Imam’s voice resonated with a deep and effected melody onto the ears of the attendants and destroyed the high of the wine. Al-Mutawakkil threw his glass away and started crying. Thus was Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil’s party ruined, and the light of truth shun into a diseased heart even if it were for a fleeting moment.
Imam Ali al-Hadi (peace be upon him) recited the following poem in the court of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkal:
They made rising mountains their residence
And they always had armed men guarding them
But none could save them from the attack of death
At the end they were descended from those hills
And placed in the deeply dug graves with misery and humility
At this time a caller called: Where is all that glory, crowns, and luxury?
Where is the face that knew comfort and hid itself behind silk curtains from the gazes of the commoner?
The grave disgraced them at end
Those delicate faces are the ground for worms to crawl on
For a long time they sucked, swallowed, drank and ate of the earth
But today they are food for the earth and its pests
Imam’s voice resonated with a deep and effected melody onto the ears of the attendants and destroyed the high of the wine. Al-Mutawakkil threw his glass away and started crying. Thus was Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil’s party ruined, and the light of truth shone into a diseased heart, even if it were for a fleeting moment.
