The Movement of Ashura and the Iranians
Nadiya Nazeri & Shahryar Yasini
The present researches analyze the role of Iranians in Ashura and the continuation of the revolutionary process of this nation before and after the event of Ashura, the very nation that had been oppressed for ages by the kings. In the ensuing decades since the emergence of Islam, unfortunately some of the people within the ruling group, due to their parochial mentality, began to discriminiate against Iranians to the point that they considered them as among the lowest stratum of the society. But the viewpoint held by the Ahl-al-Bayt (A) and especially Hadrat Ali (A) was different in that they respected Iranians. It is no wonder that the Iranians have a passionate love and a strong inclination towards the family of the Prophet (S). An invitation was extended to Imam Husayn (A) by Iranians so he would come to Iran. The Iranians provided support to Imam Husayn (A) and after his martyrdom were actively seeking revenge for his blood. This all shows the sincere love of this nation for the Prophet's Household. The blood spilt in Karbala inspired the Iranians to seek vengeance against the Umayyad rulers. Actually, the intense desire to revenge helped them gain the self-confildence to stage full-scale revolts against the Umayyads. Indeed, the Iranians were the onces that put an end to the Umayyad rule. They were the ones who later contributed to the Islamic civilization and made sure that the Islamic lands were among the most advanced nations for hundreds of years.
All of these events occurred thanks to the sacrifice of Imam Husayn (A) in Karbala, an event which added to the love of this nation for the Prophet's Household, a love which has not diminished and is always on the increase.
Social viewpoints of imam Khomeini (R)
on the movement of Ashura
Ghulamreza Siddiq Ora'ie
In the social thoughts of Imam Khomeini (R.), the main problem facing the Muslim Ummah is the fact that they have become the victim of the whims of the Nafs (Self), a problem which has in turn led to the lack of existence of any righteous government and the domination of governments based on falsehood.
Imam Khomeini (R.) repeatedly referred to the movement of Ashura. Indeed he derived his model of social and-political conduct from the events in Ashura. He repeatedly compared the events in the year 60 H. with the events in the forties and fifties in the Iranian calendar of this century [equivalent to sixties and seventies on Christian calendar].
The historical & Ideological Roots of the Movement of Ashura
Mahdi Pishva'ie
All social phenomena come about as a result of a certain factor or factors. The movement of Ashura is no exception. Ashura did not begin in the year 60 H. But it began after the departure of the Prophet Muhammad (S). One could say that Ashura is a chain that connected Saqifah to Karbala.
Among these factors were the infiltration of the old and sworn enemies in the leadership in order to show the seeds of discord among Muslims and to occupy key positions. This led to the emergence of Mu'awiyah as the ruler of Syria during the reign of the Second Caliph whose silence and complacency about the former's conduct paved the way for the military buildup and the rise of an economic as well as political power in Syria. During the rule of the Third Caliph, the center of government was, in effect, transferred to Damascus.
After the peace with Imam Hasan (A), the power structure had no qualms about being overtly anti-religious. Hence, in this period, the House of Hashim (Bani Hashim) came under increasing pressure.
In this paper, after presenting a documented discussion, I will focus on the last days of the life of Mu'awiyah and on his attempts for creating a government based on lineage. I will then deal with the event of Ashura and the causes that led to that event. In the section on the causes that led to the event of Ashura, I will discuss three causes: the opposition to the covenant (Bay'ah) with Yazid Ibn Mu'awivah, the invitation by the people of Kufa and the factor of enjoining the good and prohibiting the evil. In another part of the paper, I will discuss and compare the effects of each of these three factors. Aside from the importance of the invitation of the people in Kufa and Imam's refusal to sign a covenant with Yazid, the most important factor is Imam's insistence on exercising his duty to enjoin what is good and prohibit what is evil. This is seen frequently in addresses given by Imam Husayn (A), in the letters that he wrote for the tribal chieftains in Basra and in his last will and testament.
A study of the Ashuraic Thoughts of Imam Khomeini
Sayyid 'Ali Qaadiri
Doubtlessly. Khomeini is a Husayni, and Ashura too has many widespread and profound political dimensions. When we want to analyze Ashura from the viewpoint of Imam Khomeini (R) we face a difficulty, which is: the ruler (in his case) is both a faqih and a Gnostic ('arif), a politician and a pious individual, a poet and a philosopher, and therefore his words at times have a legal sense and at others a gnostic meaning, at times they are theological, while at others political. It is here that the researcher conducting an autopsy of Imam Khomeini's thoughts is perplexed.
In the field of politics, from the point of view of epistemology, there are various areas of inquiry, and it is not valid to carry an issue of one area to another. Therefore in dealing with the observations of Imam Khomeini (R), at times contradictions arise. For solving this problem attention should be paid to the definitions of the various areas of political inquiry. These areas are: political science, knowledge of political events, political analysis, political views and opinions, and finally, political thoughts.
Every part of his speech belongs to one of these areas. Apart from the first area i.e. political science, in which no specific scientific theory about Ashura has been reported from him, in all the other areas he has aired his specific views.
