Shab-e-Zarbat (19 th of Mah e Ramzan) or Night of attack on Imam Ali (

The commander of faithful, the father of
eloquence, the caretaker of the orphans,
the shelter of the needy and the perfect of
all humans after Holy Prophet Muhammad
(saw). Born in the House of Allah, Holy
Kaaba, and martryed in the House of Allah,
Masjid-e-Kufa. He died on the 21st day of
Ramadan 40 A.H. and buried in Najaf al-
Ashraf (Iraq).
On the eve of the martyrdom of Imam Ali
(as) we take this opportunity to extend our
heartiest condolences to Imam of the time,
Imam
Mahdi (as) and the Muslim world. Oh Allah
(SWT) help us live the life of Imam Ali (as)!
Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) had prophesied
his
departure from this world several days
before
hand, and on the day of his martyrdom he
mysteriously desired his sons Imam Hasan
and
Imam Hussain (as) to offer their morning
prayers
in the house and not to accompany him as
they
usually did to the mosque of Kufa. When
Imam
Ali (as) was leaving his abode, the
household
birds began making a great noise and when
one
of Imam Ali's servants attempted to quieted
them, Imam Ali (as) said, "Leave them
alone, for
their cries are only lamentations foreboding
my
death."
On the 19th of the month of Holy Ramadan
(Mah
e Ramzan) of the year 40 A.H, Imam Ali
(pbuh)
cameto the mosque in Kufa for his morning
prayers. Imam Ali (pbuh) gave the call for
prayer
(Azaan) and became engaged in leading the
congregation. Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam
pretending to pray, stood just behind Imam
Ali
(pbuh), and when Imam Ali (pbuh) was in a
state
of prostration, Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam
dealt a
heavy stroke with his sword, inflicting a
deep
wound on Imam Ali's (pbuh) head.
This was the time when Imam Ali (as)
uttered
his famous words : "Fuzto warab-il-Kaaba" -
"By
the Rab of Kaaba, I am successful".
Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had
prophesied
the assassination of Imam Ali (pbuh) and
his
issues. Regarding Imam Ali (pbuh) Holy
Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) had said, "O Ali! I see
before
my eyes thy beard dyed with the blood of
thy
forehead."
They assassinated Imam Ali (pbuh) at his
finest
time - the hour of standing before Allah, the
Exalted, during a prayer of submission, in
the
best of days, while fasting during the month
of
Ramadan (Mah e Ramzan); during the most
glorious Islamic duties, while preparing to
wage
jihad, and in the highest and most pure
divine
places, the Mosque of Kufa.
May joy be to Amir al-Muminin Imam Ali bin
Abi
Talib (pbuh) and a blessed afterlife!
The crime of assassinating Imam Ali (pbuh)
remains one of the most cruel, brutal and
hideous, because it was not committed
against
one man, but against the whole rational
Islamic
leadership. By assassinating Imam Ali
(pbuh),
they actually aimed at assassinating the
message, the history, the culture and the
nation
of Muslims embodied in the person of Imam
Ali
bin Abi Talib (pbuh). In doing so, the Islamic
nation lost its guide of progress, and at the
most
wondrous opportunity in its life after the
Holy
Prophet (pbuh).
Imam Ali (pbuh) suffered from his wound for
three days, and He (pbuh) passed away on
21st
of the month of Ramadan (Mah e Ramzan)
at an
age of 63 years.
During these three days, he (pbuh)
entrusted his
son, Imam Hasan (pbuh) with the Imamate
of
guiding the nation ideologically and socially.
During those three days, as during all his
life, he
never ceased remembering Allah, praising
Him,
andaccepting Him and His ordinance.
Likewise, he continued giving pieces of
advice
and directions leading to good, pointing to
the
right, defining the way to guidance,
explaining
the course for deliverance, calling for the
observance of Allah's ordinances, and
warning
against following one's ill desires and set-
backs
from not carrying out the divine message.
The following is one piece of advice offered
to
his sons, Imam Hasan (pbuh) and Imam
Hussain
(pbuh), as well as to his people, the nation
and
coming generations:
"I advise you to fear Allah, and not to run
after
(the pleasure of) the world, even if it may
run
after you. Do not be sorry for anything from
it
which you have been denied. Say the truth
and
act for (Allah's) reward. Be an enemy of the
oppressor, and be a helper of the
oppressed."
"I advise you, my children, my household and
all
those who may receive my message, to fear
Allah, to arrange your affairs well, to
maintain
good relations among yourselves, for I have
heard your grandfather (pbuh) saying: 'Good
relations are better than prayer and fasting
in
general.'"
"(Fear) Allah when handling matters of
orphans.
Do not let them starve, nor allow them to be
lost
as long as you are there."
"(Fear) Allah in respect to your neighbors,
for
they were the trust of your Prophet (pbuh).
He
went on asking us to take care of them, so
much
that we thought he would make them heirs
(of
our heritage)."
"(Fear) Allah in respect to the Holy Quran,
(take
care that) no one may excel you in following
its
tenets."
"(Fear) Allah in respect to prayer, as it is
the pillar of your religion."
"(Fear) Allah in respect to your Lord's
House (Kaaba), do not forsake it so long as
you live, because if you do you will not be
looked upon with respect."
"(Fear) Allah in respect to Jihad, fight with
your wealth, your lives and your tongues, in
the way of Allah."
"Have mutual liaison and give-and-take.
Beware
of turning your faces from, and of
renouncing,
one another. Do not abandon bidding good
and
forbidding evil, lest vicious people may
overrule
you, and then in such a case, your
invocations
will not be responded to (by Allah)."
Then he said: "O, Banu Abdul Muttalib,
certainly I
do not want you to wade through the blood
of
the Muslims, crying: Amir al-Muminin was
murdered. You certainly kill for me no one
but
my killer."
"Wait till I die by this stroke of him (Abd-al-
Rahman ibn Muljam), then strike a single
stroke
against him, and do not disfigure his body,
for I
had heard the Holy Prophet (pbuh) saying:
'Avoid
mayhem even with a rabid dog.'"
Such was the heroic end of this great man!
The
loss to the Mission and the nation was the
gravest after the loss of the Holy Prophet
(pbuh).
By the death of Imam Ali (pbuh) the nation
lost:
A heroism that had become the song of the
time;
A courageous history that has never dreamt
of
its like;
A wisdom no one can fathom, save Allah;
A purity, the like of which was only in the
prophets;
An abstinence from the pleasures of life
that
could be attained only by the nearest to
Allah;
An eloquence such as to be the echo of
Book;
and
A jurisprudence, and a thorough knowledge
of
the laws of religion, that made him the
'gateway
of the city' of the Prophet's knowledge, and
the
authority to whom the Islamic nation
referred in
all its affairs.
Peace be upon Amir al-Muminin the day he
was
born, the day he was martyred on his altar,
and
the day he shall be raised alive.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds