KERBALA - FOOD FOR THOUGHT









Every year in the month of Muharram, Muslims all over the world
commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Husein a.s. As soon as the crescent
for the month of Muharram appears, the azadars and the lovers of Imam
Husein and the Ahlul-Bayt a.s. put aside their leisure and pleasure,
forget their personal business and commitments and get together to
remember Imam Husein's great sacrifice in Kerbala to save Islam and
humanity. They wear black clothes, gather together in Imambarghas and
Husainiyyas to have majalis, organise Juloos, taziyas and sabeel, do
matam, etc.



There is a lot of discussion going on about commemorating the great
tragedy of Kerbala. There are Muslims who remember the grandson of the
holy Prophet Muhammad, Imam Husein (peace and blessings be upon them).



The tragedy of Kerbala and the sacrifice of Imam Husein a.s. is so
great
that even after fourteen hundred years, let alone Muslims, even the
non-Muslims commemorate his shahadat and participate in his azadari
(commemoration). Imam Husein a.s. has not only done favours to Islam
but to humanity.



There are other Muslims who are against such activities. They neither
want to know anything about Kerbala nor do they want others to remember
the great sacrifice of Imam Husein (a.s.). All they do is attack
azadari of Imam Husein a.s. and criticise those doing it.



We all know that the tragedy of Kerbala is unique. It's a tragedy that
had never happened before or after Kerbala. It was within fifty years
after the holy Prophet (pbuhf) parted this world that Islam went
through
unbelievable changes to the extent that an evil person like Yazid
became
the ruler of the Muslim Ummah and called himself "Khalifatul
Muslimeen"!




The drunkards led congregational prayers in the mosque. Friday prayers
performed on Wednesdays.



As a freethinking individual and a Muslim, I am sure I am entitled to
question those who are against the commemoration of the great tragedy
of
Kerbala. Following is a list of questions to ponder over for those who
criticise, condemn and attack the azadari.



1. As a Muslim, have you really and truly understood the status of
the holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and
his immaculate progeny), especially in the light of the holy Qur'an?



2. As a Muslim, have you really and truly understood who the actual
Ahlul-Bayt a.s. are and what is their status?



3. As a Muslim, have you really and truly understood the status of
Imam Husein a.s. ?



4. Do you know exactly who Yazid was i.e. his character?



5. Do you know exactly who Mu'awiyya, the father of Yazid was?



6. Do you know exactly who Abu Sufyan was?



7. It is fact that Yazid was a gambler, drunkard, and adulterer; in
short he was an evil person who had nothing to do with Islam or its
teachings. He was appointed by his father, Mu'awiyya as his successor.
Yazid called himself the successor of the holy Prophet and a Khalifatul
Muslimeen! He was responsible for the martyrdom of Imam Husein a.s.
his
Household and the companions. He ordered the surviving members of the
Ahlul-Bayt a.s. to be taken as captives and paraded bareheaded in the
streets of Kufa and Damascus. There are no words to describe the
atrocities he committed against the Household of the holy Prophet
(pbuhf). The question is who appointed Mu'awiyya in the first place
who
in turn appointed his own son as his successor, the son who committed
all kinds of atrocities against the Household of the holy Prophet
(pbuhf)?



8. It is a fact that it was Uthman, the third caliph of the Muslims
who appointed Mu'awiyya as his governor. Uthman himself being an
Umayyid, distributed all the posts in his government to the Umayyids.



9. So the obvious question that arises is, who was responsible for
giving such an important post of khilafat to Uthman who turned this
into
some kind of political football, sometimes played in the hands of Banu
Umayya and sometimes in the hands of Banu Abbas?



10. History tells us that it was Umar, the second Caliph, who
appointed a committee of six people just before his death. Uthman was
also one of them and according to the condition led down by himself
(Umar), Uthman got the khilafat.



11. And how did Umar himself become the khalifa? Abu Bakr, the
first caliph whilst on his deathbed nominated him!



12. And how did Abu Bakr himself become the Khalifa?



Immediately after the death of the Holy Prophet, only a handful of
Muslims gathered together in a place called Saqifa, which was a place
of
ill-reputation, to elect the Holy Prophet's successor. These people
did
not even care to participate in the Holy Prophet's burial. Ali was the
person who arranged the Holy Prophet's funeral.



This episode raises a number of questions:



Was the election so important that the body of the H. Prophet could be
discarded until a Khalifa was elected?



