THE FESTIVALS OF THE NEW YEAR

 

I seek Allah’s protection against Satan the Accursed 

In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful 

 

All praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds; and all blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and his Immaculate Household. 

 

Our Christian brethren, and many others, celebrate the Christ's birth and the New Year's days with vociferous jollifications and exuberant mirth that include the commitment of many acts of disobedience to Almighty Allah as well as grand sins and frantic acts that cannot be justified by the sensible people. None has ever pondered over such acts to judge whether they are acceptable expressions of these occasions or not; and none has ever thought about the actual feelings that one should practice on such days that are connected to one of the most elevated human beings---the magnanimous Prophet, the great Messenger and one of the Ulu’l-Azm (the Messengers of inflexible purpose) whose examples has been prescribed by Almighty Allah to our holy Prophet, Muhammad, to follow. Almighty Allah says: “Therefore patiently persevere, as did (all) messengers of inflexible purpose. 46:35” 

 

MATTERS WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION 

 

On this account, the following points must be considered: All the religious codes of law have decided penalties for the practice of acts of disobedience and the commitment of sins since they are at all times unacceptable and disapproved by the rational. Unquestionably, it is terribly detestable to recompense the All-benefactor Lord, Who has conferred upon creatures with countless graces,   with acts of disobedience to Him. It is sufficient, for feeling the immeasurable values of Almighty Allah’s graces, to imagine the absence of only one of them, such as health or security. In a style of reproach and admonition, Almighty Allah says: “Is there any Reward for Good other than Good? Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny? 55/60-61” 

 

What is expected from every rational being is to thank Almighty Allah for His graces by means of practicing acts of obedience to Him and avoiding acts of disobedience. The first gain of thanking Almighty Allah is the perpetuity and increase of His graces since ‘Graces are preserved as long as they are thanked.’ In this respect, Almighty Allah says: “If ye are grateful, I will add more (favors) unto you. 14/7” The new year’s day must thus be a day of thanksgiving to Almighty Allah Who, out of His favor, has extended the age of the celebrators to witness that day and live a new year, which stands for an additional opportunity to practice acts of obedience and seeking nearness to Him. Death could grasp their souls in the last year and thus they would not be given an opportunity to supply themselves with righteous deeds. 

 

It is said that one’s ‘Day of Judgment’ begins with one’s death. This is because by death one’s opportunity to do righteous deed is stopped and one’s record of deeds is sealed. In this respect, the Holy Quran says: “This Our Record speaks about you with truth: For We were wont to put on Record all that ye did. 45/29” Thus, the reward of good must never be disobedience and rebellion. Regarding the ungrateful, the Holy Quran says: “Hast thou not turned thy vision to those who have changed the favor of Allah into blasphemy and caused their people to descend to the House of Perdition into Hell? They will burn therein; an evil place to stay in. 14/29” 

 

The acts of disobedience that are committed at the Christmas Eve are very much more than those committed at any other night. Further, these acts are prepared many days before that occasion so firmly and satanically that reason absents itself completely leaving the celebrators captured by their caprices and passions and entrapped by the devils of humankind and Jinn.

 

THE TRUE MANNER OF OUR FEELINGS

 

On receiving the new years, our feelings must be a mixture of two trends: 

 

(1) We must feel apprehensive for the judgment of Almighty Allah on our acts of the past year whose pleasures have gone away and whose punishment and responsibilities only remain although we have forgotten them and forgotten that Almighty Allah has taken an account of them and shall bring us to account for all of our deeds on the unavoidable Day. 

 