Imam Khomeini (R) is a political thinker who had a program for administering the affairs of the people. He was a powerful revivalist whose political thoughts took the form of a revolution and were codified as the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The political thought of Imam Khomeini is purely Shiite; he explicates Islam on this basis and from this point of view he mastered the courage to revive religious thought. With a knowledge of this, a great part of the masses in the Islamic world - both Shi'ah and Sunni - accept him as their leader
The Ramifications of the Uprising of Imam Husayn in Hijaz and Iraq
Montazer-el-Qa 'em
After the death of the Second Caliph, Uthman lbn Affan was nominated as the successor by Abdur-Rahman Ibn Awf, who was a member of the committee to choose the caliph. The House of Umayyads, the very people who were pardoned by Prophet Muhammad (S), took the most advantage of the goodwill of the Third Caliph. During the ensuing years, the House of Umayyads succeeded in pushing the House of Hashim and the Ahl-al-Bayt away from the center of political life of the Islamic society. Right from the very beginning of his rule, Mu'awiyah concentrated all his might in shaping a monarchical rule. He ordered the killing of many of the sincere and loyal friends of Hadrat Ali (A) such as Hujr lbn Adi. Finally he appointed Yazid as his crown prince. Alter the death of Mu'awiyah in the month of Rajab of the year 60, Yazid became the ruler of the Muslim world, the very Yazid who was a corrupt libertine and who had composed the following verse:
"The house of Hushim (merely) played with the rule, (otherwise) there was neither any news, nor was there ever a revelation."
Since the beginning of the rule of Yazid, the leadership as appointed by Prophet Muhammad (S) could not tolerate the ways of Yazid and was led to take measures which eventually led to the events of Ashura in the month of Muharram of the year 61
H. Alter the martyrdom of the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (S), important events came to pass both in Hijaz and Iraq which were all inspired by the events of Ashura. The uprising of the people of Medinah, known as "Harrah", in the month of Dhul-Hijjah of the year 63 H. under the leadership of Abdullah Ibn Hanzalah, the declaration of autonomy in Mecca by Abdullah Ibn al-Zubayr were the reactions of the events of Karbala, in the land of Hijaz. The Uprising of the Repentant under the leadership of Sulayman Ibn Surad Khuza'i in 65 H. and the uprising of Mukhtar Ibn Abi'Ubayd Thaqafi in Kufa, were all inspired by the revolt in Karbala. The 16-month-long rule of Mukhtar had the following achievements: the killing of the perpetrators of the carnage in Karbala and the direct participation of Iranian Mawalis in his uprising. In the ensuing 20-year-long rule of Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf Thaqafi over Iraq, the Shi'ahs were persecuted and suffered many indignities at his hand. The Arab chauvinism of the Umayyads, plus the repressive rule of Hajjaj, made the Mawalis harbor the deepest kind of hatred against the Umayyad rulers. Hence, because they had a common enemy, the Mawalis and the Shi'ahs began to gravitate towards each other. Previous to that, during the rule of Hadrat Ali (A), who had dispatched officials to rule over such lands as Khorasan and lsfahan, the seeds of Shi'ism and the support for Ahl-al-Bayt (A) were sown back then. Later with the arrival of people like Ash'ari to Qum the sapling of Shi'ism began to blossom.
Ashura and the Issue of Government
Muhammad Taqi Rahbar
The issue of government in the monotheistic world view, is among the special attributes of the creator of the world, both in terms of creation (Takwin) and divine legislation (Tashri). As far as man's social life is concerned, the issue of government is entrusted to the messengers, Imams and the righteous men on earth.
The establishment of justice, which is a precondition for human growth and evolution, is not possible except through, a divine Khilafah (Vicegerency). What really ensures the establishment of this divine government is the great responsibility of enjoining the good and prohibiting the evil (amr-e bil-ma'ruf wa nahy an al-munkar) which guarantees the execution of the divine laws and retributions.
In the Hadith sources of major denominations in Islam, one comes across many reports which stress the struggle against the oppression and corruption of rulers, even if the rulers happen to be Muslims. Considering these Hadeiths, one can conclude that the thesis that one should obey the oppressive rulers-a thesis which is based on some questionable Hadiths or statements by some of the disciples of Prophet Muhammad (S) is an insupportable thesis. It is indeed a thesis which the oppressive rulers must have created to bestow an aura of legitmacy to their illegal rule. At the time when Yazid became the ruler, the system of government was being transformed from Khilafah of Prophet Muhammad into dynastic rule. This amounted to a ruinous innovation (Bid'ah), which necessitated a confrontation even if it meant a bloody confrontation.
Effecting a major destructive change in the religion of Islam by the House of Umayyads could not possibly be done without first preparing the intellectual foundation for that deleterious change. The Umayyads supported the idea of determinism, attributing the cause of the events to a predetermined divine plan. The innovations in the system of government and the ideological foundation created a situation which made Imam Husayn (A), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (S), play his historic role and fulfil his divine mission. He had two effective weapons in achieving his aim:
1.The enlightenment of the public opinion and exposing the evil Umayyad rule,
2.Fight and struggle till martyrdom.
