Jihad and Shahadat as We Approach the Month of Muharram
Blog Post 78
Dhul-Hijjah 28, 1446 – June 24, 2025
(This is Part Two of Jihad and Shahadat by Ayatullah Sayyid Mahmoud Taleqani. Part Three, “A Lesson on Shahadat,” was published in Blog Post #63 on August 17, 2023. We will post Part One in the future, inshallah.)
As we worked on this blog post, the zionist state continued killing the oppressed people of Gaza and bombing the Islamic Republic of Iran and its people and the US also bombed the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities in a showdown of shaitanic murder and destruction against Islam and Muslims and other peoples in the Muslim countries. It is no surprise: for when such shaitanic forces genocide the people of Gaza and brutalize the Palestinian people and control the corporations, media, banking, etc., and fight against anyone who doesn't like them and are the Yazids of our time, this is what we expect.
Even though the US “president” claimed that the zionist state and the Islamic Republic of Iran had agreed to a “complete and total” ceasefire, his words are lies. There was no agreement and the Islamic Republic said if the zionist state ceased its aggression, they would too, but of course the zionist state did not stop. (Press TV, June 24, 2025) Since Prophet Adam and Lady Hawa, peace and blessings be upon them, came to the Earth to this very day, the evil that is the party of shaitan has fought against Islam and the people of the party of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala . And, Al-Hamdulillah, we have fought against that evil and that losing party and we will continue that fight, inshallah. Shahadat is in our bloodlines and is our way of life. Allah is All-Powerful, Master of the Universes and His Will Prevails. Keep on the Right Path and Stay in the Party of Allah, inshallah. Victory is on the side of the believers!
In honour of Imam Husayn, his family and followers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon them, as we approach the month of Muharram, we are offering Part Two of Ayatullah Taleqani’s writings about jihad, shahadat, the land of Karbala and the day of Ashura.
Ayatullah Sayyid Mahmoud Taleqani (1910-1979) writes in Jihad and Shahadat, which this blog post will quote heavily and almost exclusively, about Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, while travelling toward and at Karbala. “In one of the caravan stations, apparently that of Baydah, in which the army of Hurr [ibn Yazid al- Riyahi] was present, the Imam paused and spoke these words, ‘Oh you people, the Apostle of God, peace and greetings be upon him, said ...’ The Imam narrated from the Apostle of God, and such was the manner of the Imams when they spoke to” a mixed audience of Muslims. “They would speak on their own authority, without necessarily quoting” Prophet Muhammad, peace and greetings be upon him, if only Shias were present. Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, said:
‘“Oh people! This is from the Apostle of God, who said,
‘If anyone notices a ruthless sultan encroaching upon God’s boundary,
breaking His covenants, opposing the traditions of the Prophet,
and behaving indecently among the people,
one must stand in opposition to him,
by action and word.
‘“Otherwise it is God’s right to take him to his proper place. One must first advise him, and if this fails, must use force. Whoever endorses such [a] sultan’s actions through silence, God will take him to hell as an accomplice. O people! Watch and beware that they (this government and its followers) have chosen obedience to Satan, have forsaken God’s obedience, have manifested corruption, have abrogated God’s ordinances, have appropriated public funds, have permitted what God has prohibited and have prohibited what God has permitted.
‘“If all Muslims have chosen silence, I am the first responsible to alter this situation. You wrote to me and I received your letter and your message. Your representatives came to me. You made a covenant to help me and not to leave me alone. If you remain steadfast in your commitment and pact, you will have become mature. I am Husayn, son of Ali and Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet. My life is with your lives and my family is with your families.’”
Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, means: ‘“We do not see ourselves separate from you and expect no special treatment. We are with the people, and whatever is for the people is for us. Whatever is for us is for the people. We are all one. We do not desire to be exalted as rulers. We are one, like any other individual. Our family is like any other family.’ Wasn’t this attitude shown in practice in the few years of Imam Ali’s government? If someone would see Imam Ali on the street or in the market-place, they would not recognize him as being different from a common man. Was his house different from any typical house? Was his wife or daughter treated as special? This is the pattern we have to follow.
