IMAM HUSSAIN (A.S) AND KARBALA:

The land of Karbala is in Iraq. This is the place where the grandson of our Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w), Imam Hussein Ibn Ali Bin Abu Talib and his family and the loyal companions were brutally killed by the army of Yazid Bin Muawiyyah.

Imam is an Arabic word meaning the leader. And verily, Hussein is the Imam of the Islamic Ummah. The holy Prophet had the following to say for Imam Hussein a.s.

1) That Imam Hassan and Imam Hussein are the leaders of the young dwellers of Heaven

2) That I am from Hussein and Hussein is from me.

The name of Imam Hussein and his companions lives on even after 1400 years drawing huge sympathy and compassion . For these were the people who stood up firm and solid against tyranny and injustice of the rulers of the time. They were mercilessly killed as their womenfolk and the children were brutalized having been taken as prisoners. We shall not forget that these were the children of the household of the Prophet Mohammad saw. The event draws a sense of awareness and awakening for the humanity at large for all times to come to stand up against any arrogant individual or power that is bent upon encroaching upon the rights of the others.

The army which commited this heinous crime was that of Yezid bin Moaviyah. And who was thisYezid? He was the son of Moaviyah who took to the throne of the Islamic Ummah. Yezid was the tyrant bent upon destroying the Islamic values and principles laid down by the Holy Prophet. Verily, the masses were fast moving towards darkness of infidelity as Yezid and his evil army had a firm grip over all the affairs of the Muslim Ummah of the time. These were the trying times under which Imam Hussein a.s.. rejected to take the oath of allegience to Yezid bin Moaviyah. To quote Imam Hussein a.s. “If Islam cannot be saved except for my blood being shed, then O swords, come and fall over me” Imam Hussein with his family members and his loyal companions consisting of hardly 70 people were held under siege in the plains of Kerbala in Iraq. As sanctions of the time, they were denied water for 3 days before they were mercilessly killed. This was the 10th of Muharram 61 A.H.

Seen by the historians from a political or religious angle, the fight between the army of Yezid bin Moaviyah and Imam Hussein was a ‘showdown’ between truth and falsehood.

The tragic event of Kerbala in its entirety is about oppression. And as we mourn this calamity year after year, we draw lessons from it.

While Islam stands out as the religion of truth and peace for all, it condemns and rejects any kind of oppression and any form of injustice to any creature of the Almighty. The tradition of the Holy Prophet clearly defines a Muslim’s honourable duty towards the oppressed. The holy Prophet has commanded

“When one sees a tyrant ruler committing forbidden acts, and going against the the Book of God and the traditions of the Holy Prophet s.a.w. (and yet) does nothing to try and stop him by actions or words, then this man deserves to go into the fires of hell.”

The breast – beating which is generally done by the Shias, for the Martyrs of the House of the Holy Prophet (i.e. the Ahlul Bayt), is not part of the Shia faith. It is rather an active __expression of the sorrow and the grief for the holy ones. There is a similar conduct in the history of Islam on the part of Owais Quarani who hurt himself by breaking his own teeth in feeling for the Holy Prophet who suffered in the battle of Ohad. This incident is not only perceived by the whole Muslim world, but also recognized and regarded by the Holy Prophet himself. Thus, though not a part of religion, breast beating is tolerated.

As we commemorate the month of Muharram with grief and sadness in our love for the Holy Household, and for their sacrifices for the truth and justice for all human race, we brace ourselves with the continuous struggle against the evil forces which work against the spiritual values essential for the salvation of a humanbeing. We therefore say that ‘Every day is Ashura (the day Imam Hussein and his loyal companions laid down their lives for truth and justice) and every land is Kerbala (the land where the holy household of the Prophet was slain defending against oppression and injustice.)