Muslim ibn Aqeel (as)

By Allamah Rasheed Turabi

وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

63:8

This verse is from the chapter ‘The Hypocrites’ in which The Qur’an manifests the essence of true Honor. The holy Qur’an declares that Honor is for Allah, His Prophet and the believers yet the hypocrites are oblivious. The idea of honor is comprehended by human being as an idea parallel to the carnal desires. The idea of honor as you may have encountered among your friends and among nations as nothing more than authority, wealth, the false pomp and the transient majesty.

But the idea Qur’an has manifested exclaiming to the believers to deliberate and comprehend on the idea that the true honor is only for Allah and it is evident in the verse 37:180 سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ Glory to thy Lord, the Lord of Honor and Power! (He is free) from what they ascribe (to Him)!, honor is also for the messenger who experience starvation, who is ostracized, expelled from place to place, forced to migrate, who neither have sufficient enough food to feed himself and feed others nor sufficient enough cloths to cloth himself and others. But Quran declares that honor is for him. Honor is also for the believers – who are unattached to the world,, possess no material wealth, burdened with tribulations of destitution and poverty yet Quran confirms that honor is for them!

The idea of honor in Quran is different from the idea of honor in the minds of human being and if a Muslim nation aims to abide by Quran then it must understand that honor is not inherent with rulers and the monarchs and their armies The treasures and the material wealth or the transient majesties is not honor. Honor is there when a servant of Allah bows his forehead in obeisance on a piece of dust proclaiming at the abode of the absolute essential:

رضاً بقضائك وتسليماً لي أمرك

I have subdued my will to your pleasure; I am ready to submit to your command. This is the essence of honor and this is the true meaning of honor in Quran. Honor is eternal and perpetual. The honor seizes to exist as the empire comes to end, the honor dissipates as the treasure exhausts but the latent dominion of the believer over the hearts & conscious of others will remain eternal and thus their honor is never terminated and the niche of their honor is enlighten perpetually.

After this brief introduction lets make ourselves continuous to our morning discourse so that this idea is clear to you – The Pharaoh tried to counter the argument of Musa and Aaron when they said 26:16 فَقُولَا إِنَّا رَسُولُ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ Surely we are the messengers of the Lord of the worlds, [and then they introduced the Lord by saying] 26:24 قَالَ رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا إن كُنتُم مُّوقِنِينَ Musa continued: The Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, if you would be sure 26:26 قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ وَرَبُّ آبَائِكُمُ الْأَوَّلِينَ Your Lord and the Lord of your fathers of old [Pharaoh interrupted Musa but Musa did not give him respite] 26:28 قَالَ رَبُّ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ When they finished their argument the only response left for Pharaoh was to gather all the magicians of the city in his court to establish that the miracles of Musa are not different than the magic of the sorcerers hence magic was chosen to refute Musa. The sorcerers gathered and Musa demanded them to manifest their signs “Cast what you are going to cast.” and that moment Qur’an declares 26:44 فَأَلْقَوْا حِبَالَهُمْ وَعِصِيَّهُمْ وَقَالُوا بِعِزَّةِ فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الْغَالِبُونَ So they cast down their ropes and their staffs and said: By the honor of Pharaoh we shall most surely be victorious. In the minds of the sorcerers the might of Pharaoh was signified as honor, since they were unaware of the idea of the eternal honor they considered the (apparent) might & majesty, wealth & power as the criteria of honor by declaring وَقَالُوا بِعِزَّةِ فِرْعَوْنَ “By the honor of Pharaoh”.

But when Musa cast down his staff, the sorcerers abruptly declared 26:47 قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ We believe in the Lord of the Worlds 26:48 رَبِّ مُوسَى وَهَارُونَ The Lord of Moses and Aaron, this means that after witnessing the annihilation of their magic, after observing the impotency of their magic, after observing the weakness of their knowledge, after observing the frailty of their understanding they became certain that the downfall of the honor of Pharaoh is compulsory, destruction is incumbent for the honor of Pharaoh, hence incapacitated they declared that we bring faith in the Lord of Musa and Aaron who is the Lord of the Worlds.

