By Noor UL Shahbaz
Islamic year, consisting of twelve months begins with the month of Muharram. The month (Muharram) is considered as blessed owing to many historical events of great worth that took place in this month. Prophet Hazrat Musa (A.S) triumphed over his rival Pharaoh and the month was Muharram. It was this holy month wherein the ship of Prophet Hazrat Noah (A.S) found resting place in the terrible flood. Also, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH and his family) says, “the best fasting after Ramadan is fasting in the month of Muharram” (Sahih Muslim).
No more than 50 years had passed since the death of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH, the last Prophet of Islam) and the Muslim Empire was sliding into corruption under a tyrant from the Umayyad dynasty, Yazid. Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) ibn Hazrat Imam Ali (A.S), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH and his family) took a stand against Yazid’s illegitimate rule. Whilst Yazid was in equal parts feared and despised for his ruthlessness, Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) was admired and respected by society at large. Mindful of this, Yazid decided that he would demand Hussain’s allegiance, hoping to gain some form of legitimacy for his inherited rule. Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) had a choice to make. To endorse Yazid would no doubt mean a handsome reward and a life of luxury; to refuse would invariably lead to his own demise. What should he do? What would you or I do? For Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) the choice between the easy thing and the right thing was no choice at all. Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) refused. He said: “I will never give Yazid my hand like a man who has been humiliated, nor will I flee like a slave… I have not risen to spread evil or to show off… I only desire to enjoin good values and prevent evil.” Yazid proved himself to be an evil person. When he took over, the whole system of Islamic institution was demolished, system based on rule of law was completely converted into the rule of discretion, the system was changed into the family hereditary monarchy, public funds were displaced at the personal disposal of the ruler, moral and financial corruption was introduced to the system. It is clear from the fact that when Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) left Madina for Mecca, he had a small band of his kith and kin, including sisters and children with him. Some companions were in their 80’s. If he had envisaged raging a political war, he would not have taken such people with him. As for war old men, women, and baby like 6-month old Ali-Asgar were not required, which were accompanying Imam Hussain in the battlefield.
The tragedy of Karbala has profound significance for all Muslims. It has left such an impact that even after hundreds of years it is fresh in minds of the Muslims. It was a confrontation between justice and oppression and purely a courageous act of opposing falsehood, despotism, and savagery. The Master of Martyrs rose to strengthen Islam, to oppose cruelty, and to stand up against the empire of those days that were beyond the scope of modern-day empires. Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) along with his family and followers all were martyred, but refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid. Karbala does not mean mere for mourning but it’s a message of truth and deterrence against the heavy odds. It’s a mission to never surrender and keep oneself spirited till the last drop of blood in the body. It’s a spirit of never giving up before the wrong and keep stick to the Right, no matter you are 72 encountering 30,000 forces. Karbala is a holy city that is located in Iraq, which represents the symbol of the right. The story of Karbala began in 61 Hijri (680 AD) when Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) and his companions were martyred at the hands of Bani Umeh in the incident “Al- Taff “. Al- Taff means a blood sacrifice to write the true history of Islam. Hazrat Ali (A.S) had several children, but the most important ones were Hazrat Imam Hassan (A.S) and Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S), the 2nd and 3rd Shia Imam, and the Prophet’s favorite grandsons. After Hazrat Ali (A.S) left this world, there was rivalry between Hazrat Imam Hassan (A.S) eldest son of Hazrat Ali, and Muawiya, son of Abu Sufyan (prophet’s uncle), a staunch opponent of the prophet in his early days. Ultimately Muawiya, who had the control of Syria, had the upper hand both militarily and politically, and he forced a peace treaty on Hazrat Imam Hassan (A.S). The peace treaty came with conditions, the most significant of which was that Muawiyah should not appoint his son and turn Islamic caliphate into a dynastic kingdom. Once Muawiyah passed away, his son, Yazid, wanted to become caliph, against the treaty. Hazrat Imam Hassan (A.S) also left this world (was assassinated) by this point, and thus his main contender was Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S), son of Hazrat Ali (A.S) and brother of Hazrat Imam Hassan (A.S). However, Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) had no political power and no backing. He was persecuted first in Madina, his home city, and then he fled to Mecca (which is a safe zone and no wars are allowed there). Yazid wanted to make sure that Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) approves of his rule, so that people also approve of him, and was willing to do anything to make that happen. Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) feared for sanctity of Mecca, and thus left. People of Kufa (the recently created city in Iraq which was the seat of caliphate) sent thousands of signatures to Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S), asking for an uprising. So Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) moved towards Kufa with his family and friends (a caravan of 100–200 people). However, Yazid and his political people had all proponents of HazratImam Hussain (A.S) assassinated and crushed Kufa’s uprising, without telling Hazrat Hussain.On the way to Kufa, at the land of Karbala HazratImam Hussain’s (A.S) caravan was surrounded by a large army of 10,000 people sent by Yazid. They would not allow him to leave, or have access to water or food, and would rather starve and kill his family than let him go without swearing allegiance to Yazid. Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) refused. He was a 57 year old man, and many of the warriors in the army knew him as the favorite grandson of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH and his family), and knew that Muhammad had said, time and time again, that anyone that Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) dislikes, Almighty Allah will dislike him. They forced Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) and his family and friends to fight and die. His 6-month-old son was also martyred. They were all killed gruesomely, but they all attained martyrdom. His family was taken captive and roamed around the whole empire. The news of Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) killing spread around the empire, and people started to regret not taking sides. They started regretting caliphate of Yazid, and their passiveness, as they started remembering the words of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH and his family) regarding Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S). This resulted in many uprisings that ultimately destroyed the Umayyad Caliphate, the world’s superpower at that time, and resulted in start of the Abbasid Caliphate, the next superpower and the epoch of Islamic civilization.
