The Youthful Paragons of Ashura
Sayyid Muhammad Sa'idi
"The youthful paragons of Ashura" are a group of martyrs of Karbala who were able to recognize the true path, despite their young age. They offered their lives in order to guard the true path. The introduction of these martyrs to the members of present and tomorrow's generations is meant to show them that they, too, can support their religion.
Some of the martyrs counted in this paper are: Hardrat Ali Ibn Al-Husayn (A), also known as Ali Akbar, Hadrat Abbas lbn-e Ali Ibn Abi Talib (A), Hadrat Qasim lbn Al-Hasan (A), Awn lbn Abi Talib (A), Ahmad lbn Al-Hasan lbn Amir aI-Mu'monin (A), Abdullah Ibn Moslem Ibn Aqil, etc.
A look at the life and martyrdom epic of these paragons would leach our today's generation to what extent they should go in order to safeguard the religion.
The story of the martyrdom of these youthful paragons shakes everyone. The description of the events of Ashura is the description of the nobility of spirits. It is an account of how the world became worthless in the eye of the martyrs and how their martyrdom served as the indictment of polytheism, aggression and oppression. In their death, too, they set the unprecedented example of how a group of people can sacrifice everything for freedom and salvation of all the downtrodden masses of the world.
The Role of Ashura in the Continuation of Islamic
Movements and the Approach of Imam Khomeini (R)
Fadlullah Salwati
The episode of Ashura has a historical background relating to the early era of Islam, the defeat of the non-believers of the Quraysh at Badr by the army of Islam, and to other events that took place following the demise of the Noble Prophet (S) and which ultimately led to the episode of Ashura.
The basis of the uprising of Imam Husayn was a religious one. His is a deal that he makes with God. The motives behind the uprising of Ashura is that Imam Husayn (A) does not encounter merely the 'Yazid of his own time, rather he wages a battle against all the tyrants of history, a battle in which he is always victorious and in which he shows the superiority of the victory of thought over military victories.
After the episode of Ashura this movement continued to survive amongst the people in different forms such as the mourning ceremonies during which elegies are recited and the ideals and values of the Househhold of the Messenger of Allah (s) are recalled and commemorated.
We observe in history that an era of Islamic revival begins with the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (A). Islamic spirituality regains its brilliance and Islam, after undergoing a period of distortion, itself acquires a new life with the grief over the tragedy of Imam Husayn(A). Popular uprisings begin to occur and it is in the course of these uprisings that Umayyad rule is ultimately brought to an end.
Our duty in regard to this episode is to define our own way, to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and to follow the path of the truth. Neutrality and indifference in regard to the battle between Husayn (A) and Yazid are meaningless. We should choose our path correctly as the followers and Shi'ah of Husayn ibn 'Ali (A).
The Movement of Ashura and the Sacred Defense
Muhammad Reza Sangari
Three characteristics have helped elevate Karbala to the summit of the events in the history of Islam. Those three characteristics were not present even in the wars in which Prophet Muhammad (S) participated. These three special features have made Karbala the most complete, the most passionate and the most lasting of all the revolutions in the history of Islam.
In Karbala, three elements of epic, message and mourning have been gathered and interwined in the most majestic form and the most beautiful combination. The analysis of each of these elements will help us in our further understanding of Ashura and will lead us to understand the full dimension of this great movement.
Karbala has special features that one can not find in any revolution in history. It is the shortest revolution in the world (half a day). It is the most limited revolution from a geographical viewpoint. It is also a revolution with the least number of revolutionaries. But it is a revolution that is becoming more and more effervescent and more articulated, serving as the source of inspiration for all the free spirits and all freedom-loving people. Here, the links between Ashura and the Islamic Revolution of Iran and specially the Eight-Year-Long Sacred Defense becomes clear. These links display themselves in the last will and testament of the combatants, in their headbands, in the mottoes and songs of the war front, in the operations' catchwords, in the mood of the nights before the operation, in the function of the families of the martyrs, in the signs in the war front, in the epitaphs of the martyrs, in the funeral ceremonies for the martyrs (the Seventh Days, the Fortieth Days, the Anniversaries) and in the songs of the Eight-Year-Long Sacred Defense...
On the night of the operation our commander cried: "Dear Friends! We abandoned Husayn once in Karbala and (the result was that) for fourteen centuries, we were humiliated, made to suffer insults and torture. Never again shall we abandon Husayn (A) this time."