Martyrdom was the most effective way Imam Husayn (A) could have chosen to revive Islam and to bring about subsequent revolutions such as the Islamic Revolution of Iran, and that is what he did.
Reflection of Ashura's Behavioral Model, Elite, and the People in the Thought and Action of Imam Khomeini
Zahra Rahnavard
Need, thirst and self-control are the three words that summarize the culture of Ashura. These three concepts manifest themselves on the road to God. The culture of Ashura, in the fight between truth and falsehood and the battle between good and evil, serves as the model of all seekers of truth. On this road, the intellectual model and the political behavior of Imam Khomeini (R.) are informed by the Ashura of Husayn(A), with two major differences in the presence of the people and the elites. In the Ashura of Husayn (A) the people have a weak presence and the elite are active on the scene: The elite are from the pure line of the Prophet (S) and a handful of people are themselves from another group of elite. Despite that, in Ashura a very peculiar type of victory emerges, the victory of blood over the sword, thereby leading to the rise of an eternal model for all arenas where truth confronts falsehood.
The movement of Imam Khomeini derives its model from the movement of Imam Husayn (A). The difference here is that the people of Kufa betrayed Imam Husayn (A) but the Iranians were ready to die facing the American and Israeli bullets. Therefore the people have an impressive presence. The elite, too, were present in the movement of Imam Khomeini (R.) but they were lost in the vast popular and religious organizations. The organizations that did not have any demarcation. Anyone who was religious and was a follower of Imam Khomeini (R.) was automatically a member of these organizations because the people would repeatedly chant "Party is only the party of Allah! The leader only Ruhullah!" The lack of elitism in the process of revolution had a positive effect, but later it began to show as one of the inadequacies. The parties, groups associations and forums did not show much of an enthusiasm for being actively present on the scene, for continuing the dialogue and for adding to the multiplicity of dialogues and actions. The people too did not show any keen interest in having a spectrum of ideas and dialogues. Hence, the legitimate and popular Islamic government did not show any inclination or attraction towards diversity. Despite that, in all the post-revolution phases, the presence of the people has always served as the main guarantor of power and legitimacy of the government.
At any rate, the victorious model of Ashura, with its powerful message of the victory of blood over the sword, has been present in religious revolutions and struggles and will remain as the behavioral model of the Muslim world especially the Islamic Revolution of Iran.
The Effects of the Culture of Ashura and Its Manifestations in the Life and Thoughts of Imam Khomeini (R)
Husayn Razmju
Imam Khomeini (R.) was the paragon of virtue and courage. His life was the manifestation of the values of the culture of Imam Husayn's Ashura.
The history of contemporary Iran testifies that for forty years, the dictatorial regime of Pahlavi, suppressed all calls for reform. Alter the events in Shahrivar 1320 H., Imams politiacal struggle took on a new form with the publication of his work Kashf al-Asrar (Unveiling the Secrets). From there on, in every step of the way, until his sad departure, Imam Khomeini (R.) served as a living manifestation of the uprising of Ashura in thought and action.
The Trainees of the School of Ashura
Mahtaab Rezapur
The warriors of Islam, including the Baseejis (i.e. members of the Baseej, the Volunteer Force), the freed prisoners of war, and the martyrs-all of them are students of the school of Ashura. From yet an other point of view, they are also teachers of the lessons of Karbala, for, Ashura is a practical model of struggle and a lesson for life.
The students of Ashura should be considered in two parts. First, from the viewpoint of their intellectual and spiritual development, and second, from the aspect of the revival and reconstruction of the historic episode of Ashura by them and the re-living of Ashura by these fervent devotees of the school of Ashura. As to the first part, the development of these brave persons begins with primary self-knowledge, with such questions as 'Who am I? With contemplation and solitude, it reaches the stage of insight. Self-knowledge means the recognition of one's capacities, weak points, duties and ultimate goal. In the third stage he attains awareness and consciousness by becoming united in his being with his goals and duties and that which he has discovered of his own being. In the fourth stage he reaches the stage of choice of the way of life. Thereafter he experiences love so as to attain to the stage of 'obedience' as the dedication of all his capacities and energies to his ultimate choice and goal. Thereafter he attains to his last stage, that of 'wilayah' 'qurh' and 'liqa', becoming immersed in pure and unmixed life. With recourse to documented events and episode, an effort is made in this part to explain the role of the Movement of Ashura in this regard.
The second part comprises of the special characteristics of the eight-year sacred defense from the viewpoint of similarity with the Movement of Ashura which serves as a model. Contrary to the notions of some people who, out of ignorance or evil motives, cover the real face of Ashura with legend and superstition, believing it to be something singular and unrepeatable. Ashura is a lesson that can be learnt at all times and places. The criterion for struggle and movement should be the motive to fulfil one's duty, and this is a truth common to Ashura and the sacred eight-year defense.
