Imam Husain's Mission

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I n theNameof theAlmighty


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Table of Content


The History and Philosophy of Mourning for Imam


Husain (pbuh)


A. The Message


B. Evolution of Mourning for Imam Husain (pbuh)


C. Importance of Mourning for Imam Husain (pbuh)


D. Aza (Mourning) at Personal Level


Imam Husain's Mission


References


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A. The Message


Over one thousand three hundred and fifty years ago, on


the 10th of Muharram, just before afternoon, a man stood


on a sand-dune at Karbala. He was bleeding from several


wounds on his body. He had lost everything. Since early


morning he had carried several dead bodies into his camp.


He had even buried his infant child.


He looked at the bodies of his loved ones. Tears flowed out


of his eyes. He looked at the sky and seemed to draw some


strength from an unseen source. Then, like a Muezzin from


a minaret, he raised a call:


Is there anyone who will come to assist me?


Is there anyone who will respond to my call for aid?


He turned direction and repeated the call. He did this four


times.


Whom was he calling out to? Surely he was not expecting


anyone to come to his aid. Those who wanted to help him


had already crossed the lines and laid down their lives for


the cause. He knew there was no one left. He knew that


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there was no other Hur. And yet, meticulously and


laboriously, he made sure that his call reverberated in all


directions.


Of course that call was a call to Muslims of every


generation in every land. It was a call to us wherever we


may be. It was a call for help. Help against Yazeedism


which in every age rears its ugly head to oppress justice,


truth and morality. Our Imam was calling out to every


Muslim of every age and time to combat Yazeedism, both


within himself and as an external force. This was his battle


cry for Jihad-ul-Akbar. He had already demonstrated that


his objective had always been to create a spiritual


awakening through Amr bil Ma'ruf wa Nahya anil Munkar,


inviting them to the good and advising them against evil.


Now he was calling out for the continuation of this jihad at


the individual, social and political levels.


B. Evolution of Mourning for Imam Husain (pbuh)


Muslims, and more particularly the Shias, have answered this


call with the unique institution of Aza-e-Husain. With every


tear that we shed for him we pledge to resist the oppression of


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injustice, immorality, inequity and falsehood. Every time we


raise our hand and bring it down on our chest in grief, we are


saying: "Labbaik, Labbaik Ya Mawla!" to our Imam, Husain


Ibn Ali (pbuh), the grandson of the Holy Prophet (pbuh & hf).


For long the word Aza-e-Husain has been exclusively used in


connection with the remembrance ceremonies for the


martyrdom of Imam Husain (pbuh). Aza-e-Husain includes


mourning congregations, lamentations, and all such actions


which express the emotions of grief, anger and, above all,


repulsion against what Yazid stood for. These emotions,


however, remain futile and hypocritical unless accompanied by


a will to reform both at the individual level and the community


level.


Mourning for Imam Husain (pbuh) is not a mere ritual. It is a


commitment to Imam Husain (pbuh). 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


Husain (pbuh). Mourning for him is our way of responding to


his call of ‘Is there anyone who will come to assist me? Is there


anyone who will respond to my call for aid?’ and we shall be


miserably failing in our response if we treated this most


important institution as a mere ritual. The responsibility lies


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with us and if we fail to discharge this responsibility we shall be


answerable to Allah.


The term Majlis has both a grammatical meaning and a


meaning which relates to Aza-e-Husain. In its technical sense, a


Majlis is a meeting, a session or a gathering. In reference to


Aza-e-Husain, it means a gathering to mourn Imam Husain. In


this sense it was first used by our sixth Imam, Ja'far Sadiq


(pbuh). It is reported that his companion al-Fudhayl Ibne


Yasaar came to pay his respects to the Holy Imam.


After the exchange of usual courtesies, Imam asked al-Fudhayl:


"Do you people ever organise Majaalis to recall the martyrdom


of Imam Husain (pbuh)?" Al-Fudhayl, with tears pouring down


his eyes, replied: "Yabna Rasulillah, indeed we do." The Imam


said: "May Allah bless you. I highly approve of such Majaalis."


