Explorers of Spiritual Territory
That, to my mind, is the supreme significance of martyrdom. All human history shows that the human spirit strives in many directions, deriving strength and sustenance from many sources. Our bodies, our physical powers, have developed or evolved from earlier forms, after many struggles and defeats. Our intellect has had its martyrs, and our great explorers have often gone forth with the martyrs' spirit. All honour to them. But the highest honour must still lie with the great explorers of spiritual territory, those who faced fearful odds and refused to surrender to evil. Rather than allow a stigma to attach to sacred things, they paid with their own lives the penalty of resistance. The first kind of resistance offered by the Imam was when he went from city to city, hunted about from place to place, but making no compromise with evil. Then was offered the choice of an effectual but dangerous attempt at clearing the house of God, or living at ease for himself by tacit abandonment of his striving friends. He chose the path of danger with duty and honour, and never swerved from it giving up his life freely and bravely. His story purifies our emotions. We can best honour his memory by allowing it to teach us courage and constancy.
The End
Further Reading
To find out more about Imam Husayn [a], his position in Islam, his noble family, their sacrifice in the deserts of Karbala, and its universal relevance, see the following resources:
· The Excellences of Imam Husayn In Sunni Hadith Tradition
· The Revolution of Imam Husayn
· Karbala, an enduring paradigm of Islamic revivalism
· Imam Husayn's Concepts of Religion and Leadership
· Victory of Truth: Life of Zaynab bt. 'Ali
· The Illustrious Period of the Imamate of Imam Zayn al-'Abidin
· Karbala and the Imam Husayn in Persian and Indo-Muslim literature
· Also see the heading "Ahlul Bayt - Imam Husayn" and "Karbala" in the Subject Index for many more text, audio, and video resources
