Sorrows Sufferings [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY DISTINGUISHED
NON-MUSLIMS ON THE MARTYRDOM OF HUSAYN IBN ALI (A.S)

A reminder of the blood-stained field
of Karbala, 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."

- E.G. Browne (A Literary History
of Persia)

"In a distant age and clime the tragic
scene of the death of Husain will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader."
"In the history of Islam, especially the life of Imam Husain stand unique,
unapproached and unapproachable by anyone. Without his martyrdom, Islam would
have extinguished long ago. He was the saviour of Islam and it was due to
his martyrdom that Islam took such a deep root, which it is neither possible
nor even imaginable to destroy now."

- Edward Gibbon (Decline and Fall
of the Roman Empire)

"The best lesson which we get from
the tragedy of Karbala is that Husain and his followers 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."

- Thomas Carlyle (Hero and
Hero-worship)

"If Husain fought to quench his worldly
desires, (as alleged by certain Christian critics) then I do not understand
why his sisters, wives and children accompanied him. It stands to reason
therefore that he sacrificed purely for Islam."

- Charles Dickens

"It was possible for Husain to save
his life by submitting himself to the will of Yazid. But his responsibility
as a reformer did not allow him to accept Yazid's Caliphate. He therefore
prepared to embrace all sorts of discomfort and inconvenience in order to
deliver Islam from the hands of the Omayyads. Under the blazing sun, on the
parched land and against the stifling heat of Arabia, stood the immortal
Husain."

- Washington Irving