The historical reports about the letter of Imam Husayn (A) to the Kufis are confusing and contradictory. Therefore, we will first present these reports themselves and then try to analyze them and draw conclusions as far as possible.
Ibn Sa’d reports in “Tabaqat”:
Husayn sent Qays ibn Mushir Asadi to Muslim ibn Aqil before he learned of his murder. However, Husayn ibn Numeyr captured him and sent him to Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad. Ubaydullah said to him: “Allah has killed Muslim. So stand up among the people and curse the liar, the son of a liar.” Qays went up to the minbar and said: “O people, I have left Husayn ibn Ali in Hajar (the name of the area), and I am his messenger to you, and he is waiting for help from you.” Then Ubaydullah ordered him to be thrown from the roof of the palace, and he died.
Baladhuri reported in Ansab al-ashraf:
When Husayn (A) arrived in Hajiz (the name of the place), he sent the following letter to the people of Kufa along with Qays ibn Mushir Saydawi from Banu Asad: “I have received a letter from Muslim ibn Aqil, in which he informs me of your good intentions, your unification in supporting us and defending our rights. May Allah reward you for this with the greatest reward! So collect your affairs and be diligent, for I will come to you after a few days, if Allah wills. Peace be upon you!”
Muslim ibn Aqil wrote to him a little over twenty days before his death: “A scout does not lie to his people. All the people of Kufa are with you, so come when you read my letter.”
When Qays ibn Mushir arrived in Qadisiyyah, Husayn ibn Tamim seized him and sent him to Ibn Ziyad, who ordered him to go to the roof of the palace, curse Ali, and accuse (Imam) Husayn of lying. When he got up, he said: “O people, Husayn ibn Ali, the best of Allah’s creation, is coming to you. I left him with Hajiz, so answer him and support him!” Then he cursed Ziyad and his son and invoked Allah’s mercy on Ali (A).
Then Ibn Ziyad ordered him to be thrown from the roof of the palace. He was cut into pieces and died.
Dainuri narrates in Akhbaru Tiwal:
Husayn (A) continued on his way until he reached Batn ar-Rumma. He wrote to the people of Kufa: “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful! From Husayn ibn Ali to his brothers, the believers of Kufa, peace be upon you! And after this: I have received a letter from Muslim ibn Aqil about your consent regarding me, your desire to see me, and your intention to support us and defend our rights. May Allah bestow good upon us and upon you and reward you for this with the best reward! My letter to you is from Batn Ar-Rumma. I am coming to you and will hasten to reach you. Peace be upon you.
Then he sent the letter by Qays ibn Mushir, and he set out until he reached Qadisiyyah. Husayn ibn Numayr seized him and handed him over to Ibn Ziyad. When he was brought, he spoke harshly to Ibn Ziyad, who ordered him to be thrown from the top of the palace wall into the courtyard. He fell and died.
Tabari reported in his Tarikh:
Abu Mikhnaf said that Muhammad ibn Qays told him: Husayn (A) traveled along the road until he reached (the area of) Hajr in Batn ar-Rumma. He sent Qays ibn Mushir Saydawi to the people of Kufa, and sent them with him the following letter: “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful! From Husayn ibn Ali to his brothers from among the believers and Muslims, peace be upon you! I praise Allah, and there is no god but He. Then: a letter came to me from Muslim ibn Aqeel, in which he informs you of your good intentions, your unification in supporting us and defending our rights. I ask Allah to be good to us and to reward you with the best reward. I set out for you from Mecca on Tuesday, the eighth of the month of Dhul-Hijjah, on the day of Tarwiyah. When my messenger arrives, complete your work and be diligent, for I will come to you in those days, if Allah wills. Peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of Allah!
Muslim ibn Aqil wrote to him twenty-seven days before his death: “A scout does not lie to his people. The people of Kufa are with you, so come when you read my letter. Peace be upon you.”
Husayn (A) set out, taking his children and women with him, without being distracted by anything else. Qays ibn Mushir Saidawi set out for Kufa with Husayn’s (A) letter. When he reached Qadisiyya, Husayn ibn Numayr seized him and sent him to Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad. Ubaydullah said to him: “Climb the palace and curse the liar, the son of a liar.” He stood up and said, “O people, this is Husayn ibn Ali, the best of Allah’s creation, the son of Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, and I am his messenger to you. I parted from him in Hajr, so answer him!”
