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Imam Husain (AS): A brief Description and Analysis

Since we are approaching to the day of Ashura (10th of
Muharram), the

anniversary of the martyrdom of al-Husain (AS), the grandson
of Prophet

(PBUH&HF), we use this opportunity to give a short
biography of Imam

Husain.

Al-Husain (AS), the second child of Ali and Fatimah, was born
in the year

4 AH, and after the martyrdom of his elder brother, al-Hasan,
became his

successor.

Husain was Imam for 10 years which was
mostly during the reign

of Muawiyah, except the last 6 month which coincided with the
reign of

Yazid.

Imam Husain lived under the most difficult
conditions of suppression

and persecution.

This was due to the fact that,
first of all, religious

laws and regulations had lost much of their weight and
credit, and the

edicts of the Umayyah government had gained complete
authority and power.

Secondly, Muawiyah and his fans made use of every possible
means to put

aside the Household of prophet and to move them out of the
way.

Above all,

Muawiyah wanted to strengthen the basis of future kingdom of
his son,

Yazid, who because of his lack of principles and scruples was
opposed with

a large group of Muslims.

Therefore, in order to
quell all opposition,

Muawiyah had undertaken more severe means until he died in 60
AH and his

son Yazid took his place.

Giving the oath of allegiance, was an old Arab practice which
was carried

out in important matters like governorship.

Well-known
people would give

the oath of allegiance as a sign of agreement and obedience
to their king

and showing their support for his future actions.

Braking
the agreement

after the oath of allegiance, was considered as a definite
crime.

Muawiyah during his life time, had asked well-known people to
give the oath

of allegiance to Yazid, but did not impose this request upon
Imam Husain.

He particularly told Yazid in his last will that if Imam
Husain refused to

give the oath of allegiance, he should take it easy because
Muawiyah knew

the bad consequences of such enforcement.

However
because of his egoism and

recklessness, Yazid neglected his father's advice, and
immediately after

taking over the power, ordered the governor of Medina to
either take the

pledge of allegiance from Imam Husain, or send his head to
Damascus.

After the governor of Medina informed this demand to him,
Imam Husain

asked for a delay to think about the matter, and moved with
his family

toward Mecca overnight.

He sought refuge in the
sanctuary of God in Mecca

which is official place of refuge in Islam.

This
happened at the beginning

of Shaban 60 AH.

Imam Husain stayed in Mecca for
nearly four month.

This news spread throughout the Islamic world, and many
people who were

tired of inequalities during Muawiyah reign and were even
more disturbed

when Yazid took over, corresponded with Imam Husain and
expressed their

sympathy for him.

On the other hand, a flood of
letters began to flow,

specially from Iraq and particularly from the city of Kufah,
inviting the

Imam to go there and to build up a government.

Naturally
such situation

was dangerous for Yazid.

The stay of Imam Husain in Mecca continued until the season
of pilgrimage

when Muslims from all over the Islamic world came to Mecca to
perform Hajj.

The Imam realized that some of the followers of Yazid had
entered Mecca as

pilgrims with the mission of killing Imam during the
ceremonies of Hajj

with the arms they carried under the special pilgrimage
dress.

In order to safeguard the great sanctuary of Mecca, Imam
Husain decided to

leave for Iraq before completing the ceremony of Hajj.

When
he was asked

the reason for the mysterious departure, Imam Husain said
that he would

perform this year's pilgrimage in the desert of Karbala,
offering the

sacrifice of not any animals, but himself and his family and
friends.

Giving a short speech in the vast crowd of people, he
announced that he was

setting for Iraq, and said he would be martyred.

He
asked people to join

him in attaining the goal of offering their lives in the path
of God.

Imam Husain was determined not to give his allegiance to
Yazid and fully

knew that he would be killed.

But it was not the
time to save the life.

That moment was the right time to water the faded lawn of
Islam by his

blood.

Some of outstanding people of Mecca stood in
the way of Imam Husain

and warned him the danger of the move he was making.

But
he answered that

he refused to pay allegiance and to give his approval to a
government of

injustice and tyranny.

He added that wherever he
would go, he would be

killed, so he would leave Mecca in order to preserve the
respect for the

House of God, and not to allow this respect be destroyed by
letting his

blood spilled there.

While on the way of Kufah, he received the striking news that
under the

pressure of Yazid's agents, people of Kufa did not support
his

representatives and turned back, and some of them joined the
Yazid's army

to kill Imam's representatives in Kufah.

The feet
of those martyrs were

tied and they were dragged through the streets of Kufah.

The
city and its

surroundings were under very strict marshal law by countless
soldiers of

enemy who where waiting to face Imam.

There was no
way for Imam to turn

into unless to march ahead and face the death.

Approximately 44 miles from Kufah, in a desert called Karbala,
Imam and his

followers were surrounded by the army of Yazid.

They cut off the water

supply of the Household of Prophet and their companions and
their families

among them were many women and children.

For eight
days they stayed in that

place under the heat of the sun, and the circle among them
narrowed and the

number of enemy's army increased by a number of 30,000 fully
equipped

soldiers of Yazid.

In the following night, Imam gathered his companions and gave
the a short

speech saying that there was nothing ahead but martyrdom.

He
added that

since the enemy was concerned only with his person, he would
free them from

all obligations so that any one who wished could escape in
the darkness of

the night and save his life.