If it was a matter of electing a Khalifa for the Muslims, then why did
not the entire Muslim population of the time get an opportunity to take
part in the election? Where were people like Ali, Abu Dhar, Salman
Farsi, Ibn Abbas and Ammar Yasir?



Why did the so called election take place in secret? Why not for
example in the Prophet's mosque?



However, the result of the election was that Abu Bakr came into power.



Now the question is, what happened after the death of Abu Bakr? Was
there another election? NO.



Abu Bakr nominated Omar. Or shall we say that he returned the favour
done to him!

When Omar died, there was a committee of six people from which Uthman
was selected.



One wonders what the rule of the game is. It seems as though Islam was
hijacked from the time the Holy Prophet closed his eyes.



12. This takes us to the most important question. Is it possible
that the holy Prophet himself (P) could have omitted such an important
issue of khilafat which led to the bloodshed of his almost entire
Household? Could the holy Prophet (P) leave such an important issue of
khilafat in the hands of his Ummah who treated it like a political
football? Could Allah ignore an issue such as this, which resulted in
such a saga? Commonsense never accept that the issue of Imamat and
Khilafat could have never ever been ignored either by Allah Himself or
His Apostle.



13. All Muslims believe that the holy Prophet (P) had warned that
after his death the Muslims were going to be divided into 73 sects and
of all these only one will go to paradise and all the rest will be
thrown into the hellfire. Could those whose hands were stained with
the
blood of the Ahlul-Bayt a.s. be the leaders of the Muslim Ummah? Could
those leaders and imams who condone and support the murderers and
oppressors of the Ahlul-Bayt a.s. be fit to lead their followers
towards
the path of paradise; the paradise of which the Leaders are people like
Imam Hassan and Imam Husein a.s. themselves?



The holy Prophet (P) also said, "I am leaving amongst you two most
precious things; one is the Book of Allah, the Qur'an and the other is
my Ahlul-Bayt....." It is different matter that there is hardly any
mention about this hadith even though it is written in the Sunni
authentic books.



14. History also shows that the Ahlul-Bayt a.s. were constantly
confronted one way or the other.



Following are some of the examples to make note of:-



a). The holy Prophet is on his deathbed when he asks for a paper and
pen
to write something. The holy Prophet (P) was not only denied paper and
pen by also so badly insulted that he asked his "Sahaba" to leave his
house immediately!



b). The holy Prophet (P) passes away and the so called sahabas, close
companions and the fathers-in-law of the holy Prophet (P) discard his
body and rush to Saqifa to sort out the issue of khiafat. Imam Ali
a.s.
together with a handful of some other companions arrange his funeral.



c). After the demise of her father, the Garden of Fadak which the holy
Prophet (P) had given to his only daughter, Fatema a.s. was seized from
her by the first Caliph, Abu Bakr.



d). Lady Fatema a.s. was the very first one meet her father after his
death. Everyone has a burning desire to be buried next to their loved
ones. But she was not buried next to her father. Why? The two
fathers-in-law who died long time after him are buried next to the holy
Prophet (P) but not his own daughter!



e). Did the sahabas and Abu Bakr and Umar attend the funeral of the
beloved daughter of Lady Fatema? If not, why?



f). Imam Ali a.s. was the Caliph of the time and also the cousin and a
son-in-law and a member of the Ahlul-Bayt a.s. Ayesha, the Mother of
the faithful, waged war against him in which so many Muslims were
killed
and many injured. Who was right and who was wrong? Who was the
oppressor and who was the oppressed one?



g). Muawiya the son of Abu Sufyan and father of Yazid waged war against
Imam Ali a.s. who was the Caliph of the time, cousin and also the
son-in-law of the holy Prophet (P) and also a member of the Ahlul-Bayt
a.s.



h). Imam Hasan a.s. the elder grandson of the holy Prophet (P), the son
of Ali and Fatema a.s., the brother of Imam Husein a.s. and also a
Leader of the Youths of Paradise was poisoned to death by Mu'awiya
through Jo'dah, the Imam's wife. She was bribed by him. Imam's wife
was related to the first Caliph, Abu Baker. She was his GRAND DAUGHTER
.Arrows were thrown at the coffin of Imam Hasan a.s.