This is the pattern of Islamic government
and of the Islamic governor.
This is not the rule of one person.
This is the rule of God.”
“Radically speaking, there is no hukumat (government) in Islam. In al-hukmu illa li-Allah (The rule belongs to no one except God.), government belongs to God, the Apostle and the Imam. After the Imam, it is the mujtahid and then the masses of Muslims who are all the executive power of divine law. It is for this reason that Imam Husayn says, ‘My life is with your lives and my family is with your families.’” He means: “‘Do not think that I want to sacrifice others in order to save myself and my family.’ The difference between Imam Ali and Muawiyah was this indeed, that Muawiyah would sit behind the battle-fronts, leaning on pillows and sitting on soft cushions. In front of him were all sorts of edible delicacies. He would eat and laugh. The poor people had to go and confront the swords. He would tell them, ‘Go and get killed.’ Imam Ali, on the other hand, would command for jihad, and he himself would be in the front row of the battle.”
“Let us imagine the battlefield of Siffayn. We see Muawiyah sitting in his special place, heartily laughing at the people, thinking to himself, ‘How wonderfully am I playing with these folks. Using lies, emotionalism, and false propaganda, I am decimating them in order to rule over them.’ In contrast, Imam Ali, when he commands in battle, is the first to step ahead. This is the meaning of ‘My life is with your life [sic] and my family is with your families.’”
Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, continues:
‘“If you have broken your covenant,
if you feel regret for having made such a covenant with me,
such is not unexpected from you.
You did so with my father, my brother, and the son of my paternal uncle, Muslim.
Poor is the one who relies on your covenant.
If you do not fulfill your promise, you have denied yourself intellectual growth,
but you have not harmed us.
‘So whoever breaks his oath, breaks it only to his own harm ...’ (48:10).
Soon God will make me needless of you,
and He will place me in the vicinity of His Mercy.’”
“When Hurr ibn Yazid, by the command of Ubayd Allah,” stopped Imam Husayn “in the desert of Karbala, confronting him with one thousand horsemen,” Imam Husayn…wrote a message to the Shia “nobles and leaders of Kufa, (which I paraphrase): ‘This is a letter from Husayn ibn Ali to Sulayman ibn Surad, Musayyib ibn Najabah, Rifa’ah ibn Shaddad, Abdullah ibn Walin, and the other believers.’” He wrote to the Shia “leaders who were either in prison or in exile and were unable to be present to help him.”
“You know the Apostle of God said, ‘If anyone notices a ruthless sultan encroaching upon God’s boundary breaking his covenants, opposing the traditions of the Prophet, and behaving indecently among the people, one must stand in opposition to him, by action and word. Otherwise it is God’s right to take him to his proper place. Beware that they (this government and its followers) have chosen obedience to Satan, have forsaken obedience to God, have manifested corruption, have abrogated God’s ordinances, have expropriated public funds, have permitted what God has prohibited and have prohibited what God has permitted. I am primarily responsible to alter this situation. You wrote to me and I received your letter and your message. Your representatives came to me. You made a covenant to help me and promised not to abandon me. If you remain steadfast in your commitment and pact, you will be shown to have become mature. I am Husayn, son of Ali and Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet. My life is with your lives and my family is with your families. For you there is a pattern in me. If you do not [remain steadfast], and you break your covenant, and annul your acceptance of my leadership, by my soul, this would come as no surprise. You did the same to my father, to my brother, and to the son of my paternal uncle, Muslim ibn ‘Aqil. The loser is the one who relies on you. You have ruined your own fortune. ‘So whoever breaks his oath, breaks it only against his own self ...’ (48:10).”
It seems Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, wrote the entire sermon for the people of Kufa in his letter.