(2) We must also feel hope and favorable expectation that Almighty Allah will include us with His graces and lead us to success by making the new year better for us than the past one through taking us away from acts of disobedience to Him and bringing us nearer to acts of obedience to Him. In this manner, a Hadith reads: “One who makes no progress from one day to the next is at a loss. One whose last day is the best is accursed.” A year represents a record in which all the deeds are recorded; and at the last night of that year, that record is rolled up and sealed until it will be again opened on the Judgment Day where one will be called to account for all the contents of one’s record. In this respect, the Holy Quran reads: “And the Book (of Deeds) will be placed (before you); and thou wilt see the sinful in great terror because of what is (recorded) therein; they will say, ‘Ah! Woe to us! What a Book is this! It leaves out nothing small or great, but takes account thereof!’ They will find all that they did placed before them: and not one will thy Lord treat with injustice. 18/49” Similarly, a new white record will be opened for recording the deeds of the new year. Hence, what will this poor man fill in that record? Will he repeat the same conducts of the last year or will he recover his sense and learn lessons from the past years’ examples? As a matter of fact, each and every second or minute that is added to man’s life must be considered as additional opportunity to supply oneself with righteous deeds, for one’s age is his capital that he can either invest in acts of obedience to Almighty Allah to attain His pleasure as well as the elevated positions in the gardens of Paradise and the company of the most righteous people or spend in practicing acts of disobedience to Him causing himself to suffer the chastisement of Hell. This opportunity is thus similar to the second chance that is given to a failing student to improve his standard and pass the exams. It is thus illogic for such a student to repeat the same negligence while he knows for sure that this will cause him failure. 

 

On this occasion, I would like to present the following scene of the Resurrection Day so as to act as preacher for you and me. The Holy Quran depicts a divine court where the guilty-those who have spent their lifetimes with practicing acts of disobedience and sins, stand before the witnesses, their very organs which they have used in committing such acts of disobedience so that they will not be able to deny. Then, the divine judgment will be issued: “At length, when they reach the (Fire), their hearing, their sight and their skins will bear witness against them, as to (all) their deeds. They will say to their skins: ‘Why bear ye witness against us?’ They will say: ‘Allah hath given us speech, (He) Who giveth speech to everything: He created you for the first time, and unto Him were ye to return. Ye did not seek to hide yourselves, lest your hearing, your sight and your skins should bear witness against you! But ye did think that Allah knew not many of the things that ye used to do. But this thought of yours which ye did entertain concerning your Lord, hath brought you to destruction, and (now) have ye become of those utterly lost ! 

If, then, they have patience. the Fire will be a home for them! And if they beg to be received into favor, into favor will they not (then) be received. And We have destined for them intimate companions (of like nature), who made alluring to them what was before them and behind them; and the sentence among the previous generations of Jinn and men, who have passed away, is proved against them; for they are utterly lost. 41/20-25” 

 

These are the feelings that we must experience at the new year’s night; opposite to the deeds of those deviants who sink in the oceans of profligacy and are driven by the devils of humankind and jinn to the punishment of Hellfire. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SELF-SCRUTINY IS REQUIRED EVERY NIGHT

 

It is necessary to scrutinize ourselves every night    when we are alone with our Lord so that we will recall all the deeds that we did that day; hence, if we find a righteous deed, we should pray to Almighty Allah to lead us to more such deeds, to accept them from us and to double our rewards; and if we find among them an evildoing, we must them seek His forgiveness and promise not to do it ever again. If such an evildoing is related to the usurpation or violation of others’ rights, we must pray to Him to help us regain these rights to their owners. Similarly, if we notice any negligence, we must pray to Him to help us and lead us to success. In this respect, Imam al-Kazhim says, “Whoever does not evaluate what his soul has done each day is not our follower. He should ask God for an increase in his good deeds, and should repent and ask for God's forgiveness if he has done any bad deeds.”     The Holy Prophet is reported to have said: “Oh Abu-Dharr! Before they scrutinize your account of deeds on the Judgment Day, do your own self-auditing in this world because today’s review is easier than tomorrow's auditing on the Judgment Day, try to attain self-purification in this world instead of being cleaned on the Judgment Day when the deeds will be presented to Almighty God and even the smallest deeds will not be hidden from him. O Abu-Dharrl One never acquires piety unless he self-scrutinize his own deeds-a scrutiny much more severe than the auditing of accounts between two business associates. A man must ponder seriously as through what means he has acquired his means of living-lawfully or forbidden. O Abu-Dharr! Whoever does not respect the Divine limitations for earning a living, Almighty God too will not have slight hesitation in dispatching him inside Hellfire through either passage.”    Imam al-Sadiq is also reported as saying, “Every new day that comes upon man says to him: I am a new day and I will witness you. Hence, you should say only good wording and do only good deeds so that I will testify for your good on the Day of Resurrection, for you will not see me ever again.”    

