During the ‘Khilafat’ (Caliphate) of Hazrat Ali (a.s.) two men, a slave and his master, were travelling to Kufa after performing Hajj (Pilgrimage). The slave committed some mistake and the master beat him for that. The slave said to his master:
“You are my slave, but still you are beating me for nothing.”
Some other people wanted to decide between the two, but the slave did not admit his mistake and went on repeating that he was the master of the man accompanying him till they all entered Kufa.
The master then said to his slave:
“Let us go to Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) for judgement”.
To that the slave agreed and they both went to Hazrat Ali (a.s.), but while giving their statements before him both claimed to be the master of each other.
The one who was actually the master started weeping that he was the real master and that his father had sent him on pilgrimage to Mecca. He had taken his slave with him who committed a mistake on his way back home and he therefore beat him. By saying that he was the master he wanted to take away wrongfully all his possessions.
But, the slave also repeated the same story on oath.
Hazrat Ali (a.s.) after hearing both ordered them to present themselves before him the next day.
Meanwhile, he ordered two holes to be made in a wall, each one quite enough for the head of a man to pass through.
When the two men came to him the following day he ordered each of them to put his head into the two holes.
This done, he ordered his personal servant “Cut off the head of the slave”. No sooner the slave heard this order he pulled out his head from the hole while the one who was the master did not move even slightly.
Hazrat Ali (a.s.) then reprimanded the slave, who went away with his master hanging his head in shame.
Story of Fatema in her own words:
I was sitting in my room and thanking Allah SWT for making my dreams come true. Of course , this is just the beginning, I thought to myself.
I had joined one of the best colleges in India , this was the only thing I had been thinking of for last two years while studying and finally I was here ... I was extremely Happy!!!
A week passed , and I was called to the dean's office and He said, "You can't go to the Laboratory (Lab) for your 'practicals' with your Hijab, you should wear a Lab dress ( short shirt with half sleeves and pant ) and you cannot wear your head scarf either, coz' in the lab while working with the equipment, your dress may entangle or catch fire and your dress code is not congenial to the lab environment"
I was taken aback, in a flash of a moment, all my dreams were shattered …. The first thought that came to my mind was "I CAN'T GIVE UP MY HIJAB" and next came the question "Can I give up my dream??? …"
I am not a girl who gives up easily, I decided to fight….
I went to the principle and explained him my situation and told him I will not take off my hijab and I can't wear the Lab dress. However what I can do is I can wear a Lab coat over my regular dress along with my Head scarf… He said "NO, we can't change our rules for one student. For years, this is the rule and if you want to study here , you will have to follow it.."
I kept insisting …...finally he said, "Go and speak to the Head of the Department (HOD) of your department and if he permits you, I have No problem."
I came back to hostel and told this story to my seniors, They all said.. "WHAT!!! Your HOD !!!… Impossible .. Mr.Joshi is the Hitler of the college and no student has ever dared to go and speak to him.. He will reject you in a minute. The principle didn’t want to PERMIT you, since you insisted, he sent you to Mr.Joshi, cause he knows Mr.Joshi will never allow you and no one can argue with him. So Forget about it"
I was very sad but I had hope.. I prayed to Allah SWT for help .
Next Morning, I went to my HOD Mr.Joshi's room, OH GOD, How scary the moment was.. I still remember it… I knocked the door, with his strict and harsh voice , he said "Come in"…
I entered the room..he didn’t even look at me.. He was reading something… while his head was in the papers he said "What do you want?"
With shivering voice I said " I am a Muslim and my religion doesn’t allow me to wear a lab dress and I cant give up my Hijab. I need your permission to wear my hijab in the lab."
As I said this, he looked at me and asked me "Are you a shia?"
I was surprised as no one knew I was a shia.. I said "Yes"
Next thing he said was " Permission granted " and he signed a paper which I had brought with me which says I have a permission to wear hijab in lab and I don’t have to wear a lab dress, instead I can wear a Lab coat :)
I was in tears… I was Happy.. Surprised… shocked!!!
Then he asked me to sit and said don’t be surprised… I know everything about Shias and I respect them for their values.
Then he asked " Do you want to know how I know about them?"
He started his story.. He said " When I was a young boy , aroung 12 years old, and Hindu Muslim riots started off in India, Hindus were killing Muslims and Muslims were killing Hindus. We used to live in a Muslim area and our parents were scared that Muslims would come and kills us... The situation was bad . That time our neighbors promised my parents that they'll keep me with them till the situation becomes better and my parents had no other option but to leave me with them, and go to another town.
They were shias.
I stayed with them for almost a month and they took care of me like their own son.. I saw them praying, reciting Quran and abide by the laws of Islam. Also just because, I was a Vegetarian, they didn’t cook non-veg, till I was there. so that I don’t feel uncomfortable. I still consider that lady as my Mother. I know you people very well.
From now on, anyone says anything about your Hijab, just tell them my Name and you will have no problem"
Indeed, after that day in my 4years of life, no one ever said anything about my Hijab. I not only had permission to wear my Hijab comfortably but now I had some one to protect it…. Alhamdullilahi Rabbil A'alameen...
Dear friends, all I want to tell you is if you strive in the way of Allah SWT, He definitely helps you as promised.
Is it not the grand plan of Allah SWT, that a shia family helped a 12 year old kid, who grew up to become the HOD of department, who in turn protects the Hijab of a Muslim girl…. Truly as told by the Ahlul Bayt… "HAVE FAITH IN ALLAH SWT, HE is the best planner."
Its never late… you can start Today.. and Allah SWT will help you through means that you've never imagined.
Ws Salam
