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(4) THE ORIGINS OF KARBALA'S TRAGEDY
Life is an eternal conflict of truthand evil
God having granted power to the
devil
To rule the hearts of those who love
this world
And care not the banner of truth
to unfurl.
The forces of darkness were
perturbed
For soon their kingdom would be
disturbed
At first, they ridiculed and
scoffed
To their dismay, they found themselves
dwarfed.
They fumed and fret; threatened and
cajoled
They offered Muhammad a chief's
role
They asked him to stop preaching
Islam
Or else they would cause him bodily
harm.
Abu Sufyan was their chief - a mortal
foe
The grandson of Ommaya, the lowest
of low
The progeny of Abd Shams, the brother
of Hashim
They were steeped in enmity, which
was ever lasting.
Envious were they, of the position
of Hashim
Whom God had honored with things
everlasting
Muhammad was thus their bitter
foe
Whom they longed to see cast
low.
Karun, Firaun, Namarood and
Suddad
The four aces of arch-devil Iblis'
cards
Were the brains behind the notorious
Abu Sufyan
To destroy Islam and cause Muhammad
harm.
Harut and Marut, the two fallen angels,
were glad
The four Aces had mastered everything
evil and bad
Abu Sufyan became their living
agent
To them his services he joyfully
lent.
They issued the call, they summoned
aid
Each helper, they said, would be
well paid
Thus started persecution of the new
faith,
With all means that symbolized envy
and hate.
They thought to themselves, the easiest
way,
We are Muslims why not say?
Hit from within the Hashemites
That would throttle Islam, without
a fight.
The decree of God none can stop
It flows like a river, with a drop
to start
None can withhold its onward
march
Be they friends or foes at
large.
And so was the case with Islam's
flow
Many became Muslims, just for
show
Pagans at heart, they hid their
line
To wreck vengeance, in course of
time.
They behaved as friends; they cloaked
their pretense
For Muslims in name, were they from
hence
They spread their tentacles, in many
homes
They tightened their grip over Islam's
dome.
Ali, they knew, was the seedling's
strength
To guard it, he would go to any
length
He would with pleasure sacrifice
his rights
Rather than see Islam hurt in a
fight.
They knew, that Ali was just a
lad
When his mission, the Prophet
declared
He was among the first to profess
Islam
And stand by the Prophet through
storm and calm.
When others ridiculed and
threatened
He stood, by him alone, and
unfrightened
He declared him his brother and
heir
Destined to serve and his mission
share.
They had heard Muhammad at
Khybar declare
"This Alam is for one whose qualities
are rare
He is the beloved of Muhammad and
his God
Ever victorious is he, in the cause
of Lord."
They had had also heard the sermon
at Ghadir-e-khum
It left, for doubt, hardly any
room
Ali was Muhammad's heir, by God's
decree
Assigned to keep Islam pure and
free.
They had watched him even before
How Ali in stature grew more and
more
He slept in Prophet's bed in the
midst of strife
While hundreds lay in ambush, each
with a knife.
The Prophet's end was drawing
near
The dissension started, as he had
feared
He ordered the dissenter's to go
to war
But they guessed what the order was
for.
Death of the Prophet was a grievous
blow
Old enmities erupted like a
volcano
Busy with the funeral were the
Hashemites,
Unheedful of the maneuverings and
internal strife.
Abu Bakr was declared Caliph in the
interim
He soon nominated Omar, to succeed
him
The Caliphate became, thereafter,
Othman's turn
Before the mantle, despite opposition,
on Ali dawned.
Ali, with his characteristic zeal,
lost no time
He acted sternly, to save Islam from
further decline
Firmly entrenched in power by now,
the Ommayad's frowned
And dared the simple and straightforward
Ali for a showdown.
The hero of Islam knew neither malice
nor fear
Renowned warriors had fled before
him from the rear
He defeated the crafty Moawiyah,
time and again
But alas! Treachery and trickery
ultimately gained.
The internal rot had spread too deep,
alas!
Corruption and nepotism was practiced
en-masse
Ali, had soon to pay with his dear
and precious life
Engrossed in prayers, he was struck
with a knife.
And so was the case with his eldest
son,
Most generous of all men was
Hassan
He was fond of recluse and
quietude
He was the symbol of patience and
fortitude.
The roots of seedling were still
shallow
A little shake up would render the
ground fallow
Muhammad's labor would thus be
wasted
Before the world its fruit had
tasted.
And thus the treaty with Moawiyah
Hassan chose
Rather than fight him like an open
foe
The time was not ripe for the
showdown
A lot remained for preparing the
ground.
This he knew would fall to Husayn's
lot
To put his foot down and stop the
rot
It would cost his life there was
no doubt
But it had to be timed the tyranny
to oust.