On another occasion, the poet Ja'far ibne Iffaan recited to our


Imam al-Sadiq (pbuh) a poem on the tragedy of Karbala. The


Imam began to weep uncontrollably. He then addressed the poet


in the following terms:


"O Iffaan, do not think that it is only those whom you can see


here are listening to your poetry. In fact Allah's closest angels


are present here at this Majlis and they are all listening to your


recitation and they too lament and weep. May Allah bless you


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for what you have recited. He will, Inshallah, reward you with


paradise for your efforts on our behalf."


Aza-e-Husain was a phenomenon which gripped Muslim


conscience immediately after the tragedy of Karbala.


The first Majlis-e-Husain was recited in the market-place of


Kufa by a lady from whose head her veil had been ripped off,


whose hopes and aspirations had been destroyed on the blooddrenched


sands of Karbala but whose indomitable spirit stepped


forward to free the Islamic values from the yoke of tyranny and


oppression. She was the first one to answer the call of Imam


Husain (pbuh). Standing on her unsaddled camel, she looked at


the multitude rejoicing the victory of Yazid. As soon as people


saw her, they were quiet. They knew that a historic moment for


Kufa had arrived. Looking straight at them, the daughter of Ali


said:


"Woe upon you O people of Kufa. Do you realise which piece


of Muhammad's heart you have severed! Which pledge you


have broken! Whose blood you have shed! Whose honour you


have desecrated!. It is not just Husain whose headless body lies


unburied on the sands of Karbala. It is the heart of the Holy


Prophet. It is the very soul of Islam!"


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The first Majlis touched and moved the people of Kufa so


deeply as to give rise to both the Tawwabun movement and al-


Mukhtar's quest for vengeance.


Ten days after Ashura, a messenger from Yazid arrived in


Medina. His name was Abd al-Malik ibne Abi al Harith al-


Sulamee. He came to tell the Governor, Amr bin Said al-Aas


that Husain ibn Ali (pbuh) had been killed in Karbala.


The Governor, more conscious of the mood of the people, said


that he himself could not make the news public but Abd al-


Malik, if he so wished, could make the public announcement.


Abd al-Malik announced the news after the morning prayers.


There was such intense weeping and wailing from the homes of


Banu Hashim that the very walls of Masjidun-Nabawi (the


mosque of the Prophet (pbuh & hf)) began to tremble. Zainab,


Umme Luqman, the daughter of Aqeel ibne Abi Talib came out


screaming: "What will you say when the Prophet asks you:


What have you, the last Umma, done with my offspring and my


family after I left them? Some of them are prisoners and some


of them lie killed, stained with blood. What sort of Ajr-e-


Risaalah (reward for my mission) is this that you disobey me


by oppressing my children?"


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Fatimah Binte Huzaam, also known as Ummul Baneen, carried


her young grandson Ubaidullah ibn Abbas and prepared to go


out. When asked where she was going, she said that she was


taking the orphan of Abbas to offer condolences to the mother


of Husain.


Marwan ibn Hakam reports that every afternoon men and


women would gather at Jannat-ul-Baqee and there would be


remembrance of the tragedy of Karbala and the weeping and


wailing could be heard miles away.


When the prisoners were finally freed by Yazid, they asked for


an opportunity to have rites of remembrance in Damascus. A


house was made available to them and Aza-e-Husain went on


for over a week.


Just as Hadhrat Musa Kalimullah had been raised in the palace


of the enemy of Allah, pharaoh, Lady Zainab laid the


foundation of Aza-e-Husain in the very capital of his murderer!


On their return to Medina, Lady Zainab took over the


leadership of Aza-e-Husain in the city of the Holy Prophet. This


aroused such strong emotions in the people and such revulsion


against the oppressor that Amr ibne Said ibne al-Aas wrote to


Yazid to have Lady Zainab exiled from Medina. This was done


in the beginning of 62 AH. Lady Zainab died shortly afterwards.


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Both the 4th and 5th Imams greatly encouraged Aza-e-Husain.


In their times Aza-e-Husain had to be performed in utmost


secrecy as the regime was opposed to any remembrance of


Karbala. The poets who composed elegies and the devout Shias


who attended the gatherings at which these elegies were recited


did so at the risk of their lives. Nonetheless, the poets continued


to pour out their emotions in their poetry.


Some of these poetry are extant today and one can see the


intensity of faith and sadness enshrined in the words of the


poets.


