{"id":2271,"date":"2018-09-08T07:04:58","date_gmt":"2018-09-08T13:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.amroha.co.in\/blog\/?p=2271"},"modified":"2018-09-08T08:59:03","modified_gmt":"2018-09-08T14:59:03","slug":"karbala-a-symbol-of-resistance-against-tyranny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.amroha.co.in\/blog\/karbala-a-symbol-of-resistance-against-tyranny\/","title":{"rendered":"Karbala – a symbol of resistance against tyranny"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Islamic calendar corresponds to AD\u00a0622. During that year, the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) and his followers had migrated from Mecca to Yathrib (now Medina) and established the first Muslim State.\u00a0 The Islamic, Muslim, or Hijri calendar is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 months in a year of 354 or 355 days. The first month of Hijri Calendar begins with Muharram, and in a few days, the moon of Muharram is upon us.<\/p>\n

The Muslims, especially the Shia Muslims mourn in this month and recall the Message of Karbala, the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (as) and his family members and companions. Despite all the channels of information available today, non-Muslims particularly those living in the West generally have very little knowledge of the tragedy of Karbala.<\/p>\n

It was deserted place in Iraq that was the site of the battle on 10 Mo\u1e25arram 61\/10 October 680 between Imam \u1e24ussain (as) and the Omayyad army. Imam Hussain (as) with a party of seventy-two armed men and some women and children, was on his way from Medina to Kufa, whose inhabitants had invited him to lead the Islamic community there.<\/p>\n

Before reaching Kufa, the caravan of Imam was intercepted by an Omayyad forces, On 2 Mo\u1e25arram his party reached the plain of Karbala, where they were surrounded by another 40,000-strong Omayyad force sent by \u02bfObayd-All\u0101h b. Zi\u0101d, the governor of Kufa, and led by \u02bfOmar b. Sa\u02bfd b. Abi Waqq\u0101\u1e63, who had been instructed not to allow Imam Hussain (as) to proceed unless he would sign a pledge of allegiance to the caliph Yazid b. Mo\u02bf\u0101wia. On 10 Mo\u1e25arram, known as \u02bfAshurah<\/a>, the uneven battle took place in which all of Imam\u2019s able male companions were slaughtered.<\/p>\n

The Ommayad army looted Imam Hussain\u2019s camp, decapitated the bodies of all his companions, and took prisoners all the women and children. Among them was Imam Hussain (as) surviving son \u02bf<\/em>Al\u012b, who became the fourth Shi\u02bfite Imam, Zayn-al-\u02bfAbedin. The Karbala tragedy became the constitutive event of Shi\u02bfism as a religion and the symbol of the victory of the righteous few over an oppressive majority. It was the backdrop of whatever went wrong in Islamic history.<\/p>\n

Going in to the backdrop of this tragedy, let us recall that Imam Hasan (as), the older grandson of Prophet (PBUH) was earlier poisoned at the instance of Amir Muawiya \u2013 the ruler of Syria who had rebelled against the fourth Caliph of Islam Hazrat Ali (as). Imam Hussain (as) was the younger brother of Imam Hasan (as). Imam Hasan (as) had succeeded his father Imam Ali (as) as caliph. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The wily governor of Syria, Amir Muawiyah had eyed the caliphate for\u00a0a long time. At one point, he went to battle with Imam Ali (as) and upon his death, persuaded his son Imam Hasan to abdicate in his favour. \u00a0Short of another war and the blood-letting that goes with it, Imam Hasan (as) saw no alternative. \u00a0He abdicated on condition that Amir Muawiyah would not appoint anyone as caliph after him.<\/p>\n

But Amir Muawiyah reneged on his promise and appointed his hard-drinking son\u00a0 Yazeed as caliph. Yazeed was the complete opposite of what a religious leader should be – fond of the pleasures of the world. Imam Husain declared “A man like me would never pay his allegiance to a man like Yazeed.<\/p>\n

Imam Hussain (as) kept his pledge and sacrificed all that he had in the battle field of Karbala. <\/strong>As the tragedy of Karbala took place in the month of Muharrum, the Muslims recall his sacrifice in this period to revive the spirit of Islam. Karbala was the battle between justice and falsehood, the battle between freedom and slavery, the battle between humanity and oppression.<\/p>\n

It is found in traditions that when the Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] informed Lady Fatima [a] of the martyrdom of his son, she burst into tears and asked “O my father! when would my son be martyred?” “At such a critical moment,” replied the Holy Prophet, “when neither I nor you, nor Ali would be alive.”<\/p>\n

This accentuated her grief and she inquired again, “Who then, O my father, would commemorate Hussain’s martyrdom?” The Holy Prophet said, “The men and the women of a particular group of my followers, who will befriend my Ahlul-bayt, will mourn for Husayn and commemorate his martyrdom each year in every century.”<\/p>\n

What is the lesson of Karbala? Apart from the physical suffering in martyrdom, and all sorrow and suffering that claim our sympathy, it give strength to withstand against tyranny \u2013 of any kind, It inspires the humanity to resists against all odds. It gives us courage to oppose the criminal prosecution; it gives us strength to set a bold front against injustice whether committed by Law of the Time, the State and the ruler or by our own people.<\/p>\n