Then he cursed Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad and his father and called upon Allah to have mercy on Ali ibn Abi Talib (A). Then Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad ordered that he be thrown from the roof of the palace. He was thrown, torn to pieces, and died.
Tabari further writes that when Imam Hussein (A) learned of this, “his eyes filled with tears and he recited the verse of the Quran: ‘And among the believers are some who are truthful in what they have covenanted with Allah, and among them are some who have completed their term, and some who are still waiting and have not made any change’ (33:23).
Then he quotes the speech of Imam Husayn (A) in Bayda:
Abu Mikhnaf said: Uqba ibn Abi Aizar reported that Husayn (A) addressed his companions and the companions of Hurrah in Bayda. He praised Allah and then said:
“O people, the Messenger of Allah (S) said: ‘Whoever sees an unjust ruler who makes lawful what Allah has forbidden, violates His covenant, contradicts the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, commits sins and hostility among the slaves of Allah, and does not change his behavior in word or deed, it is on Allah to make him enter into the same place as him (subject him to the same punishment).”
Indeed, those people have submitted to Satan and have rejected the obedience of the Most Merciful. They have spread corruption, abolished the prescribed punishments, appropriated the spoils of war, made lawful what Allah has forbidden, and prohibited what He has permitted. I am the one who deserves the most to make a change.
Your letters have reached me, and your messengers have come to me with your oath of allegiance that you will not hand me over or leave me. If you fulfill your oath of allegiance to me, you will be on the right path. For I am Husayn ibn Ali, the son of Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (S). My soul is with your souls, and my family is with your families. I am an example for you.
But if you do not do this and break your covenant, throwing off your oath of allegiance to me, then by my life, it will not be unusual for you. You have already done this to my father, my brother, and my cousin Muslim. He who is deceived by you is deceived. You have lost your share and lost your purpose. He who breaks (his oath) breaks to his own detriment. Allah has no need of you. And peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah, and blessings!”
Ibn Asam reported in the Futuh:
Husayn (A) pitched camp in that place, and Hurr pitched camp nearby with a thousand horsemen. Husayn (A) ordered writing materials to be brought and wrote to the nobles of Kufa who he believed to be of his opinion:
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful! From Husayn ibn Ali to Sulayman ibn Surad, Musayyib ibn Najba, Rifaa ibn Shaddad, Abdullah ibn Wali and the assembly of the believers. And then: you know that the Messenger of Allah (S) said in his lifetime: “Whoever sees an unjust ruler who permits what Allah has forbidden, violates His covenant, contradicts the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, commits sins and hostility among the slaves of Allah, and does not change his behavior in word or deed – it is on Allah that he brought him to the same place where he had brought him (subjected him to the same punishment).
You know that those people have submitted to Satan and have disobeyed the Most Merciful. They have spread corruption, abolished the prescribed punishments, appropriated the spoils of war, made lawful what Allah had forbidden and prohibited what He had permitted. I am the one who deserves this deed more than others because of my closeness to the Messenger of Allah (S).
Your letters have reached me, and your messengers have come to me with your oath of allegiance that you will not betray me or forsake me. If you fulfill your oath of allegiance to me, you will be on the right path. My soul is with your souls, and my family and my children are with your families and children. For you, in me is an example.
If you do not do this and break your covenant and throw away your oath of allegiance to me, then by my life, it will not be unusual for you. You have already done this to my father, my brother and my cousin Muslim. Is he not deceived who was deceived by you? You have lost your share and lost your destination. He who breaks (his oath) breaks it to his own detriment. Allah has no need of you. And peace be upon you!
Then he folded the letter, sealed it and gave it to Qays ibn Mushir Saidawi, ordering him to go to Kufa.
Qays went to Kufa, and Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad set up watchtowers and lanterns on the roads so that no one could pass without being checked. When Qays ibn Mushir approached Kufa, he was met by an enemy of Allah named Husayn ibn Numayr Sakuni. When Qays saw him, it was as if he was afraid for himself, so he quickly took out the letter and tore it into pieces. Husayn ibn Numayr ordered his men to seize Qays and collect the letter in pieces. Then he was brought to Ibn Ziyad.
