Chapter 2: The Distinct Roles of Imams Hasan and Husayn14
It is reported that Rasulollah15 salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih said, “Hasan
and Husayn are both Imams whether they rise up or not16”.
Introduction
(The roles of) Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn alayhum-as-salam were
planned and devised by Allah Almighty, and in turn by Rasulollah sallallahu-
alayhi-wa-aalih, so they facilitate the salvation of generations to
come until the day of judgement. This was not because they were simply
two Imams and Caliphs [successors] of Rasulollah, for this is a forgone
conclusion, but because these two Imams were two models and exemplars
for every single individual who wanted to rescue their peoples and
countries from the yoke of tyranny of the despots at whatever time they be
and in whichever country.
A hadith is reported that Allah Almighty, via Jibra’el alayhis-salam, sent
twelve “envelopes” to Rasulollah salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih each of
which was sealed by the Almighty to be distributed to the twelve Imams.
Each of these contained the instructions as to the Imams’ roles and duties,
which they needed to execute in turn. This is a short and known hadith
that needs at least fourteen sessions to discuss certain aspects of each
Ma‘soom and circumstances of the environment he was living in, and how
each Imam dealt with the situations he faced. Amongst these Imams are
Hasan and Husayn alayhum-as-salam. Here we wish to briefly outline
how precise the divine plan was and how perfectly the Imams executed the
plan, and this is apart from the fact that they are Ma‘soom, or according to
our beliefs Imams and successors to Rasulollah salla-llahu-alayhi-waaalih.
The conclusion that we want to arrive at is whether we can make use of
the circumstances and conducts of these two Imams in accordance with the
hadith that “al-Hasan and al-Husayn are two Imams whether they rise up
14 Abstract of lecture by Grand Ayatollah Imam Muhammad Shirazi
15 Rasulollah meaning the Messenger of Allah, is one of the titles of Prophet Muhammad
salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih.
16 What is meant by this hadith is that an impeccable Imam is leader for the Muslims under
every and all circumstances and conditions; whether he officially assumes the office of
leadership or not, or whether he revolts against a tyrant or not.
Husayn – The sacrifice for mankind
8
or not”? That they are not only Imams – leaders – for their own times
only, but they remain Imams or leaders for generations to come until the
day of judgement. There are three topics that we need to consider:
1. How society produces tyrants?
2. The character and psychology of a tyrant,
3. How to counter the tyrant?
Society and the production of Tyrants
Those societies produce tyrants where reformists are few and weak and
therefore fail to discharge their duties, while mischief-makers are actively
ferocious. And under such circumstances naturally the villains take over
the country and rule the people. On this basis Rasulollah salla-llahualayhi-
wa-aalih said,
“You should enjoin good and prohibit abhorrent, otherwise Allah shall
empower on you the evil amongst you, then you would pray (for this evil
to be alleviated) but your prayers would not be answered.”
This is a logical and rational fact, since if the reformist is not proactive in
his responsibilities and does not discharge his duties, society would
degenerate and gradually turn into a pit of corruption, and under such
circumstances who will come to power? Naturally of the wicked and the
corrupt . . . {however you are like, as such you will be ruled by} Then if a
wicked and a tyrant came to power and ruled the country, and you pray to
Allah that he is removed, will those facts and circumstances change by this
prayer? Of course not, and in the above-mentioned hadith Rasulollah
salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih is clarifying two natural or universal laws. The
universal law of how the tyrants come to power, and the law that prayers
(alone) do not remove the tyrants from power. Both are universal laws,
and here Rasulollah salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih is not outlining a
(specific) Islamic law for us, nor is he informing us from the unseen, but
any sound thinking individual (and Rasulollah salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih
is the master of wisdom and intellect) would realise that the society in
which reformists fail to discharge their duties, eventually and naturally a
tyrant would take over the country, and he would impose his will and his
rule over the people. And if a tyrant comes to power, it is natural that he
would not be deposed by prayers alone, but by action as well as prayers,
for each has its own role to play.
The Roles of Imams Hasan and Husayn
9
Society of the Shaam province17 before the Islamic conquest (around 620
CE) was highly influenced by Roman values, and the then Roman society
was a corrupt and a decadent society, and perhaps these characteristics
were some of the contributing factors to the fall of the Shaam province to
the Muslim army that came from Arabia to introduce Islam to the people
of the Shaam province. The victorious army headed back to Arabia after
the apparent establishment of Islamic rule in the area. However since the
Shaami society was influenced by those Roman values, and it had not
adequately absorbed the teachings of Islam, it was ridden by ignorance and
overwhelmed by corruption in its various forms; social, political,
economical, moral and ethical, and therefore in such a society the corrupt
had the upper hand and the reformists were a minority, if at all.
Mo’awiyah and his son Yazid were the by product of such corrupt society,
as they did not absorb the teachings of Islam, nor did they learn the
manners of Rasulollah salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih, like Imam Hasan and
Imam Husayn alayhum-as-salam had done in the holy city of Medina,
where the government of Islam was established, and personally led by
Rasulollah salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih. Thus a society that has not
adequately absorbed Islam and the effect of reform is still superficial,
would easily be manipulated by the likes of Mo’awiyah, and through fear
or deceit would fall back to its old traditions and beliefs, i.e. corrupt
Roman values. Hence the like of Mo’awiyah and Yazid managed to take
over and hold on to the office of government, through enticement and/or
threat.
To reflect the situation above, a poet states in this famous poem,
I do not know what happened to the Muslim men
Or how Yazid happened to be the king amongst them
How many (responsible) Muslims such as Abu Tharr al-Ghefari18 were
there in the Shaami society at the time of Mo’awiyah and Yazid?
Mo’awiyah was fearful of Abu Tharr alone, since the Shaami society did
not know the Islamic laws and values, and the former was afraid that the
17 The Shaam province roughly covered today’s Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine, and its
capital city was Damascus.
18 Abu Tharr al-Ghefari was one of the most prominent companions of Rasulollah sallallahu-
alayhi-wa-aalih, and he was known for his sincerity and honesty. He also became
known for his frank and brave criticism of wrong actions or policies, and for his standing up
to tyrant and despots rulers of his time.
Husayn – The sacrifice for mankind
10
latter would turn things against him by presenting the Teachings of Islam
as taught by Rasulollah salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih to the public.
It is like introducing Islam to a new city. Will that society be a deeply
Islamic one? No. Only on the surface things may have changed, and
when anyone comes along and falsely claims to know the way of Islam,
they would follow him! And this is what Mo’awiyah claimed in the
Shaami society.
A tyrant is born in a society, where the fundamental factor in nurturing
him is the established corrupt social order of that society. In other words,
whenever you see a tyrant is born in a country, you should know that there
are fundamental factors for it, the first of which being the corrupt and
decadent social proviso of that country.
On the other hand when a society is rich with reformist and responsible
individuals, then it would be a field for growth of prosperity, reform and
development, such that it would be impossible for a tyrant to be born in
that environment.
The prophet showed the people the Islamic way {and what better is there
than Allah’s way} [2: 138], and it is then up to them to adhere to those
teachings in order to reach their targets.
Needless to say, by reformist we do not mean he who preaches to the
people to enjoin good and refrain from evil in a small religious society, but
by reformist we mean he who can change and transfer things and stand up
to tyrants.
