The Words of God are self-explanatory. It was in Ramadhan that the Almighty descended the Holy Qur’an on the heart of his Last and Greatest Messenger, on the Blessed Night of Qadr. No doubt, the Prophet said in clear words that "whoever recites an ayah of the Qur'an in Ramadhan, the reward will be that of reciting the whole Qur'an in other months.”
Of course, the Prophet did not mean mere reciting like a parrot without knowing the meaning and purport of divine revelation. He in fact mean proper pondering on the ayahs so as to adhere to the letter and spirit of the Book of God without the least deviation.
Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) during his 23-year mission expounded to the Ummah the purport and meaning of the Revealed Words of God that were compiled between two covers as "Mushaf” by his cousin, ward, son-in-law and divinely-designate vicegerent, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), in the order of revelation, but unfortunately could never be revealed to the public, because the persons who had seized power of the Islamic state rejected both the Qur’an in book-form and any collection of the Prophet’s Hadith.
In view of this fact, the meaning of the above-quoted ayah of the final and universal heavenly scripture to all mankind become more clear, since it points to a select group of persons, to whom God has granted knowledge with certitude. The All-Wise has called them Rasekhouna fi’l-Ilm, meaning those "firmly grounded in knowledge.”
No wonder, the Prophet before leaving the mortal world time and again emphasized:
"I am leaving behind among you the Thaqalayn (Two Weighty Things), the Book of God and my progeny the Ahl al-Bayt; hold fast to them and you will never go astray for the two never part with each other, even when they return to me at the Fountain (of Kowthar on Judgement Day).”
Now we understand that the "Rasekhouna fi’l-Ilm” mentioned in the Qur’an are none other than Prophet Muhammad’s (SAWA) infallible progeny, the Ahl al-Bayt, whom the Seal of all Divine Messengers has placed on par with the Book of Allah. Moreover, these persons are Qur’an personified or "Qur’an an-Nateq” (literally the Speaking Qur’an).
Today, the 15th of the blessed month of fasting gives us the opportunity to reflect more diligently on the Word of God, since it is the day on which the second of the 12 Infallible Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt was born.
He was Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS), at whose birth in Medina in 3 AH, the Prophet became grandfather for the first time. The Prophet, at every opportunity, described to the Muslims the prominent position of his two grandsons, Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS), hailing them as "Leaders of the Youths of Paradise.”
Imam Hasan (AS), as a member of this select group, whose purity and honour have been vouchsafed by God Almighty in the Holy Qur'an (33:33), strove to enlighten the ummah with the correct meaning and purpose of the ayahs of the Book of God, whose recitation and contemplation on its words and phrases is specially recommended in the month of Ramadhan.
According to the famous Sunni scholar, Ibn Sabbagh al-Maleki, in his book Fusoul al-Muhimma, a person once approached the Prophet's cousin Abdullah ibn Abbas and asked him to explain the words "Shahed” (Witnesss) and "Mashhood” (The Witnessed). He was told that the first is a reference to Friday and the second to the Day of Arafah – 9th Zilhijja when Hajj pilgrims gather on the plain of Arafat to supplicate to God.
The man decided to pose the same question to the Second Caliph's son, Ibn Umar, who said he agreed with the first part of Ibn Abbas' answer but in his opinion "Mashhood” could be the Day of Sacrifice in Mena during Hajj, and not the Day of Arafah.
The questioner seemed perplexed. His inquisitive mind wasn't satisfied with the answers given. Fortunately, he was guided to the presence of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS) and requested him for the exact interpretation of these two words.
The Imam smiled, and said, "Shahed” is Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) while "Mashhood” refers to the Day of Judgement. When asked whether he could prove his answers on the basis of the Holy Qur'an, the Imam recited the following two ayahs:
"O Prophet! Indeed We have sent you as a Witness (Shahed), as a Bearer of good tidings and as Warner; and as a Summoner to Allah by His permission, and as a Radiant Lamp." (33:45)
"That is the day on which all mankind will be gathered and it is the Day Witnessed (Mashhood) – by all." (11:103)
The person went away fully satisfied with the answer of Imam Hasan (AS). Here was knowledge with certitude, bequeathed by the Prophet as inheritance and inspired by God as argumentation (Hujjah) against the conjectures and guesswork of fallible minds.
A brief newspaper column cannot do justice to the "Qur'an an-Nateq” that Imam Hasan (AS) was. I end it with Shaikh Sadouq’s narration in his book "al-Amali”, written over a thousand years ago, that Imam Hasan (AS) would always say: 'O Lord! Here I am responding to your call', whenever he came across an ayah of the Qur’an verse that began with the phrase "O you who have faith!”
Congratulations on the Blessed Birthday of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS)
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