IMAM ALI (AS) AND IMAM HUSSEIN (AS): SAINTS AND GUIDES FOR ALL OF HUMANITY Kawther Rahmani
“Should poverty, illness and death not exist, man would not bow to anything.” - Imam Hussein (as) “Be like the flower that gives off its fragrance even to the hand that crushes it.” - Imam Ali (as)
Islam is composed of many arts, sciences and etiquettes. It is both a simple, Bedouin faith and an ethical, intellectual, philosophical, humanitarian way of living and being. One of the great etiquettes and qualities which is enjoyed upon the believers is honor and integrity. Honor is a seemingly rare quality these days. While the modern world can often seem like an increasingly dystopian Sci-Fi novel, we all can still hopefully recognize what is moral and good, and what is noble and kind. These twin etiquettes of honor and integrity are the hallmarks of Islamic saints, the most important of whom are referred to in metaphorical allusions in the Quran, statements of faith in the call to prayer (adhan) and oft-told tales passed down through history not only
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of honor and integrity, but bravery and courage in the face of mighty enemies, much like David, alayhi salam (peace be upon him), who is called Dawoud in Arabic, in his fight against Goliath (Jalut), in which he rose to the occasion at hand and fulfilled his God-appointed destiny. From reading the Quran in melodious styles to announcing the beginning of prayer, recitation is one of the important arts in Islam. Besides the stylized and haunting musicality of conveying the basic readings of the Arabic words, to the layman there are different, seemingly cultural approaches to reading the Quran, such as the swift, angelic sounding Saudi style proliferating on the internet or the nuanced and sublime Egyptian style,
