Shia genocide sadly still continues and every other week we hear of horrifying news regarding the killing of innocent Muslims who believe in the Shia faith. The place of these murders is not just anywhere. These believers are not killed in a supermarket, nor on their way to work, but rather at their very place of worship, a mosque filled with worshippers. In 2015, a terrorist attack which transpired when an ISIS suicide bomber carried out a terrorist attack targeting Masjid Imam As-Sadiq in Kuwait, scores of innocent people were killed and hundreds were injured! The month in which these crimes took place was not just any month as these genocides occurred in the blessed month of Ramadhan whilst the believers were in the state of fasting. The news gives us a feeling of deja vu as just prior to that attack, we heard of the terrorist bombing attack that took place at a Shia mosque in Saudia Arabia, and now we witness for the first time a similar attack targeting Shias in Kuwait.
Till when will this aggression against innocent human beings continue and who will be the next victim? Till when will this aggression against Shias and Shi’asm continue? The goal of the enemy is to eradicate the Ahlul-Bayt (as) school of thought and their followers. This can only be done by either killing Shias or targeting the Holy Shrines of the Ahlul-Bayt (as). They intend to spread sectarian violence in every region of the Muslim world so that Shias become the main target of violence and aggression.
However, we can be confident that their goals will never be achieved as Allah (swt) says in the Holy Quran,
“They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it.” [61:8]
And in the authentic Tradition of the Cloak (Hadith Al-Kisa), Allah (swt) explicitly announces that
“By My Almightiness and My Majesty I take this oath: I have not created any well-established sky, extended land, glowing moon, shining sun, revolving planet, flowing ocean, or moving on ark except for your sake and for your love.”
With these divine words in mind, we understand that the whole universe and what it contains was created to serve the Holy Household. If this is the divine will, can anyone dare to obstruct it or work against it? After all, when Allah (swt) says to something ‘Be, then it Is.” [36:82]
ISIS extremists and their cloned factions have no regard for anything or anyone. They have failed to respect the sanctity of the Holy Month of Ramadan, a Mosque (place of worship), and also a group of believers who are fasting!
Our hearts break for the innocent victims who have been injured and killed, and we shed tears when we view images and video clips of the bombings that take place here and there. However, what we experience today, no matter how vicious and heinous, will never come close to the tragedy and massacre of Ashura against Imam Hussain (as) and his family and companions. After the tragedy of Karbala, the followers of the Ahlul-Bayt (as) have become vaccinated eternally from all other sorrows. The tears shed on Ashura supersede and exceed in quality and quantity all other tears! What bigger tragedy will we meet or come across? There will never be victims more precious than the esteemed personality of Imam Hussain (as), nor believers higher in superiority than his blessed companions. We have seen the worst of which has happened to the best and most precious of people. The enemies of Allah (swt) think that they can shake our faith or demoralize us by repeatedly carrying out these terrorist attacks, but little do they know that we received a vaccination from a tragedy that occurred a long time ago on the Day of Ashura that has trained and prepared us for any other tragedy or calamity that will happen in the future.
We mourn the loss of our beloved brothers and sisters, but we also celebrate their attaining of the status of martyrdom that is the ultimate goal and epitome of divine servitude. It was Sayyida Zainab (as) who clearly stated this after witnessing the tragedy of Karbala, as she addressed the enemy,
“Death is our way of life and martyrdom is our honor”.
It is no surprise that our path is filled with thorns and needles, for surely the believer must be tested as Allah (swt) says,
“And that He may purge those who believe and deprive the unbelievers of blessings.” [3:141]
Sheikh Al Kulayni narrates that he heard Imam Ali (as) saying to one of his companions: “Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, “We believe”, and that they will not be tested?” [29:1] The Imam then asked him, “What is the test?” The man answered, “We believe that the test is in religion”. So the Imam replied, “They will be tested as the gold will be tested for its purity, and they will be refined in the same way that gold is refined and purified” (Al Kafi).
We extend our complaint to Allah (swwt) and end with these words which we recite in the beautiful Dua Al-Iftitah,
“Oh Allah, we complain to you and are disturbed by the departure of our Prophet, Thy blessings be on him and on his family, the absence of our guardian-friend, too many enemies, our numerical scarcity, widespread disorder, and the vicissitudes of time.
So send blessings on Muhammad and on his family, and help us to overcome this state of affairs at once. Disperse the ominous clouds hanging over our heads; lend a helping hand to achieve success; bring in the rule of justice and fair play; make us bright, free from grief; and take care of us. Through Thy mercy, O most Merciful.
