A person informed Imam Jafar us Sadiq AS that a plague has spread in the lands, he directed him to consume apples. Likewise, Imam Mohammed al-Baqir AS states, ‘if you happen to visit a plague-infested region then consume onions from that area’. A person complained to Imam Jafar us Sadiq AS about back pain, Imam AS replied, that once you finish your meal be sure to pick up and eat all that may have fallen upon from the thal. Many Mumineen mentioned that they had gone to Burhanpur for the ziyarat of Syedi Abdulqadir Hakimuddin QR, and were suffering from back pain. They said that they ‘picked up and consumed the rice grains from the safra and were totally cured of their ailment’.
Apart from cures to physical illnesses, Awliya Allah AS have also shown us the cures to psychological and emotional ailments: Quran, dua and good deeds all carried out with conviction cure us from these and many other ailments. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS informs us that each deed and act laid down by sharia benefits both the body and the soul.
Imam Husain’s zikr cures all illnesses. Amirul Mumineen AS reached Karbala and prayed 2 rakat namaz amongst some wild rue. He then proceeded to take a fistful of its sand and smelt it. He then declared that upon these plains such people will be martyred who will enter jannat unquestioned. Wild rue grows in the desert and is used in multiple treatments. It is particularly effective in the treatment of phlegm, stomach, head and chest related ailments. Its seeds benefit those who consume it. Amirul Mumineen AS states, there is no wild rue plant but with it there are angels who protect it and ensure that its benefits only reach those it should. He then added that the roots of this plant contain the cure for numerous illnesses and its stems contain the cure for 72 illnesses. This plant possesses such abilities because it grows in the very place in which Imam Husain AS attained martyrdom on Ashura.
Rasul Allah SA there is barakat in three things of Imam Husain AS:
- Khake shifaa
- His noble descendants the Aimmat Tahereen AS
- His mashad, where all prayers are answered
When given to a newborn for three days, khake shifa ensures a child’s longevity. The presence of Aimmat Tahereen AS and their Duat Mutlaqeen AS protect and cure Mumineen from all forms of illnesses. Finally, at his zarih mubarak, firmly holding on to it, we stand before Imam Husain AS seeking the deepest of our heart’s desires and being overcome by the verity of the verse we recite during bihori namaz: “And he has no affliction nor ailment greater than his love for his Master!”