This idea of honor took rebirth (in their minds), similarly those who submit to the honor of the Pharaoh observe the signs of the Apostles then the same outcome is possible and it is possible that the idea of honor of the pharaoh shall be abandoned and the unwavering idea of the honor of the Lord of the worlds shall be upheld.

The time never passes by without leaving some instructions, hence dear friends do not consider the verses of Quran as merry historical stories, and know that there is no station of honor of Pharaoh in the eyes of his magicians, the honor of pharaohs of Egypt is over, the honor of Persian kings is over, the honor of the Cesar of Rome is vanished. By manifesting the downfall of the honor of the kingdom of Pharaoh Quran has eternally buried the honor of all the kingdoms in the dust declaring that we are giving a parable that this is end to the honor of Pharaoh.

So do not attribute yourself with the honor of the rulers but rather be focused on the honor of those who believe, focus on the honor of the Apostles and know that وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ If someone wants to understand this honor then verify your observation by the fact that the end of 1383 Hijri is nearing and we are approaching 1384 Hijri and the event of Karbala came to pass 1372 years ago but the honor of Husain (as) still remain and it will remain to the Day of Judgment. The Umayyad dynasty is annihilated their honor is seized, the Abbasid Dynasty is terminated, and along with them their honor is also buried and who knows how many honors were annihilated by the passing of age but what remain is that name who was remembered as a journeyman, destitute, helpless, oppressed, bruised, imprisoned, the honor is only for him and will remain only for him. The celebration of Eid is underway and just one night remains for the Eid to dawn upon us, tomorrow you will rejoice in the festival, unaware what the limitations of rejoicing are, but honor is only for him who will be remembered on the day of Eid in this manner and O Lord we supplicate

اللهم أهل الكبرياء و العظمة وأهل الجود و الجبروت

وأهل العفو و الرحمة أهل التقوى و المغفرة اسلك بحق هذ اليوم

اللذي جعلته للمسلمين عيدا و لمحمدٍ صلي الله عليه

و آله ذكراً و مزيداً و كرامةً و شرفاً أن تصلي

على محمدٍ وآلي محمد و أن تدقلني في كل

خيرٍ ادخلت فيه محمدٍ و آلي محمد

‘O He to Whom all the grandeur belongs, O He to Whom all the majesty belongs, O He who is the forgiver and the merciful, I plead to you this day of Eid - a day of happiness for all the Muslims, to send mercy and blessing on Mohammed and His Progeny and O Lord make us enter the aboard of that good which you have chosen for Mohammed and His Progeny (this is the essential supplication of Eid, this is the remembrance of the Honor of the Infallibles) and O Lord keep me away from that evil which you have kept away from Mohammed and His Progeny’. God willing may this supplication of yours be accepted and may Allah make you enter the good where there is continuous and perpetual honor. We accept that there is honor in gathering the provisions of this world but this honor is transient and they are not immortal hence to concentrate on it forever is a mistake.

Swearing on the honor of Pharaoh the magicians understood that niche of honor is not lit when confronted with the Apostles of Allah. At least one must take lesson from the magicians and give birth to true belief and when time comes declare with forgiveness ‘by the honor of Musa’ and not ‘by the honor of Pharaoh’. Can the readers of Quran take this simple lesson that the honor of the kings and rulers diminishes as the sun sets, their honor shall disappear with disappearance of the sunlight, these are the words of the prophet Ibrahim (as) 6:76 لا أُحِبُّ الآفِلِينَ, I love not that descends, where stars shines and disappear where sun rises and sets where the moon appears then departs in hiding, it means that the apparent light will always disappear but the light of the heart will always give (the eternal) support, only the discernment بصيرة becomes the support.

Tomorrow is Eid and our happiness must not take us over our limitations hence to confine that happiness and to seek felicity in that happiness and establish that essential delight then it is required that when you finish the supplication and the prayers and when it is determined that Eid must be celebrated then the way a young man greets his elders with proclamation of peace at the perfection of celebration, alert yourself to greet and proclaimالسلام عليك يا أبا عبدلله السلام عليك يا أبن رسول الله السلام عليك يا وارث آدم صفوة الله , Do not abandon the Ziyarat on the day of Eid, the sign of friendship is to never forget a friend.

