Letter on Ashura to our Networks

He lost the battle...however Victory was for all mankind

My dear friends and colleagues,

Salamun Alaykum / Warmest Greetings of Peace be upon you,

1400 years ago a battle was fought on the plains of Karbala in present-day Iraq. Actually to call it a battle is misleading; it was more a slaughter as an army over 10,000 faced around 80 men, led by Husayn, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad. So it was certain death for Husayn's camp, if they went into battle.

To put the story into context, Imam Husayn was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and the opposing army was following orders of a tyrant (Yazid) who wished to command control over the vast Islamic empire.

When Yazid, the grandson of Abu Sufyan became the ruler over the muslim state, he openly declared that he was only interested in avenging the deaths of his close relatives who had died fighting the Holy Prophet in the 2nd Hijrah. He set out to discredit Islam by declaring that there was never any revelation or laws of Allah. This was a threat not only to Islam but also to all Abrahamic faiths having revelation as their basis.

Husayn was demanded to give allegiance to Yazid and had he done so, would probably have been allowed to live. However Husayn was the moral compass of the Muslims, people looked to him to see what was right. If he gave allegiance, he would be sanctifying all actions of Yazid.

Yazid was not just a power-hungry ruler. He was a tyrant and oppressor to the full extent. More than that, he wished to use his soon-to-be consolidated position to declare that he was the sole one able to interpret Islam.

Imam Husayn, accompanied by a small band of followers and women and children of his household, set out to rekindle the spirit of Islam and guard the concept of revelation by preaching to the populace. On his way to Kufa he was intercepted by Yazid's army and forced to encamp at Karbala, a desolate stretch of desert on the bank of River Euphrates.

On the 10th day of Muharram, the first lunar month of the 61st Islamic year, (9th October 680 C.E.) he was surrounded by a massive army of thousands facing only two choices; submission to the tyrant or death. On this day, known as 'Ashura, not only were the 80 men slaughtered, but so was a 6 month old infant, little boys and girls, and some women. The remaining children and the wives, daughters and sisters of the men were shackled and taken as prisoners along with the heads of their men.

Prophet Muhammad had said about his Mission – The Message of Islam:

"I was not sent, except to perfect man's moral traits"[1]

Husayn was also the perfect manifestation of a Muslim, with good manners, merciful to all (including his enemies), loving to all, devoted to his family, peace-loving, standing up for justice and all that which his grandfather had preached.

This is a key question, and even today all the so-called 'Islamic' terrorists justify their actions based on differing interpretations of Islam. The terrorists today are relatively few in comparison with the approximate 1.3 billion Muslims in the world.

However Yazid opened the doors of interpreting Islam to mean terrorism, oppression and slaughter, for on the plains of Karbala this is what took place.

Although the battle was lost, however Husayn's sister ensured that victory was for Husayn, Islam and importantly she ensured that this was a victory for all mankind. She awakened the people with her call to what had happened to her brother, a call which has echoed for over a thousand years and will remain in the hearts and minds of men:

To stand up for justice, truth, morality and freedom from oppression.

Today we also mourn the man who was the best of men, and his stand for all that was right against all that was evil and to ensure that we recognise and defeat injustice wherever they may be, so that one day we may have a world where justice and peace reign.

The commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Husayn is also a commitment to uphold the values of Islam.

Herebelow are billboards displayed in London highlighting quotes from various personalities on this tragic event.

"If Hussein was one of us, we would have
put up a flag and a mineret in every part of
earth and called the people to Christianity"

Antoine Bara
Christian Scholar

"...the victory of Hussein, despite
his minority, marvel me"

Thomas Carlyle
Historian

"The progress of Islam does not depend on
the use of the sword, but on the supreme
sacrifice of Hussein. I learnt from Hussein how
to achieve victory whilst being oppressed"

Mahatma Gandhi

"If Hussein fought to quench his worldly
desires then I do not understand why his
sisters, wife and children accompanied him.
It stand to reason therefore, that he sacrificed
purely for Islam"

Charles Dickens
English Novelist

Fazle Abbas Datoo
residentalim@almahdi.org.uk
Resident Alim
Wessex Shia Ithna Asheri Jamaat