Remembering Ashura

Today’s remembrance of ‘Ashura’ – the day of the brutal martyrdom of Imam Hussain (a.s) and 72 of his followers in Karbala under orders from Yazid bin Muawiya – still resonates worldwide almost 1400 years later.

The cruelty of this encounter was further amplified when women, children and a sole adult male, Imam Zainul Abideen (a.s), the only surviving son of Imam Hussain (a.s), were all ruthlessly captured after the killings. Their campsite was burnt, they were tied together with chains in small groups and hoisted on camels as the gains from the battle, before embarking on a 900 km journey to Yazid’s court in Damascus. To further aggravate conditions for these prisoners, the severed heads of the martyrs were mounted on spears and carried along by horsemen.

Yet, this remembrance has refused to fade away in spite of the passage of centuries. Processions of mourners will today venture across Pakistan to mark the event while mourners around the world – in Muslim and non-Muslim countries alike – will observe the event according to ‘Ashura’ falling in their regions. This observance will remain the centerpiece of scores of other gatherings before and after ‘Ashura’ to mourn Imam Hussain (a.s) and his followers.

At the time of the Karbala tragedy, news took days or weeks to travel while repressive regimes – and Yazid’s was the worst – used multiple tools, from offering bribes to outright repression, to crush the truth.

The survival of this legacy has been ensured by a rich mix of its own strength combined with the enormous blood spilt over centuries to ensure its continuation.

The journey undertaken by Imam Hussain (a.s) and his followers from Madinah to Makkah and eventually to Karbala over five months offered memorable and multiple lessons. Imam Hussain (a.s) chose to avoid travel through inhabited locations and mostly traveled at night as his caravan of men, women and children headed towards their certain and brutal deaths. It was a journey primarily meant for sacrifice than a conscious choice to build a large force for waging a battle.

Throughout this journey, Imam Hussain (a.s) missed no opportunity to offer guidance to friends and foes till just before his martyrdom. “You should tell [me] honestly whether I have killed anyone from amongst you so that you may take revenge! Is it that I have appropriated your wealth and you are claiming it? Have I injured you for which you have risen to compensate?” he asked in his last sermon before the army of Yazid, as cited in ‘Understanding Karbala’ – a comprehensive account of events leading up to ‘Ashura’ by Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Saeed Al-Hakeem and translated by Mohamed Ali Albodairi. None of them replied.

Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq Najmi in his book ‘From Medina to Karbala – In the words of Imam Al Husayn’ cited him in an exchange with Yazid’s governor of Medina, who earlier sought an oath of allegiance (‘bayat’) from Imam Hussain (a.s). “The world of Islam will disappear as soon as the Ummah is afflicted with such a leader like Yazid. Is it fair that such a person like me takes an oath of allegiance with such [a] profligate [of low moral values like Yazid]”, asked Imam Hussain (a.s).

For Muslims, the stand taken by Imam Hussain (a.s) and his followers reinforced the message of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) for times to come – less than 50 years after the Prophet (pbuh) passed away.

The journey that began from Madinah first took Imam Hussain (a.s) to Makkah to perform Haj. His plans changed just before the pilgrimage, upon hearing of assassins dispatched by Yazid dressed as pilgrims to shed the blood of Imam Hussain (a.s) within the compound of the holy ‘Kaaba’.

The heroic courage of Imam Hussain (a.s) was such that there was no turning back. At one point enroute to Karbala, he received news of the martyrdom of Muslim bin Aqeel (a.s), his first cousin along with two of his underaged sons. They were sent earlier by Imam Hussain (a.s) to Kufa upon hearing of the inhabitants of the city yearning to receive Imam Hussain (a.s) as their leader. It is a city that is still remembered as the seat of the caliphate and eventual martyrdom of Hazrat Ali (a.s).

The popular mood in Kufa quickly swung against Imam Hussain (a.s), with many of the city’s notables who had earlier written letters urging Imam Hussain (a.s) to lead them succumbing to brutal pressure from Yazid’s empire.

Before arriving in Karbala, the encounter of Imam Hussain (a.s) with Hur bin Yazid e Riyahi (a.s) not only became a turning point in the history of this conflict, it also stands out as an example of a human choice to change course in the midst of adversity.

Hur bin Yazid e Riyahi, a prominent commander of Yazid’s army, blocked Imam Hussain (a.s) from venturing beyond Karbala. On the morning of ‘Ashura’ he chose to repent and join Imam Hussain (a.s) in a memorable act, accompanied by a son and an aide.

To this day, the final resting place of Hur bin Yazid e Riyahi (a.s) just outside Karbala remains a must stopover for pilgrims as they visit the grave sites of the martyrs.

The carnage on the day of ‘Ashura’ finally saw Imam Hussain (a.s) just before his own martyrdom carry his six-month-old infant son, Ali Asghar (a.s) to seek water for the baby, after their camp was deprived of water for three days.

Upon witnessing distress among many soldiers as they watched the infant in extreme agony, Shimr al-Jowshan, the commander of Yazid’s army, ordered Hurmala who was an expert archer to strike the baby’s jugular, using a three-pronged arrow usually reserved to target wild beasts. This remains one of the worst examples of brutality.

This legacy has survived in part with the stand taken by Imam Hussain (a.s) on a principle. After the day of ‘Ashura’, the legacy was kept alive by Bibi Zainab (a.s) the younger sister of Imam Hussain (a.s) who led the survivors as prisoners, first to Kufa and then to Yazid’s court in Damascus.

Her two powerful sermons – surrounded by the severed heads of her brothers, nephews, sons and other martyrs and in the presence of Obaidullah bin Ziyad, Yazid’s appointed governor of Kufa and Yazid himself in Damascus – unleashed winds of change that quickly triggered the possibility of a rebellion. So powerful was the immediate impact of her words that any amount of censorship could not stop the message of Bibi Zainab (a.s) from reaching far and wide.

Throughout history, the impact of this tragedy has been fueled not just by the backlash unleashed against events in Karbala. The very public defence of the principle of Imam Hussain (a.s) by Bibi Zainab (a.s) also powerfully carried the message forward.

Over centuries, a combination of historical accounts and poetry in different languages have together gained rich inspiration from this legacy and carried forward its spirit. Meanwhile, some of the world’s best known leaders, scholars and activists have drawn inspiration from the example of Imam Hussain (a.s) and his followers.

Musharraf Hussain al-Azhari writing in ‘The Tragedy of Karbala – the struggle against an oppressive tyrant’ wrote: “As the force of Yazid could not intimidate him nor frighten him, Imam Hussain A.S. gave this lesson to us with his blood. By being rebellious against the tyrant king, Imam Hussain A.S. set a trend”.

Commenting further on the lessons drawn from the tragedy of Karbala, he wrote: “Tyranny and unjust rulers must not be allowed to get away with their way. They must be stopped, fought against and if the price is one’s head, so be it”.

As the world heads towards an increasingly uncertain future, the lessons delivered by Imam Hussain (a.s) through words and deeds only promise to become more inspirational and relevant to the prevailing times.

The writer is an Islamabad-basedjournalist who writes on

political and economic affairs. He can be reached at:

farhanbokhari@gmail.com