Triumph of Imam Husain’s (AS) mission in Yazid’s court

Today is the 1st of Safar, the anniversary of the pathetic spectacle of the entry of the survivors of the heartrending tragedy of Karbala in Damascus.

We have prepared for you an exclusive feature, and we start with a mind-stimulating passage for you: “Those who have helped you to become the head of the Muslim State have done a big disservice to Islam and will soon know what awaits them. The end of all tyrants is terrible…”

The person addressed in the passage that we recited to you is not any of the prime ministers, presidents, kings, and sheikhs of our times, although the words exactly fit them for their incompetence, embezzlement of state funds, hypocrisy, violation of the principles of Islam, brutal trampling of the rights of Muslims, creation and funding of terrorists, state terrorism in bombing a whole nation in order to deprive them of the basic amenities of life, preposterous lies in a bid to enflame sectarian feelings against devout believers, and above all, subservience to the US – the modern day archenemy of Islam and Muslims.

As a matter of fact, these words were expressed over a millennium, three centuries and seventy-seven lunar years ago to be exact, and have remarkably retained their vigour and freshness, jolting consciences in every era and place as to what went wrong in Islamic history and where. The one, who spoke in such an eloquently electrifying manner, to the tyrant in front of the whole court, was a lady and that too in a state of captivity. She wasn’t the least afraid, despite the fact that the tyrant had massacred almost all male members of her household, including her two young sons. She had complete trust in the Will of God Almighty, in carrying the fight to the enemy’s camp, as is evident by her words:

“God is sufficient and will deal with you as befitting your monstrosity, the Prophet is your antagonist and the angel Gabriel our supporter and helper against you.”

As our listeners may have understood by now, the noble lady was none other than Hazrat Zainab (SA) the granddaughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). As the sister of the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS), she was exposing in their true heathen colours, not just the Godless Yazid, but the whole system that had brought him to power, after the self-styled caliph, with a crucifix dangling around his neck and a glass of wine in one hand, dared to blaspheme the head of her martyred brother, by putting the cane in his other hand to the lips that the Prophet used to frequently kiss. He didn’t stop at this sacrilege, as he gloatingly blurted out:

“The Hashemites had played the game of kingdom; neither any message descended [from heaven] nor revelation.”

The son of the charlatan Mu’awiya and the grandson of the accursed pair, Abu Sufyan and Hind – the chewer of the liver of the Prophet’s uncle Hamza – longing for his infidel ancestors who were slain over a half-a-century earlier when they imposed the Battles of Badr and Ohad upon the Prophet, then added: “Had my forefathers seen this action of mine (massacre of the Ahl al-Bayt), they would have been filled with pride and would have said, ‘O Yazid, you have avenged us!’”

What a pathetic sight it was! Even in such a sorrowful state, the leaders of the caravan of noble captives, including Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS), the son and successor of the Martyr of Karbala, carried themselves in dignity. They were pictures of patience, despite the gruesome sight of the heads of martyrs mounted on lances, and the noble ladies and children tied in a rope. This was their unique jihad. It was a jihad to make Islam triumph in the court of the cowardly enemy himself. For any true Muslim, the sermons of Hazrat Zainab (SA), in front of the dastardly perpetrator of such a bloodcurdling tragedy, revived memories of the sermon delivered half-a-century earlier in Medina, by her Impeccable Mother, the Most Noble Lady of all times, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA) in front of the leader of the regime that had not just snatched away from her the Orchard of Fadak that her father the Prophet had given to her in his lifetime on God's commandment, but had also usurped the right of political leadership of her Immaculate husband, Imam Ali (AS).

Now we understand the foresight of Imam Husain (AS) in taking the womenfolk of his household to the fateful field of Karbala, well knowing that martyrdom awaited him and his male companions. This was indeed the divinely-inspired prudence of the divinely-decreed 3^rd Infallible Successor of the Prophet – the Prophet who on divine commandment had proclaimed the Immaculate Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) as his vicegerent at Ghadeer-Khom while returning from his Farewell Pilgrimage, after explicitly telling his companions that Muslims will never go astray if they hold fast to the Thaqalayn – that is, the holy Qur’an and his progeny the Ahl al-Bayt.

Here the question might arise as how the Godless Yazid rose to power over the Muslim ummah, and what role was played in the rise of his clan, the Omayyads, by the Prophet’s ‘venerable’ companions, the neo Muslims, who in many cases were reluctant converts to Islam from ages of idol-worship and indulgence in all immoral pagan practices. These are issues to be researched by the respected scholars of Islam and out of the scope of this brief radio programme, since they concern our very faith and the journey of our soul in afterlife – either to the perennial bliss of paradise or eternal damnation in perfidy.

However, since today is Safar 1, a day of fresh calamity for the Prophet’s Household, veneration for whom is not something to do with narrow tribal prejudices but is an article of faith enshrined in the holy Qur’an, we would like to quote here the words of Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) on the sufferings of this day when the streets of Damascus were specially decorated for making a mockery of the Prophet’s progeny:

“We were taken like sheep tied with ropes towards (the court of)Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah. My neck and that of (my aunt) Omm Kulsoum (SA) was tied with one rope, while the hands of (my elder aunt) Zainab (SA) and (my sister) Sakina (SA) were bound along with the other ladies (of the Prophet’s Household). We were at times whipped for walking slowly and when we reached the court we saw Yazid sitting on a throne while in front of him lay the head of (my father) Imam Husain (AS) in a golden tray. He had a cane in his hand and was showing disrespect to the severed head."

AS/SS