What wrong had these holy and most noble people done to deserve such
kind of treatment not by the Hindus, Jews, Christians or atheists but
by
the very same people who recited the holy Prophet (P)'s kalema?



k) We all know who Yazid, the son of Mu'waviya, the grandson of Abu
Sufyan and Hinda was. He wanted the Imam Husein a.s. the son of Ali
and
Fatema a.s., the grandson of the Apostle of Allah and the Leader of the
youths of Paradise to swear an oath of allegiance (bay'at) to him.
Yazid was a king and a ruler; he had a very huge army, a vast state to
rule, lot of wealth, etc, why on earth did he need the oath of
allegiance from Imam Husein a.s.? If Yazid could understand the value
of Imam Husein (a.s.)'s bay'at then couldn't the Imam himself
understand
the value of his own oath of allegiance?



What does bay'at mean?

Bay'at means swearing oath of allegiance. Yazid wanted bay'at from
Imam
Husein a.s. so that he could do anything he liked with the religion of
Islam. He had the authority to change anything in religion or
introduce
things alien to Islam. Imam Husein a.s. had no right to say a word
against him. Bay'at means the Imam forfeits his right in matter of the
religion of Islam.



We all know that Yazid was a drunkard, an adulterer, a gambler; he
called himself the successor of the holy Prophet (pbuhf) and broke each
and every law of Islam.



How could a person like Imam Husein a.s. pledge his oath of allegiance
to such a tyrant and brutal ruler who had nothing to do with ethics or
religion? In nutshell, Yazid represented people like Firaun, Namrud,
Shaddad, Abu Jahal and Abu Lahab. Imam Husein a.s. represented all the
true prophets of Allah.



Yazid' whole and sole purpose was to wipe out Islam forever from the
face of the earth. To do this, he had to sort out the grandson of the
holy Prophet of Islam first before doing anything else. He knew
perfectly well that so long as Imam Husein a.s. was there, he would not
let him get away unchallenged. Yazid also wanted to seek revenge from
Imam Husein a.s. because it was his father Imam Ali a.s. who killed a
number of Yazid's relatives in some of the battles fought during the
time of the holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his
immaculate progeny).



Imam Husein a.s. knew that by the time Yazid climbed the mimber of the
holy Prophet (pbuhf), Islam was already dead and that it was his job to
revive the deen of Allah and the shariah of his grandfather. And the
only way to do this was to give his own blood and the blood of his
family and friends in the way of Allah to awaken the Muslim Ummah from
their deep slumber.



Had Imam Husein a.s done Yazid's bay'at, then there would have never
ever been anything such as ethics and morality, let alone Islam. Any
person in the right frame of his mind and knowing what Imam Husein a.s.
stood for, will ever be obliged to remember and thank him for saving
humanity first and then Islam.



The question we need to ask again and again is, but how could have such
a situation rose that within fifty years time of the holy Prophet (P)'s
departure from this world, an evil person like Yazid happened to
represent the holy Prophet of Islam? A person, who shed the blood of
the Household of the holy Prophet, took the surviving members as
captives, paraded them in his courts, imprisoned them, humiliated them,
etc?



Was this great tragedy accidental or fluke or was there some kind of
planning and conspiracies for several decades which resulted in such
sorts of activities? In other words what contributed towards such a
unique tragedy?



How could a tragedy of Kerbala happen within fifty years of the holy
Prophet (P)'s demise? How almost the entire Household of the holy
Prophet (P) could be wiped out in just ONE day. How could these people
be butchered including a six month old baby be mercilessly killed by a
three point spear, hungry and thirsty?



Commonsense says that after the death of the Apostle of Allah, plans
were made almost instantly to work against the mission of the holy
Prophet (P) and his Household. The tragedy of Kerbala was the climax
of
those conspiracies and planning.



15. Are we entitled to ask and find out who these perpetrators were?
Let's put ALL the Ahlul-Bayt a.s. on one side and let's look at all
those who confronted them, oppressed them and denied them their rights
and this will give us a clear cut answer to our question.



The tragedy of Kerbala like Saqifa, raises a lot of question which in
the end exposes the traitors and their conspiracies. When a murder
takes place, there are questions asked for instance:-

Who was murdered?

Why was he murdered?

Who is the murderer?

Who gave him the weapons?

Was there anyone behind the murder?

What was the motive behind the murder?

What was the reaction of those who were there at the time when the
murder happened?

What happened after the murder?