 

In the same way as journalists issue a general file at the end of each year including the most important events of that year, self-scrutiny will be more comprehensive if it is made at the end of a year to include all the acts. 

 

PREACHMENT IS NOT FOR THE MUSLIMS ONLY 

The aforesaid preachment is not for the Muslims only; rather our Christian brethren and the others are also included. In this respect, Almighty Allah, the Holy Prophet and Imam Ali have instructed us to look at human beings with eyes of mercy and sympathy and work for achieving goodness for everyone. The Holy Quran hence reads: “We sent thee not but as a Mercy for all creatures. 21/ 107” As a result, the blessing of the Holy Prophet is so all-inclusive that it takes in all human beings. Imam Ali, instructing Malik al-Ashtar-when he appointed him as the governor of Egypt-to treat all the subjects, regardless of their beliefs, equally, says: “Remember that the citizens of the state are of two categories. They are either your brethren in religion or your brethren in kind.” All the people will be equally raised on the Resurrection Day for judgment for their deeds. The Holy Quran reads: “Not one of you but will pass over it: this is, with thy Lord, a Decree which must be accomplished. But We shall save those who guarded against evil, and We shall leave the wrong-doers therein, humbled to their knees. 19/72” Indeed, we seek for the good of all human beings while Satan, in the word of the Holy Quran, ‘wish to lead them astray far away from the right. 4/60’ Unfortunately, they have been deceived by their rabbis and monks who have made their acts of disobedience to Almighty Allah seem alluring to them, allowed them to do forbidden acts, prevented them from practicing lawful things, distorted the law of Allah and then made them believe in false beliefs, such as the ransom of the Christ and the indulgences that have encouraged them to break the religious instructions. Yet, Almighty Allah has warned them against being obedient to such rabbis and monks who have taken the religion as a means for worldly earnings: “O ye who believe! There are indeed many among the priests and anchorites who in falsehood devour the substance of men and hinder them from the way of Allah. 9/34” To obey such men is polytheism: “They take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords in derogation of Allah. 9/ 31” 

 

Explaining this holy verse, Imam al-Sadiq says: “Verily, those priests and anchorites did not call the people to worship them in person. Had they done so, the people would not have responded. Yet, they allowed them to practice the forbidden things and prohibited them against lawful things; therefore, the people worshipped them     from directions that they did not perceive.”   

i believe that every pure-hearted and sincere Christian knows for sure that most of the acts that the monks have overlooked are in fact acts of disobedience to Almighty Allah. In this respect. our mentor, Sayyid al-Sadr, in some of his speeches, used to put the following questions: “Did Prophet Jesus drink intoxicants. commit adultery or shed blood of people in favor of his personal interests or egoism? Did Virgin Mary throw herself in the arms of men or did she walk in the midst of them dissolute and displaying her charms? A true Christian must thus imitate such pure and great personalities; and if he/she seeks salvation through trying to find an ideal constitution of the noble characters that were carried by those great personalities, he/she will not find it anywhere other than Islam.” 

 

WHAT IS THE TRUTH CONCEALED BY THE WESTERNS? 

 

It is noteworthy that the Westerns have had to believe in a truth that, yet, they have concealed in order to maintain their dignity. It has never been proven that the Gregorian calendar begins with the year in which Prophet Jesus was born. In other world, none can ever prove that the Christ was born 2003 years ago.    Having rested upon miscellaneous data, a Syrian monk, named Dionysius Exiguus,    invented the Christian calendar in 532 since the Bible has not defined any date as the time of the birth of Prophet Jesus. Only 250 years later. Dionysius‘s idea was accepted. Unfortunately, Dionysius was proven as having depended upon mistaken computations in this idea. Some experts have argued that Prophet Jesus was born four years after that date; others have said that it was seventeen years and so on. Moreover, others have believed that even the day and month defined for the birth of Prophet Jesus were. Too, inaccurate. 

 

TWO PERSONS ARE CALLED THE MESSIAH! 