Eid and the Eid of our friends, how glorious was the appearance of this Eid and what a message this Eid has gifted an enlightened believer مؤمن العارف

Ninth of Zilhajj is dedicated to Muslim ibn Aqeel (as), what is the station of the divine discernment of Muslim ibn Aqeel? What do we know about Muslim? If you have understanding of Muslim in your hearts then you will realize that honor is not for ibn Ziyaad (la) and honor is not for the governor of Kufa, even today from the corner of the mosque of Kufa Muslim is calling the visitor saying ‘I am here, understand who I am, see me in the history, observe my life’. What instructions did Imam Husain (as) gave Muslim ibn Aqeel before sending to Kufa? He said ‘the people of Kufa wrote letters inviting us, Muslim you go and survey the condition of Kufa’. The Imam did not instruct Muslim that if the Kufans turn against you then you must unsheathe your sword! He did not say that if the army confronts you must fight! Imam neither advised Muslim to confront the army nor indicated to him to give his life. This is the station of the divine discernment معرفة of Muslim (as). Imam said ‘the people of Kufa wrote letters inviting us, Muslim you go and survey the condition of Kufa and keep us informed’ and then Imam wrote a letter to the people of Kufa saying إن تايفون اليكم أقي وأبن عمي وسقاتم أهلي بيتي مسلم إبن عقيل I am sending towards you my brother, my uncle’s son who is the most reliable from my Ahlul Bayt – Muslim ibn Aqeel and if the people of Kufa are genuinely ready to support me then I will consider’. Imam made it clear to the people of Kufa who Muslim ibn Aqeel is – Most reliable among the Ahlul Bayt, brother of Husain, son of Imam’s uncle and because he was sent with the aim to represent the Imam which makes him the emissary of Imam, because he is taking the message with he is also the legate of Aale Mohammed (as).

As soon this command was given to Muslim to take the message to Kufa, Muslim immediately stood up and came into his tent and told his wife Ruqayya bint Ali (sa), ‘O lady decorate my kids with pleasant garments’, Muslim ibn Aqeel had four sons – the elder ones were ten and eleven years old and younger ones were seven and eight years old and in between there is one daughter. He brought the kids in the presence of Imam (as) and said ‘since I have gotten the permission to leave I am leaving, but O son of Prophet my desire was to sacrifice my life in case if any tribulation were to befall you but since I am ordered to leave I like you to accept this gift from Muslim, should there be a time of difficulty come to pass on you then please give these kids the permission to sacrifice their lives for you ’

Imam, who is the owner of the unseen knowledge, is quite! The knower of Muslim’s final abode is quite. Muslim bid farewell and kissed the feet of the Imam and then he mounted his ride, then again he jumped off the ride and ran towards the Imam and fell on his feet and cried, again went back, mounted the ride, and after riding for some distance again Muslim jumped off the ride and came crying, Imam said ‘O Muslim what is your condition? Why are you doing this?’ Muslim replied ‘O son of the Prophet it is becoming certain to me that I will never be able to see your face again and I will never be able to kiss your feet again’. Imam consoled Muslim and bid farewell to him. Please pay attention to this very important thought that Imam still did not mention to Muslim that you will die, Imam did not designate any specific directive for Muslim (as), in Kerbala Imam designated the directives to each martyr, Qasim ibn Hasan (as) knew the battle will take place and he will be martyred, Ali Al Akbar (as) knew the battle will take place and he will be martyred, Aun and Mohammed knew the battle will take place tomorrow and we will be among the martyrs, Imam Husain (as) informed everyone on the night before Ashura about the next day, Imam even revealed to everyone that his son in the cradle will also face tribulations.