Ibn Ziyad asked him: “Who are you?” He replied: “I am a Shi’ite of the Commander of the Faithful, Husayn ibn Ali.” He asked: “Why did you tear up the letter that was in your possession?” He replied: “So that it would not be known what was in it!” He asked: “From whom was this letter? And to whom was it?” He replied: “It was from Husayn to a group of people of Kufa whose names I do not know.”
Ibn Ziyad became very angry and said, “By Allah, you will not leave here until you show me the way to these people to whom this letter was written, and you go up to the minbar and curse Husayn, his father and brother, otherwise I will cut you into pieces!”
Qays said, “As for these people, I do not know them, and as for cursing Husayn, his father and brother, I will do so.”
He was brought to the Great Mosque of Kufa, where people had gathered to hear him curse. He went up to the minbar, praised Allah, blessed the Prophet (S), and called for mercy on Ali (A) and his children. Then he cursed Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, his father, and every last Umayyad rebel, and called on the people to support Husayn ibn Ali.
This was reported to Ibn Ziyad, who ordered him to be thrown down from the palace head first, and he died.
When the news of this reached Husayn (A), he wept and said: “O Allah, grant us and Your Shiites a noble place near You and unite us with them in the abode of Your mercy. Indeed, You are Able to do all things!”
Sheikh Mufid reported in Irshad:
When Imam Husayn (A) reached Hajar in the area of Batn ar-Rumma, he sent Qays ibn Mushir Saydawi, but it is also said that he sent his foster brother Abdullah ibn Yaktar, to the people of Kufa. He did not yet know what had happened to Muslim ibn Aqil. And he wrote to them:
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful! From Husayn ibn Ali to his brothers from among the believers and Muslims, peace be upon you! I praise Allah, and there is no god but He. And then: a letter came to me from Muslim ibn Aqil, in which he informs me of your good intentions, your unification in supporting us and defending our rights. I ask Allah to be kind to us and to reward you with the best reward. I have set out for you from Makkah on Tuesday, the eighth of Dhul-Hijjah, the day of Tarwiyah. When my Messenger arrives, complete your work and be diligent, for I will come to you in those days, if Allah wills. Peace and mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you!
Muslim ibn Aqil wrote to him twenty-seven days before his death, and the people of Kufa wrote to him: “A hundred thousand swords are waiting for you here, so do not delay!”
Qays ibn Mushir went with the letter to Kufa, and when he reached Qadisiyya, Husayn ibn Numayr seized him and sent him to Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad. Ubaydullah said to him: “Climb the pulpit and curse the liar Husayn ibn Ali.” He stood up and said, “O people, this is Husayn ibn Ali, the best of Allah’s creation, the son of Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, and I am his Messenger to you. So answer him!”
Then he cursed Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad and his father and called upon Allah to have mercy on Ali ibn Abi Talib (A). Then Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad ordered him to be thrown from the roof of the palace. He was thrown down and torn to pieces.
It is narrated that he fell on the ground, tied up, and his bones were broken, and only a little breath remained in him. Then a man named Abdulmalik ibn Umayr Lakhmi came to him and cut his throat. He was asked about this and rebuked, but he said, “I wanted him not to suffer.”
Ibn Shahr-Ashub reported in Manaqib:
When he reached Hajiz in Batn ar-Rumma, he sent Qays ibn Mushir Saydawi to the people of Kufa that he had informed them of his arrival. Husayn ibn Numayr seized him in Qadisiyya and sent him to Ibn Ziyad. Ibn Ziyad said to him: “Climb the palace and curse the liar, the son of a liar.” So he rose, glorified Allah, blessed the Messenger and his Family, and cursed Ziyad and his son. Then he was thrown from the roof of the palace and died.
These are the most important reports about this event. As we have already said, there are serious contradictions in the sources. What can be reliably gleaned from these reports is that the Imam (A) sent his messenger to Kufa named Kays ibn Muskhir (in other versions his name is read as Kays ibn Musakhkhir and Kays ibn Musakhhar). This messenger was supposed to deliver a certain letter, but both the content of this letter and its addressee are the subject of discrepancies.