 

Due to the contradictory historical data, some historians have argued the existence of two men carrying the name of the Messiah! One was actually crucified and the other was not. Yet, the period between the two was more than five centuries. They have also argued that the Christian calendar is not applicable to any one of the two, since the first, the non-crucified, lived 250 years before the defined date and his life lasted for about sixty years, while the other, the crucified, lived more than 290 years after the defined date and his life lasted for 33 years.    About the exegesis of the holy verse, “And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Mariam, the messenger of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so, 4/157” Allamah al-Tabataba’i, in aI-Mizan, says: “Some historians have argued that all the authentic stories that were related to Prophet Jesus, as well as all the incidents that were associated to his Mission and the stories of the rulers and disciples that lived in his time-all these indicate the existence of two men named the Messiah who were separated by a period of more than 500 years. The older one was the right and he was not killed, while the second was untrue and therefore he was crucified. Accordingly, the likening mentioned in the Holy Quran is related to the likening of the Christ, Jesus son of Mary, to the crucified one.”    

 

It is now obvious that the Christian calendar is definitely inaccurate and neither the year nor the month nor the day on which the Christ was born according to the Christian calendar has been correct. Besides the distribution of days and nights, in the Christian calendar, is also baseless. On the other hand, the Muslim computation of the days and nights is directly related to clear natural phenomena. Finally, the Christians have numerous calendars that are opposite to each other, while there is only one calendar unanimously adopted by all the Muslims and such unanimity was because the calendar was decided in an earlier time of the history of Islam; precisely, during the reign of the second caliph. 

 

VANISHING IN THE LEADER’S PERSONALITY 

 

The connection of the Christian calendar to the birth of Prophet Jesus indicates an idea that the Muslim leaders have tried to remove from the mentalities; this is the idea of the followers’ vanishing in the leader’s personality, not principles and mission. On the contrary, the connection must be with the principles and beliefs carried by the leader. Any connection to the personality of a leader, no matter how great he be, will definitely instigate many negative consequences and the problem will be greater when such a leader is not one of the holy Infallibles. Deification is one of the mistakes that are produced by the hallowing of the individuals. Such deification is indeed serious straying that creates deviation and loss since it causes the loss of the mission and the concentration on the leader’s person. From this cause, the Holy Prophet trained his followers not to commit this mistake. It has been narrated that a man was overwhelmed by the solemnity of the Holy Prophet when he stood before him for the first time. Having noticed this, the Holy Prophet said to him, "Take it easy! I am no more than a son of a woman who used to eat meat in Makkah.''  

 

Imam Ali is also reported to have said: "The right cannot be recognized by men. If you recognize the right, you will recognize its people." 

 

Founding this reality, the Holy Quran reads: "But it has already been revealed to thee, as it was to those before thee, If thou wert to join gods with Allah, truly fruitless will be thy work in life, and thou wilt surely be in the ranks of those who lose all spiritual good.' 39/65" "And if the messenger were to invent any sayings in Our name, We should certainly seize him by his right hand, and We should certainly then cut off the artery of his heart. 69/44-46" Thus, the followers of the Holy Prophet are called Muslims, not Muhammadans. Similarly, the Holy Quran has called the followers of the Christ as 'Nasranis' not Christians. 

 

START OF THE ISLAMIC HISTORY 

 

The Holy Prophet's companions were about to commit the same mistake of the Christians when some of them suggested to choose the year of the Holy Prophet's birth as the beginning of their calendar. Yet, Imam Ali intruded and convinced them to choose the year of his emigration (Hegira) instead. 

 

CONNECTION IS NOT TO THE PERSON OF THE HOLY PROPHET: RATHER TO ISLAM 

 

The day of the Holy Prophet's emigration is the actual start of the Islamic history and the actual triumph of Islam when a perfect differentiation was made between the party of the right and the party of the wrong, which is a significant stipulation for the achievement of victory. On choosing the day of the Holy Prophet's emigration, Imam Ali actually connected the Muslims with their beliefs and principles and protected them from committing the mistake of deifying individuals.

 

THE GHADIR DAY; THE GREATEST FESTIVITY 

 

The Ghadir Day is thus regarded as the greatest festivity in Islam because it represented the perfection of the Holy Prophet's Mission. It was the day on which the leadership of the Muslim community moved from the personal leadership, namely the Holy Prophet, to the qualitative leadership, i.e. every qualified and authorized person who can best represent the conveyor of the Mission, keep its perpetuity and protect it from deviation. This mission could be effaced if it was connected to a definite person by whose end, the mission would be ended. This idea is so significant that everybody must take in consideration.   