Gradually, the institution of Ziyara (pilgrimage) came into


being. People would visit the graves of the martyrs and there


perform Aza-e-Husain. Our Imams wrote for them Ziyaras to


be recited. One of these Ziyaras is recited today by us and is


known as Ziyarat-e-Waritha.


When we examine Ziyarat-e-Waritha, we can see not only a


testimony of the greatness of Imam Husain (pbuh) and the


moving sentiments describing his sacrifice for the cause of


Allah, but also a solemn pledge and a commitment by the


reciter:


"And I make Allah, His angels, His prophets, and His


messengers, witnesses to the fact that I believe in Imam Husain


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(pbuh) and in my return to Allah. I also believe in the laws of


Allah and in the consequences of human actions. I have


subordinated the desires of my heart to his (Imam Husain's)


heart and I sincerely submit to him and (promise to follow his


commands)."


Clearly, this undertaking was never meant by our Imams to be


an empty ritual. Recitation of Ziyarat-e-Waritha is a


commitment to Imam Husain's cause made in the presence of


Allah and the angels and the prophets and the messengers and


in full awareness of the final accountability of human action.


One must always reflect upon the seriousness and solemnity of


this pledge.


Until the time of Ghaibat-e-Kubra (major occultation), we find


that our Imams always encouraged Aza-e-Husain. They saw in


Aza-e-Husain not only a demonstration of grief for Imam


Husain (pbuh) and the martyrs of Karbala but also a renewal of


one's commitment to Allah and His laws as expounded in the


Holy Qur'an and traditions.


We have records of the sayings of the representatives (Naibs)


during Ghaibat-e-Sughra (minor occultation) explaining and


encouraging Aza-e-Husain. From 329 AH onwards the Fuqaha


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(jurisprudents) and the 'Ulemas (Islamic scholars) took it upon


themselves to perpetuate the message of Karbala.


Sheikh Ibne Babawayh-al-Qummi better known as Sheikh as-


Saduq who died in 381 AH was the first scholar to have


introduced prose as medium of conveying the message of Imam


Husain (pbuh). He would sit on a pulpit and speak extempore


while many of his students sat by the side of the pulpit and


recorded the speech. His speeches have been preserved and to


this day are known as the Amali (dictations) of Sheikh Saduq.


Public demonstration of grief first occurred in 351 AH. On the


10th of Muharram, there was a spontaneous procession in the


street of Baghdad and thousands of men, women and children


came out chanting "Ya Husain! Ya Husain!" beating their breast


and reciting elegies. In the same year, a similar procession took


place in Egypt. The regime tried its best to stem the tide of Azae-


Husain but failed. Very soon Aza-e-Husain became an


institution with deep roots in the hearts of Muslims. Majlis


evolved into an institution for Amr bil Ma'ruf wa Nahya anal


Munkar as well as reminder of the tragic events.


As Islam spread, different cultures adopted different modes of


Aza-e-Husain. Taimur Lane introduced the institution of Tabut


(coffin) and Alam (sacred flag) in India. As Islam spread


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southwards on the sub-Continent, the form underwent changes


to take into account local cultural influences so as to portray the


message of Karbala in the medium best understood by the local


people, both Muslims and non-Muslims.


By the beginning of the 19th Century, there was not a corner of


the world, from Spain to Indo-China, which did not have some


form of demonstration on the 10th of Muharram.


The form varied from country to country. In Iran, the most


popular form has been passion plays as a medium transmit the


message of Karbala in addition to the Majaalis from the


Minabir.


In India, the Ashura processions became part of the Indian


Muslim culture. Even the Hindus participated in these


processions. The Maharajah of Gwalior was always seen


walking behind the 'Alam of Hadhrat Abbas barefooted and


without any insignia of his exalted office. Marthiyas and


Majaalis [mourning ceremonies] were such strong influences


on the Muslim population that they helped strengthen not only


their Islamic beliefs but also their political resolve.


