\u201cWho is more dear to you, your Caliph or a God sent representative?\u201d(1)\nThis question was asked by the bloodthirsty governor of Kufa, Hajjaj, who\ngoverned the city of Kufa during the reign of the fifth Umayyad Caliph, Abd\nal-Malik. With the above quote Hajjaj was saying that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP)\nwas only a message bearer of Allah (SWT), whereas Abd al-Malik was God\u2019s Caliph\non earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hajjaj had stepped far over his\nboundaries, to the extent that he had ordered the people of Syria to perform\nand complete their Hajj pilgrimage in Jerusalem and circumambulate a rock as\nopposed to the city of Mecca around the Ka\u2019ba.(2) These accounts really make us\nquestion, why did the Muslims of the time fall in to such false paths?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can find the answer in history\nitself. Before the reign of Mu\u2019awiyah, the capital of the Islamic government\nwas Medina, where Muslims from around the world were able to see and meet with\nearly Muslims, the Sahaba (the companions) and Tabi\u2019in. They were able to exchange information and\nfamiliarize themselves with Islamic teachings and rituals. However, Mu\u2019awiyah\u2019s\nstrategic move to change the Islamic capital from Medina to Syria closed all\npaths and made sure that Muslims would suffice to the basic rituals such as\nSalat and Fasting. He made it so his dynasty would be no different than the\nprevious reigns and kingdoms such as the Cesar\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mu\u2019awiyah made sure that throughout\nhis forty year reign in Damascus, the people of Damascus would remain as far as\npossible from Islam. His plan worked to the extent that some people in Damascus\nconsidered the Bani Umayyah as the only family of Prophet Muhammad\n(PBUH&HP). Furthermore, the Sahabah and companions were prevented from\nawaking people. Mu\u2019awiyah even became able to prevent Imam Ali (PBUH) and his\n90,000 man army reach Damascus. However, Imam Hussain (PBUH) changed this. Imam\nHussain (PBUH) and his companions were able to conquer Damascus with their\nheads on spears and awakened the entire nation\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mu\u2019awiyah had brainwashed the Muslims\ninto believing that Islam meant giving one\u2019s entire thought and actions to\nobeying the ruler and king. This matter became especially evident during the\nreign of Yazid, son of Mu\u2019awiyah, where the phrase \u201cWhatever the Caliph says is\nreligion and religion is whatever the Caliph defines\u201d could clearly be noticed.\nWhen Yazid sent his army to fight with Abd Allah ibn Zubair (3) in Mecca, the\narmy of Yazid attacked Ka\u2019ba \u2013 the Qiblah toward which they would say prayer \u2013\nwith Catapult!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the one hand Muslims had been\nbrainwashed to obey the Caliph in all matters, and on the other hand Yazid\nthought that after the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain (PBUH) Islam would be over. He\nbelieved that after Imam Hussain (PBUH) no one would dare to stand up and\nrevolt against him. And thus in a celebration gathering that Yazid put together\nafter his so called victory, when the holy head of Imam Hussain (PBUH) was\nbrought, Yazid drunk with pride expressed his real thoughts with a poem. This\npoem was composed by a pagan poet after the victory of pagans in the Battle of\nUhud to praise the Pagans of Quraish and companions of Abu Sufyan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wish the\nprominent men of my tribe who lost their lives in the Battle of Badr (such as\nUtbah, Shaibah, Walid, Abu Jahl, and the rest) (4) were present in this\nceremony, so that they could witness revenge and the misery the helpers of\nProphet Muhammad endured.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this celebration Yazid had also\ninvited the elite men of Damascus and other areas to witness this victory. He\nadded a few lines to the poem:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo to watch this victory\nand become cheerful and say \u2018Thank you Yazid for taking revenge from Bani\nHashim. We killed the prominent men of Bani Hashim to revenge the deaths they\ncaused on the day of Badr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bani Hashim played with governorship\nand politics. There was no revelation. There was no inspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am from the line of Utbah(5), and I\ndo not exist if I do not take revenge from the family of Ahmad and his\nactions\u201d(6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was the result of Imam Hussain\u2019s\n(PBUH) blood which resulted in Yazid uttering his hidden disbelief. Imam\nHussain (PBUH) and his companions were able to conquer Damascus with their cut\nheads, and reinstate the true of message of Islam in Damascus. As a result\nDamascus was transformed, and Yazid was forced to respectfully send the\nremaining family of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) to Medina after he had\ncaptivated them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another significant result of Imam\nHussain\u2019s (PBUH) movement was that the idea of the King or Caliph as full\nauthority over mind and body was removed. People were able to correct their\nassumption that the Caliph had absolute authority over religion, and was even\nmore important than the Messenger of Allah. Before the victory, people\nconsidered corruption as disobedience to the Caliph, but after the movement of\nImam Hussain (PBUH) they were able to realize that the Caliphs themselves were\ncorrupt. As a result people in all Islamic countries awakened and arose. The\nfirst revolt took place in Medina, and was identified as the event of \u201cHarreh\u201d.\nThe second revolt took place in Mecca. The third were 4000 people from the\nTawwabin. The fourth was Mukhtar\u2019s rise. And this went on until finally the\nBani Umayyad Dynasty fell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Martyrdom of Imam Hussain (PBUH)\ncaused an awakening for those who thought they were followers of the Caliphs to\nretrieve Islam from the original source, the Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT). Yes, this was\nthe result of Imam Hussain\u2019s martyrdom: To restore Islam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Selection taken\nfrom \u201cThe Role of the Imams in Restoring Islam\u201d by Allamah Sayyid Murtada\nAskari (RA), vol. 16)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roshd Website offers its condolences\nto all Muslims around the world and especially you dear friend upon the arrival\nof Arba\u2019een, forty days after the Martyrdom of him who died for restoring Islam\nand the true path: Imam Hussain (Peace be upon Him) and his rightful companions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
References:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Iqd al-Farid,\nvol. 5, p. 285-286<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Tarikh\nYa\u2019qubi, vol. 2, p. 261<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Abd Allah ibn\nZubair wa the son of Zubair (a companion of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP)) who\nrised against Yazid in Mecca after the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. These people\nwere relatives of Yazid and an important figure of the Pagans in Battle of Badr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Utbah was the\ngrandfather of Yazid from his mother\u2019s side, and another important figure in\nthe Battle of Badr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. Ibn A\u2019tham,\nKhawarazmi, and Ibn Kathir, of Sunni scholars have narrated that when the head\nof Imam Hussain (PBUH) was brought for Yazid, Yazid recited this poem. (Fotooh ibn A\u2019tham, vol. 5, p. 241; Tarikh\nibn Kathir, vol. 8, p. 192; Maqtal Khawarazmi, vol. 2, p. 48\u2026)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWho is more dear to you, your Caliph or a God sent representative?\u201d(1) This question was asked by the bloodthirsty governor of Kufa, Hajjaj, who governed the city of Kufa during the reign of the fifth Umayyad Caliph, Abd al-Malik. With the above quote Hajjaj was saying that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) was only a message […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[20358,17778,20361,18141,18072,20359,17892,20360,19511,18418,20357],"class_list":["post-4237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2009-02-16","tag-allah","tag-caliph","tag-earth","tag-god","tag-hajjaj","tag-imam-hussain","tag-kufa","tag-message","tag-occasion-letters","tag-the-victorious-blood"],"yoast_head":"\n