NEAREST ANCESTRY

The Nearest Ancestry of the Promised Prophet (pbuh):
The Quraishites (tribe of Quraish) were the direct descendants of
Prophet Abraham through Prophet Ishmael, and AbdManaf. Abdush Shams
and Hashim were the twin issues of Abd Manaf.The children of Hashim
through his son Abdul Mutalib were called the 'Hashimites/Banu
Hashim'(tribe of Hashim). AbdushShams had adopted a clever, crafty and
active Roman slave boy Umayya,whom Abd Manaf had purchased and
presentedto his son Abdush Shams.
However, the issues of Umayya become known as the 'Umayyads/Banu
Umayya' (tribe of Umayya). Abd Manaf, before his death, had handed
over the charge of his privileged hereditary duties of service to the
House of God, the 'Holy Kaaba' to Hashim his eldest son who was very
noble by nature and godly in temperament. This aggravated the hatred,
jealousy and animosity ofUmayya whose tendency continued as a
personality trait from generation to generationin his seed. Much fuel
was added to the alreadyburning fire of envy and enmity of the
Umayyads when Abdul Mutalib, miraculously discovered the natural
spring-well of'Zamzam' which lay hidden and unknown to any one, for
ages together. Umayya became angry and started being very rude towards
Hashimites. When the elders of the tribe saw this, they decided that
he should not be allowed to remainin Makkah, and was therefore sent to
Syria. This was the beginning of the hatred of the Umayyads towards
the Hashimites, which eventually led to the martyrdom of Imam Hussain
(pbuh).
Hashim was the Great Grandfather of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and that
is why the families of the Prophet are known as the Hashimites.The
Hashimites were good, noble and gentle, while the Umayyads werewicked,
mean and aggressive. The Hashimites held the Trusteeship and the
Custody of the Kaaba, which was the most coveted and unique honor
enjoyed exclusively by the Hashimites. The Umayyads envied this
themost, and could not bear it. While the charitable disposition of
the Hashimites could not allow the hoarding of any personal wealth,
the selfishness and niggardliness of the Umayyads had enabled them to
store abundant wealth which had made the Umayyads ever more haughty
and proud against the noble, the gentle and the meek ones of the
Hashimites.
Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) started preaching to the people of Makkah
at the age of forty (40) years. If anyone goes through the life of the
Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), he will not be able to resist shedding
tears for the tortures, themiseries and calamities which the great
godly soul suffered at the hands of the people. Any intelligent reader
would find that all the sufferings which every one of the preceding
apostles of God had suffered, had been inflicted on the Last Apostle
of the Lord, alongwith other additional tortures and miseries which
none else had everexperienced and he suffered all the calamitieswith
ideal patience, matchless fortitude, unparalleled steadfastness and
unshakable determination to fulfill the covenant established with the
Lord.
Karbala's Foundation laid:
The events of history giveout a clear verdict that the series of the
sufferings, the miseries and the calamities inflicted on the Ahlul
Bayt, which culminated at one stage in the wholesale massacre of the
Holy Imam Hussain (pbuh) and his faithful devotees at Karbala, and the
misfortunes and the assassinations of the other Imams and their
families and their devotees, which thereafter followed up tothe
eleventh Imam Hasan Al-Askari, was inaugurated at the Saqeefa. Had the
people remembered the repeated declarations about Imam Ali (pbuh), and
his Ahlul Bayt, the world would never have witnessed the hideous
scenes of the sufferings and the massacre of the Holy ones; on the
other hand, today the world would have been ruled by the Men of God,
and humanity had enjoyed the Godly kingdom on earth, and the human
race by this time would have been united under one single brotherhood
which was inaugurated by the Holy Prophet (pbuh) at Madina.