But nothing was told to Muslim, this is the divine acumen of Muslim that he was given the authority of being the leader of this caravan of Karbala, ‘O Muslim your day is ninth Zilhajja and my day is tenth of Moharram’. This is the station of the divine acumen of Muslim and now Muslim has to rely on his strength of decision, and his strength of discernment. You know the infallible Imam have dictated the salutations of the Muslim (as), and this is the ziyarat where Imam Sadiq (as) says that السلام عليك أيها العبدوس صالح المطيع لله ورسوله Peace be upon you O the pious servant whose obedience was towards Allah and His Apostle أشهد أنك مضيت على ما مضي علي البدريون المجاهدون I bear witness that you have treaded the path of the warriors of the battle of badr, and the ziyarat comes to end this way وانك قد مضيت على بصيرةٍ من أمرك you have treaded the path by your divine discernment submitting to the divine command مقتدياً بالصالحين ومتبعا لنبيين and were subservient to the Apostles.

There is no instructions designated by the Imam to Muslim, authority is given to him to decide whatever is declared by his intellect and understanding, so if someone assert that Muslim was a Mujtahid then there is a possibility of error in ijtehaad because Mujtahid can issue a divine decree and regret later that he has done a mistake, but Muslim transcended above the station of Ijtehaad. Now Muslim knows that whatever decision I am taking is the volition of Imam Husain (as), Imam Husain is leaving Madina declaring that this is the Will of the Prophet, Imam Husain (as) is leaving Mecca declaring that this is the Will of Allah (swt) 81:29 وَمَا تَشَاؤُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَشَاء اللَّهُ and Muslim taking the decision by declaring that this is not my will but the will of Imam Husain (as), do you see this association. Every step of Imam Husain (as) is the Will of Allah and every step of Muslim (as) is the Will of Imam Husain (as). There is no series of correspondence between Muslim ibn Aqeel and Imam Husain (as) to ask what decision to take next, rather Muslims decides that perhaps Imam Husain has chosen for me this moment and perhaps (the event of) Karbala is nearing and perhaps Imam Husain has decided that I must be martyred hence the commencement of series of martyrdom shall be with me.

Otherwise when Muslim noticed after performing the Salat on the night of seventh Zulhajja that forty thousand men have abruptly left terminating their allegiance and Ibn Ziyad (la) is entering Kufa, it was possible for Muslim to divert his intentions and welcome ibn Ziyad (la) and assure him with these words ‘I came to observe the condition and not to takeover the leadership (of Kufa), you take leadership I am leaving’, it was possible that reasoning of Muslim might lead him to another possible path during the time of respite he had of one whole day.

Muslim could have left Kufa along with his friend by the help of some tribe and traveled hastily to Mecca. But Muslim had to take a decision which is not only for that day but a decision that will extend to the day of Judgment and the decision was that ‘Muslim will not abandon this place, ibn Ziyad or his rulership shall seize, neither Yazid (la) shall remain or his kingdom, what will remain only shall be the mosque of Kufa and the grave of Muslim. The thinking of Muslim has to progress with the thinking of the infallible, the Imam did not architect the program that ‘Muslim you have to be martyred’, now Muslim has to decide what needs to be done. On the nightfall of seventh, forty thousand people reversed their allegiance, Muslim could have taken a fast ride with the help of the tribe of Hani and left Kufa and none could have found his trail. Muslim could have chosen peace with ibn Ziyad (la) because the latter was vulnerable, or Muslim could have sought another path, but Muslim knew that the step I shall take will became the commencement of the event of Karbala, the step I shall take will became the preface to the martyrdom of Imam Husain (as).

Hence when someone asked Imam Mohammed al Baqir (as) ‘O son of Prophet! What do you say regarding Muslim ibn Aqeel (as)’, the Imam replied, ‘None shall cry upon Muslim but a pious believer’, who is Muslim? He is with Imam Ali (as) in the battle of Siffin and commander of the army of the right flange; he is among the helpers of Imam Hasan (as) and narrator of the Hadith from Imam Hasan (as). Who is Muslim? Imam Husain (as) trusted his insight and his bravery, and Imam Husain (as) allowed Muslim to decide his feat, there is no sign in the history that Imam gave some hint to Muslim.

