So, what’s the effect of Imam Hussain’s martyrdom on mankind? We said that through his martyrdom, his witness to the truth of God the Almighty, he perfected his worship and therefore the purpose that he was created for. Imam Hussain completed his submission in the utmost way possible, as it was only God the Almighty he would submit to. And what is more, he did not sacrifice everything by simply accepting death like a lamb to the slaughter. He did not, like the Christian story of Jesus suggests, have the enemies of God in superior numbers kill him without any resistance, because it was a hopelessly unequal fight. He did not give in to the overwhelming number of Yazid’s soldiers by simply admitting defeat as natural consequence due to being totally outnumbered. On the contrary, the Imam and his small group fought back most bravely and killed so many enemy troops in a way that their status of unequalled heroes cannot be denied even by their killers. And there we find the evidence for the effect his martyrdom had on mankind.
Of course, many people have asked this question before why did it all have to end this way? Why did the Imam fight back in this manner? When we hear reports from people that have been tortured, we feel immense compassion and we certainly understand if they gave in to their torturer. After all, they we are only humans. There is only so much pain and especially psychological strain a human can bear. No one would blame a person that is being subjected to inhumane torture for wanting to end their suffering. And isn’t it also permissible to submit to a violent tyrant in the face of cruel suppression as long as one resists the wrong in one’s mind? If I am being tortured or victimized to the point that I will die if I don’t give in to the oppressor’s demands, then I am likely to consent to signing an agreement with whatsoever conditions attached to it, just to get end the physical torture. But the question is can a human end his suffering by giving in to evil?
Let’s take a look at more recent history. There are many terrible and gruesome reports that reach us time and again caused by tribal or civil wars in Africa. The latest horrible news came from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where men in uniforms kill children and their young mothers, for the simple reason that they are suspected of being on the wrong side. We read about children soldiers that were forced to kill their own family members just because some powerful man in uniform told them to do so. And I heard on BBC radio from a mother who killed her own small child on the brutally imposed order of a female commander who came into their village to terrorize its people. These are all very, very terrified and traumatized humans who don’t see any other option but to obey their tyrants in the hope of ending their suffering and pain. After all they are only humans. But the question is have these humans ended their suffering by giving in to their oppressors? I think the answer is obvious.
For the very same reason Imam Hussain could not give in being a human to the powerful oppressor army of Yazid. In the light of true human value we know that Imam Hussain could not pledge his allegiance to someone like Yazid. And because Imam Hussain’s spiritual power was too great a threat for Yazid’s legitimacy, it became clear that Yazid could not allow the Imam to live. But why was the Imam’s death so brutal, why so tragic and inhumane? The reasons lie in another aspect of human nature as the oppressors were simply driven by greed for power and leadership. Hence, Yazid’s troops were so unnecessarily cruel for political reasons. Firstly, Yazid would not have benefitted from a quick assassination of the Imam because that would have increased people’s sympathy for Imam Hussain. Yazid needed to confront the Imam in a battle so that he could claim that Imam Hussain had been threatening his “legitimate” government. Yazid also needed an ostentatious parade of the captives to justify his “legal” suppression of this so-called “rebellion,” not only to intimidate possible followers and sympathizers among the population but also in order to “proof” their guilt. However, Yazid’s wickedly calculated plans could not disguise his falsehood, oppression, and tyranny. On the contrary, Imam Hussain’s martyrdom was a victory to preserve the truth and ultimately save Islam from obliteration. Imam Hussain did so as a human without supernatural or magical powers in order to defend Islam and all that it stands for. He fought other humans, who defended a human power, who claimed to be the rightful leader of the Muslim nation. But because this power was oppressive and evil it was doomed to lose the fight despite winning the battle. This is why the great Indian jurist and thinker Mahatma Gandhi had this to say: “I learnt from Hussain how to achieve victory while being oppressed.”
