On every Ashura, the 10th day of the\nMuslim calendar month of Muharram (which fell on December 6th of 680 AD), many\nMuslims all across the world commemorate Hussain’s (PBUH) great sacrifice, but\ntragically the central message of Karbala appears to evade the broader Muslim\nthinking today. Especially the series of events that led to the rule of Yazid\nbin Mu\u2018awiya are often left unelaborated. In Western literature and research on\nIslam, this episode is often viewed through the lens of certain Shia rituals\npracticed on and around Ashura. It is worth probing why that is so. Even more\nimportantly, it is critical to understand why terrorists and extremists like\nal-Qaeda and the Taliban often attack the Ashura related gatherings (as is\nevident from attacks in recent years in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan), and\nwhat is at the core of their disdain of all the things that Imam Hussain (PBUH)\nstood for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A brief historical reference is\nrequired to understand the context of Ashura. After Prophet Muhammad’s\n(PBUH&HP) death in 632 AD, the expansion of Islam became a global\nphenomenon, courtesy of a variety of means. Islam was a rising power in the\nworld, but in the process, the fabric of Muslim society was also being\ntransformed, as the Muslim outlook was gradually influenced by people from\nvarious cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New elites that were more interested\nin power and wealth alone started emerging as more influential, and\nconsequently, Islam’s emphasis on egalitarianism, justice and equity started\ngetting diluted. A deliberate attempt to imitate the dynastic empires of the\nByzantines and Sasanians was obvious to many observers at the time. The\ndistortion of Islamic ideals became a favorite pastime of Yazid and his\ncoterie. The expansion of influence by way of the sword was a hallmark of his\ntimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Hussain (PBUH), the spiritual\ncustodian of Islam at the time, staunchly stood against this shifting tide, and\nhis unprecedented sacrifice was intended to shake the Muslim conscience and\nexpose the misleading path introduced in the name of Islam. It was a matter of\nprinciple for him – one of human dignity and honor.(2) Challenging the newly\nintroduced monarchical system of government was another important feature of\nthis struggle. In his last sermon before departing from Madina on his journey\ntowards Karbala, Iraq, he made clear his mission: “I seek to reform the\nUmmah of my grandfather.”(3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was not a mere political battle,\nthough some Muslim historians try to project it that way so as to cover up not\nonly Yazid’s atrocities, but indirectly to defend his school of thought as\nwell. The mainstream view, however, both among Sunni and Shia Muslims, is very\nsympathetic toward Imam Hussain (PBUH). It would be an absolute travesty of\nMuslim history to call this a Sunni-Shia battle. Some writers still do that,\neither out of lack of in depth understanding, or in a flawed effort to simplify\nthings for a lay Western reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though Shias are often at the\nforefront of commemorating the tragedy of Karbala, Sunnis, especially those\nbelonging to the Barelvi school of thought in South Asia and almost all Sufi\ncircles in broader Asia and the Middle East, also enthusiastically participate\nin paying homage to Imam Hussain (PBUH) and his companions. Extremists and\nterrorists among Muslims want to destroy this element of unity, as sectarianism\nsuits their divisive and violent agenda. Distorting religion to make it\ndogmatic in outlook and regressive in approach is also what helps them achieve\ntheir goals exceedingly well. For them, political power is an end in itself.\nHussain’s (PBUH) message stands completely contrary to this perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An armed struggle for that purpose was\nnever his intended route. He believed in conveying the message through love and\ncompassion. It was a message motivated truly by humanity. Therefore the idea of\ndefiance against tyranny and oppression owes a great deal to Hussain ibn Ali\n(PBUT), the hero of the battle of Karbala in 680 AD.; with just 72 valiant\nfollowers and family members, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP)\nfaced the military might of the Muslim empire ruled then by the despot, Yazid\nbin Mu\u2018awiya. Hussain refused to sanctify Yazid’s reign through baya’a\n(allegiance) and consequently, he and his small contingent were martyred in the\nmost brutal of fashions. The accompanying women and children were imprisoned\nfor months in the dark alleys of Damascus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The great Indian leader Mohandas\nKaramchand Gandhi aptly acknowledged this by saying: “I learned from Hussain\nhow to achieve victory while being oppressed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The above is a\nselection taken from \u201cHistory Lessons from Karbala\u201d, by Dr. Hassan Abbas\n(published in Journal of Foreign Policy December 11, 2011))<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roshd Website offers its condolences\nto all Muslims, especially you dear friend, upon the arrival of 20th of Safar,\nArba\u2019een (forty days after the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (PBUH)), the time to\nrenew allegiance to the master of the martyrs, and the time to visit the Imam\nof the lovers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. The above\ntext is taken from the article \u201cHistorical Lessons from Karbala\u201d published in\nForeign Policy in 2011, which is an influential periodical in world politics\nand economy. Therefore the goal of the article is to address the aspects of the\nAshura uprising to western educated minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Imam Hussain\n(PBUH) demonstrated human virtues during his uprising: \u201cBeware that an evil son\nof evil (Obaid Allah ibn Ziad) has forced me to choose between either of the\ntwo: death or indignity. Never will we accept indignity. The Almighty God and\nHis prophet and the faithful, the pious hearts of the courageous people in the\nworld will not like it if we prefer the obedience of the inferiors to honorable\ndeath. (Ihtijaj Tabarsi, vol. 2, p. 24)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Manaqib ibn\nShahr Aashub, vol. 4, p. 89<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On every Ashura, the 10th day of the Muslim calendar month of Muharram (which fell on December 6th of 680 AD), many Muslims all across the world commemorate Hussain’s (PBUH) great sacrifice, but tragically the central message of Karbala appears to evade the broader Muslim thinking today. Especially the series of events that led to […]<\/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":[20541,19465,17892,20540,18001,18204,22,18418,17864],"class_list":["post-4264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2013-01-03","tag-ashura","tag-imam-hussain","tag-karbala-and-better-understanding-of-history-of-islam","tag-muharram","tag-muslim","tag-muslims","tag-occasion-letters","tag-world"],"yoast_head":"\n