| ASHURA In
the month of Muharram 61 AH (approximately, the 20 of October 680 AD), an event
took place in Iraq at a place known as Karbala on the bank of the river Euphrates.
A large army which had been mobilized by the Umayyad regime besieged a group of
Shi'a numbering less than a hundred and put them under pressure to pay allegiance
to the Khalifat of the time and submit to his authority. The small group resisted
and a severe battle took place in which they were all killed. The
leader of the small band of men who were martyred in Karbala was Husayn (as),
son of Ali bin Abi Talib (as) and grandson of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sal),
the Seal of the Prophets. Husayn (as) was the son of Fatima (as) the daughter
of the Prophet Muhammad (sal). The Holy Prophet Muhammad (sal) once said regarding
his grandson: "Husayn is from me and I am from Husayn. May Allah love
whoever loves Husayn." Notes : Ibn Majah:
Sunan, Hadith 144. As well: "(Hasan and Husayn
are) the chief youths of Paradise." Notes :
Ibn Maja, Sunan, Vol. 1, p.44, No. 118. And: "He
who has loved Hasan and Husayn has loved me and he who has hated them has hated
me." Notes : Ibn Maja, Sunan, Vol. 1, p.
51, No. 143. With the passing away of his brother Hasan
(as) in 50 AH, Husayn (as) became the leader of the Ahl al-Bayt, and consequently
the third Imam of the Muslims. He respected the agreement of peace signed by Hasan
(as) and Mu'awiyya, and, despite the urging of his followers, he did not undertake
any activity that threatened the peace with the undeserving Mu'awiyya. Rather
he continued with the responsibility of looking after the religious needs of the
people and was recognized for his knowledge, piety and generosity. An example
of the depth of his perception can be seen in his beautiful du'a on the day of
Arafat, wherein he begins by explaining the qualities of Allah, saying: "(Oh
Allah) How could an argument be given about Your Existence by a being whose total
and complete existence is in need of you? When did you ever disappear so that
you might need an evidence and logic to lead (the people) towards You? And when
did You ever become away and distant so that your signs and effects made the people
get in touch with you? Blind be the eye which does not see You (whereas) You are
observing him. What did the one who missed You find? And what does the one who
finds You lack? Certainly, the one who got pleased and inclined toward other than
You, came to nothingness (failed)." Kaffir Yazid
was the son of kaffir Mu'awiyya and grandson of kaffir Abu Sufyan - the arch-enemy
of the Prophet Muhammad (sal). Mas'udi writes that Yazid was a pleasure-seeking
person, given to drunkenness and filthy living. Small wonder that Husayn's response
to Yazid's governor, when asked to pay allegiance to Yazid was, "We are
the household of the Prophethood, the source of Messengership, the descending-place
of the Angels, through us Allah had began (showering Hu's favours) and with us
Hu has perfected (Hu's favours), whereas Yazid is a sinful person, a drunkard,
the killer of innocent people and one who openly indulges in sinful acts. A person
like me can never pledge allegiance to a person like him..." Notes
: Sayyid ibn Ta'us: Maqtalu'l Husayn, pp.10-11 The revolution
of Husayn (as) was an Islamic movement spearheaded by one of the greatest leaders
of Islam. The principles and laws of Islam demanded that Husayn (as) act to warn
the Ummah of the evil situation which it was in, and to stand in the way of the
deviating ruler. As Husayn (as) himself remarked when he left Madina for the last
time, "I am not rising (against Yazid) as an insolent or an arrogant person,
or a mischief-monger or tyrant. I have risen (against Yazid) as I seek to reform
the Ummah of my grandfather. I wish to bid the good and forbid the evil."
Notes : Al-Khatid al-Khuwarazmi: Maqtalu'l
Husayn ,vol.1, p.88 Husayn (as) was warned not to go to
Karbala and face kaffir Yazid. Western historians have considered his moved to
continue on, in spite of that warning, to be of the gravest political folly. Yet
few apart from the Shi'a have recognized the motivation of his actions, and noted
the preciseness with which they were carried out. In this is the Message of Ashura… | 
