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Newsletter for December 2010
THE LIFE OF IMAM
HUSAIN IBNE ALI (as)
by the late Dr. Syed Haider Hussain Shamsi
(An excerpt from his book, " The Message Continues-the lives of
the Twelve Imams)
DURING THE TIMES OF THE PROPHET
The birth of second grandchild made the Prophet very happy. He
came to the house of Imam Ali and his beloved daughter Fatima
and named the newborn Husain.
It is quoted by many narrators that the Prophet often used to
carry his two grandsons on his shoulders. When people remarked
on how much he loved his grandsons, he used to say, "Hasan and
Husain are the two princes of the youth
of paradise." People also quote from him as praying to Allah by
saying "O Allah, befriend those who befriend them and be the foe
to whoever designs to hurt them."
Regarding Imam Husain, it is quoted from him saying, "Husain is
from me and I am from Husain." It can only be inferred that this
was the utterance of no
ordinary man, out of love with the progeny of his daughter, but
that of the Prophet of Islam about whom Allah says "Nor does he
speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is
revealed...... 111:3.
For about six years, his grandfather, the Prophet of Islam,
nurtured Husain just as his father had done before him. He was
one of the five included in the Qur'anic verse of Tat-heer. He
was the youngest of the representatives the Prophet of Islam
took with him at the Mubahala with the Christians of Najran. The
significance of this nurture and representation must not be
underestimated. When the time came, he laid down his life and
the lives of his family members, as well as his friends to
defend the Message of Islam.
THE LIFE OF IMAM HUSAIN (as) DURING
THE TIMES OF IMAM ALI (as) AND IMAM HASAN (as)
After the death of his grandfather, Imam Husain (as) grew up
during the times of the first dm caliphs and saw the way his
father, hnam Ali, conducted his affairs. When he was elected
the Caliph to succeed Uthman, Imam Husain (as) actively
participated in all assignments given to him by his father,
whether in the mosque or in the battlefield.
Imam Husain (as) manifested the acme of obedience towards Imam
Hasan (as) during his brief caliphate, and helped him actively
on whatever was required of him. He concurred with him in the
matter of the truce with Muawiyah. He never raised
his voice in the presence of Imam Hasan (as), and would not
intedect him when he was preaching or was replying to questions.
When Imam Hasan (as) was dying from poison, given to him
according to Muawiyah's plot, he called his brother Husain to
his bedside and passed the leadership of the faithful to him. Muawiyah,
who had taken his Treaty with Imam Hasan lightly, and had
ignored it, made another violation, and a fateful one which was
to change for ever the course of Muslim history, Muslim Ummah in
the future. In total disregard of his explicit understanding
with Imam Hasan that he (Muawiyah) was not to appoint his
successor, he decided arbitrarily to appoint his son Yazid to
succeed him as the ruler of the Muslim world.
Yazid was known for his open display of a vicious life. Even
though some of his courtiers had cautioned Muawlyah against it,
he started the campaign to recruit fealty for his son Yazid from
all tribal chiefs and the prominent companions of the Prophet
who were alive at the time. The Hashimite clan, led by Imam
Husain refused to give their pledge of fealty to Yazid.
Muawiyah lived for ten more years after the martyrdom of Imam
Hasan, but the Hashimite clan was not forced into submission or
subjugation. However, the verbal abuse and other tactics used
to reduce their influence continued.
Imam Husain continued his mission of peace and religious
education to all those who sought it from him.
THE CONFRONTATION WITH YAZID BIN MUAWIYAH
AND THE TRAGEDY OF KARBALA
Yazid had been raised in a life of luxury, and the principles or
the practices of Islam were remote to him. He had seen the
success in his father's cunning maneuvers against Imam Ali, and
witnessed the insults slung at the Imam and the Ahle Bait of the
Prophet in the Friday congregational prayers. He must have been
made aware of Imam Ali's contributions towards
establishing the Islamic State under the Prophet of Islam, and
during which his pagan ancestors perished under the sweep of
Imam Ali's sword. History has accounted that eighteen of the
clan of Umayyah were slain in the Battle of Badr. Thus Yazid
could harbor no love for Imam Ali or his progeny. Now that he
himself controlled the vast Islamic empire, and that he himself
wielded absolute power, he had the best opportunity of avenging
the blood of his ancestors.