Ashura, the Way-opener for Shi'ism
Sayyid Ja'far Shahhidi
The movement of Ashura was a great uprising which appeared to be fruitless at that time but which was full of consequences in later years. There is no doubt that it still retains its fecundity. Who were the people that participated in this movement and what did they want? Little attention has been paid to this matter. As we know it began 50 years after the demise of the Prophet (S) and the people of Iraq played an active role in it. What did the people of Iraq want? Were they all Muslims and were they of one mind with the leader of the movement? Were they pained by the heresies that had appeared in the faith and did they all want to revive the Sunnah and end bid'ah? If that were true, why did the movement have such a tragic end? This matter has been analyzed in the author's book "Fifty Years Later" where he has examined its causes from a historical and sociogical point of view. Following is a summary of his research:
The people of Iraq fell into various groups each of which had its own particular goal for participating in this movement.
1. Those who had witnessed the simplicity of Islamic life from the days of the Prophet (S) until the early years of Uthman's rule and were aware of Islamic justice. They would compare that era with the conditions of their own times and remember the by gone days with regret.
2. Those who were loyal to the precepts of Islam and who observed how the Shari'sh was being violated by the rulers and the laws of Islam and the Sunnah of the Prophet (S) had become a plaything in the hands of the rulers. They longed for the appearance of a leader who would revive the Sunnah and eradicate the bid'ahs.
3.Those who had come out of the deserts of Najd and Tahamah for the sake of war booty obtained through participation in Islamic victories. They lived in the military garrisons, and suffered the losses of war, while others enjoyed the benefits of the public treasury. They awaited the opportunity to rise and seize their own rights.
4.Those from Iran who enjoyed wealth and position before the coming of the Muslim armies. They were compelled to turn to Iraq, mostly Kufa and to some extent Basra. They had lost their earlier privileges and were looked down upon by the Arabs. Apparently peaceful, they were active covertly.
5.Those who had heard the tales of the conflicts of Lakhm and Ghassan and who had heard from their fathers how their ancestors had fought the people of northern Arabia. Now they noticed Syria become the center of the Caliphate and the Syrians view Iraqis with contempt.
6.Those who had been deceived by Mu'awiyah's false promises and had abandoned Ali and his son. Mu'awiyah had driven them away after consolidating his power.
7.The opportunists who looked forward to profiting from disturbed conditions and who tried to bring about such conditions so that they may profit from them.
The majority of the people of the Iraq of those days consisted of these kinds of groups. They were unanimous on a single point, to overthrow the Damascene regime and to make Iraq the center of the Islamic Caliphate. It is however doubtful whether all of them wanted religious rule by the descendants of the Prophet (S) in power.
In a society where religion has a dominant role, people can be moved by religion more than anything else. Hence any movement had to begin in the name of religion, and who could be in a better position to lead it than the son of the Prophet's daughter, whom all these groups accepted and who had never given allegiance to the Syrian ruler?
We all know the sad end of the movement but it did not end with the martyrdom of Husayn. Yazid imagned that he had suppressed the uprising, but it was an illusion, and nothing more was to be expected of an inexperienced ruler like him.
The movement was apparently suppressed, but its fires never died out. At one time it was led by Sulayman ibn Surad, an ardent man of faith, and at another time by Mukhtar who consolidated his role for some years with the slogan of avenging Husayn's blood. Thereafter it became became a handy means for those who suffered under Umayyad oppression, and as we know no Arab tribe was happy with their rule. With the help of the people of Khorasan, all these groups, who had tried at different times to stage an uprising, finally overthrow Umayyad rule, but instead of an "al-Rida from the Household of Muhammad" an "al-Rida from the House of Abbas" took over the Caliphate and ruled for more than five hundred years.
During all these disturbances and uprisings, the group which profited the least was that of the genuine friends of the Messenger of God (S) and the House of Ali, whose hearts desired what they said with their tongues. Those who underwent the greatest amount of persecution during the rule of the 'Abbasids were the descendants of the Prophet, who were either killed, or wasted in dungeons, or lived an anonymous existence in villages and cottages. The fate of some of them is visible from such books as the Maqaatil al-Talibiyyeen and other works. It was in the wake of these defeats that the genuine Shi'is and the friends of the Prophet's Household poured their sufferings into the mould of poetry and gave expression to their pains as the victims of injustice.
The recitation of elegies began in homes, then it extended to the mosques and the mourning ceremonies. I have cited examples of these elegies and verses in my book on the life of Fatimah (A). In the year 352 H. Shi'i women held a mourning procession in the Bazaars of Baghdad and that opened a new chapter in the mourning for the martyrdom of the Master of the Martytrs. It proved to be so effective that Sunni historians named that year as the 'Year of Bid'ah'. As the years passed the number of this group increased.
