In the Path of Allah - Fi Sabeelilah: The Example of Mansur Imam

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

اجوب القفار واطوي الرمال * واحمل نفسي على كل هول

اريد بذاك رضاء الله * واعزاز دولة آل الرسول

فواغربتاه وواحشتاه * وفي الله هذا قليل قليل

فلله حمد على ما قضى * وحسبي ربي ونعم الوكيل

'I traverse the wilderness and cross the wide sands

I push myself to confront every danger

In all this, I seek only God’s pleasure

And to buttress the dominion of the messenger’s progeny

…But the journey has emaciated my body—

The saddle has worn out, and the guide has lost his way

…Exile and loneliness!'

(Mansūr Imam SA)

This article was written by Ra'sul Hududil Mayameen Janab Syedi Aziz Bhaisaheb Qutbuddin in 2015.

The conviction, fortitude and sabar of our Awliya’ kiraam in the path of Allah Ta’ala – fi sabeelillah – is unparalleled.

An icon of this conviction and fortitude is the 13th Imam, Maulana Ismail al-Mansūr Billah SA.

In the time of the 11th Imam, Maulana al-Mehdi billah SA, the conspiracy and fitnat of the enemy known as Dajjaal began. Dajjal’s launched his campaign under the guise of “protecting the religion of Islam.” In reality wherever they went, he and his armies brought terror and fear. During the time of the 12th Imam, Maulana al-Qa’im biamrillah SA, the enmity and hostility intensified. Then the 12th Imam sent his son and successor, Mansur Imam, in pursuit of Dajjaal.

For a decade, Mansur Imam pursued Dajjal. During this time the 12th Imam, Maulana al-Qa’im biamrillah, passed away. From the battlefield, Mansur Imam wrote a letter in the form of a qasida to his son and successor, the 14th Imam, Maulana al-Mu’izz lidinallah SA. In that qasida-letter, Mansur Imam said:

I send this letter to you from the farthest west

And my longing for you is intense and deep

I traverse the wilderness and cross the wide sands

I push myself to confront every danger

In all this, I seek only God’s pleasure

And to buttress the dominion of the messenger’s progeny

But the journey has emaciated my body—

The saddle has worn out, and the guide has lost his way

Exile and loneliness!

But for Allah, this is very little

My breast is not constricted, no indeed

I ride forth with a heart full of fortitude and grit

The lord of the throne has bestowed in his generosity

A clear victory and a glorious triumph

Each day, I obtain from God

A new gift and a beautiful favor

I offer praise and thanks to God for what he has decreed

My lord is my refuge and he is the best trustee

Syedna Qutbuddin TUS narrated the shaan of Mansur Imam SA in Ashara 1435H and recited theseabyaat from his qasida. Today, the Dai of Mansur Imam, the Dai of his successor Imamuz-zaman SA, is facing the conspiracy and the fitnat of the enemies of Dawat. In the path of Allah Ta’ala, fi sabilillah,in the khidmat and service of Imamuz-zaman SA, and in his compassion and care for mumineen, Syedna Qutbuddin faces all attacks despite the odds. His conviction and fortitude reminds us of the great Imam Mansur SA, “the lion of battles, the solver of calamities” (laysul hurub wa kaashiful kurub). His conviction and fortitude is an inspiration for all those who follow him.

May our faith and aqeeda in God, his Imam, and his Dai never waver. May we stand strong with the truth and the truthful and stand courageously against falsehood, fitnat and conspiracy. As history shows, the conspirators, no matter how large they seem at the time, always crumble and fall; they eventually suffer total defeat in this world and the hereafter. After many years of the pursuit, the Imam’s army captured the injured Dajjal but he escaped. In despair a messenger brought the news to Mansur Imam, but Mansur Imam said with forceful conviction that Dajjal’s time of fitnat has come to an end, and even if he is in the sky he will be captured. Surely, Mansur Imam’s army re-captured Dajjal shortly after, and the ten year fitnat of Dajjal finally came to an end.

May Allah Ta’ala grant the lion of today’s Dawat, Syedna Khuzaima Qutbuddin – the true Dai of Imam Mansur’s progeny -- fathe mubin and nasre aziz. Inshallah o ta’ala.