Part II: Philosophy of Dhakiri
Aza-e-Hussain is a force that can be mobilised to take the community to the pinnacle of spiritual enrichment.
The people who can make us attain this objective are our dhakirs. They have the undivided attention of their audience during the months of Muharram and Safar.
The audience is there willing and waiting to surrender their emotions to the words of the dhakir.
This also prepares them to listen to and imbibe the account of the cause of Imam Hussain (A.S.), the basic values of Islam and what is expected of them as good Muslims. They would be willing to be placed in the ‘discomfort zone’ by some home truths from the dhakir, so long as the dhakir does not go into personal attack of any person or group.
We must never lose sight of the fact that we have only two institutions to impart knowledge of Islamic precepts, ethics, the basic values and to deal with social and other problems confronting the community. One is the madressa and the other is the majaalis.
For the adults and the youths no longer in the madaaris they have only one forum for spiritual enlightenment. This is the majaalis.
There may be dhakirs who may feel that in order for the masa’ib at the end to have the maximum impact they should not disturb the community’s personal equilibrium by transporting them to a discomfort zone. For this reason some of us prefer to devote the earlier part of the majlis by narration of munazirah or fadhail, often employing linguistic acrobatics, talking much, saying very little of any use to anyone.
In October 1984 the Irani magazine al-Tawheed published an editorial which was an eye opener to me. In my opinion it encapsulates the entire philosophy of dhakiri. For this reason I feel I must share excerpts from that editorial with you. Please forgive me for subjecting you to such a long quotation: "Mourning ceremonies," writes the editor, "are held by Muslims throughout Muharram and Safar, and in gatherings which are called `Majaalis', elegies are recited and sermons are delivered from the minbar in which the sufferings undergone by al-Imam al-Hussain, the members of his household and his companions are narrated. For the Shiah sect, the majlis and the sermons delivered therein are the primary source of religious education for the children, the illiterate and even educated adults.
"However, with the general decline and deterioration in the Muslim Ummah, of which the Shiah community is a part, the great educational potential of the majlis has slowly eroded, to the extent that not only the great educational purpose that lies behind mourning for al-Imam al-Hussain has been forgotten, the majlis has become a platform for intensification of sectarian animosities and propagation of misconceived beliefs that conflict with the spirit of the Islamic faith.
"The lamentable ignorance of the masses and the deplorable negligence or absence of the sense of duty on the part of many dhakirs have converted most majlis into mere sources of nourishment of sectarian conceits and delusions.
"Shi’aism, which implies a voluntary and aware choice to shoulder greater responsibility as member of the Ummah and devoted obedience to the wajib al-'ita`ah (i.e. those whose obedience is obligatory) Imams of the Household of the Prophet (A), its meaning has gradually degenerated into a mere emotional attachment for the Ahl al-Bayt (A), devoid of any sense of ethical or social responsibility for the present-day condition of Islam and Muslims. We, the self-declared Shiah of al-Hussain ibn `Ali (A), should pause and meditate at the answer given by him to a man who proclaimed to the Imam, "O son of the Prophet, I am one of your. Shiah." A1-Hussain ibn `Ali (A) said to him:
Fear God, and do not make such
a claim that God, the Almighty, should say to you, "You lied insolently by making this claim." Indeed our Shiah is one whose heart is free from every kind of deception, adulteration, hatred, malice, and corruption. If you are not such then say, "I am one of your admirers and supporters." "Whereas the Holy Book calls the believers to emulate the Prophet (S) as the most sublime model of humankind, "You have a good example in God's Messenger for whosoever hopes for God and the Last Day, and remembers God oft. (33:21) "The dhakir struggles to project the Prophet (S} and the Imams (A) as supernatural beings to be admired and extolled, not to be imitated and obeyed. He strives to drive home the point that the Qur'an is understandable only for God or the Holy Prophet (S) or the Imams (A), a book of sacred and abstruse meanings opaque to human understanding, a book so holy that it is impertinent even to try to understand it.
