Sweetness of Salah in Eyes of Imam Hussein
In a series of talks on “Social Life with Sayyid al-Shuhada (AS)”, Quran scholar Hojat-ol-Islam Seyed Javad Beheshti, spoke to IQNA on practical lessons that one can learn from the life of Imam Hussein (AS). Following are excerpts from his speech in the third session:
What defines the character of humans is their aims and motivations. What was the purpose of Imam Hussein’s uprising? The answer is clear; he set foot on the path from Medina to Mecca and from Mecca to Karbala only for God. He tied all his decisions to Salah as he used to announce his positions after saying two Rakats of prayers.
When departing from Mecca, the Imam appointed a person as the muezzin. According to narrations, a battle was set to happen on the 9th of Muharram in Karbala but Imam Hussein (AS) dispatched his brother, Hazrat Abbas (AS), to negotiate with the enemy for postponing the confrontation for one day. Why? Because Imam Hussein (AS) had said he “loves Salah” and wanted to say prayers on the last night of his life.
He said the Adhan on the morning of the 10th day of Muharram (Ashura) and led a congregation prayer. He also thanked Abu Thamama Saidi for reminding him of the time of noon prayer on the day of Ashura. The Imam holds the prayer while being prone to arrows of the enemy.
All of us, both those who are now participating in the Arbaeen procession and those who failed to do so, should draw inspiration from Imam Hussein (AS) for holding prayers.
Islam asks us for a salah that is full of love, mysticism, and awareness and is said in congregation on time. We should ask Imam Hussein (AS) to make us taste the sweetness of Salah.
If we experience this sweetness, we will never abandon it.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) points to his love for prayers this way: “God Almighty put the brightness of my eyes in prayer and made prayer dear to my heart; just as He made food and water dear to the hearts of the hungry and the thirsty. A hungry person will be satisfied when he eats, and a thirsty person will be satisfied if he drinks water. But I never get enough of prayer.”
It is very great if Arbaeen pilgrims advise each other for holding prayers. We should not neglect our Salah so that we can experience an elevated and improved version of Salah after coming back from the Arbaeen procession.