As soon as he assumed the reins of the empire, Yazid decided to
either obtain the pledge of unconditional submission from the
Imam or to have him executed. His father had warned him about
the steadfast nature of the Imam. It was not possible for the
Imam to accept the wicked ruler as his religious leader; and he
was also aware that Yazid would have him killed for this. In
fact, Yazid had given specific orders to his cousin, Walid bin
Uqba bin Abu Sufyan, the governor of Madinah that if the Imam
did not submit to his orders, he should be killed and his head
be sent to him (Yazid) for confirmation.
The Imam did not wish to be killed by a political plot in
Madinah. He decided to leave the relative comfort of his home
in Madinah and marched towards Makkah on Rajab 28,60AH. He care
fully selected those who would accompany him in his fateful
journey.
Upon arrival of the Imam's group in Makkah, Sa'id bin As, the
governor of Makkah vacated his seat and rushed to Madinah to
send first hand information to Yazid. Yazid appointed Umar bin
Sad as governor of Makkah, again with the same specific orders
against the Imam.
Yazid had realized that it was extremely difficult to have the
Imam assassinated in Madinah or Makkah, and that it would be
relatively easy to carry out his wicked plot elsewhere. Twelve
thousand letters were sent to the Imam, inviting him to come to
Kufa and establish the righteous rule of true lslam. Some of
these letters were signed by the respected companions of
the Prophet. Imam Husain was duty bound to respond to the call
from the faithful.
The Imam sent his cousin Muslim bin Aqeel to Kufa to size up the
apparent support for him. Muslim hurried to Madinah to pack for
his long trip to Kufa, and took with him two of his young sons,
Muhammad and Ibrahim aged 7 and 8 year respectively. As Muslim
arrived in Kufa, he was greeted by thousands of apparent
supporters. He sent a letter to the Imam saying that
indeed there was a large enough support and that the people
wanted the Imam to come and lead them on the path of
Righteousness.
Yazid was waiting for his plan to mature. He sent Ubaidullah
bin Ziyad to take charge from Nu'man bin Bashir, kill Muslim and
send his head to him Damascus.
In the large mosque of Kufa, Muslim led the prayers with a huge
number of apparent supporters. When Muslim turned to face the
congregation at the end of his prayers, he found just a handful
of believers staying behind him. Alas! It was too late to
inform the Imam of the treachery of the Kufans. Muslim was
unable to fight his way out of Kufa and was killed. This was
followed by the slaughter of both of his young sons.
The Imam was in Makkah for about four months. He found that he
could not perform his Haj with safety. Yazid had sent his men
disguised as pilgrims, with orders to kill Imam Husain. He
decided that he would not have his blood spilled in the Holy
Sanctuary. He only performed the Umrah instead of the full
rituals of Haj, and started his fateful march towards Kufa. His
long
supplication in Arafat is the epitome of the sincerity in
prayers and exhibition of devout faith in the Will of Allah.
Umar bin Sa'd knew the price of failure. His counter part in
Madinah had failed to kill the Imam or to prevent him from
leaving. He sent Yahya bin Sa'id to stop the Imam from leaving
Makkah. However, he was unable to stall or stop the Imam who
continued his journey towards his destination.
While he was well on his way, he leamt of the martyrdom of his
cousin Muslim bin Aqeel. At that point, there was no turning
back for the Imam. He decided to continue his march to face his
destiny. On the way, he was intercepted by the army of Hurr,
which forced the Imam's caravan away from Kula on to a different
direction, till it arrived in Karbala, a dreaded
waterless desert.
It was in this wilderness that the small caravan of the
righteous Imam was deprived of their basic necessities of food
and water in the desert heat, and of their right to a safe
passage out of the oppressive regime of Yazid. They were denied
access to any support from their well wishers, and were instead
encircled by a massive army of professional soldiers and were
ruthlessly killed in the desert of Karbala on Muharram 10, 61
AH. In this massacre, eighteen Hashimites lost their
lives. They were sons and grand sons of Ali, Ja'fare Tayyar and
Aqeel, from the progeny of Abu Tallb, the protecting guardian of
the Prophet of Islam.
