Is the poem "Al-Kalima" authored by Imam Al-Hussein, peace be upon him?
Every year, especially in the holy month of Muharram, a poem titled (Al-Kalima) is circulated and attributed to Imam Al-Hussein (peace be upon him). It begins with: "Do you know what "Al-Kalima" means?"... ending with "A man's honor is "Al-Kalima"."
Clarification
The poem is not authored by Imam Al-Hussein (peace be upon him), but it is part of a poetic play titled (Al-Hussein Tha'iran) by the Egyptian writer (Abdul Rahman Al-Sharqawi), dating back to the 1960s.
This has also been confirmed by the International Media Center affiliated with the Imam Hussein Shrine.
In the play, the writer portrays some events of the year 60 AH, and in this poem, (Al-Sharqawi) - in his belief - embodies the voice of Imam Al-Hussein in response to his demand for allegiance to (Yazid bin Muawiyah) for the caliphate.
The words of the poem are:
And is allegiance anything but a word?
What is a person's religion but a word?
What is a man's honor but a word?
What is God's honor but a word?
Do you know what the word means?
The key to paradise is in a word
Entering the fire on a word
And God's decree is the word
The word, if you know its sanctity, is a stored provision
The word is light, and some words are graves
Some words are towering fortresses in which human nobility is protected
The word is the distinction between a prophet and a sinner
With the word, the crisis is revealed
The word is light and a guide followed by the nation
Jesus was nothing but a word
He illuminated the world with words and taught them to fishermen who then guided the world
The word shook the oppressor
The word is the fortress of freedom
Indeed, the word is responsibility
Indeed, a man is the word
A man's honor is the word
God's honor is the word
Who is Abdul Rahman Al-Sharqawi?
He was born in Monufia Governorate, Egypt, in 1921, graduated from the Faculty of Law at Fouad I University in 1943, and died in 1987 at the age of 66.
Al-Sharqawi published many historical and Islamic novels and plays, earning him the State Appreciation Award in Literature in 1974, awarded by the former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who also granted him the Order of Arts and Letters of the First Class.
He worked in various fields, including (law, journalism, editing a magazine, secretary of the Afro-Asian Solidarity Organization, and the Supreme Council for Arts and Literature).
Abdul Rahman Al-Sharqawi was influenced by rural life, and the Egyptian village was his source of inspiration. This was reflected in his first novel (Al-Ard), which is considered the first realistic depiction in modern Arabic literary creativity. This novel was adapted into a famous film of the same name directed by (Youssef Chahine) in 1970.
Al-Sharqawi's most famous works include (the play Al-Hussein Tha'iran, the play Al-Hussein Shaheed, the play The Tragedy of Jamila, the play Al-Fata Mehran, The Red Eagle, Ahmed Orabi).
In the field of Islamic biographies, he wrote (Muhammad the Messenger of Freedom, Ali Imam of the Pious, Al-Farouq Omar), and he also participated in the screenplay for the film Al-Risalah in collaboration with Tawfiq Al-Hakim and Abdel Hamid Gouda Al-Sahar.