Hurr, the Liberated

In the vastness of the planets and celestial inhabitations, some lofty spirits, who were the best of creatures and who had been created by Allah the Almighty as the essence of the aim of the universe and were the means for Divine recognition, were busy in the glorification, adoration and veneration of their Lord. Thus, when the infallible Imam (a.s.) was asked about his (a.s.) creation, he (a.s.) replied,

"We were created before the creation of the angels. We were watching the creation of other celestial creatures from the silence of non-existence, when none existed except us."

When this earth, with all its adornments, had opened up its lap to receive the inhabitations of the children of Adam (a.s.), its relations were bonded with the infallible Imams (a.s.) to prepare and train the powers of mankind's seeing and hearing.

In the creation of mankind, the Creator has instilled an element that keeps jolting its wisdom and understanding time and again and keeps drawing his attention towards his Lord. Humanity deliberated on the evident principles and gained the ability to distinguish between good and evil; to take an account of his profit and loss, he used all the beautiful efforts available at his disposal.
When the talk arose of profit and loss, there were differences and disagreements between the good and the evil; armies were lined up; spears were shining on the kingdoms of emperors from the battlefields; swords were sharpened and the infantry and the cavalry were arranged. The tents of peace and contentment were uprooted from the earth, now divided into countries and emirates. When the foundations of emperors' palaces developed any weakness, they were strengthened with the blood of the weak and the helpless; the downtrodden and demoralized were thrown into barren, infertile and unproductive lands. It seemed as if a storm of the oppressed had erupted before the oppressors and the tyrants. An unknown, harsh, offensive, scary, stinging, terrifying and frightening cry exposed a secret of the planets that this shriek was that of the Satan, the erstwhile member of the celestial world. On hearing this cry, innocent children hurried into their mothers' laps. Oppressed women gave up their lives in order to protect their chastity and modesty. The bones of the youth were crushed in the mills of tyranny and cruelty.

When Satan initiated his vices and the forces of oppression of cruel tyrants like Namrood, Firaon, Haamaan and their clones raised their ugly heads, Allah - the High and the Mighty - sent His emissaries, Prophet Ibraheem (a.s.) and Prophet Moosa (a.s.) with the message of humanity and revealed unto them His laws through His proximate angels. The residents of the celestial world became the anchor of the earth's ship, thereby shoring it to safety from the tumultuous waves of the ocean of tyranny and oppression. Then followed the series of divine Prophets (a.s.) and Messengers (a.s.) to calm the earth. But would the negligent man, intoxicated with the power of rebellion, heed anybody's advice? Autocrats bearing the nature of Firaon, Namrood and Qaaroon were born in every era with new proportions of despotism and repression. Bribery became the order of the day and the deep but filthy nets of conspiracies spread far and wide. It appeared as if this was the only enjoyment of life, the very aim of existence. All permissible and prohibited traits like truth, nobility, sympathy, friendship, humanity, amity, selflessness, sacrifice, etc., were stitched and worn under this system, as per the political demands and considerations. As a result, threads of ostentation appeared all around. But Allah the High had promised that the more the people of the Book would try to conceal its realities, the more He would unveil them, guide them with His open signs and grant contentment to their hearts. No matter in what disguise these political and evil Machiavellians appear, they will fail to hide their tarred faces; the greater the power, the longer will be their period of chastisement and talks of disgrace and degradation will be commonplace. Thus, Allah the High will bring out His virtuous servants from the darkness of deviation to the light of guidance.

From Rome to Persia, the reigns of the so-called Muslim governments of the Syrians and the Arabs were such that they made the tyrannies and cruelties of Firaon and Namrood appear like minor, non-cognizable offences. The slyness, deceits, conspiracies and licentiousness of Moaviyah, the Emir of Syria, had fallen to such pits that the evils of the past seemed like trivial misdeeds. Labeling all vices as Islamic, the accursed Satan had decorated them in the palaces of every Muslim ruler and chief. A storm was about to erupt in the sea of blood, when the grandson of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.), Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (a.s.) prevented it through his peace treaty with the spiteful Emir. After the death of Moaviyah, his son Yazid indulged in such dirty play that will reveal the writing of a bloody Syria on every coming era till the Day of Judgment. Every coming morn will appear wearing its shroud, as if each ray of the sun is penetrating the heart of justice with the despots' spear of tyranny.

It was the first day of the first month of the year 61 A.H. The first morning dawned, screaming and calling out to the holy souls that had descended from the habitat of the celestial world. It was calling out to Adam, the chosen one of Allah, for help; beseeching Nuh (a.s.) to provide the parts of the Ark; imploring Ibraheem (a.s.) to exercise patience, supplicate and plead with Allah; to provide the awe of Moosa, the addressee of Allah's speech; requesting Eesa (a.s.) to spread out his prayer-mat on the Divine Throne; the grandson of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.), the beloved of Hazrat Zahra (s.a.) is about to reach the barren and infertile land of Nainava (the other name for Karbala) and in the process, ripping apart Hurr's army. In a short span of ten days, a war between truth and falsehood will take place; in which, the small but extremely loyal army of Imam Husain (a.s.) will clash with the huge multitude of Kufans and Syrians. The past Prophets (a.s.) will be in a state of confusion and perplexity and invoke the Almighty, 'O Lord! Grant a clear victory to our heir!'

When the morning of Aashura dawned, the chapter of the biggest victory in history was opened. Hurr placed the standard of freedom on his shoulders and ordered that his hands be tied behind his back and he be blindfolded. His son, brother and slave accompanied him. Despite being among the earthly creatures, the embodiment of repentance, Hurr, managed to stir amazement in the celestial inhabitants. His feat was so enormous that till date the handkerchief of the Lady of Paradise, Hazrat Zahra (s.a.), is adorning the his forehead. The fact is that Hurr salvaged the pride of all of us, the monotheist inhabitants of the earth.

Come! Let's all try to comprehend the magnitude of Hurr's act and deliberate over his value and worth. Let us cast a glance at the vastness of Hurr's conscience. Let us examine the attributes of courage, bravery and willpower in our own selves and analyze our level of repentance in the mirror of Hurr's historical sacrifice. Let us measure our acts on his scale and then we lovers of Imam Husain (a.s.) can exclaim, "We earthly creatures also have value and are loved by Allah the Almighty."