Hussaniat & 14 centuries

Fourteen centuries ago, whilst in the darkness of immorality, injustice, usurpation, and oppression, stood a man up against the tyrant of the time. He was the one who refused to pledge allegiance to the head of the impiety not for the sack of power but for the sustenance of justice and morality. By rejecting the orders of the evil and superpower of time, he not only saved humanity but also gave an eternal lesson to remain steadfast against the wicked dictator, no matter how less you are in number. He was non other than Imam Hussain (a.s), the beloved grandson of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Imam Hussain (a.s) sacrificed his family to save the religion of his Grandfather, the religion which practically implemented democracy and justice. And so today the name of Imam Hussain (a.s) is held up as a flag of human equality and dignity. The great saint Mahatma Gandi says about Imam Hussain (a.s)
“I leart from Hussain (a.s) how to get victory while being oppressed.”

The great sacrifice of Imam Hussain (a.s) has been a source of inspiration for all the revolutions which were against dictatorship. Thus not relying on the number but on the faith less in number virtue has always defeated the greater in number impiety. For the last fourteen centuries, the battle of Karbala reflects the collision of the good versus the evil, the virtuous versus the wicked, right versus the wrong, and the collision of Imam Husain (a.s) (the head of virtue) versus Yazid (the head of impiety). The message of Imam (a.s) from Karbala is not confined to the followers a specific religion but to the whole humanity.

Edward G. Brown, the professor of Arabic and oriental studies at the University of Cambridge, praises Imam Husain in these words:
”A reminder of the blood-stained field of Karbela, where the grandson of the Apostle of God fell at length, tortured by thirst and surrounded by the bodies of his murdered kinsmen, has been at anytime since then sufficient to evoke, even in the most lukewarm and heedless, the deepest emotions, the most frantic grief, and an exaltation of spirit before which pain, danger and death shrink to unconsidered trifles.”
[A Literary History of Persia, London, 1919, p. 227]

According to the great poet Rabindranath Tagore, Hussain’s sacrifice indicates spiritual liberation. He writes: “In order to keep alive justice and truth, instead of an army or weapons, success can be achieved by sacrificing lives, exactly what Imam Hussain (A.S.) did”

Such a victory can only be achieved by the one who firmly believes and trusts Almighty God.

Thomas Carlyle (Scottish historian and essayist) explains: “The best lesson which we get from the tragedy of Karbala is that Husain and his companions were rigid believers in God. They illustrated that the numerical superiority does not count when it comes to the truth and the falsehood. The victory of Husain, despite his minority, marvels me!

Imam Hussain (A.S.) explains the mission of his sacrifice in his own words: “I have taken this stand not out of arrogance or pride, neither out of mischief or injustice. I have risen to seek reform in the community of my grandfather. I would like to bid good, forbid evil, and follow the tradition of my grandfather and my father ‘Ali bin Abi Talib.”

Charles Dickens (English novelist) writes: “If Husain had fought to quench his worldly desires…then I do not understand why his sister, wife, and children accompanied him. It stands to reason therefore, that he sacrificed purely for Islam.”

Every religion, every movement, every community and every individual remembers and revers the great sacrifice of Imam Hussain (a.s). Josh Malih Abadi through his poetry explains the importance of the even of Karbala and praises Imam Hussain (a.s).

انسان کو بیدار تو ہو لینے دو

ہر قوم پکاریگی ہمارے ہیں حسین

Translation: “Let humanity awaken and every tribe will claim Hussain(a.s) as their own”

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