Yazid succeeded the Caliph at Damascus:
After the death of Muawiya in 60 Hijra, Yazid succeeded his father to
the throne. Imam Hussain was then fifty seven (57) years old. Yazid
was known to be even worse than his father and represented a real
danger to the Islamicnation, for he was not a true Muslim. He was not
properly educated with the teachings of Islam. And he used to drink
alcohol, gamble, and commit all other sins according to historic
sources. He said:"Hashimites staged a playto obtain the Kingdom.
Actually, there was neither any news (from God) nor any
revelation."Such a man could not be entrusted with the affairsof the
nation.
The Call from the Governor:
On receipt of the letter from Yazid, 'Al-Walid son of Utbah son of Abu
Sufyan' the Governor of Madina immediately called his servant
(Abdullah son of Omer son of Uthman) and sent word inviting Imam
Hussain (pbuh) and Abdullah son of Al-Zubayr, to visit him. Imam
Hussain (pbuh) andson of Al-Zubayr were in the Mosque at night
time,when Walid's servant came to them with the message inviting them
tothe Governor House. The moment Imam Hussain (pbuh) heard the call
from the Governor; he suddenly exclaimed that Muawiya had died.
I invite you to the Book of Allah and the tradition(Sunnah) of the
Prophet, for I see that the tradition (Sunnah) have been destroyed and
innovations have crept up. Hence if you pay heed to my words and obey
my command, then I shall guide you to the Righteous path. Imam Hussain
(p.b.u.h.) In reply to the call Imam Hussain (pbuh) sent wordto the
Governor Walid saying, it was too late and he will visit him the next
morning.
The next day Imam Hussain (pbuh) accompanying around thirty (30)
Hashimites courageous youths visited the Governor, but reaching the
entrance of the Governor's house, he told the Hashimites to stay at
the door watchful and if they hear Imam Hussain (pbuh) talking
unusually aloud they mayget in to him.
Walid received Holy Imam (pbuh) with all respect and regard. Offered
him the seat besides him and read outthe letter he had received from
Yazid and when he reached the matter asking him to send the severed
head of Hussain, if Imam Hussain refuses to pay allegiance.Imam
Hussain (pbuh) smiled and said:
"O Walid! Pledge of allegiance cannot be given secretly. Invites
theMuslims of Madina tomorrow and ask them if they say that I should
pay allegiance to Yazid, let us then decide."
Walid readily accepted the Holy Imam's reply but'Marwan son of
Al-Hakam' the old enemy of Islam who was expelled by the Holy Prophet
(pbuh) out of Madina, seated there, addressing Walid said:
"Let not Hussain go out of the grip now, lest the fox is out of the
four walls of the court you will not approach the dust behind it. Cut
off his head now and let not thisunique opportunity go for, you will
never get it again."
Imam Hussain (pbuh) stood up to depart from the Governor and hearing
the insulting words of Marwan, Imam Hussain (pbuh) the son ofImam Ali
the Lion of God got angry and retorted aloud: "Woe to you, O sonof a
foreign women, will you cut my head off? By God, you have told a lie
and showed your base origin." Then he turned to al-Walid and said to
him:
"O Walid! We are the household of the Prophet(pbuh). We surely are
thecentre of the message, and to our house the angels descend from
heaven. By us God sent his first Apostle and by usHe sent the seal of
the Prophets. Yazid, on the other hand, is a corrupt man, who imbibes
wine, puts to death the soul which God forbids to be destroyed and
declares his debauchery in public. A man like me would never give a
vow of loyalty to him. But we will see about that in the morning, so
will you. We will see and so will you, who is more entitled to the
office of Caliphate and to receive the pledgeof allegiance."
Marwan immediately got up and ran away and the Hashimites youth who
stood restless and anxious, hearing the voice of the Holy Imam (pbuh),
rushed into the court with drawn swords. Imam Hussain (pbuh)
immediately commanded restraint and had not Imam Hussain (pbuh)
controlledthe situation, the matter would have been settled then and
there. The meeting came to an end. Imam Hussain (pbuh) returned home.
Imam Hussain (pbuh) decides to leave Madina