But Muslim decided that he will not abandon Kufa, the whole day of seventh passed gathering the armies but by the dusk of the day the whole army dispersed and ibn Ziyad (la) entered Kufa. Muslim wandered from house to house during the day of eighth, everyone closed their doors on Muslim, the day of eight turned into night Muslim became isolated, Muslim still has the opportunity to leave Kufa, and a ride can still be arranged. But Muslim has to designate the path of his actions, he became tired walking and arrived outside the house of an old lady and sat there for long time. The old lady opened the door and inquired saying ‘O traveler don’t you have a place, the city is perilous, why don’t you go somewhere’, Muslim raised his head and replied that ‘I have become stranger in this city…I have no friends’, she asked: ‘What is your name?’ He replied ‘Muslim ibn Aqeel’. As soon as she heard his name she fell on his feet saying ‘Are you the nephew of Ali?’ She continued ‘This house is yours’. Muslim is defining a path by giving a respite of one night for the thinkers to ponder on his decisions. Muslim still has time to re-consider, the confrontation has not taken place yet, the doors of the city are still open, but Muslim became engrossed in worship praising the Lord. The old lady is emphasizing Muslim to eat but Muslim declines saying ‘this night for me is the night of worship & servitude’, as soon as he finished the Fajr salat Muslim was surrounded and again Muslim has to decide to fight or give himself up into custody? O martyrs of Karbala your reverence is the aim of my life, but O Qasim you know that Al Abbas (as) is there to witness your battle, O Ali Akbar, the excellence of your fight is that you know your Baba (as) is there to witness it, O Aun and Mohammed the splendor of your battle is that your two uncles are witnessing it. But who is there to witness the account of Muslim’s battle? The introduction and understanding of Muslim ibn aqeel is this – ‘None shall cry upon Muslim but a pious believer متقي المؤمن’, piety means where there is no displayr of deeds, and piety is that where there is no exhibition.

Now Muslim attacked the soldiers declaring ‘I am the nephew of Haider, I am the son of Aqeel, I am the brother of Husain… you cannot take me captive without a fight’, the history is the witness that Muslim did not become captive until the enemy resorted to deception. Decision was to fight, so he fought and the decision was to be martyred so Muslim trusted his perspicacity بصيرة and became martyred. This is the station of Muslim where he gave his life by trusting his insight and laid the foundation of Karbala. Muslim declared ‘O Son of Prophet, accept the deed of your servant, Peace be upon you O Son of Prophet’. Do you understand now! Muslim has manifested to us what a friend needs to do when directives are not defined! What must be the deed of a pious? Hence the infallible says in ziyarat of Muslim ibn Aqeel (as) أشهد أنك لم تهن والم تنكل, I bear witness that your determination was never exhausted, you never experiences fatigue. The Ziyarat of Al-Abbas (as) and Muslim (as) is one and the same and Sheikh Abbas Al Qummi said that the supplication which is read after Ziyarat of Al-Abbas must be recited for Muslim as well, that is because there are similarities.

Since Imam has given Muslim to survey the conditions of Kufa he decided to gauge if the world is in parallel to his temperament, if the world changes it course then he refused to allow himself to change, he rather forced the world to the path of his Master, thus Muslim gave his life! Knowing that he left four children behind yet he is still at peace knowing that his children will also follow that path (of martyrdom). Two elder boys step forward for permission from Imam to fight; the Imam replied ‘is the agony of your father’s death not enough for me that you want to take leave as well?’ They pleaded ‘It was our father’s will’, thus they got the permission (for martyrdom).

Now remains just two young children of Muslim and when the tents began burning on the dusk of Ashura, these young boys ran and lost their way and taken captives in Kufa and thus one year passed in captivity during which time the festivities of Eid came to pass. One year passed in the prison and the month of Ramadan ended with Eid al Fitr and the month Zul Hajj came to pass but the boys remained in captivity. The boys knew that their father is killed; the boys knew that the event of Karbala happened, they left their tents in burning and they are aware that their mothers and sisters are probably taken in captivity as well. In this condition these kids introduced themselves to the prison keeper and escaped from the prison but the earth of Kufa was waiting to kiss the feet of these innocent kids insisting to stay where their father is buried.