Likewise, how did an evil person like Yazid end up on the pulpit of the
Messenger of Allah and that too in just fifty years time after the holy
Prophet (P) parted this world?



16. So in order to save the 'prestige' of their idols, the best
thing to do is to condemn the commemoration of Imam Husein and
everything related to it. Don't remember the tragedy of Kerbala, don't
cry, weep, and mourn for Imam Husein a.s. Don't attend their majalis
and juloos, etc. Condemn, criticise and attack all those who do such
things or support them. In short, keep the Muslims in the dark as much
as possible so that they neither hear anything nor do they ask any
questions and therefore those responsible for the murder of Imam
Husein,
the grandson of the holy Prophet, a member of the Ahlul-Bayt a.s. and
the Leader of the youths of Paradise get away with it safe and dry.



We witness in the present day that the illegitimate children of
illegitimate Yazid go out and kill the followers of Imam Husein a.s in
cold blood murders and suicide bombings; sometimes in juloos and
sometimes in their places of worship whilst in the state of prayers.



17. If such a tragedy would have happened right in front of the eyes
of the holy Prophet (P), can anyone imagine how would have the Prophet
of Islam reacted? Wouldn't he have cried and mourned for his grandson?
Wouldn't he have exposed the traitors and put them under the sword?
Wouldn't he have cursed those who caused him such grief? Would his
followers simply stood by and watched the holy Prophet (P) grieving by
himself or also joined him? By the way where were the sahabas and
their
children when Imam Husein a.s. stood up against a tyrant and brutal
ruler Yazid? How many sahabas of the holy Prophet (P) sided with Imam
Husein a.s.? On the contrary we see that the children of the sahabas
standing against Imam Husein a.s. Wasn't Yazid himself a son of
Mu'awiya who is believed to be the sahaba of the Apostle of Allah? Who
were the people like Umar bin Sa'ad bin Abi Waqqas and Muhammad bin
Ash'as?



Islam teaches us to side with the oppressed, comfort them and help
them.
The oppressors, unjust and the tyrants must be exposed, cursed and
punished for their atrocities. But unfortunately today we see that the
Muslim Ummah organise marches, demonstrations, petitions, etc. when a
cartoon of the holy Prophet (P) is published in the Western media. But
no action whatsoever is taken against those who killed mercilessly the
entire Household of the holy Prophet (P)! No protests and marches for
the grandson of the holy Prophet of Islam. The Muslims choose to
remain
silent when it comes to Imam Husein a.s. Husein, who was the blood and
flesh of the Apostle of Allah, sacrificed everything he had to save the
religion of Islam. One wonders why. No voice is raised against those
who destroyed the graves and mausoleums of the Imams, saints and other
holy people buried in places like Macca and Madina.



This is just like telling the Apostle of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him and his immaculate progeny), "We 'love' you and
'care'
about you. If anyone like Salman Rushdie writes a book or anyone
prints
cartoons about you to humiliate you in their newspapers or magazines,
we
Muslims will resort to even violence and riots against such activities.



But when it comes to your own Ahlul-Bayt or Household, we shall keep
out of it. We love you and care about you because we want to secure a
place in Paradise, but we have nothing to do with your grandsons who
are
the Leaders of the youths of Paradise!"



We shall talk about anything and everything about Muharram irrespective
of whether the information is correct or not. But we do not have
knowledge, time and information as to what did exactly happen in
Kerbala
on the day of Ashoora. So much so that Muharram and Ashoora is
nobody's
business except the Shias.



So why are those responsible for the murder of the grandson of the holy
Prophet (P) not talked about and exposed? Is it that talking about
those brutes and tyrants going to expose many other criminals who have
worked behind the scene and have remained veiled? Is it that talking
about Kerbala will unveil those sahabas who are very much revered and
adored by the Muslims and things will simply collapse like a cardboard
house?



18. Is it not a miracle that every Muharram, Imam Husein a.s. is
remembered in all corners of the world? There is no formal kind of
publicity, no invitations are sent out to anyone, yet as soon as the
crescent for Muharram appears, the lovers of the Ahlul-Bayt a.s. and
Imam Husein a.s. get together and remember the great and unique
sacrifice of Imam Husein a.s. They get together not to celebrate, not
for fun, not to enjoy themselves but to cry and mourn and beat their
chest for the most beloved of Allah and His Messenger saw. Unthinkable
amount of money is spent every year for this particular purpose. Let
alone Shias and Muslims, even the non-Muslims shed tears for these
oppressed people of Kerbala and take part in the remembrance of Imam
Husein a.s..