In Karbala we see a valiant soul standing against the power; when the noblest motives are reviled and mocked; when truth seems to suffer an eclipse.<\/p>\n

Karbala reveals that \u201cTruth after all can never die<\/em>.\u201d As Moulana Mohammed Ali Johar has said:<\/p>\n

\u201cQatl-e-Hussain asal men marg-e-Yazid hai, Islam zinda hota hai har Karbala ke baad.\u201d<\/p>\n

The murder of Imam Hussain, in reality, is the death and defeat of Yazid. Islam is revived after every recurrence of the tragedy of Karbala.<\/p>\n

The whole battle Karbala is for keeping hold of truth and righteousness. Imam Hussain (as) demonstrated in Karbala how the conduct – spiritual striving and suffering enduring firmness of faith and purpose. His act beacons that patience and courage goes a long way where ordinary mortals would give in or be cowed down.<\/p>\n

Karbala gave the deathblow to the politics of Damascus and Yazid and all it stood for. The month of Muharram has the power to unite the different schools of thought in Islam, and make a powerful appeal to non-Muslims also.<\/p>\n

On the eve before the massacre, the Imam Hussain (as) had asked everyone to leave – “The enemy is only after my blood. I would plead with you to leave “. But far from leaving, they exclaim in chorus ” even if we were to be killed 70 times, brought to life and killed again, we would still not leave you”.<\/p>\n

Imam Husain (as) has been honoured\u00a0by non-Muslims all over the world, especially in countries with a sizeable Shia population.<\/p>\n

A Hindu poet Jai Singh has paid his tribute to Imam Hussain (as) in the following poem:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hai\u00a0 Aaj bhi Zamaay\u00a0 Maeyn charcha Husain ka
\nChlata hai kayenaat maeyn sikka Hussain ka
\nBharat maeyn gar wo atay Bhagwan kahtay hum
\nHarr Hindu naam pooja maeyn japta Hussain ka<\/p>\n

Sarr apna peet-ti hai jo pyason ki yaad maeyn
\nLayti hai naam Gunga o Jumna Husain ka
\nIs maeyn naheen kalam ke hum but parast haeyn
\nAnkhon se apni chhomeyn gay rauza Husain ka<\/p>\n

Hum Paapion ke wastay Hurr ki mithaal hai
\nChamkata hai naseeb ishara Husain ka
\nJai Singh panaah manay gee mujh se narad ki aag
\nMaeyn Hindu hoon magar hoon maeyn Shaida Husain ka<\/p>\n

Translation:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Husain’s name lives on to this day
\nHusain’s currency is valid the world over
\nHad he but come to India
\nEvery Hindu would have worshipped him in his devotions<\/p>\n

There s no doubt that we (Hindus) worship idols
\nWe will kiss his grave and rub our eyes lovingly on it
\nFor us sinners is the example of Husain
\nHusain’s call can change man’s destiny<\/p>\n

Jai Singh, the fire of hell will not touch me
\nI am a Hindu but I love Husain<\/p>\n

Sikh poet Kunwar Mahinder Singh Bedi \u2018Sahar\u2019 said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lubb pay jab Shah-e-Shaheedaan tera naam aata hai
\nSaamnay Saqi-e-Kauthar liay jaam ata hai
\nMujh ko bhi apni ghulami ka sharaf day dijio
\nKota sikka bhi to aaqa kabhi kaam ata hai<\/p>\n

Translation:<\/strong><\/p>\n

O Prince of Martyrs, when your name comes upon my lips
\nI can see the Saqi-e-Kauthar (Imam Ali) offering me the drink of Paradise
\nTake me into your service as your slave
\nSurely a fake coin can also be useful<\/p>\n

Zinda islam ko kiya too nay
\nHaq o batil dikha diya too nay
\nJee ke marna to sabko aata tha
\nMar ke jeena sikha diya too nay<\/p>\n

Translation:<\/strong><\/p>\n

You gave a new lease of life to Islam
\nYou showed the difference between the truth and falsehood
\nEveryone must see death after life
\nBut you taught us how to live after death<\/p>\n

In fact, it is not just Hindus & Sikhs who have lavished their praises on our Imams. As just one example, the Christian scholar George Jordach says about lmam Ali as follows:-<\/p>\n

“All the treasures of the world cannot match the strap of his shoes”. \u00a0 [source : The Voice of Human Justice]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Islamic calendar corresponds to AD\u00a0622. During that year, the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) and his followers had migrated from Mecca to Yathrib (now Medina) and established the first Muslim State.\u00a0 The Islamic, Muslim, or Hijri calendar is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 months in a year of 354 or 355 days. The first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":338,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-religion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.amroha.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.amroha.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.amroha.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.amroha.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.amroha.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2271"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.amroha.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2282,"href":"http:\/\/www.amroha.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271\/revisions\/2282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.amroha.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.amroha.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.amroha.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}