from me and I am from Husayn."
Chroniclers and historians have individually remarked that Imam Husayn
was the manifestation of the best examples of noble manners and conduct,
as well as his vast knowledge, which he inherited from the Messenger of
Allah salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih. His actions spoke before his words.
Imam Husayn alayhis-salam was humbly gracious and generous to the
poor and those in need. He used to support what is right and fight what
was wrong. People always noticed such attributes in his conduct and
behaviour as perseverance, forbearance, and magnanimity. He was the
most pious and God-fearing of all people of his time.
In his book Master of the People of Paradise Dr Ahmad Ashur says:
“If you browse through the pages of the Sihaah books you could not fail to
come across many tens of hadith about the merit and superiority of Imam
Husayn alayhis-salam and the love of the Messenger of Allah salla-llahualayhi-
wa-aalih for him.”
In his book al-Fusul al-Muhimmah Ibn al-Sabbagh al-Maliki, quotes Anas
ibn Malik who said, “I was with al-Husayn alayhis-salam when a servant
entered and in her hand a bouquet of basil. She saluted al-Husayn and gave
him the bouquet. Al-Husayn alayhis-salam said to her ‘You are free for
the sake of Allah.’ I said to al-Husayn ‘She gives you a bouquet of basil
and salute you and you set her free?’ He said ‘This is how Allah has
taught us! Almighty He says: “If you are saluted, salute back in a better
way or return the same salute” and the better way is to set her free.”10
10 At the time of the prophet salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih and the Imams alayhum-as-salam
slavery was common in the society. One of the most important values in Islam is freedom
and therefore it always aimed to gradually eliminate slavery from society. Therefore Islam
encouraged people to set their slaves free, and many rewards are prescribed for setting a slave
free. The Prophet and the Imams lead the way in this process in two ways. One was to set
examples for the Muslims by buying salves and setting them free at the first possible
opportunity. The second policy of the Imams was to buy as many salves as they could,
educate them and then free them into society as free, well mannered, and responsible adults.
In this way, this policy gave a good chance to a slave to attain his/her freedom, set an
example for other Muslims to practice, and give less chance to those who wanted to see
slavery ripe in society.
Husayn – The sacrifice for mankind
4
In his Chronicles, Ibn Asaakir reports that Imam Husayn alayhis-salam
used to receive money (Khums and Zakat) from Basra and other
destinations and he used to distribute the money between the poor and the
needy there and then.
Imam Husayn alayhis-salam is best known for his revolt against the status
quo. By that time the socio-political situation had deteriorated to an
extreme and intolerable state, fundamental measures needed to be taken.
The main aim and objectives of Imam Husayn’s revolt, which are in fact
the aim and objectives of Islam at any time and in any place, may be
summarised as follows:
To bring about a responsible community in order to
implement and convey the message and teachings of Islam.
To build an Islamic society which takes Islam as its sole
source of reference.
To rescue the Islamic civilisation from deviation.
This is because the Islamic Ummah (Community) suffered from various
diseases in different domains:
In the social domain it suffered widely from corruption,
bribery, cheating, oppression, favouritism and nepotism.
From the law and order point of view, the criminal was not
being prosecuted, and therefore crime was ripe.
From the ethical viewpoint, they had turned the moral values
upside down.
From the economic viewpoint, the ruling elite and their
cronies monopolised the wealth of the nation.
For such reasons, and for the fact that the Muslims had remained
indifferent to these issues to the extent that these had become the norm,
that Imam Husayn rose against the injustice and corruption that was being
conducted in the name of Islam.
In the course of his jihad in the cause of Allah, Imam Husayn was brutally
beheaded and his body mutilated, alongside his sons, relatives, and some
seventy of his followers. Furthermore the women and children, who were
subsequently captured, including Imam Husayn’s sisters Zaynab alayhassalam
and Umm Kolthoum alayhas-salam as well as Zayn-al-Abidin
Imam Husayn – a brief biography
5
alayhis-salam, were taken as prisoners and paraded in towns and villages
as villains.
And since then the movement of Imam Husayn alayhis-salam inspired the
reform movements against despot rulers all over the world and the
Muslims continue to reap the fruit of the event of Karbala and every year
during the month of Muharram the memory of Ashura is commemorated
with vigour by hundreds of millions of Muslims all over the world.
