The meaning sibṭ and the rank of Imam Ḥusayn رَضِىَ اللهُ عَـنْهُ

Sibṭ refers to a tree with one root and many branches. The Prophet         صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said Imam Ḥusayn رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ is a sibṭ. What this means is, just as Prophet Yaʿqūb’s lineage continued through his twelve sons, the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم will continue through Imam Ḥusayn رَضِىَ اللهُ عَـنْهُ and spread across the world.^[1]

We now come to an amazing point of discussion. Firstly, the holy Quran describes the rank of the Greatest Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم in the following way:

اِنَّاۤ  اَعْطَیْنٰکَ  الْکَوْثَرَ ؕ(۱)

We have certainly granted you countless virtues.^[2]

One of the meanings of kawthar in this verse is an abundance of children.^[3]

The Prophet’s sons passed away during their childhood. Despite this, Allah Almighty maintained the lineage of His Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. If we look today, we find there are thousands of sayyids across the world. This is a manifestation of this meaning of kawthar.

In this way, it is as though Allah’s Messenger صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم is saying:

I was granted a huge number of descendants, and this will remain the case until the Day of Judgement. This facet of my rank will be made apparent through Ḥusayn (رَضِىَ اللهُ عَـنْهُ), however, because حُسَیْنُ سِبْط مِنَ الْاَسْبَاط   - Ḥusayn (رَضِىَ اللهُ عَـنْهُ) is a tree with firm roots.