BB00122: Khutba on the suffering of Imam Husayn, at sea

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

All praise be to God Who hath testified to His Own Oneness from all eternity, for He knoweth that Husayn beareth witness unto himself that there is none other God but Him. He hath manifested His testimony unto all things through the glory of His testimony, causing all creation to bear witness before His countenance through His Own Self-testimony that there is none other God but Him. He hath caused every atom of existence to grieve for Husayn, peace be upon him, that the meaning of martyrdom might be known in the letters of unity through his testimony to His Face that there is none other God but Him.

He hath donned the garment of sorrow from his martyrdom in all the realities of creation, that the tongues of all servants might proclaim the decree of his testimony on the Day of Witnessing, without any similitude of heart or the splitting of the pen of ink, that there is none other God but Him. After the creation of all things, He hath deposited in the highest consciousness of his breast a spring of camphor water for the day of his martyrdom, that all might shed tears of manifestation from their eyes at the call of his martyrdom, reaching unto all conditions of their souls through this subtle, salty water, descending from the liver of fear upon the face of the heart, proclaiming the testimony of His Oneness that there is none other God but Him.

He hath clothed the pride of the people of glory in a coarse black woolen cloak, that the gems of hearts might shine in the seat of union through separation, humility and lowliness in remembrance of Husayn’s martyrdom, peace be upon him, on the Day of Distinction, through the tribulation of the thunderbolt from answering the call of his Lord that there is none other God but Him. For the glory of his self-testimony, He hath decreed for every soul the law of death, that all might know the decree of Husayn’s martyrdom, peace be upon him, and witness at the moment of the soul’s departure a spirit from the day of his martyrdom that there is none other God but Him.

Glorified be God, the One, the Single, the Individual, the Eternal, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, the Everlasting, the Subtle, beyond the description of those who would limit Him, through Husayn’s testimony unto himself, and beyond the attributes of those who would glorify Him, through the Lord’s testimony to His servant. O people! Had Husayn, peace be upon him, not been martyred in the first scene through his self-testimony to his Lord, creation would not have been established in its creation, nor would origination have been originated in its origination, nor invention in its invention. All have borne an aspect of the mention of their souls, and this sin would not have been lifted from the Tree of Beginning and its branches and leaves except through the martyrdom of Husayn, peace be upon him.

Therefore hath God taken from all things, at their creation and the witnessing of their descent and ascent, a covenant of weeping for His proof. He accepteth not the testimony of Oneness except through his testimony, for through it did it appear, and through it was it preserved, and unto it did it point, and its return in the decree of the Book is unto it when it is perfected. This is God’s decree in every world, that the Kingdom shall witness naught but His Essence, and testimony shall point to naught but His Self. The path to the Essence is cut off, cut off, and the seeking of His self-testimony is forbidden, forbidden. Thus is testimony through self-testimony rejected, rejected, and knowledge of the Essence through testimony of the Essence is barred, barred. None knoweth how He is except Him.

He hath created Muhammad and his successors, God’s blessings be upon them, through their testimony to the testimony of His Self to His Self, and this was none other than Husayn’s testimony, peace be upon him, unto himself. Glorified be God above what they describe! O people of the Cloud! Come ye forth from the chambers of holiness, for verily the Crimson Leaf hath desired our station through the decree of the Tree of Glory upon Mount Sinai—God, there is none other God but Him, the Mighty, the Exalted! Work ye the most excellent weeping, for this is a decree that hath never occurred to any human heart before, nor shall it descend upon anyone after.

That is verily the supreme triumph! Every mention made concerning weeping is bounded by the limitations of description, being naught but the judgement of the people of remoteness and the tree of sovereignty. Yet verily the practice of the People of the House is that we weep for Husayn for his own sake, desiring naught else in God’s dominion besides him, for he bore witness unto God with his entire being. God hath made the recompense for his martyrdom the testimony of His Own Self unto His Self. Verily God forgiveth not that partners be associated with Him, yet forgiveth all else to whomsoever He willeth, for He is the All-Forgiving, the All-Appreciating.

Thus circulates in the tradition concerning Husayn, peace be upon him:

“Whosoever weepeth for my sake, verily I myself shall be his recompense.”

Therefore, O concourse, behold ye the light of God in the niche, take ye the glass from the lamp, then the lamp from the lamp, then the glass from the glass. Then weep ye as ye will, for he spoke naught save by God’s leave. Verily there is no God but Him, He faileth not His promise.

O concourse of the divine cloud! None shall comprehend even a shadow of what Husayn, peace be upon him, witnessed from the people of unbelief. All have imagined somewhat of those calamities, then were struck senseless at his countenance. Glory be to God, the Single, the Great! He knoweth the tribulations of His Proof while people can comprehend only as much as an ant comprehendeth of Divine Unity. I seek God’s forgiveness!

The first to don the garment of grief for Husayn, peace be upon him, was verily the Primal Reed in the thicket of the Divine Nature. She spoke and fell senseless upon the dust, saying:

“Would that I had died before this and been a thing forgotten, utterly forgotten!”

Know ye that she was a luminous leaf from the Blessed Tree, whose decree God revealed in the Qur’an at the time of travail. Verily it is an oath, if ye but knew, tremendous. She is Fatimih the Radiant in the Mother Book, a noble Qur’an which none toucheth save the purified, though most people know not.

O concourse! She fell senseless in the sacred chamber in the Garden of Justice in such wise that were God not to hold firm the heavens and earth, they would surely pass away as though they had never existed in God’s sight. Then the one who wept for him in the Throne of Grandeur was Muhammad, peace be upon him, in such wise as none knoweth save God. Verily He is the Mighty, the Ancient.

Then the Tree of Sinai in the yellow thicket brought forth crimson leaves as though they were from a tree of fresh blood, emerging by God’s leave. After such manner should the unitarians weep. Then the seventh reed in the thicket of Divine Might, then a leaf We sent down from the Tree of Sinai from the right side of the Fire, then the White Tree in the yellow thicket from the northern shores of the White Sea, then the Book and all that was revealed therein of God’s decree. I find no change in the outpouring of God in certain decrees. In these similitudes are signs for those who desire the remembrance of Husayn, peace be upon him, and these are they who attain.

Glory be to God, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe! O God! I pour out my sorrow and grief unto Thee! Alas, alas! Were all creation to gather to comprehend the thirst of ʿAli son of Husayn, peace be upon them, on the day of battle, they would fail. His liver—may my spirit be his sacrifice—had become from thirst like a piece of iron in fire. If they deny, then witness with thine own eyes how he bore the holy struggle with such tremendous thirst.

He mounted his steed for the sake of God and donned his father’s cloak to manifest the grandeur of God’s friend. Then he stood firm in God’s majesty before the army of polytheism, bearing witness to God’s unity and to Muhammad’s—peace be upon him and his family. And to Ali, peace be upon him, belongs absolute authority, and to his uncle Al-Hassan belongs the successorship to Ali, peace be upon him, and to his father Al-Hussein, peace be upon him, belongs the successorship to his uncle.

Then from the surging ocean of His majesty was revealed a subtle essence which caused the party of Satan and the hosts of polytheism to tremble at the utterance of the yellow leaf from the crimson tree. They all bore witness, from the garment of His majesty and beauty and the glory of His divine protection, to the return of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his family, in the second manifestation and the coming cycle. Their minds were bewildered and their souls were troubled, and they nearly turned back. Satan followed his promise to them, and they stood before Him rank upon rank, extended.

When the Most High beheld their numbers, He sought aid from God his Lord, besides Whom there is no other God, and spoke from the yellow leaf before God, relying upon his sword, hoping for the day of meeting Him. He proclaimed “God is Most Great, my Lord—I associate none with Him, He has no equal, and He has power over all things. Verily my grandfather, the Messenger of God, was unique in glory, having no likeness in creation, and in God’s knowledge he committed no wrong. All servants fall short in gathering together praise befitting his station.”

Thus did God will that creation should return uniquely by His leave. The Most Merciful created him from the light of His Own Self for the glory of His exalted and sanctified station. On the Day of Resurrection, all creatures shall come to him with what they have earned, trembling and alone. By my grandfather’s decree, the letter Kaf emerges from every matter, and all dominion is in his hands by God’s decree like a predestined seal.

When the description reaches mention of my father and uncle, it becomes impossible to continue. All creatures before them are like particles scattered from the face of the sun. I am the son of God’s light in the lamp of lamps where I have taken refuge, by God my Lord and by the holy lights concealed in the Glorious Throne. Then he beseeched his Lord to grant him success in completion.

He requested from Satan’s party a handful of water from the Euphrates, with manifest weakness yet mighty strength, but the people of polytheism denied it to him in disbelief in God, Lord of the worlds. The winds of God’s love stirred in his heart and he sought aid in God’s might and power. He grasped the hilt of his sword and fought before God with dignity, gazing upon the beauty of his Lord and seeking his father’s pleasure. His longing to meet God was such that no pen could flow with its description in God’s knowledge.

His Lord knew something of his matter. He came before his father as did Ali before God’s Messenger. By his sword were slain those whom God had inscribed in His Book. He stood firm by his father’s command in the field of jihad, not considering himself. Then thirst overcame him and the light of God’s love for his father intensified.

He returned to the place of command, dismounted his steed, stood before his father and requested water from his presence, though he knew his father’s thirst was more severe than his own. Al-Hussein, peace be upon him, comforted him with the promise of meeting God and drinking from the waters of Kawthar from his grandfather’s hands. He honored him with a ring that had belonged to his grandfather. When he was at peace, he ordered him to visit his brother in the holy dome and to visit the people of the sanctuary. He obeyed the command of his Lord. […]

By His Father! He visited his brother in such a state that caused those who dwell in the highest heaven to swoon at beholding it. Verily we are God’s, and to Him shall we return. Then he did what God had ordained for him in the judgment of the Book, and I do not wish to mention it further. And God is All-Knowing, All-Wise.