After the bloody battle, the martyrs were beheaded and their
bodies were run over by the mounted soldiers. The tents were
put to flame and the belongings of the survivors were
looted. The survivors were first led to Kufa and then onwards
to Damascus via a less frequented route, lest there be reprisals
from the believers for the massacre of the family of the
Prophet.
Despite the extreme odds the Imam had faced in this
confrontation, his strategy did not let this event emerge in the
history as merely quelling of an insurgence from a dissident
group against the power of the ruler of the time. Instead, he
laid down his life and the lives of his family and friends as
sacrificial offerings whose blood was spilled on the hot desert
sand for no political ambition.
The survivors after the blood bath consisted of Ali ibn
al-Husain, the sick young son of Imam Husain, who was unable to
go out in the battle-field, but now had to assume the role of
leadership, bound in shackles and hand-tied; Zainab binte Ali,
the sister of the Imam; the widowed ladies and a bunch of
children. The courageous captives could neither be silenced by
the force of
the army nor by the pain of the massacre of their loved ones
they had just witnessed. They continued to introduce themselves
at every stop made by the caravan, and in the court of Yazid the
tyrant in Damascus. Whereas some members of this little 'army'
of the righteous had fought in the battlefield with sermons and
sword, the captives continued their mission by eloquent sermons
to the masses who gathered along the route. This not only told
people on what had happened to the family of the Prophet, but
also served to rekindle life of faith in the dead conscience of
the Muslims of the time.
Whereas the kingdom of the tyrant is long gone, the candles of
Faith left burning by the Imam and his companions enlighten the
conscience of Islam each time this story is told and
retold. The annual commemoration of this event with energy and
commitment by the devout believers that has survived through
centuries despite the forces of oppression, is nothing less than
a miracle. The believers continue to take out processions to
demonstrate against tyranny, injustice and oppression against
the bearer of the Truth. They congregate in gathering places
and retell the painful story of the struggle between vice and
virtue. They deny themselves comfort, food and water to relive
the pain and suffering of their beloved Imam, his innocent
family and his companions.
REFLECTIONS FROM THE LIFE OF IMAM HUSAIN
(as)
The Imam had witnessed the life and the conduct of his father
and his elder brother, the two preceding Imams, and was now the
third in the series himself He had participated actively in the
field to fight against falsehood under Imam Ali, and by peaceful
means under Imam Hasan. During his own time, he had to take
drastic steps in the form of martyrdom to preserve the dignity
of the Faith and the Truth. He, for all times, settled who the
rightful custodians of Islam were and who the usurpers
were. He, more than amply, paid back the Umayyad clan with the
precious Hashimite blood from the progeny
of Ali ibne Abi Talib, the champion of Isl@ the victor of all
battles led by the Prophet against the infidel clans of Quraish
and other tribes of the Arabs. After Karbala, no ruler in Islam
could ever claim to be the spiritual Imam of the Muslim Ummah.
Imam Husain set the criteria of faith, piety and sacrifice for
all times. He made the struggle for human dignity as top
priority against forces of tyranny and oppression. With the
blood of his sacrifice, he gave life to Islam. He re-introduced
the spirit of true Islam into the Muslims of his time as well as
for all times to come.
While he was in Madinah, he lived a life of piety and remained
totally involved with the lives of people around him. He
answered their questions, interpreted the meanings of Qur'an and
educated them in their daily lives.
Once a man said to the Imam that being a fallible human, he was
unable to avoid sin. He wanted the Imam to guide him so that he
could be reformed. The Imam said to him, "A person would commit
sin if he could: avoid benefiting from the benevolence of Allah,
escape from the Kingdom of Allah, or from His Grasp, go to a
place where Allah cannot see him, control his death and destiny,
and avoid the inform of hell on the Day of Judgment!"
Once he told his followers, "Consider this life as your total
wealth. As you spend it, this wealth continues to
diminish. You should ponder on what you have acquired as you
spend this wealth. So be alert. Do not lose it in any further
transaction!"
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