 

The Muslims orators-may Almighty Allah reward them properly and confer upon them with His support-u commemorate the religious occasions and the days of the holy Infallibles and whomsoever is related to them, such as their progenies and companion. They are thus holding in honor the symbols of Allah: "And whoever holds in honor the symbols of h, such (honor) should come truly from piety of heart. 22/32" Nevertheless, I noticed that they have completely neglected the anniversary of the birth of Prophet Jesus despite the fact that there are numerous reasons encouraging the commemoration of this day: 

 

1) Prophet Jesus is one of the greatest messengers of Allah, the Ulu'L-Azm (the Messengers of inflexible purpose) and the most honorable beings. He is a Prophet, Messenger, infallible, the conveyor of a magnificent Divine Miss and the founder of a great nation. As is in the Holy Quran, Almighty Allah has ascribed to him the most praiseworthy and respectable qualities: "Behold! The angels said: 'O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah. He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity and he shall be (of the company) of the righteous. 3/46"" "And Allah will teach him the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel. 3/48" "We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear Signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. 2/87" "And He hath made me blessed wherever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live. He hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable. So ri peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life again. 19/31-33" 

 

2) The birthday of Prophet Jesus-that comprised divine miracles and secret-is in reality one of the 'Days of Allah' of which the Holy Prophet was ordered to remind the humanity. The Holy Quran says: "And teach them to remember the Days of Allah. 14/5" Also, the Holy Quran has named other divine miracles of Prophet Jesus, such as restoring the dead to life, healing those born blind and the lepers, breathing spirits into inanimate beings and sending down a table of food from the heavens. This very miracle is acting as a slap in the face of materialism in which those who claimed following Prophet Jesus have believed denying anything beyond materiality.    

 

 

 

 

SERMONS AND MAXIMS IN THE LIFETIME OF THE CHRIST 

 

3) Throughout his blessed lifetime, Prophet Jesus did not stop giving sermons, words of wisdom, examples and maxims that refresh the dead hearts, purify the infected souls and bestow upon humanity with real pleasure and peace. The holy Imams, honestly and faithfully, have conveyed to us the words and lessons of Prophet Jesus. In this respect, he once asked his Disciples to settle his need. 'Consider your need as settled, Spirit of Allah! they answered. He therefore stood up and washed their feet. They commented, “Spirit of Allah! It is we who should have done so instead of you.” He instructed, “Scholars must be the worthiest of serving people. I have behaved so modestly in order that you will behave modestly with people in the same way as I have done. It is modesty, not pride, that constructs wisdom. Similarly, plants grow in plains, not on mountains.”    Our Imams have also narrated to us the story of Prophet Jesus with a self-conceited man. During the Christ’s wandering in the lands, a man accompanied him. When they reached a river, Prophet Jesus said bismillah (in the Name of Allah) with such an excellent conviction that he could walk on the water surface accompanied by that man. Such having been the case, the man felt self-conceited and noticed that nothing would make him different for Prophet Jesus. As immediately as he felt so, his feet sank in water. Yet, Prophet Jesus took him out and instructed, “As you have considered yourself as enjoying a standing that Almighty Allah has not chosen for you, He disliked your self-conceitedness and caused you to sink in water. You must thus repent to Almighty Allah.” Commenting on this incident, Imam al-Sadiq said, “When the man repented to Almighty Allah sincerely, he regained his standing with Him. You thus should fear Allah and avoid envying each other.”    Prophet Jesus provided excellent examples on the worthlessness, transience and deceit of the worldly pleasures. Describing the asceticism of Prophet Jesus, Imam Ali says: “If you desire I will tell you about Jesus son of Mary. He used a stone for his pillow, put on coarse clothes and ate rough food. His condiment was hunger. His lamp at night was the moon. His shade during the winter was just the expanse of earth eastward and westward. His fruits and flowers were only what grows from the earth for the cattle. He had no wife to allure him, nor any son to give grief, nor wealth to deviate (his attention). nor greed to disgrace him. His two feet were his conveyance and his two hands his servant."   