As for the addressees of this letter, the sources name Muslim ibn Aqil, “the inhabitants of Kufa”, “brothers from among the believers and Muslims”, “the noble inhabitants of Kufa”. Ibn Asam is the only source who mentions the names of the addressees of the letter.
There are also discrepancies regarding the text of the letter. Some sources do not mention what was written in it at all. Ibn Sa’d, the oldest of them, limits himself to reporting that Imam Husayn (A) “sent Kays ibn Mushir Asadi to Muslim ibn Aqil before he learned of his murder.” Perhaps the content of the letter was unclear to him, and therefore he did not cite it.
A number of sources report, as we have seen, that the Imam (A) thanked the people of Kufa in the letter for their desire to help him and informed them that he would soon come to them.
Finally, Ibn Asam is the only author who has cited the long text of this letter, which is completely different from the others. In it, the Imam (A) cites a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (S) about an impious ruler, then rebukes the Umayyads, reminds the Kufa people of their oath and says that they are ready to break it. His contemporary Tabari, as we have seen, also gives exactly the same text, but not in the form of a letter, but in the form of a sermon that the Imam (A) read before his companions and the companions of Khurr when he cut off his path, that is, much later. Ibn Asam gives this text in the form of mursal, that is, without isnad, and Tabari refers to Abu Mikhnaf.
So, we have here at least two completely different versions of this letter. Let’s look at each separately. In the first version, the Imam (A) expresses his approval of the Kufians and says (if we take the transmission of Baladuri): “I received a letter from Muslim ibn Aqil, in which he informs about your good intentions, your unification in supporting us and defending our rights. May Allah reward you for this with the greatest reward! So gather your affairs and be diligent, for I will come to you in a few days, if Allah wills. Peace be upon you!”
Firstly, as we have said, it is not clear to whom these words are addressed: to all the inhabitants of Kufa or only to the believers among them, devoted to the Imam (A) and ready to support him.
Secondly, if they are addressed to all the Kufa people, then in no case can they be taken as an expression of the goals and intentions of the Imam (A) himself. Rather, the Imam (A) is proceeding here from the external description of the situation of the people of Kufa, mentioned in the letter of Muslim ibn Aqil, before their apostasy and betrayal. That is: if you really, as you claim, are ready to support us and defend our rights, then may Allah reward you for this with the best reward.
Thus, these words do not constitute recognition and acceptance by the people of Kufa or an affirmation of the Imam’s (A) belief in their sincerity. For, as we have already seen in the previous cycle, the Imam (A) was well aware of their betrayal and that they would not support him, saying: “These are the letters of the people of Kufa to me, but I see them as nothing but my murderers, and this will be so.” And he said, as Tabari reported in “Dala’ilu l-Imamah”: “I know with complete certainty that there (in Iraq) is the place of my murder and the place of the murder of my companions, of whom no one will remain alive except my son Ali.” Also in the “Irshad” of Mufid we read his words: “By Allah, they call me only to tear this,” and he pointed to his heart, “from my chest.” So, if the Kufis put forward a set of enthusiastic slogans, it does not mean that the Imam (peace be upon him) accepted them and believed in them – even if he did not reject them outwardly.
Furthermore, in this letter we do not find any calls from the Imam (A) to the Kufis to rebel, seize power or anything like that. He only orders them to “gather their affairs and be diligent” – and wait for his arrival. The original expression used is: fakmishu amrakum – literally: “gather your affairs”, “hide your affairs”. That is, the Imam (A) calls them to collect themselves, conceal and be careful – provided that they want to help him at all, as they say (let us repeat again that the Imam proceeds from the external call of the Kufis, that is, their declared intentions, before their betrayal, although, of course, he knew in advance about their impending betrayal and that they did not intend to help him – except for a small number of them).