It was "azaadaari" which gradually shook the foundations of Abbasid rule. Early examples of these elegiac poems have been recorded from the beginning of the second century, but without doubt they began to be composed a little after the event of Karbala, although they have not reached us. We find some samples of verses composed by our country's poets dating from before the eighth century, but since the tenth century we find hardly any poet who has not expressed his devotion to the Prophet's Household by composing a marthiyah. It was these mourning ceremonies and the marthiyaha that brought new groups every year into the fold of Shi'ism. In many of the cities of the cities of the Indian subcontinent and some Muslim lands, it was the ta'ziyah and the recitation of elegies that first drew the hearts towards Husayn. It was only afterwards that they embraced the Imamate of his father and the descendants of Husayn. This is how it is today, and, God willing, it will continue to be so.
The Results of the Uprising of Abd Allah (A)
Ali Husayni Shahrestani
This paper focuses on the revolt of Hadrat Abu' Abd Allah (A) which later brought about socio-historical transformations. After Islam became the predominant religion, the Umayyad House (Bani Umayyads) emerged as the ones with the deepest hatred against the Prophet of Islam (S). After the conquest of Mecca, they had converted to Islam without truly believing in it. But their words and conducts later showed that they never believed in the religion and in the Unseen (Ghayb) and that they always planned to avenge their defeats in Badr and Hunayn.
The first part of the paper focuses on the relationship between Umayyad House and Islam. This part deals with the relationship between Mu'awiyah and the government as well as the relationship between Imam Husayn (A) and Yazid.
The second part deals with the uprising of the people in Medinah after the carnage in Karbala. I will then discuss the revolt of the people of Mecca under the leadership of Abdullah Ibn Zubayr. I will discuss in details the Movement of the Repentant (Harakat-e Tawwabin) as the first armed Shi'ah movement after the Martyrdom of the Master of Martyrs (A). The motto of the latter uprising was "O. Avengers of Husayn". It aimed to merely revenge the killing of Imam Husayn (A) and did not want to establish a government. This revolt paved the way for other subsequent revolts such as the revolts by Mukhtar Thaqafi, Zayd lbn Ali Al-Husayn (A), etc. The effects of this uprising can be seen in later events in the history of Shi'ism, including the Islamic Revolution of Iran.
The Classification of the Movement in the Words of Imam Husayn (A)
Abulfazl Shakuri
According to the teachings of Holy Qur'an, the kings, the hypocrites, the economic and mercantile crooks are involved in "Fasad" (corruption) on earth. But the prophets of Allah have the duty to clear the face of the planet from oppression and corruption. Hence, the Muslims are instructed not to question the legitimacy of their own anti-oppression movements but they are required to take extreme care not to be misled when choosing their models and methods.
Imam Husayn (A), as the greatest and the most' sincere revolutionary in history is the best model for the Muslims, and even for the oppressed non-Muslims seeking justice.
In political science, one can classify the movements based on different yardsticks such as history or class ideology. The movements are also classified based on their nature and their goals. In political science, the movements are usually evaluated on the basis of this yardstick. In the words of some of the Imams too the social and political movements are classified based on this yardstick.
Imam Husayn (A) has classified the social and political movements in a very brief and comprehensive manner. Among these movements, he has approved of only one movement and has described his own movement as belonging to the same category. In Imam's view, the only true movement and revolution is one which he calls "reform-oriented revolt". Imam Husayn (A) has high praise for this type of revolution; for him it is immaterial whether this kind of reform oriented revolution will succeed and will bring about a social revolution in the society or it is suppressed in its early stages. In the Qur'anic sense and in the Islamic culture, "Islah" dose not mean "reform", Islah is not mentioned in contrast to "revolution". Muslih (the person calling for Islah) is that revolutionary beliver who engages in action with the intention to gain the contentment of Allah and to fulfit his divine duty.
Imam Khomeini(R) and the revival of political
Approach to Ashura
Muhammad Soroush
The late Imam Khomeini (R.) brought about a deep and extensive transformation in the general approach to the relation between religion and politics. He chose Ashura as the first and most important framework for reviving the forgotten dimensions of the politics of Islam.
The discussion over the relationship between religion and politics in the history of Islamic thought dates back to centuries ago. It was a great tragedy for Islam when the clergy and the nation accepted the idea of the separation of religion and politics.
Here the great role as played by the late Imam Khomeini (R.) in reviving the political approach to Ashura becomes clear. This revival not only increased the value of revolt as a tool to gain freedom and justice, but it also legitimized the struggle against an oppressive ruler.