As it was mentioned earlier, Imam Husayn alayhis-salam was the third of
twelve Imams who succeeded the holy prophet Muhammad salla-llahualayhi-
wa-aalih. On instructions from Allah Almighty, prophet
Muhammad salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih announced the twelve Imams who
would succeed him in leading the Muslim Ommah (nation). Although at
the time of the prophet Muhammad, only the first three Imams were alive,
however, the prophet salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih named all twelve Imams
who have been appointed as the Ma’soom Imams or leaders11. The first
caliph (successor) of the prophet Muhammad salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih
whom he appointed to lead the Ommah after him was Imam Ali alayhissalam.
The prophet appointed Imam Ali alayhis-salam immediately after
his last pilgrimage, in Ghadir Khum, and instructed the Muslims to pay
homage of allegiance (Bay‘ah) to Imam Ali alayhis-salam as the Imam
and the leader of the Muslims, and commander of the faithful, Amir-ul-
Mu’minin, which they dutifully did. Given the number of people present
at the time, some reports put the figure at more than one-hundred-andtwenty-
thousands12; it took more than three days for them to pay the
homage of allegiance to Imam Ali alayhis-salam.
The names and titles of the twelve Ma‘soom13 Imams are as follows (year
of birth given in brackets):
11 for example see “Yanabi‘ al-Mawaddah”, p 529 by al-Qandozi al-Hanafi;
“Fara’ed al-Semtayn”, vol. p 132; “Ghayat al-Maram”, p 743; Masnad Ahmad, hadith #
19944, 20000, 19875, 19884, 19887, 19892, 199101, 19914, 19925, 19944; Sahih Muslim,
hadith # 3394, 3395, 3396, 3397; Sahih Bukhari, vol. 8, p 104 (al-Ahkam); al-Tirmidhi, vol.
2, p 35; Kanz al-Ommal, vol. 6, p 201; Mustadrak al-Sahihain, vol. 4, p 501
12 See for example: “Tathkirat al-Khawas”, by al-Sibt ibn al-Jwazi al-Hanafi, p 30;
“al-Sirah al-Halabeyyah”, vol. 3, p 257; al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah” by Zeyn Dahlan.
13 Ma‘soom (plural, Ma‘soomeen) is an individual who has attained a state of perfection and
self-discipline such that they are in total harmony with the will of Allah, and as such they are,
for example, able to refrain from the slightest error or overlook the smallest matter. In Islam
the Ma‘soom individuals are fourteen; they are Rasulollah, his daughter Fatima al-Zahra’,
and the twelve Imams alayhum-as-salam. The 14 Ma‘soomeen are also referred to as the
Husayn – The sacrifice for mankind
6
1. Imam Ali, Amir-ul-Mu’minin alayhis-salam, (10 BH, 600 CE)
2. Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba alayhis-salam, (2 H, 623 CE)
3. Imam Husayn al-Shahid alayhis-salam, (3 H, 624 CE)
4. Imam Ali ibn Husayn, al-Sajjad / Zayn-al-Abidin alayhis-salam,
(28 H, 649 CE)
5. Imam Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir alayhis-salam, (57 H, 676
CE)
6. Imam Ja‘far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq alayhis-salam, (83 H, 702
CE)
7. Imam Mosa ibn Ja‘far al-Kadhem alayhis-salam, (128 H, 745
CE)
8. Imam Ali ibn Mosa al-Ridha alayhis-salam, (148 H, 765 CE)
9. Imam Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad alayhis-salam, (195 H, 810
CE)
10. Imam Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi alayhis-salam, (212 H, 827
CE)
11. Imam Hasan ibn Ali al-Askari alayhis-salam, (232 H, 846 CE)
12. Imam Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Mahdi / al-Hujjah / Sahib al-
Zaman alayhis-salam and may Allah hasten his reappearance.
The twelfth Imam, Imam Mahdi alayhis-salam is alive but ‘hidden’ from
the views of the general public, and by the will of Allah he will reappear to
fill the world with justice, after it has been overwhelmed by tyranny and
injustice. Imam Mahdi was born in 255 Hijra, 868 CE, and he went into
occultation when his father, Imam Hasan al-Askari was killed by the
Abbasid ruler in 260 Hijra, 873 CE.
Ahl-ul-Bayt, meaning members of the house, as in the Qur’anic verse Allah only wishes to
remove all abomination from you, and thoroughly purify you, O Ahl-ul-Bayt (Members of
the House). [33: 33].
The Roles of Imams Hasan and Husayn
7
