Karim al-Mahrus46
‘The month of Muharram is one of the months during which the people of
pre-Islamic or pagan times prohibited fighting. Later, in the same sacred
month, our blood was spilt and our inviolability was violated and our
progeny and women were made captive and our tents were put to the torch
and our belongings were plundered and no inviolable thing that the
Messenger of Allah had in us remained but it was violated. The Day of
Husayn has blooded our eyes and let flow our tears and humiliated our
beloved. The land of Karbala47, the land of tragedy and affliction has made
us heirs to tragedy and affliction until the last day. So let the weepers weep
over the like of Husayn, for weeping over him is a mitigation for grave
sins.’
These are the words of Imam ‘Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha alayhis-salam in
which he depicts for us the extent of the recidivism of the Ummayad
regime and the indelible mark that the slaughter of Imam Husayn alayhissalam
left on the people of the Prophet’s household or his Ahl-ul-Bayt
alayhis-salam. Such an immense tragedy it was and such a stain on the
face of Islam.
However, one of the secrets of the magnitude of the day of Ashura lies in
Imam Husayn’s alayhis-salam knowledge of the fate that awaited him and
the pure people, his household. He had certain knowledge that he would be
martyred and he had alluded to this on many occasions in his sermons and
speeches during his exit from Mecca and Medina, stating clearly that he
was reconciling himself to meeting Allah and that he was determined to
expend his lifeblood in the way of Allah and in the aid of the truth and in
reviving the Islamic religion. Through this knowledge and certainty, we
can see the secret of the divine protection and concern afforded to this
45 This is the translation of an article that appeared in the Arabic Kuwaiti periodical ‘al-
Minbar’, issue 11 (2nd Year), April 2001, p.18. Translated by Ali Adam, London.
46 A researcher in The Centre for Islamic Education, London.
47 The name Karbala is a contraction of karb and bala’, an Arabic compound name literally
meaning tragedy and affliction.
Benefiting from Ashura
37
uprising and we can see the greatness of this spirit and the correctness of
his reading of the state of the Islamic nation and government.
The Imam alayhis-salam put his hand on the pulse of both the nation and
the government and when he found that the government was deviating
from the way of the true religion, he took hold of the nation to straighten
this deviation. He alayhis-salam said:
‘I have not come forth out of pride or arrogance, nor to cause corruption,
nor as an oppressor, but I have come forth to seek the reform of the nation
of my grandfather Muhammad. I wish to order the good and forbid the evil
and follow the way of my grandfather and my father ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib.’
He alayhis-salam also said:
‘Now, I summon you to revive the features of the truth and to slay
innovation. If you answer my call then you will be guided to the ways of
righteousness.’
He alayhis-salam also said:
‘And I summon you to the book of Allah and to the way of His prophet. If
you hear what I say and follow me I will lead you to the path of
righteousness.’