Tomorrow is the day of Eid and the onlookers must be in shock about this sadness, lamentation prior to festivities? Your have heard the salam of Muslim in the morning, by end of this day please listen to the message of these two kids. I was always stated in the divine presence of the Imam ‘O Son of The Prophet, when Qasim cried out you rushed towards him with Abul Fazl Al Abbas, when Aun & Mohammed called out you rushed to their help, when Ali Akbar called out, you hurried calling his name, but O son of Prophet who is there for those two kids who are standing under the sword of Haris (la)‘, there is no father, there is no mother, there is no uncle, there is none. The world is an enemy, the people are strange, the killer’s sword is high in air to strike, suddenly the kids requests the killer ‘Please grant us that request which was not granted to our father’, at the early hours of dawn their father Muslim ibn aqeel requested Bakr ibn Hamran (la) before he was beheaded to allow him to perform 2 rakah of salat but he denied saying ‘there is no time’.

The kids pleaded ‘Haris give us the permission to pray 2 rakah salat’ (here I am not going to discuss about the issue of Fiqh – which salat these kids were performing). Haris did not ask which salat you will be performing; he gave them the permission to pray saying ‘pray if the salat gives you any benefit’. Appearing close to the shore of Euphrates, the kids performed their Wudu by placing water on their childish arms and performed salat. In the last sajdah they declared ‘O Allah you know better our helpless condition and our Ghurbat, O Lord be a Judge between us and the killer’ they raised their heads from the Sajdah, as the killer held the hand of one kid the younger brother pleaded ‘don’t slaughter my elder brother in front me’.

Sadness is a source of life for human being, sadness is an extension of life, sadness is truly a matter of pride, sadness is the resurgence of human existence and sadness is the essential Eid for human being. If few tears can calm the burning of our heart and few tears can became a gift to the infallible then what deed is better than this?

The kids pleaded to each other, the elder said I will be first but the younger said I will be first, the killer raised his sword interrupting by saying that you will not agree! Brother held his brother in his arms, was there anyone to come and say to Haris “What are you doing? What tyranny befalling on these orphan kids?” But there was none to stop and the sword struck and heads trembled and separated, the bodies were thrown in the river. This page in history was also turned and the night fell and the killer appeared with the heads of the kids in the palace of ibn Ziyad (la), seeing the heads of the innocent kids he said ‘haris where do find them? He replied ‘amir they were hiding in my house’, ibn ziyad said ‘haris you didn’t give refuge to your guests?’ وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

He said ‘amir for your pleasure’, he inquired ‘haris what did you do?’ he replied ‘amir I took the kids the bank of river while the kids were pleading to me’, he inquired ‘what did the kids say’?

Here the whole incidence is narrated in Al-Amali by Shiekh Al Suduq what ever I am saying every word is present in this book, this book is the book of Hadith and not a book of Maqtal.

Haris replied ‘the kids pleaded to me saying `sell us in the market`’, he inquired ‘what did you say?’, he replied ‘it is not the wish of the amir’, he inquired ‘what did the kids say?’, he replied ‘the kids said `take us to Madina our mother is waiting for us, she will give you a bigger reward than what ibn ziyad promised`’, he again inquired ‘what did you say?’, he replied ‘amir I rejected for the sake of your pleasure’, he inquired ‘what did the kids say?’ he replied ‘the kids said ’Haris take us alive to ibn Ziyad, let him decide what he likes`’, he inquired ‘what did you say?’, he replied ‘no the ruler want your heads’, he inquired ‘what did the kids say?’ he replied ‘the kids sought permission to pray’, he inquired ‘what did you do?’ he replied ‘I gave them the permission’, he inquired ‘then what happened?’, he replied ‘amir don’t ask… the brother hugged his brother’. These are the sacrifices of the progeny of the Prophet (saw), tomorrow Muslims shall celebrate the Eid and busy themselves in enjoyment and entertainment.

The discourse is over, ibn Ziyad ordered to punish Haris and thus the prayer of the kids reached its destination. Honor is only for Allah and The Prophet and those who believe, there is a narration famous among those who lived in Kufa that after the slaughtering of the kids it was commonly observed by people that the place where the bodies of the children were thrown, day and night a lady wearing a black head-cover approaches the bank of Euphrates and wail saying ‘O the stars of my eyes, O my children’!!

+++ YA HUSAIN +++