Muharram, when blood triumphed over swords

Condolences dear listeners on the start of the month of Muharram, the month in which we commemorate history’s greatest martyrs, the mourning ceremonies for whom breath fresh life into our societies and inspire us to stand steadfast against the tyrants of our age, whose Yazid-like power we shatter with Hussaini determination, in order to make truth triumph over falsehood, even if we have to court of martyrdom.

God Almighty says in ayah 169 of Surah Aal-e Imran of the holy Qur’an:

“And think not of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead, nay they are alive (and) by their Lord well provided."

It has once again arrived — the month of Muharram and its memories of the greatest tragedy that the world has ever seen, and will never see the like of it in future.

It is the month when blood, including that of a 6-month old boy, triumphed over sharpened swords. It is the month which each year, jolts human conscience and reminds mankind of its duties towards religion and society.

It is thus irreligious to indulge in outward modes of worship alone, leaving social, cultural, political and other issues which govern human life, in the hands of charlatans. Likewise, it is self-deception to ignore the Divine Law and give free rein to whimsical ideas of the fallible mind, thereby allowing the fate of the people to slip into a state of social injustice, which in turn provides breeding ground for Yazids in the making – such as the Trumps, the Netanyahus, the Takfiris, and other hardcore criminals like MBS.

This is the message of the Muharram, the month of the life-inspiring mourning ceremonies.

In other words, the First of Muharram is not a day of celebration, as is unfortunately done in some Arab states, which seem oblivious to the great sacrifice of the Prophet’s grandson, and continue to shed the innocent blood of fellow Muslims, like what the Saudis and Emiratis are doing in Yemen.

Such celebrations and holiday revelries on the pretext of the start of the so-called New Year are nothing but practices of the days of Jahiliyya, in view of the fact that the Prophet’s auspicious migration from Mecca to Medina was not on the eve of Muharram, but on the eve of Rabi al-Awwal. So such frivolities are nothing but plots to distance Muslims from the essence of Islam, as preached by the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt and guarded by their sacred blood.

Muharram is a time for reflection for Muslims; and the best way of pondering on facts are the mourning ceremonies for Imam Husain (AS) and the martyrs of Karbala that are indeed part of the “Sunnah” and “Seerah” or practice and behavior of Prophet Muhammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

Islam does not permit Muslims to indulge in wild celebrations such as dancing and drinking – as is done in Persian Gulf Arab states and Egypt.

Islam also does not allow Muslims to shed the blood of fellow Muslims, as the Takfiris and other deviated groups practice today by massacring Muslims. This is surely not what was taught to us by the Messenger of Mercy.

Islam does not grant license to those who claim to be Muslims to backstab Muslims by ganging up with the archenemies of Islam as the Aal-e Saud and Aal-e Khalifa minority regimes do by dallying with the devils in Washington and Tel Aviv to sellout Palestine and terrorize their own citizens.

With the start of Muharram the blood of Imam Husain (AS) becomes fresh, as the hearts of the faithful all over the world, including the oppressed Bahrainis, turn towards Karbala in Iraq, the rendezvous of martyrs, where the hypocrisy of the Godless Omayyads was unmasked to show them in their true pagan Arab colours.

Muharram is thus the month that jolts human conscience to expose the roots of terrorism which in our days is trying to tarnish the humanitarian image of Islam. This is evident by the bestial ways of the Salafis, the Wahhabis, Daesh and similar groups that shamelessly call themselves Muslims, while in practice they have nothing to do with the egalitarian laws of Islam. The eating raw of the bodily organs of human beings, as the Takfiris do, are certainly not Islamic acts, even if these terrorists are mischievously called “Jihadis” and “puritanical Muslims” by the Zionist-supported western media.

Islam teaches us the highest form of humanitarian values and not brutal behaviour.

Islam means adherence to the letter and spirit of the holy Qur’an, coupled with love, affection and obedience to the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt. Islam means resistance against oppressors and readiness to court martyrdom for the defence of humanitarian values as taught by Imam Husain (AS).

This is the message of Imam Husain (AS). This is what the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) stood for and drank the cup of martyrdom so that humanity could have a worthy model in every age and clime against the forces of evil.

The month of Muharram is thus a reminder of the tragic events of Ashura or the fateful 10th of Muharram on the plain of Karbala in Iraq in the year 61 AH, corresponding to 680 AD, when Imam Husain (AS) preferred death in combat, rather than submit to the illegal demand of the Omayyad regime for oath of allegiance to the ungodly rule of the libertine Yazid.

The Prophet’s 8th Infallible Successor, Imam Ali ar-Reza (AS), once made a very interesting and poignant remark about the month of Muharram. He said: Before Islam, during the period of Jahiliyya, even the pagan Arabs respected the sanctity of the month of Muharram, and never fought during this month, but in this very month, their supposedly Muslim offspring, spilled our blood, showed us disrespect, trampled our dignity, set fire to our encampments, looted them, and took as captive the noblewomen and children of the blessed Household of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).”

In view of these undeniable facts, the following questions obviously come to mind. Why is it that the passage of time, has not consigned to oblivion the event of Ashura? Well over a thousand years and three centuries have passed since this tragic and sorrowful event occurred on the plain of Karbala, but the passage of time has not erased or even blurred the memory of this tragedy in the minds of Muslims and all those who love the pure and blessed Household of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).What is it about Imam Husain (AS) and his movement which has so deeply absorbed and affected the seekers of freedom, justice and humanitarian values?

All of us should profoundly ponder and strive to learn about the life and teachings of Imam Husain (AS) – the vanguard of the movement for justice, a movement for enjoining what is good and abstaining from what is forbidden and prohibited; a movement which is still going from strength to strength, over 1380 years after it was started by the grandson of the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Prophet.

AS/SS