 

4) Prophet Jesus was one of the Prophets who foretold about the advent of Prophet Muhammad-peace be upon him and his Household-and put his followers under the obligation of following him. In this respect, the Holy Quran reads: "And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: ‘O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah sent to you, confirming the Law which came before me, and giving Glad Tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.” But when he came to them with Clear Signs, they said, ‘this is evident sorcery!’ 61/6” 

 

 

THE CHRIST; THE SUPPORTER OF IMAM AL-MAHDI 

 

5) We, the Imamiyyah Shiah, have an additional relation with Prophet Jesus for his being the supporter whom Almighty Allah has saved for the Promised Day and a significant element in the movement of Imam al-Mahdi. On this account, to mention Prophet Jesus is a part of our fateful issue-the blessed Advent of Imam al-Mahdi. Both Sunni and Shiite reference books of Hadith have predicted the advent of Prophet Jesus in the last of time. In this respect, al-Bukhari has recorded on the authority of Abu-Hurayrah that the Holy Prophet said: “How would it be like when the son of Mary will come down to you and your Imam is yours?”     Shaykh al-Saduq, in ikmal aI-Din, has narrated that Imam al-Baqir said: “Our (i.e. the Ahl al-Bayt) al-Qa’im will be supported by fear. The Spirit of Allah, Jesus son of Mary, shall come down and follow him in (congregational) prayers”  

The relation of Prophet Jesus to the Advent of Imam al-Mahdi is based upon a number of grounds: 

 

a) Prophet Jesus is still alive. He was never killed or crucified; rather Almighty Allah raised him to the heavens where he is now. He will stay alive until he will witness the day of the Advent of Imam al-Mahdi. His long life is thus acting as argument against those who denied the occultation and the long life of Imam al-Mahdi. 

 

b) The Christian nations that form a big proportion of human race on the earth will submit and surrender to Imam al-Mahdi. This will occur when Prophet Jesus will prove his personality to them. Also, he will prove to them the distortion of the current versions of the Bible to which they are adhering through showing them the genuine Book. He will also prove to them that the Kingdom of Allah that he himself predicted will have actually come true as represented by the worldwide State of Justice. For this reason, all the Christians who will live in the age of the Advent will believe in him. This fact has been predicted in the Holy Quran: “And there is none of the Ahl al-Kitab (People of the Book) but must believe in him before his death. 4/159” 

 

c) As a result of such general belief in Prophet Jesus who corresponds to the truth and right, international conquest will be achieved without fighting. On previous occasions, I have discussed in details that the intellectual aspect in the international conquest of Imam al-Mahdi will be greatly more expansive than the military.    At the present time, the prospects of such intellectual aspect can he obviously witnessed. The modem means of communications have given the whole humanity the opportunity to be acquainted with Islam and its greatness so easily. 

 

(1) Prophet Jesus will be given the leadership of one or more aspects of the International State. In plain words, he will hold a position similar to the current prime ministry or will be the ruler of a big area on the earth. Yet, the supreme leadership will be in the hand of Imam al-Mahdi although he is not a Prophet while Prophet Jesus is. More details in this respect can be seen in Tarikh Ma Ba’d al-Zhhour 605 by our mentor, Sayyid al-Sadr. 

 

 

WHY IS IT THE CHRIST; NOT ANY OTHER PROPHET ? 

 

The secret beyond choosing Prophet Jesus, not any other Prophet, for undertaking this mission reveals that the major confrontation of Imam al-Mahdi will be against the Westerns who claim professing Prophet Jesus whose advent and proceeding after Imam al-Mahdi will act as arguments against the Western and will deprive them of any legality in their conflict against the Imam. Only then will they succumb to him. As a matter of fact, this submission indicates that the Christians enjoy a definite amount of belief due to which they will follow the right as soon as they become convinced of it. On the other hand, the Jews, who will instigate the Western countries by calling them to stop against Imam al-Mahdi, are in fact mutinous against and disobedient to their Prophet. Hence, it would be useless if their Prophet was chosen to be present in the Advent of Imam al-Mahdi. According to predictions, the Jews in the age of the Advent will have full control over the fates and affairs of many Christian countries. Such control can be obviously noticed through the influence of the Jewish lobby on the United States political resolutions. Demonstrating the difference between the Jews and the Christians, the Holy Quran reads: “Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans; and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, ‘We are Christians’ because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant. And when they listen to the revelation received by the Messenger, thou wilt see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognize the truth: they pray: ‘Our Lord! We believe; write us down among the witnesses. What cause can we have not to believe in Allah and the truth which has come to us, seeing that we long for our Lord to admit us to the company of the righteous?’ And for this their prayer hath Allah rewarded them with gardens, with rivers flowing underneath, their eternal home. Such is the recompense of those who do good. But those who reject Faith and belie our Signs, they shall be companions of Hellfire. 5/82-86” 

