THE MESSAGEOF KARBALA
December 2011
By: aliwaley
The questions and issues surrounding the martyrdom of
Imam Hussain a.s and the tragedy of Karbala arise in the
minds of every other Muslim such as 'What do we
understand from the tragic incident of Karbala?" "What
message did Imam Hussain a.s try to spread while
shedding his blood in Karbala?" "Why do we
commemorate this month of grief?"
The Muharram period is time to revive and renew the
spirit of Islam in our hearts while remembering our pledge to
the grandson of Muhammad (pbuhahf). A pledge to fully
understand the message of this most significant event in history.
The message my friends, is the message of faith in one God
and the continuation of regular prayer and Submission to this
One God. Our beloved Imam (a.s) spread this message through
a battle. The battle between justice and falsehood, freedom
and slavery, humanity and oppression, between those who are
really alive and between those whose conscience is dead,
although they do not perceive.
When Prophet Muhammad (pbuhahf) informed Lady
Fatima (a.s) of the martyrdom of her son, Hussain (a.s), she
burst into tears and asked her father: "O my father! When
would be my son martyred? " The messenger of Allah
(pbuhahf) replied: "At such a critical moment when
neither I nor you, nor Ali would be alive." She (a.s) then
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asked: "Who then, O my father, would remember and cry
over my Hussain, each year in every century?"
To this, the Prophet (pbuhahf) replied: "The men and the
women of a particular group of my followers, who will
befriend my Ahlul-Bayt (a.s), will mourn for Hussain
(a.s) and commemorate his martyrdom each year in
every century."
Imam Hussain (a.s) for the sake of keeping alive Islam and
all humanitarian values refused to bow in front of tyranny and
the inhuman nature of Yazid (l.a) and valiantly courted the
most heartrending tragedy of history in the year 61 AH.
Our beloved Prophet (pbuhahf) has said about his
grandson: "Hussain is from me and I am from Hussain."
He (pbuhahf) has also said about his two grandsons:
"Hassan and Hussain are the leaders of the youth of
paradise."
These two ahadith of the Prophet (pbuh) reveal to us the
importance of Imam Hussain (a.s) and highlights the value and
superiority of Imam Hussain (a.s) as the leader of paradise.
Thus, explaining to us the fact that the martyrdom of Imam
Hussain (a.s) was a great loss to the Muslims.
Imam Ali (a.s) said:
Surely Allah has chosen for us followers (Shiites),