In the thought of the supreme religious authority (marji’) Grand Ayatollah
Sayyid Muhammad Husayni al-Shirazi, we can clearly sense today the
effects of the martyrdom of Imam Husayn alayhis-salam and the extent of
its influence on the survival of the Islamic religion and in protecting it
from the guiles of the enemy, all because of the historical stance that he
took and the sacrifice he made on the day of al-Taff.48 We can also discern
with ease from amongst these effects that the power of government,
however great and developed that might be, can never compare with the
power of the nation. The power of government is partial and is derived
from the power of the nation above which there can be no power as long
as the nation remains firmly upon the religion and follows it. The Imam
alayhis-salam, alongside his knowledge by divine will of what would
happen to him and to his family on the day of Ashura, also knew of the
outcome of events and of the future. His uprising did not only uncover the
scandals and crimes of the Umayyad regime but there was a mission
behind this uprising; namely to make clear the reality of the Islamic
48 Al-Taff is another name for Karbala.
Husayn – The sacrifice for mankind
38
religion and to clarify its features for everyone. The result of the battle of
Karbala was the uprooting of the Umayyad government despite its
tyranny, influence, power, wealth and military might at a time when the
society was not even allowing itself to consider the question of
overthrowing the Umayyads because of their might and despotism. The
events at Karbala renewed life for Islam and corrected the religious beliefs
that had arisen due to the Umayyad’s fabrication of prophetic traditions or
hadith and their adoption of ideas from false philosophies. Ideas such as
predeterminism (jabr) - the idea that men are compelled by Allah in their
actions; delegation (tafwid), and theomorphism (tajsim) - the idea that
Allah has a bodily form, and others like them, which served to shore up
the pillars of their illegal regime. Hence Islam appeared once again,
shining in the true form in which Allah had revealed it to His noble
messenger salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih, in the form of the madhhab or
school of the Ahl-ul-Bayt alayhis-salam after being cleansed of the
detritus of Umayyad falsehood.
This uprising was and remains a model for all other liberationist uprisings
in the world against oppressors. This uprising was the ‘big bang’, which
prepared the way for a succession of revolutions and motivated those
involved in the struggle to defend the sacred values of Islam and taught
them the art of combating tyranny and to be steadfast in the struggle until
they achieved a life of nobility and freedom. The nation then is a great
power, and government has no power if the legality of its existence has not
acquired the approval of the sacred law (shari’ah) and the nation. The
nation must grasp however, that for the legal government to be righteous
the nation must also be righteous. On this note, the renowned scholar
Sheikh al-Baha’i says:
‘There is no fault in the religion of Islam itself, rather the fault lies in the
Muslims themselves.’
Imam Husayn alayhis-salam, through his uprising, pointed out the way for
the future generations and made clear the path to solving the problems of
society and attaining the happiness of this life and the nobility of the next.
When Islamic society indeed put into practice some of these Islamic
teachings it lived a life of prosperity and nobility as history witnessed in
the days of Sayyid al-Murtada and Sheikh al-Mufid and Allamah al-Hilli
and Sheikh al-Karaki and Sheikh al-Baha’i and Allamah al-Majlisi (May
Benefiting from Ashura
39
Allah venerate their souls)49. Then society was living an honourable life
without being afflicted by any of the problems that afflict the Muslims
today. On the contrary, it was the enemies of Islam who suffered from
these crises since they were drowning in the seas of ignorance and
backwardness and the like. ‘Husayn is the lantern of guidance and the ship
of salvation,’ as the Messenger of Allah salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih said.
This hadith or prophetic tradition depicts the world in the finest of ways in
order to bring us closer to understanding the true nature and reality of this
world. It likens this world to the dark depths of the ocean from which there
is no salvation except by means of a ship and there is no way to escape
from its glooms except by a lantern. This is a splendid simile. Man in this
world is in need of a lantern to light for him the way otherwise he will be
lost in the darkness of ignorance and poverty and illness and will fall into
the abysses and will not be able to perceive and hence avoid the wild
animals and beasts which seek to prey on him. He is also in need of a ship,
which will preserve him from drowning and perishing in the clashing
depths of the seas of the world and will take him to the shores of
tranquillity in safety and peace. What is it that functions as the lantern to
guide mankind in the world and the ship to rescue him from its depths? It
is none other than that which was specified by divine revelation and which
was pointed to by the Messenger of Allah salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih
when he said:
‘The people of my household are as the stars, which ever
one of them you seek guidance from, you will be guided.’
He salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih also said:
‘The similitude of the people of my household is as the ship
of Noah, whoever boards it will be saved, and whoever
tarries behind from it will drown.’
These two descriptors; the lantern and the ship, apply to all the fourteen
impeccable personages namely; The Prophet Muhammad salla-llahualayhi-
wa-aalih, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib alayhis-salam, Fatima al-Zahra’
alayhas-salam, Hasan al-Mujtaba alayhis-salam, Husayn al-Shahid
alayhis-salam, ‘Ali al-Sajjad alayhis-salam, Muhammad al-Baqir alayhissalam,
Ja’far al-Sadiq alayhis-salam, Musa al-Kadhim alayhis-salam, ‘Ali
49 They are some of the most eminent authorities in Islamic sciences and hadith, who lived
over the period ten to fifteenth centuries. Their researches and works in the teachings of Ahlul-
Bayt alayhum-as-salam still form the basis of many contemporary investigations and
works.
Husayn – The sacrifice for mankind
40