History reports that even Gandhi on his famous salt march to


protest against the oppression of the British Raj took 72 people


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with him in emulation of Imam Husain protest against Yazid's


oppression.


c. Importance of Mourning for Imam Husain


(pbuh)


The following excerpt from the last will and testament of the


Late Ayatullah Ruhullah Khumayni (May Allah bless him.) is


most touching and relevant:


"The memory of this great epic event (Ashura) must be kept


alive. Remember, the cries of damnation and all the curses that


are rightfully raised against the cruelty of the Bani Umayyayah


caliphs towards the Holy Imams, are reflected in the heroic


protests against cruel despots by the nations through the


centuries. It is the perpetuation of such protests that shatter


oppression and cruelty. It is necessary that the crimes of the


tyrants in each age and era be indicated in the cries of


lamentation and in the recitals of elegies held for the Holy


Imams." Wherever the Shias have gone they have taken with


them the cultural forms of Aza-e-Husain as practised in their


country of origin. Today, Aza-e-Husain in one form or another,


can be seen throughout the world.


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Aza-e-Husain is an important institution and we have to ensure


that it is kept alive so as to cultivate and nurture Islamic


conscience in each one of us and that our children and their


descendants remain committed to the cause of Imam Husain


(pbuh).


D. Aza (Mourning) at Personal Level


We must never lose sight of the fact that while the form of


Aza-e-Husain may reflect the local indigenous culture, the


essence of Aza-e-Husain must always be remembrance of


the martyrdom of Imam Husain (pbuh) and our rededication


to his cause.


There is always the danger that if the form appears to be


incongruent to the local norms and consequently


incomprehensible to the young generation or to the


indigenous population upon whom we wish to impress the


message of Karbala, the substance might gradually lose its


significance. The fabric of the substance invariably


depends upon the acceptability of the form.


Throughout history the form of Aza-e-Husain has always


undergone changes to accommodate local norms. It is for


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us, therefore, to seriously re-evaluate the form in order to


ensure that we can pass on to our children the substance of


Aza-e-Husain in its pristine state and also make it an


irresistible instrument of propagating for Islam! We are


duty bound to Allah and His Prophet to ensure that our


children grow up to accept Aza-e-Husain NOT as a


ritualistic activity NOR as means for atonement, but as a


serious commitment to the basic values of Islam.


The message of Imam Husain (pbuh) can only be properly


comprehended when we bear in mind the Qur'anic


principle of Tawheed (Monotheism) which demands our


undivided commitment to Allah only.


Imam Husain's Mission


From the day he left Medina on the 28th Rajab in 60


AH, at every stage, our Imam made his mission clear.


He left no doubt as to his intentions. It was not to fight


Yazid to get the throne of the empire over which the


caliph ruled. Imam’s mission was to reawaken the


spirit of Islam and rekindle the Islamic conscience


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which was nearing extinction by the conduct of


Muawiyah and Yazid. 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.


Let us look at some of the statements by Imam Husain


(pbuh). Before leaving Medina Imam Husain (pbuh)


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 wa 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


command for good/enjoin right conduct and forbid


from doing evils (do Amr bil Ma'ruf wa Nahya anil


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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 Husain (pbuh) set out


from Medina was to perform his duty to command for


good/enjoin right conduct and forbid from doing evils


(do Amr bil Ma'ruf wa Nahya anil Munkar) to the


Umma 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."


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When Hur and his army stopped Imam Caravan from


going to Kufa, and Hur told Imam that his order from


ibn-e-Ziyad was to ask Imam for Bai'at to Yazid, 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 Yazid’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 Yazid. If you do not care for Islam, and do not fear


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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 me?" 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 for Imam. 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 commanding for good/enjoining


right conduct and forbidding from doing evils (doing


Amr bil Ma'ruf wa Nahya anil Munkar). Indeed, He


addressed us to follow his objectives in our lives and


draw nigh to Allah through which.


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References:


1. Kitab al-Irshad by Sheikh al Mufid


2. The History of Tabari, the English translation, Vol. XIX


3. The Rising of al-Husain by Sheikh Muhammad


Mahdi Shams al-Deen


4. Imam Husain (pbuh), the Saviour of Islam by Maulana


Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi


5. Al-Serat the Imam Husain Conference Number, published by


the Muhammadi Trust, July 1984.


6. The origins and Early Development of Shi'a Islam,


by S.H.M. Jafri


7. Al-Tawhid, Vol. II No.1, the Editorial.


8. Al Tawhid, Vol. XIII, No. 3, Pages 41 to 74, reproducing the


article by Martyr Murtadha Mutaharri entitled "Ashura :


History and Popular Legend"


9. The History of Azadari published by Peermahomed Trust