Just imagine how much propaganda is made against azadari and much how
much effort is being made to discourage Muslims to be part of it?
Remember very well that many rulers have come and gone before who tried
everything within their control to stop people commemorating Imam
Husein's unique sacrifice. And so will others like them. But with
Allah's grace, the azadari of Imam Husein is making progress day by
day.
Does anyone know where is Yazid buried? Is there any sign of Yazid's
palace and his army? Yazid has perished and so has everything related
to him. Today, even his name has become a curse and swears word!



But look at Imam Husein a.s. Not only the Shias and his followers, but
his lovers from throughout the world visit his grave in Kerbala and pay
their respect. In the month of Muharram even the non-Muslims remember
Imam Husein a.s. and seek favours from him and their wishes are
granted.
If this is not an open victory of Imam Husein a.s., then what else is
it?



The grand sacrifice of Imam Husein a.s. in Kerbala achieved countless
goals. Let's look at some of the examples. Before the great tragedy
of Kerbala, Imamat and Khilafat was one and the same thing. That is
why
you do not find any sects during the time of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman.
They are said to be practicing ijtihad during the time of their
khilafat. It was only after the shahadat of Imam Husein a.s. that
Imamat and Khilafat became two separate entities. This is why the
khulafas after Ali a.s. are not Khulafa-e-Rashideen and the four Sunni
Imams came into being. The khulafas who followed after Imam Ali a.s.
did not have guts to directly interfere in the matter of Islam or
shariah because they did not want to create another Kerbala and dig
their own grave to end their ruler ship. Had Imam Husein a.s. not
given
his grand sacrifice in Kerbala, we would be lucky to even see the word
"Islam" in the history books.



Before the tragedy of Kerbala, a couple of things happened. A drunkard
led fajr congregational prayers in the mosque. And secondly, Friday
prayers were performed on Wednesdays.



One of the most important and interesting thing that the shahadat of
Imam Husein a.s. did was to expose the criminals hiding behind the veil
of Islam and manipulate the religion of Allah and make it a play thing.
This is why the supporters of those hypocrites and the murderers of
Imam
Husein a.s., try their utmost best to divert the attention of the
Muslims from the remembrance of Imam Husein and the tragedy of Kerbala.




Thanks to the great sacrifice of Imam Husein a.s. that such things
never
happened again after Kerbala.







Sayings Of The Holy Prophet Regarding His Ahlul-Bayt (a.s.)





1. "Surely the likeness of me and my 'Ahlul-Bayt' is similar to
Noah's ark, whoever boards it is safe and whoever remains behind is
drowned."



2. "The stars are a security for the people of the earth against
drowning (when at sea) and my 'Ahlul-Bayt' are security to the people
of
the earth against discord."



3. "I am about to be summoned, and I have to answer (die). I am
leaving amongst you the that is the book of Allah the
Exalted and my progeny. The Book of Allah is a rope stretching between
the heaven and the earth, and my progeny are the , the
Merciful informed me that they would not part until
they meet me at the pool . So mind your behaviour towards
them after me."



4. " no foot of a servant (of Allah) will
move before being asked about four things: his years and how he spent
them, his body and how he worn it out, his wealth and how he earned and
spent it, and his love towards us, the 'Ahlul-Bayt'.



5. "O' people! Whoever hates us 'Ahlul-Bayt', Allah will resurrect
him as a Jew on the Day of Judgement."



6. "Whoever hurts me by (way of hurting) my family will be
afflicted with Allah's severe wrath."



7. "My intercession for my Muslim
community will be for those who loved my 'Ahlul-Bayt'."



8. "Husein is from me and I am from Husein"



9. "Fatema is a part of me; whoever pleases her pleases me and
whoever pleases me, pleases Allah. Whoever hurts Fatema hurts me and
whoever hurts me, hurts Allah; and whoever displeases Allah his place
is
in the hellfire."



10. "Al Hasan and Al Husein are the Leaders of the youths of
Paradise."



11. "I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate."



12. "Ali is with the truth and truth is with Ali."



13. "Whoever's Master I am, Ali is his Master."



14. Love of Ali is Iman and hatred of Ali is hypocrisy"



15. Hatred of Ali is a sign of illegitimacy. (illegitimate birth)"