Shahadat-e-Imam Hussain (RA)

Millions of people whether they are Shia or Suni Muslim express their sorrow and grief on Shahadat Hussain (RA) every year. But unfortunately there are very few people who understand the objective of Shahadat. Why Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) sacrificed his family? They do not know. It is natural that relatives feel sorry for the martyrdom of their family member. It is because of their love for the martyred.

But the question is that what is the special quality of Imam that the grief of his shahadat is refreshed every year. If this shahadat was not for a superior purpose then only for a personal reason it is meaningless to continue mourning. It also has no importance for Imam. He had never sacrificed his life if he had preferred it to his purpose. His sacrifice is a proof that his objective was dear to him. If we do nothing for his aim and only keep on crying and cursing his murderers; it is simply useless. We cannot have any hope of appreciation from Imam or Allah Almighty.

Now let us see what was that objective. Was Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) had a personal claim for government and he sacrificed his life for it? A person who has knowledge about his family cannot believe that he can cause the bloodshed of Muslims for his rule. If we suppose it for a moment that he had a personal motive then what about the rule of 50 years; from Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) to Amir Muavia (RA)? Definitely he never had a personal interest. He could foresee the severe changes in Muslim society and state. He considered it necessary to struggle against all these changes.

Change in the object and legislation of the state

What was that change? Certainly people had not changed their religion. People were obeying Quran, Allah and the Prophet (SAW) as they had been obeying before. The law of the government was also unchanged. The courts were deciding cases according to Quran and Sunnah. Some people present Yazid as a prominent personality. It has created a misconception that the change for which Imam (RA) took the stand was only that a wrong man had taken control of the government. Imam Hussain (RA) wanted to stop him. This concept is unacceptable even if we portray Yazid as a most corrupt person. If the system is working on solid grounds then it is not something unexpected that a wrong person take hold of govt. It was not the reason that compelled the person like Imam to become impatient. So this personal matter was also not a reason. If we study the history carefully we can understand that the rule of Yazid was the root cause of the issue. It was a change in the spirit, aim and legislation of Islamic state. Although whole consequences of this change had not appeared yet. But a wise man can understand that the course is being changed when a vehicle takes turn to another side. This was the change of direction that was noticed by the Imam Hussain and he decided to sacrifice everything to stop this change.

Point of deviation

To understand this point correctly we should see that what was the legislative characteristics of the system that had been adopted by the Prophet (SAW) and the pious caliphs for forty years. With the rule of Yazid, the foundation of another type of system was laid. The qualities of this system appeared afterwards in the reigns of Banu Umayyad, Banu Abbas and others. With this comparison we can understand that where was the vehicle going before and in which direction it was turned. We can also understand through this comparison that a person who was brought up by the Prophet (SAW), Hazrat Ali (RA) and Hazrat Fatima (RA). Who had the company of Sahabas (RA) all his life. Why he wanted to prevent the vehicle from changing its direction? Why had he not cared for the consequences?

The beginning of kingdom

The first and foremost feature of Islamic state is that it is admitted whole heartedly that the state belongs to Allah (Swt) and people are His creation. This concept is not only admitted but also practised. The government is answerable to Allah in all matters. The people are not a property of the government. The rulers should bound themselves in the service of Allah and then implement Islamic laws. But with the rule of Yazid ,the rule of Allah Almighty turned into a wordy confession. Practically he adopted the same style which had been the style of every ruler of this world; that the country is the property of the king and his family. The property, honour and life of the public belong to the king. The law of God has been imposed only on public not on king and his companions.

The suspension of Amer Bil Maroof and Nahi Anil Munkr

The object of Islamic state was to highlight virtue which is dear to Allah Almighty and to restrict vice which is disliked by Him. But when the human kingdom was established conquest of countries and luxuries of life were the only options left for kings. The rulers served Islam very less. The people who worked for the progress of Islam were never supported by the rulers. Usually they became a target. They had to face many hurdles in their mission. But they carried on. On the other hand the rulers and their officials took the society to the edge of destruction. The worst was that some of them tried to imposition of Jizia on New Muslims in the government of Banu Umayyad is an example of it.

The spirit of Islamic state was the spirit of piety and mercy. The head of the state was himself a model of this spirit. All the officials were also a role model. But when the Islamic rulers turn the states into human states instead of the states of Allah they adopted a luxurious life style. There was no justice in the society. Lawlessness and characterlessness was everywhere. There was no difference between virtue and vice. There was no morality in politics. People feared rulers more than Allah. This was the change that had been foreseen by Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA).

The virtuosity of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA)

No one can deny this historical fact that the appointment of Yazid was the beginning of abovementioned evils appeared in the society. When Haztat Imam Hussain (RA) took the revolutionary step these evils were not on peak. But he was a man of wisdom he rightly under stood that what can be the consequences of such policies. All the reformations that Islam had made in the systems of state and politics were coming to an end. At this Imam Hussain (RA) could not stop himself. He decided to struggle against the illegal government. The end of this struggle is before us. But it was proved by Imam (RA) that the Islamic values of a state are the precious asset of a true Muslim and it should be saved at any cost. Even if we have to sacrifice our lives. The evils that have been described before are a stigma on the face of society. We should try to free our society from it. Someone can regard it a political adventure. But it was a religious mission for Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA). He sacrificed his life for it.