ya Husayn

we lost our friend this week

and our grief is real

but we know it will pass

and the world will return to what it was

الله

he died at home

surrounded by family

and a whole community mourned him

and raised money for his legacy

الله

but where was the outpouring when you died

O Master of the Martyrs*

where was the community when your head was raised on a lance

and paraded through the streets of Kufa and Damascus

where were the donations to take care of Zaynab and Sakina

when your unburied body lay on the sands of Karbala

who was there to lament the deaths of Qasim and Ali al-Akbar

who couldn’t bear to see you hurt and betrayed

ya Aba Abdillah*

الله

for we loved our friend

and respected our friend

but he was not you

he was not the grandson of the Messenger of Allah

blessings and peace upon him and his family

he was not the Lamp of Guidance*

and the Ark of Salvation*

he was not Husayn ibn Ali

nor are any of us

الله

and he was not killed in the name of “Islam”

as a punishment for wanting to rectify the community of his grandfather

as a warning to any who would pledge allegiance to the children of Fatima

set upon by a darkening mass

of cowards and hypocrites and yes men of the caliphs

no

our friend was simply taken back

by natural means

at the time that Allah decreed while he was still in the womb of his mother

in peace and security

and yet

we feel what we feel

الله

so we know

perhaps now more than ever

ya Husayn

that our grief for you will never end

it is not lessened by knowing that you exist in peace and bliss

a guarantee our friend does not have

so may Allah’s Mercy be upon him

but flows from the awareness that recognition of your sacrifice

and your beauty

and your guidance

and your truth

is still fought against

is still reviled

is still obfuscated

is still ignored

by the same community that you loved so much

as to lay before it not only your own life

but also the lives of your children

and your nephews

and your friends

and your own brother and sister

without any doubt in your heart

to let us know how much we strayed

from the Sunnah

and still do

الله

But that sad legacy was not our friend’s

for when I turned to you

ya Husayn

our friend listened patiently

and never threw shade

and in a few years

allowed your name to be honored

at the school which had such an impact

on both our lives

and allowed me to share a message to those in his community

and invited alums who are dedicated to you

to share your story

during the Muharram nights which we hold so dear

الله

in time

I had hoped he would have more opportunities

to learn about that which he had never been taught

but that cannot happen now in this dunya

so I leave it up to you now

ya Husayn

in the barzakh

to take my friend by the hand

and lead him home

O Master of the Youth of Paradise*

for he was only 40

and so had yet to know

the fullness of adulthood

by Allah’s Decree

اللهم صل على محمد و آل محمد

*Names of Imam Husayn mentioned in hadith: Sayyid al-Shuhadāʾ, Abū ʿAbd-Allāh, Miṣbāḥ al-Hudā, Safīnat al-Najāt, Sayyid Shabāb Ahl al-Jannah