Then he ordered the
lights to be turned off,

and most of his companions who had joint him for their own
advantages,

dispersed.

Only those whose hearts were tested by
Allah remained who were

about 40 companions and some from Bani Hashim (his
relatives).

Once again, Imam gathered those who remained to put them on
the test.

He

addressed his companions and Hashimite relatives, repeating
that enemy was

only concerned with him and they could escape the danger in
the darkness of

night.

But this time the faithful companions
answered each in own way that

they would not deviate from the right path and would never
leave him alone.

They said that they would defend the Household of Prophet to
the last drop

of their blood as long as they could carry a sword.

The enemy intended to start the war in the eve of the ninth
day of the

month, but Imam asked for a delay till next morning to
worship all over the

night for the last time.

During the night, some 30
soldiers of enemy joint

Imam, among them was Hurr who was one of the Generals of the
army of enemy.

They finally chose their way to be with Imam, and Imam
accepted their

repentance.

In this way the number of his followers
became close to 90

people consisting of 72 companions and 18 male members of his
family and

relatives, while enemy was more than 45,000 by then.

On the tenth of Muharram of the year 61 (680) That
inequitable war began.

That day, they fought from morning till their final breath,
and all the

companions and the relatives were martyred.

Among
those who were killed

were two children of Imam Hasan, only thirteen and eleven
years old, and a

five years old child of Imam Husain.

When Imam himself was ready to fight, he saw his
six-month-old baby is

dying from thirst.

Imam brought his infant near to
enemy demanded some

water for baby, saying: You want me but not this baby so take
him and give

him some water.

The words of Imam has not been
finished that the thirst of

the baby was quenched by a deadly poisoned arrow from enemy
which pinned

the baby's neck to the arm of his father.

Imam
threw some of his blood

toward sky saing: "O' Lord! Your Husain has offered
whatever You have given

him.

Bless me by acceptance of this sacrifice.

"
Finally Imam came to the

field and fought for a long time and was finally martyred.

The
army of

Yazid having killed Imam Husain, cut his head and raised it
on a lance.

The army of enemy, after ending the war, burned the tents of
women and

children accompanying Imam and his companions, and plundered
those helpless

women.

They decapitated the bodies of the martyrs,
denuded them and threw

them to the ground without burial.

Then they moved
women and children along

with the heads of the martyrs to Kufah.

The bodies
of the martyrs were

under the sunshine for three days till a tribe passing that
place found

them and performed the burial.

The event of Karbala, the capture of women and children of
the Household of

Prophet, their being taken as prisoners from town to town,
and the speeches

made by Zaynab, the daughter of Ali, who was one of the
prisons, became a

scandal for Umayyah Kingdom.

Such abuse of the
Household of Prophet

nullified the propaganda which Muawiyah had built up for
years.

The scandal

reached to the extent that Yazid denounced the action of his
agents in

public.

That was what excactly Imam Husain wanted
to do, otherwise he would

not bring women and children with him and sacrifice some, and
let the

rest to become captives.

That was the only way to
make a wave in order to

awaken the Muslim nation.

The event of Karbala was a major factor in the overthrow of
Umayyah kingdom

though its effect was delayed.

Among its immediate
results were the revolts

and rebellions combined with bloody wars which continued for
twelve years.

During those riots non of the important elements in Karbala
could escape

revenge and punishment, including Yazid.

Muhammad Iqbal (from Lahore, Pakistan) said:

"Imam Husain uprooted despotism
forever till the day of Judgment.

He

watered the dry garden of freedom
with surging wave of his blood, and

indeed he awakened the sleeping
Muslim nation.

If Imam Husain had

aimed at acquiring a worldly empire,
he would not have traveled he

did.

Husain weltered in
blood and dust for the sake of truth.

Verily

he, therefore, became bed-rock
(foundation) of the Muslim creed; There

is no God but Allah.

"

Charles Dickens had said the following about Imam Husain
(AS):

"If Husain fought to quench his
worldly desires, then I do not

understand why his sisters, wives
and children accompanied him.

It

stands to reason therefore that he
sacrificed purely for Islam.

"

Thomas Carlyle has relayed this about the Tragedy of Karbala:

"The best lesson which we get
from the tragedy of Karbala is that

Husain and his companions were the
rigid believers of God.

They

illustrated that numerical
superiority does not count when it comes to

truth and falsehood.

The
victory of Husain despite his minority

marvels me!"

The famous, Dr.

K.

Sheldrake on Imam
Husain (AS) said this:

"Husain marched with his little
company not to glory, not to power or

wealth, but to a supreme sacrifice
and every member of that gallant

band, male and female, knew that the
foes were implacable, were not

only ready to fight but to kill.

Denied
even water for the children,

they remained parched under a
burning sun, amid scorching sands yet no

one faltered for a moment and
bravely faced the greatest odds without

flinching.

"

World famous Arab historian al-Fakhri has said this about
Imam Husain's

sacrifice:

"This is a catastrophe whereof
I care not to speak at length, deeming

it alike too grievous and too
horrible.

For verily, it was a

catastrophe than that which naught
more shameful has happened in

Islam.

.

.

There happened
therein such a foul slaughter as to cause man's

flesh to creep with horror.

And
again I have dispersed with my long

description because of it's
notoriety, for it is the most lamented of

catastrophes.

"

The previous four quotes have been taken from "The
Martyrdom of Imam Husain

(AS)" - Yousuf Lalljee