"The Qur'an and the ahadeeth lay great emphasis on the duty of al-'amr bil ma’ruf wa al-nahy `an al-munkar, and it is recognised as one of the most important duties of Muslims in general and the ‘ulama in particular. Unfortunately this duty is discretely shunned by the dhakir who is averse to disturb the complacence of his audience and to venture to guide them at the cost of his own popularity. The strategy of connivance, though full of perils in the Hereafter, yields immediate returns.
"The present situation in the Muslim world is no better than the conditions that prevailed during the later decades of the life of al-Hussain ibn Ali (A). All hallmarks of the Islamic culture have been washed away in the deluge of modern paganism. The greater part of the Muslim world is under direct or indirect domination of non-Muslims. The sad signs described in a prediction of al-Imam `Ali (A) have already come true: A time will come when nothing will remain of the Qur'an except its script, and nothing of Islam except its name. The mosques in those days will be flourishing with regard to architecture, but desolate with regard to guidance.
Those staying in them and those visiting them will be the worst of all on the earth. From them mischief will spring up and towards them all wrong will turn. If anyone isolates himself from it (mischief) they will fling him back towards it, and if anyone hesitates, they will push him towards it.... "In such conditions how can any discourse about the great struggle of al-Hussain ibn `Ali (A) be unaccompanied with a discussion of the lamentable condition of the Muslim Ummah? Is it not the height of callousness and even hypocrisy to pass by in silence the aims and ideals for which he took a stand against the regime of Yezid and sacrificed everything? "Is it not the very extreme of injustice to deprive the Muslim children and adults of the great potential of the majaalis which are held in the memory of Imam Hussain? Is it right not to use the great devotion of the Muslim masses to the Ahl al-Bayt (A) and their great enthusiasm and zeal during the months of Muharram and Safar-a time when the hearts are softened by the stupendous tragedy of Kerbala' to receive the teachings of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives with al-Imam al-Hussain-to inform and educate our children and adults about the ahkam of the shariah and the Akhlaq of the Ahl al-Bayt (A)?
"The Shiahs have admired `Ali and his sons(A), their leaders and guides, for centuries, and wept over accounts of their sufferings. Is it not time that we should start following them in deed, in all walks of our life?
After all they are our Imams, our leaders and our teachers, who underwent those sufferings and hardships in order to instruct us and guide us on the Straight Path of Allah?
Should we not question our sincerity if we persist in our refusal to be benefited by their efforts to improve our lot, to purify our souls and to guide our intellects?
"The majlis should inform and instruct. It should inspire and enlighten. Like al-Hussain ibn `Ali (A), his dhakir, who occupies the minbar of the Ahl al-Bayt (A), should aim at resurrecting the spirit of Islam and the message of the Qur'an.
"Only when our majaalis become classes for dissemination of the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt (A) which lie buried in hadith texts, only when our majaalis become platforms of Muslim unity instead of being instruments of division and disunity, only when our majaalis and minabir become the seats of the duty of al-'amr bil ma’ruf wa al-nahy `an al-munkar, only when the Qur'an is made again the book of our life and the light of our majaalis, only then can it be said that our majaalis and minabir are doing justice to al-Imam al-Hussain (A) and to the people whom the majaalis were originally instituted to nourish spiritually, morally, and intellectually."
Al-Tawheed Vol II: 1 Fourteen years have passed since that very painfully frank and poignant editorial was written and published. Sadly in most cases it is as applicable today as it was then. The community is torn by strife, self-interest, dissension and indiscipline. This situation must change.
Only we the dhakirs can bring about that change.
Every dhakir must fully appreciate the fact that he sits on the minbar to continue the struggle of Imam Hussain and to endeavour and accomplish the cause of the great martyr.
In order to fully comprehend this function we need to briefly examine the history.
From the day he left Madinah on the 28th Rajab in 60 Hijrah, at every stage, our Imam made his mission clear. He left no doubt as to his intentions.