 

I believe that any compassionate Christian will react with these holy verses in the same way as the Christian king of Abyssinia, ancient Ethiopia, reacted when the foremost fugitive Muslims, led by Ja’far ibn Abi-Talib, sought refuge in his kingdom after they had been harshly tortured in their homeland. After he had listened to the Surah of Maryam (No. 19) from them, the Christian king said: “I swear by God that the Christ was no more than what you have described.” He then granted them security and refuge in his kingdom.

 

EXAMPLES ON THE WESTERN ABSURDNESS

 

There are some pointless behaviors as well as they are not free from lavishness and squandering.

For example, In Italy, there is a festivity called ‘the Orange Festivity’ during which thousands of people gather in the public ways to watch a wagon, like those of the Medieval Ages, pulled by horses. Then oranges are given to the audience. In the second tour, the wagon carries the so-called ‘heroes of orange’ who begin throwing oranges at the audience who, too, throw oranges at them hindering the movement of the wagon as if they celebrate the humanitarian aspects of their culture. This is in reality serious ingratitude for the graces of Almighty Allah and very soon will the wrongdoers be defeated. 

 

In Spain too, there is an annual festivity in which bulls are set free to wander in the streets of the city until they reach the bullring. As those bulls run in the streets, thousands of people gather around them to hit them changing the streets into battlefields. This is extremely savagery.

 

In Japan too, there is a competition on eating the biggest number of sandwiches. The winner’s stomach could contain sixty-four sandwiches. Can we consider such an animality as culture? 

 

Similarly, insane behaviors, fireworks and quarrels that cannot be solved even by the police and during which many victims fall and big fortunes are wasted can be obviously witnessed in the stadiums of football. Moreover, they have invented strange competitions whose like cannot be acceptable except in the jungle law. 

 

In spite of everything, the puppets of the Westerns have mocked at the rituals of Islam for nothing other than carrying out their masters’ desires to describe the consolation ceremonies on Imam al-Husayn’s martyrdom as ugly and savage. Without doubt, if they succeed in persuading us to leave these ceremonies, their next target will be convincing us to leave the ceremonies of the ritual Hajj and so on. They therefore want us to take our religion from its enemies and to imitate them in everything. In this respect, the Holy Quran says: “Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion. Say: ‘The Guidance of Allah that is the only Guidance.’ Wert thou to follow their desires after the knowledge which hath reached thee then wouldst thou find neither Protector nor helper against Allah. 2/120” “Quite a number of the People of the Book wish they could turn you (people) back to infidelity after ye have believed from selfish envy, after the Truth hath become Manifest unto them. 2/ 109”

 

EPILOGUE 

 

Muslims should understand that Prophet Jesus is in fact their Prophet before being the Prophet of those who claim belongingness to him while he is utterly clear of their deeds and them. Prophet Jesus has not been recognized, honored or given the elevated standing of which he is worthy except in the Holy Quran and the holy words of the Immaculate Imams. Those who claim being Christians have in fact dissented from the course of Prophet Jesus in all affairs. on the Resurrection Day, the first rival of those so-called Christians will be Prophet Jesus himself. In their presence, Almighty Allah will make the following conversation: “And behold! Allah will say: ‘O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah?’ He will say: ‘Glory to Thee! Never could I say what I had no right to say. Had I said such a thing, thou wouldst indeed have known it. Thou knowest what is in my heart, Thou I know not what is in Thine. For Thou knowest in full all that is hidden. Never said I to them aught except what Thou didst command me to say, to wit, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord; and I was a witness over them whilst I dwelt amongst them; when Thou didst take me up Thou wast the Watcher over them, and Thou art a witness to all things.’ 5/117”

 

 Too far are those so-called Christians from the directions and moralities of Prophet Jesus.

 

 All praise by to Allah-the Lord of the worlds; and blessings be upon Muhammad and His Immaculate Household.