The command to keep secret indicates that the Imam (A) did not want them to take any action that might provoke the ruler, such as attacking the authorities, shedding blood, or other such things that some imagine, daring to attribute this to the Commander of Martyrs (A) without any reason or evidence. For from the point of view of those who interpret his movement as a rebellion, the Imam (A) should have mobilized the Kufaites, inciting them to attack the authorities and the governor of Yazid in Kufa, in order to expel him and seize the resources to exercise the rule by the time the Imam (A) himself reaches them. If they do this, then the desired goal will be achieved. And if they retreat, then their ill-intentions will be exposed, and they will spare him the need to risk falling into the millstones of death. This is precisely what some of his envious people advised him to do. The fact that no such calls were made by him is in itself evidence that the movement of Imam Hussein (A) had goals different from those imagined by the supporters of the “rebellion” version.
We should also reflect on the fact that the letter of the Imam (A) did not contain any promises to the people of Kufa, despite all the slogans that they themselves put forward. We do not see anything in this letter that would inspire them, promise them victory or paint a bright future full of happiness and prosperity, the ability to expel enemies, overthrow rulers, eradicate injustice, destroy tyrants… But any leader of an uprising puts forward exactly such slogans and promises, because they maintain the spirit of inspiration and allow the crowd to be directed in the direction desired by the leaders.
This was what concerned the people of Kufa… As for the companions of the Imam (A) and his relatives, on the day of his departure from Mecca he had already directly informed them that he and all who would be with him would die: “The battlefield on which I will die has been chosen for me, and now I seem to see my body between Nawawis and Karbala, torn to pieces by the wolves of the desert, who will fill their empty bellies with me. There is no escape from the prescribed lot!.. He who is ready to sacrifice himself for us and meet Allah (that is, die a martyr), let him set out on his journey: I will leave in the morning, if Allah wills.”
So what kind of leader of the uprising from the very beginning declares to his supporters that he will die, and all of them will die too?!
We will analyze the second version of the letter, which Ibn Asam and Tabari cite, in the next part, and we would like to finish this one by mentioning the fate of Ambassador Hussein (A).
The sources agree that the martyred hero Qays ibn Mushir Saidawi was captured on the way and sent to the bastard Ibn Ziyad, the Umayyad governor of Iraq and Kufa, their most vile and bloodthirsty servant. Qays was captured by Husayn ibn Numeir, who was sent among the detachments controlling the wastelands and approaches to Kufa. The sources do not convey what happened to the letter, and only Ibn Asam reports that Qays tore it up so that it would not fall into enemy hands, and that the letter was delivered to Ibn Ziyad in a torn state.
Qays ibn Mushir was captured in Qadisiyya, a place not far from Kufa. He undoubtedly knew the area and knew the secret paths to reach his destination, but the enemy still discovered him. This is evidence of the extraordinary security measures taken by Ibn Ziyad, so that detachments of his men roamed all the roads and even the desert.
For many days the ambassador of Husayn (A) wandered in the barren desert, parched by the sun, clinging with his hard and icy spirit to the light of the Throne of Allah that had sent him… The flames of the sand scorched his skin, hunger tore at his insides, and now he fell into the clutches of ferocious predators, tormented by hatred and malice…
How was he led from the place where he was captured to Kufa? Was he shackled? Was he given anything to drink? Or did he become an accomplice of Husayn (A) and the Family of Husayn (A) in thirst? What harm was done to him by delivering him to the slave of the Umayyad monkeys, Ibn Ziyad? The sources do not provide an answer to these questions.
In the palace, Ibn Ziyad interrogated this ambassador of Husayn (A), and we see that Qays answered him honestly and frankly, without ambiguity, despite his threats. He said that he tore up the letter so that Ibn Ziyad would not know about it, and he refused to give up the people to whom it was sent. Ibn Asam in his report states that he allegedly called Husayn (A) “the Commander of the Faithful”, but we refuse to believe that such a devoted Shiite did not know about the exclusive application of this title to the Commander of the Faithful Ali (A). Obviously, we are dealing here with another invention or confusion of Sunni historians.
When the accursed Ibn Ziyad saw Qays’s courage and steadfastness, he became furious and offered him a choice: either death or a curse on Husayn (A) and the father of Husayn (A). A choice that suits the tyrant’s arrogance and cruelty is a choice without choice, since it gives him no guarantee of safety even if he does what he is told.