“A discussion of jihad cannot be complete without an elaboration of the meaning of shahid, which is in itself a great topic. There is not much time left. In short, anyone who has understood this truth and divine goal and has stood for it, sacrificing his life, is called ‘shahid’ in the terminology of the Qur’an and jurisprudence.
“The shahid is the one who has experienced the shuhud (vision) of truth.
“The sacrifice of his own life is not based on illusion or agitation of his emotions. He has seen the truth and the goal. That is why he has chosen to wallow in the blood and the dust. Such a person does so with the intention of intimacy with God, not on the basis of fantasies and personal desires. He is above these worldly matters. He has understood the value of truth in a deserved way. This is why he annihilates himself, like a drop in the ocean of truth. This is the true meaning of the esoteric term ‘fana fi Allah’ (self-annihilation in God). Fana is not what the Sufi does in the khanaqah, shouting ‘Hu! Hu!’ and then imagining that he has reached God. The real meaning of ‘fana’ is exhibited in the following poem:
From head to toe, God’s light you’ll radiate,
If in His cause, you self-annihilate!
“If a person has reached the stage of readiness for self-annihilation through the vision of truth, for the sake of establishing truth, his title is shahid. Thus one cannot call everyone ‘shahid.’ If someone mistakenly or for a worldly and illusive cause gets killed, he has lost both worlds, this and the hereafter. A shahid is the one who understands religion, knows his God, and believes in the hereafter as well as in eternal life. He must realize the goal. Then because he has seen the truth, he has no fear of death. Death is easy for him. Some Sufis argue that in prayer, one has to consider one’s qutb, because the qutb is the manifestation (of God); and because man is a physical material being, he cannot perceive the absolute except via manifestations. This is a wrong notion. Of course one can perceive the absolute. [He can do so gradually and by breaking the boundaries.] In our prayer, we recite: ‘You alone we worship; You alone we ask for help. Show us the straight path, the path of those whom You have given property? Power?’ [No.] Here is another ayah: ‘to whom You have given blessings of such-and-such. The ones to whom you have given property? Power?’ (No.) Here is another ayah:
“Whoever obeys God and the Messenger,
they are among those whom God has favored,
of the Prophets, the saints, the martyrs, and the righteous.
They are the best of company!” (4:69)
“Al-shuhada (pl. of shahid), that is to say, the ones who die in the cause of God, have a great status. Salihun (the righteous) are those who follow them. There are altogether four groups upon whom God has completed His blessing. Those who obey God are one of these because they have experienced an internal revolution and have envisioned the truth, the shuhada, once martyred, have been guaranteed the sure gift of eternity by God.”
“Aren’t you surprised? A group of people in one corner of the world assembled. The enemy did not allow their voices to be heard. They were besieged, killed, and then mutilated. No one remained from them to bring their news to the town. But the system of creation has recorded their names and their deeds. Isn’t this a miracle? Isn’t this a vision of truth? Isn’t it for us to ponder upon? [We even know] the names of their fathers, mothers, wives, and horses; [and we even know] their utterances. Everything has remained. From where has all this reached us and why have these men remained in history? It is because through self-annihilation, they traveled to eternity. The supreme movement toward perfection is based upon this principle: vegetation is eaten by the lamb; it changes into flesh and bone. Man eats the flesh of the lamb; the flesh turns into thought, energy, and faith, a chain of sacrifice toward evolution. [As Rumi has put it]:
From the inanimate I died and I became vegetation,
From vegetation I died and I became an animal.
From an animal I died and I became human.
I am not afraid of death; death has never made me lesser.
Once more I shall die as a human being,
And I shall fly as an angel; Then once again I shall fly from the angelic,
And I will become something unimaginable.
I will become nothing, nothing, because the harp
Tells me: “Unto Him we shall return.”
