By Hasnain Bandali

Fourteen hundred years ago, on the 10^th of Muharram, just before 'asr, a man stood on the burning planes of Karbala. He was bleeding from several wounds to his body. He had lost everything. Since dawn, he had carried several dead bodies into his camp. He had even buried his six month old baby.

He looked at the bodies of his loved ones. Tears flowed out of his eyes. He looked at the sky and seemed to draw some strength from an unseen source. Then, he cried out with the following plea:

Is there anyone who will come to assist us?

Is there anyone who will respond to our call for help?

He turned direction and repeated the call. He did this four times.

Whom was he calling out to? Was he expecting anybody from the enemy camp to show any sympathy? Surely he was not expecting anyone to come to his aid. Those who wanted to help him had already crossed the lines and laid down their lives for the cause. He knew there was no one left.  And yet, meticulously, he made sure that his call echoed in all directions.

Do you know who he was calling?

I deliberately presented the above scenario in order for us to ponder as to why Imam Hussein (a.s) had to endure what is undoubtedly the cruellest tragedy humanity has ever seen. And to do so, we have to understand as to what was the reason that lead to this unprecedented tragedy on our master, Hussein (a.s), the head of virtue and the chief of the martyrs.

The sole cause for which Imam Hussein (a.s) set out from Madinah for Karbala was to perform his obligatory duty of Amr bil ma'ruf and Nahii anil munkar to the people of the time. This was necessary because the ummah had not only accepted the evil that had been flowing from the court in Damascus but, sadly, begun to follow it, either due to the fear of the dictator Yazid or ignorance.  And if this was not to be stopped, the consequences would have been a total destruction of all Islamic values.

When Yazid called the third Imam (a.s) and asked for his allegiance, there was no way the Imam (a.s) could have paid allegiance to his likes. Imam (a.s) realised that no common beliefs held him and Yazid together and He thought that Islam should be better acted, better practised and better observed. In short, better presented to comply with the holy text (Qur'an) and the divine will.

From the day the Imam (a.s) left Madinah, he had made his mission very clear. He made a will and handed it over to his brother Mohammad Hanafiya. In his will Imam (a.s) wrote: "My mission is to reform the Muslim community which I propose to do by Amr bil ma'ruf and Nahii anil munkar, inviting them to the good and advising them against the evil."

It is very clear from this that Imam (a.s) never intended to fight Yazid or cause bloodshed. He (a.s) never wanted the ‘throne'. His mission was to reawaken Islam and the Islamic spirits which were nearing extinction by the conduct of the evil khalifas of the time (namely Yazid and Muawiyah, may Allah's curse be upon them).

Imam (a.s) was well aware of what was coming his way. He (a.s) knew that he would have to sacrifice his loved ones, his companions and would have to leave behind the ladies and children of his family to endure the torments of the dictator. Yet Imam (a.s) administered a shock treatment, to achieve this aim, and the world of Islam came out of dormancy, with a shake, as a direct result of his sacrifice. He set up a singular strategy; lost the battle yet won the campaign. Subhanallah!

On the other hand, Yazid never achieved what he and his father had planned to achieve, for within three years, Allah's wrath fell upon him, causing him to die at the age of 33 years. And within a few decades the rule of Banu Umayya crumbled and came to an end.

I am sure by now you must have figured out the answer to Imam (a.s)'s call. It was indeed a call to Muslims of every generation in every land. It was a call to us where ever we may be. It was a call for help. It was a call telling us to stand for the truth and fight the evil even if we have to sacrifice our lives for that, as it is more honourable and valuable than submitting to the wrongful, especially when the survival of Islam is at stake.  This is one of the many lessons that the tragedy of Karbala has taught us.

Finally just before I put my closing statement I would like to emphasise that, we are duty bound to the Almighty (swt) and His Prophet (saw) to ensure that our youngsters and children grow up to accept Aza-e-Hussein (a.s) NOT as a ritualistic activity, but as a serious commitment to the basic values of Islam.

I hereby pray to the Almighty (swt) to give us the strength and ability to understand the Mission carried out by Imam (a.s) and to respond to his call of ‘Halmin Naasirin Yansurunah'  via our actions.

I am compelled to end by including the following quote which in itself speaks volumes for what happened in Karbala 1400 years ago. "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" - Sir Winston Churchill.

Reference used:

I am indebted to Sheikh Bashir Rahim's series on History & Current Events, from which I obtained a few historical quotations.