It was not to fight Yezid to get the throne of the empire over which the khalifah ruled. Imam’s mission was to reawaken the spirit of Islam and rekindle the Islamic conscience which was nearing extinction by the conduct of Muawiyah and Yezid. Justice and morality were gradually being destroyed by the greed for land and power of those who had become rulers. Qur'an insists that distinction can be accorded by piety alone. Since the death of the Holy Prophet a social order had come into existence creating an aristocracy based on nepotism and blood relationship.
Let us look at some of the statements by Imam Hussain. Before leaving Madinah Imam Hussain made a will and handed it over to his brother Muhammad Hanafiya.
In this will Imam wrote: "My mission is to reform the muslim community which I propose to do by AMR BIL MA'RUF AND NAHYA ANIL MUNKAR, inviting them to the good and advising them against evil. It is not my intention to set myself as an insolent or arrogant tyrant or a mischief maker".
In Mecca Imam addressed a large group of scholars who had come for pilgrimage.
He exhorted them to do amr bil ma'ruf and nahya anil munkar and not to pander to the philosophies of the rulers who paid them to keep away from truth. This was a long and powerful speech reminding the scholars of their duty to inculcate Islamic conscience and not to mislead the masses who trusted them.
The sole cause for which Imam Hussain set out from Madinah was to perform his duty to do amr bil ma'ruf and nahya anil munkar to the ummah which had not only apathetically accepted the evil that had been flowing from the court in Damascus but, sadly, begun to emulate it. The inevitable consequence of this would have been a total destruction of all Islamic values.
In a letter which he addressed to the people of Kufa Imam wrote: "An Imam is one who judges by the Holy Qur'an, upholds justice, professes the religion of truth and dedicates himself to obeying Allah and His Prophet."
When Hur and his army stopped Imam caravan from going to Kufa, and Hur told Imam that his order from ibne Ziyad was to ask Imam for Bai'at to Yezid, Imam refused to declare Bai'at to someone who was only serving his own ends and not of Islam. Hur said that such an attitude might cost Imam his life. Imam replied: "Are you threatening me with death? Death is many thousands of times better than the dishonour of Bai'at to an enemy of Islam. Do you not see that truth is not being practised and falsehood is not being prevented? I see death as a blessing and life with tyrants as the most disgusting state one can be in."
Imam addressed Yezid’s army and concluded his speech with these immortal words: "My parents did not raise me to submit myself to an evil tyrant. I am your Imam and it is my duty to tell you that you have surrendered the freedom of your mind to the evil ways of Yezid. If you do not care for Islam, and do not fear the day of judgement, at least do care for that precious gift from Allah, the freedom of your spirit!"
And then, realising that there was none amongst the enemy who was prepared to heed to his advice, he climbs a sand dune and cries out: "Who is there who would help us?" Was our Imam crying out for someone to come and help him in his plight or assist him in the battle against the forces ranged against him? There was no one left. Hur had come over and laid down his life. Even infant Asghar had been killed. Who was then our Imam calling out to? He was calling out to the future generations to continue his frustrated cause of doing amr bil ma'ruf and nahya anil munkar.
When a dhakir sits on the minbar he must remember that he has assumed the responsibility to help the holy Imam in his cause.
I would like here to make a respectful suggestion. We the dhakirs should during the months of Muharram and Safar repeatedly remind our audience that aza-e-Hussain is not a mere ritual. It is a commitment to Imam Hussain (A.S.).
A commitment by each one of us, men and women, young and old, to uphold the values of Islam and to subordinate our hearts to the wishes of Imam Hussain. Aza is our way of responding to his call of ‘hal minnasireen yansuroona’ and we shall be miserably failing in our response if we treated this most important institution as a mere ritual. The responsibility lies with us, the dhakirs, and if we fail to discharge this responsibility we shall be answerable to Allah SWT.
I seek your indulgence to make two final points.
Firstly, every dhakir owes it to the minbar to cultivate and safeguard his credibility through his conduct, speech and behaviour.
Secondly the community must recognise that if the important institution of majaalis is to survive for the coming generations, especially here in the West, the reputation of the dhakirs should not be assailed in public, especially in front of one’s children. This could create disillusionment not only with the dhakir but also with the institution of majaalis.