“[As if the companions of Imam Husayn] had grown wings on the day of Ashura, as if their bodies had become too small for their spirits, one of them would beg Imam Husayn to permit him to go to the battlefield earlier than the others. Another would beg for a similar honor, saying, ‘My chest has contracted due to worldly life.’ What kind of people were they? They had wives, children, kin, and businesses as well. Zuhayr ibn Qayn al-Bijili was a man who, until a few days before, having been affected by the propaganda of the government of Muawiyah, was seeking blood-revenge for Uthman and had contempt for Imam Ali and his family. Suddenly, on the way (to Karbala) he made a decision to join the camp of Imam Husayn. What wonderful words were exchanged between them! What did he say and what did he hear? It was as if lightning destroyed all his worldly attachments. One hour ago Zuhayr had cows, lambs, and cattle. He was attached to his tribe and to his property. Now he has realized himself. He has experienced transfiguration.”
“Why are we all so depressed? Because we don’t have any goal in life; because we have no goal in our life, we think that what counts is money and power obtained by any means. Because we don’t get what we want, we are bitter. We are depressed. The businessman or bureaucrat goes home in the afternoon so shattered and depressed that he does not wish to talk to his family. Why? Because he has not achieved what he had planned to do. What did he want? If he is a military man, he is depressed because he did not receive the promotion that his colleagues did. If he is a businessman, he is depressed because his income is not as great as he had expected. The economy is bad and everyone is depressed! We are depressed because we are confined to this base world. The shahid is the one who operates above this lowly world. The believer is the same. Zuhayr was depressed because he was a skeptic.
He did not know the meaning of life.
He didn’t know who [was] right, Imam Ali or Muawiyah.
He was under an illusion.
Worldly wishes and attachments had surrounded him.
With a sudden flash of lightning, the illusion went away.
The worldly attachments were cut off and
he became a shahid even before he became a martyr.
Life became easy for him.
Once he had envisioned the truth, nothing else was important.
Life and death were the same to him.
“He told his wife, Bint Amru, ‘Farewell. I am finished. You go and take care of the camels, cattle, and lambs. I give everything to you. I have found what I wanted.’ When Truth revealed itself, nothing else had any value. It was the night before Ashura. Then there came the morning of Ashura, and then the afternoon. Blood was dripping from his body, and he was very thirsty. He came to say ‘farewell’ to Imam Husayn by tapping on his shoulder and saying, ‘May my life be sacrificed for you, you guided one, you guide. You are my savior. You are my liberator. You freed me from this deceptive world.’ While blood was pouring out of his wounds, he said, ‘I am no longer worried.’ His wife is becoming a widow, his children orphans, and he says, ‘I am no longer worried.’ This is power! Then he chants:
‘“Today I shall meet your grandfather, and the wonderful Imam Ali, with whom God was pleased.’
“[He is saying,] ‘The distance between me and them will vanish as soon as my soul leaves my body.’ He is so certain about the eternity of truth and the secret of humanity. [He says], ‘I am going to meet your brother and your father.’ Then he falls in front of Imam Husayn and dies. It is famous that his wife went to Kufah, waiting for her husband to return. The news reached her that they had all been killed with Imam Husayn. She gave a shroud to her slave and ordered him to go and bury her husband. The slave came back without having done so. When he was asked, he replied that he had been unable to do it because he saw the bodies of the children of the Prophet mutilated in the middle of the sand and the blood of the warm desert of Karbala.
“There is no change nor power except by God, the Sublime, the Great.
‘God is sufficient for us! Most excellent is He in whom we trust!’ (3:173).’”
To be continued, inshallah…
Resources
Ayatullah Sayyid Mahmoud Talegani. Jihad and Shahadat. Accessed from The Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT) - Digital Library. January 1, 1986. Accessed from https://www.icit-digital.org/articles/jihad-and-shahadat and Al-Islam.org, Accessed from https://www.al-islam.org/articles/jihad-and-shahadat-sayyid-mahmud-taleqani
Press TV. (June 24, 2025). “Last wave of Op. True Promise III delivered ‘historic lesson’ to Zionist enemy: IRGC.” PressTV.ir. Accessed from https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2025/06/24/750102/last-wave-op-true-promiseiii-delivered-historic-lesson-zionist-enemy-irgc