And this is what people remember in Ashoora, they remember that Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed, the son of Imam Ali and Fatima az Zahra, did not submit to evil, he did not obey evil orders, he did not trade his valuable life for an existence in misery and mental suffering, but he preferred martyrdom for himself and his family to living under oppression and tyranny. And in the end he prevailed and won, for he became the eternal symbol of strong faith and the paramount servant to the truth. He became the symbol of a pure human who was elevated from the cruel actions and the dark side of man. Because he knew and taught us that a human who dies in faith and obedience to God the Almighty will find eternal life in paradise. Thus, he taught us how to be a human who incorporates the best human attributes and how to preserve our humanity in the face of inhumane evil. But a human who obeys tyrants, gives in to injustice, and agrees to live under evil forces has lost humanity as s/he is already living in hell on earth. Therefore, Imam Hussain’s martyrdom is also a “statement” and “guidance” not simply a “sacrifice.”
There is one more point we need to look at when we want to discover the human in Imam Hussain. So far we have looked at how Imam Hussain stood up for the truth and in defence of Islam that made him a perfect servant to God and thus a complete human. But what about the way how Imam Hussain dealt with other people before and during the battle? In such an extreme situation, one would expect the leader of a small group that is being threatened by an overwhelming enemy to think of himself first. After all, his life and that of his family were dangerously at risk. A person in Imam Hussain’s position would probably try to take advantage of any situation that might favour his course. However, Imam Hussain also remained fair and a perfect human towards others.
First of all we know that Imam Hussain felt too compassionate towards his companions so much that he couldn’t expect them to fight with him against the mighty army of Yazid. Although someone in his position needed every man he could get in order to be able to at least defend the women and children. But Imam Hussain knew that Yazid’s people were only after him, so he couldn’t possibly ask of his companions to stay with him which meant certain death. The night before Ashoora he showed his great human character by encouraging his followers to leave under the protection of night’s darkness. The Imam specifically told them that there was no shame in doing so and that they had his blessings if they wanted to leave. As we know, no one did.
But yet before that last night, he even showed compassion to his enemies who had met the Imam’s caravan on the way to Kufa with no water left for their troops and their horses. So the Imam shared his caravan’s water rations with the very soldiers that had come to confront him. And what is more, on the day of Ashoora, before the battle started, one of the leading generals of Yazid, whose name was Hurr Bin Yazid Ar Riyahi realized he was on the wrong side and defected Yazid’s army to join the Imam. This was the very person who had prevented the Imam and his small group from returning to Medina to avoid a confrontation with Yazid’s army, because the Imam knew only then that the people of Kufa no longer supported him. But instead of feeling angry or refusing this man who had been responsible for causing so much harm to Imam Hussain and his party, the Imam open-heartedly welcomed Hurr and gave him permission to go into battle first, which was considered a great honour. And consider this situation. Your infant son is dying of thirst, his mother is so weak that she has no milk left to feed him, but the enemy blocks your way to the close-by river just to increase the suffering of innocent children and women to force you into obedience. This proves them to be completely inhumane. But instead of resorting to violence against such cruel criminals, Imam Hussain shows patience and asks for little humanitarian aid in form of some water only for his baby. Of course, we know that the Imam’s act of diplomatic approach was answered with an arrow into the infant’s neck. One would think that this would be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, but not Imam Hussain’s. He just wouldn’t resort to any kind of human rights violations despite the enemy’s constant use of excessive force and atrocities. All details that emerged from this historic and very tragic event give clear evidence that Imam Hussain never lost an ounce of his humanity till the very moment of his inhumane death in Karbala. In fact, even during the worst war situations Imam Hussain strictly adhered to the highest human rights principles and codes, which the world governments only came to agree upon 1268 years later through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 1948. And it was this humanity that also bore witness to the truth of Islam, which is underlined by another quote from our friend Mahatma Gandhi, who remarked: “My faith is that the progress of Islam does not depend on the use of the sword by its believers, but is the result of the supreme sacrifice of Husain, the great saint.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
For who else could be more human than the individual who preserves his humanness in the face of the worst and inhumane treatment from another human being? Or to put it in the words of another martyred Islamic philosopher: “For the eyes which can no longer read the truth and cannot see the face of the truth in the darkness of despotism and istihmar (stupid ignorance), all they see is being nothing but pollution, the blood of the shahid is a candle light which gives vision and [serves as] the radiant light of guidance for the misguided who wander amidst the homeless caravan, on mountains, in deserts, along by-ways, and in ditches.”