The envoy of Husayn (A) knew that his death was predetermined. He knew that these were his last moments, and therefore he must release the final arrow from his bow in order to hit the slave of the Umayyad monkeys. Ibn Ziyad ordered him to go up to the roof of the palace (or to the minbar of the mosque, according to other reports) and curse the Lords of creation, the purest of the pure… What was the composure, fortitude and courage of this man, that he, surrounded on all sides by beasts of prey, seeing his inevitable end, throws the gauntlet right in their faces: he goes up where he is told and curses the enemies of Husayn (A), and blesses Husayn (A) and his Family! Thus, this knightly heart, filled with devotion, turns a threat into an opportunity for a feat.
An ordinary person, when faced with the threat of death, is prone to be confused and terrified, weak and stupefied. His hands will tremble, his tongue will slur, his feet will not be able to stand on the ground… However, this faithful knight was so lost in love for his Lord (A), the Imam of the time, that we see him majestic, proud, sublime – and meek, with a pacified soul, a calm heart, thirsting for martyrdom. The last thing he said were words about Husayn (A), blessings on Husayn (A). Not a call to the people of Kufa to rise up, spoken from the roof of the palace or the minbar, but words of love for the Imam of his time (A). And this was the slogan, the goal, the motto of all the companions of Husayn (A), which they all proclaimed. He was thrown from the heights of the palace while he was still alive. He was thrown down, tied up… He saw the people gathered in the courtyard of the palace… He saw death with his own eyes… This ambassador of Husayn (A) was awarded a martyr’s death in such a terrible way, but by the grace of the Almighty he was granted the most wonderful success, because he shared the fate and death of another ambassador of Husayn, his cousin, Muslim ibn Aqil, whose body was also thrown down from the roof of the palace, this same palace… And he was given an even greater success, because he also shared the fate of his master Husayn ibn Ali (A), when his bones were crushed, just as the bones of the Imam (A) were crushed, when the hooves of horses passed over his body… And in the end, his throat was cut, as was done with the Commander of Martyrs (A)…
And what greater praise can there be for this martyr who died in the vanguard of Karbala, in the forefront Ashura troops, than the weeping, tears and grief of the Imam (A) for him? As it is conveyed in the sources that we have read… The Imam (A) wept for him and quoted the verse of the Quran: “And of the believers are some who are truthful in what they have made a covenant with Allah, and of them are some who have completed their term, and of them are some who are still waiting and have made no change” (33:23).
This martyr was honored with the tears of one who made the entire universe weep… And this is the verse that the oppressed Imam (A) would often recite in the following days, after each martyr of Karbala… Having quoted it, the Imam (A) announced that death awaited them far away, in Karbala. These righteous people fulfilled their vows and did not change their oaths in the least. They went forward in the Ashura caravan, in the “ship of salvation”, with a clear understanding of their purpose, following the example of the righteous, the prophets and the sons of the prophets. They fulfilled their duty and met death with joy. They rejoice for those who will come after them…
And those who wait for death, which is rapidly approaching them, remain. The caravan of martyrs remains, heading for the Promised Land, where the enemy awaits them, prepared with their swords and spears in order to quench their thirst with blood and severed heads.
By reciting this verse, the Imam (A) spoke of his intention and the intentions of those stars of the caravan that were with him, who are steadfast and unchanging in their places. In this sad recitation, the intentions of the wicked were also revealed, who decided to kill the beloved Prophet, and who began to implement their decision.
The one who died was killed by the enemy, and the one who waits – awaits the attack of the enemy. The very reading of this verse expresses the position of the Imam, “gharibu l-ghuraba”, “the solitary of the solitary”. He was waiting for death without rushing towards it. He was waiting for an attack on himself without attacking anyone. He was in a defensive position, and the enemy was planning an attack while he was waiting.
The Imam wept, recited a verse of the Quran and made supplication for the deceased and for all those who had passed away before him. They are one caravan and one party, and their final destination is the same. “O Allah, grant us and Your Shiites a noble place near You and unite us with them in the abode of Your mercy. Indeed, You are Able to do all things!” This dua has the same meaning as the verse quoted by the Imam (A): they are also on a journey, and soon the enemy will attack them, and they will cross the bridge of death to the great Victory and honorable reward, to the treasure of Paradise prepared for them. The verse and the supplication are as powerful as his words, peace be upon him: “As if this world had never existed and the Hereafter had never ceased”…