Without Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S’s) sacrifice, the evil Umayyad Empire would continue, and the history would take a completely different turn. The renaissance of Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) came to convey to all of the people in every place and in every age, that Islam is not aimed to establish an Arabian or Islamic empire .The aim of Islam is for everyone on the earth to say, “There is no God except Allah.” Verily the revolution of Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) aimed to revive the Islamic revolution of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH and his family) and its reformative nature. The tragedy of Karbala taught humanity a lesson, fighting unto death for truth is more honorable and valuable than submitting to the wrong way. The remarkable (though appalling) events in Karbala appeared like a great revolution that shook the foundation of Islamic culture.
For sincere Muslims, battle of Karbala is a battle between humanity and oppression that Karbala turned into a triumph. The tragic event became the guider that always reminds Muslims to practice Islam honestly and sincerely. The ordeals faced by Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S), along with his family and companions, were in no way justified but they remained adamant and persistent and upheld the standard of Islam. We should follow in the footsteps of Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) and vanquish those dark forces which pose a threat to our core values, our faith and the rule of law. Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S), his family and companions watered and rejuvenated the field of Islam with their pious blood to maintain it’s pristine and to provide it everlasting liveliness. Khawaja Moin-ud-din Chisti (R.A) rightly said; ‘Haqake Binaye La-ill aast Hussain, Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) is the foundation of “There is no God but Allah”- the fundamental of Islam. Allama Iqbal (R.A), while explaining the philosophy of this battle writes: Mudda’yash saltanat boody agar; Khud naharday ba chu nin samaan-e-safar (Ramooz e Beykhoodi). Meaning, “Hazrat Imam Hussein (A.S’s) only aim behind refusing to give allegiance to Yazid was to uphold the truth and the glory of Islam”. Dear readers restricting Muharram to remembrance and mourning is injustice to the teachings of Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S) and his companions, because their sacrifice is having enormous meaning. They gave a lesson to us with their blood. To defend the truth, they chose to clash with the government of Yazid. They knew they could not defeat the mighty army of Yazid but did not tolerate any change in the Islamic principles. We do remember the tragedy of Karbala but certainly forget the message of the great martyr Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S). The events of Karbala reflect the collision of the good versus the evil, the virtuous versus the wicked. Karbala does no meant mere for mourning but it’s a message of truth and deterrence against the heavy odds. It’s a mission to never surrender and keep oneself spirited till the last drop of blood in the body. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “I learned from Hussain (A.S) how to achieve victory while being oppressed.” We may not have the same status as the Ahlul-bayat, but we have them as our role models. If we continue to strive for the truth and unite against the injustices of our time, we will achieve the mission of carrying on Hazrat Imam Hussain’s message.
CONCLUSION: The tyranny and oppression occur almost every day in different parts of the world. Almost everywhere, the people face atrocities and injustice has become the norm, dishonesty has suppressed honesty, morality has degraded. We have lost the ability to differentiate between good from bad and in this situation; Karbala is issuing a clarion, illuminating call to the people not to accept this system. It teaches us not be neutral or silent in situations of tyranny, oppression, and injustice, instead we ought to stand against all this.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has said: “The best of Jihad is that of a word of right spoken to an unjust ruler.”
Noor UL Shahbaz,M.A, LL.M (GOLD MEDALIST) Guest Lecturer and former acting Principal at Sopore Law College, can be reached at im1415151819@gmail.com
