Birthday of the martyr of Karbala

Heartiest congratulations to all our listeners on a very special day. Today the 3rd of Sha’ban is that blessed day in the history of humanity when the Saviour of faith and humanitarian values, was born.

It is the day that revives for us memories of the dynamic life of a person, who is part of a select group mentioned in the holy Qur’an as the “Ahl al-Bayt”, whose pristine purity has been vouchsafed by God Almighty himself. To be more precise, today is the birthday of the Immortal Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (PBUH), whose epic of Ashura is commemorated every year around the world by tens of millions of people, and continues to inspire seekers of truth and justice against falsehood and tyranny. Now we have an exclusive feature in this regard.

"O God, I beseech You by the right of him who was born this day, to whom martyrdom was promised before he appeared and was born, for whom the heavens wept and those who are in them and the earth and those who are in it, before he even tread its stony grounds."

The passage that we recited is part of a lengthy supplication in the Divine Court. Its words are self-explanatory. Every year on the 3^rd of the month of Sha'ban the faithful supplicate to the Almighty Creator, with raised hands, invoking the right of the baby born this day. As is clear from the wording of this passage, the boy born today was not an ordinary one. He was destined to be the greatest-ever martyr. He courted death in defence of Godly values in the most heart-wrenching manner preceded by gruesome trials and tribulations, otherwise the heavens and the earth, including all that they contain, would not have wept for him. Here is another passage of the same supplication that sheds more light on the brilliance of this person:

“The Imams are from his descent, curative is the soil of his shrine, and triumph will be with him and the legatees of his line at his return, after their "Qa'em" (the Promised Saviour) and his (lengthy) occultation, until they take vengeance and avenge the blood of the martyrs, pleasing God and being the best of helpers… O Allah, bless Mohammad and his descendants and gather us at resurrection in his fold and settle us with him in the abode of dignity and permanence."  

It is now obvious that all these references are to Imam Husain (AS), the younger grandson of the Almighty's Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Imam Husain (AS) needs no introduction. It would be repetitive to say he was the son of such peerless parents as the Noblest-ever Lady Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA) and the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Imam Husain (AS) was a picture of piety and patience, and along with his elder brother, the equally chivalrous Imam Hasan (AS), he was hailed by the Prophet as "Leader of the Youths of Paradise." The Prophet’s lauding of his two grandsons was not the doting of a middle-aged grandfather, as some might misconstrue. This showering of praises and specifying of their lofty status was Divine Commandment in view of the fact that the holy Qur’an refers to Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (peace upon them) in several ayahs. As all Muslims are unanimous, the prime references include Ayat at-Tatheer, that is, ayah 33 of Surah al-Ahzaab, which vouches the purity of the Ahl al-Bayt and makes it clear that they are far removed from any kind of uncleanness. The next is ayah 61 of Surah Aal-e Imran, which was revealed following days of inconclusive dialogue with the Christians of Najran, and as per Divine Orders the Prophet took with his immediate family, that is, daughter Hazrat Fatema (SA), son-in-law Imam Ali (AS) and his two grandsons, Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS), for the crucial challenge of demonstration of the ultimate truth and imprecation of the liars. The third is ayah 23 of Surah Shura, where God tells Muslims that the token of their gratitude to the Prophet for enlightening them with the message of Islam, is love, affection and respect for his immediately family, and that includes Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS).

Then there are the ayahs five to twenty-two of Surah Dahr in praise of the Ahl al-Bayt and their lofty status in paradise, when this select group kept three days of fasts to fulfill a vow, but gave whatever they had for breaking the fast to a destitute, an orphan and a freed prisoner, when these persons happened to knock on the door of the Prophet’s progeny on these three consecutive days. To further specify the position of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, the Qur’an uses the terms “Rasekhouna fi Ilma” that is Repositories of Knowledge, and “Ahl az-Zikr” or People of Profound remembrance.

Last but not the least is ayah 107 of Surah Saff which after having confirmed the firm and unflinching faith of Prophet Abraham and deferment of the sacrifice of his firstborn son, Prophet Ishmael, by sending a ram as replacement, says: “And We ransomed him with a Great Sacrifice.”

According to exegetes of the holy Qur’an the Arabic word “Zibhin Azeem” or Great Sacrifice mentioned by God Almighty is a reference to Imam Husain (AS), who in the full limelight of history, in order to save the essence of faith and all humanitarian values, will court martyrdom after having sacrificed in the way of God Almighty his dearest and nearest ones, including sons, brothers, nephews, cousins, and close friends.

Till this day, the Martyr of Karbala’s memorable sacrifice for immortalizing humanitarian values continues to be commemorated by the faithful all over the world in the months of Moharram and Safar.

Imam Husain (AS) was born in 4 AH in Medina to the Prophet’s Immaculate Daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA) and her Infallible Husband, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). He was seven years old when his grandfather left the mortal world. Within the next 95 days, the boy, along with his elder brother, Imam Hasan (AS), witnessed the tragic scene of the storming of his house by a group of ruffians, who in a bid to force his father to give pledge of allegiance to the dubious political regime in Medina, flung the burning door on his dear mother that led to her tragic martyrdom. He had seen his father’s God-given right of political leadership of the Ummah, usurped by undeserving persons for twenty-five years. Imam Husain (AS) was 32 years old when the caliphate came begging at the door of his father, who reluctantly took the reins of government on the people’s pleas, but no sooner had he assumed the rule, pledge-breakers, hypocrites and renegades ganged up against the Prophet’s righteous successor, imposing three destructive wars. Four-and-a-half years later the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), was martyred during prayers in the Mosque of Kufa by the poison-dipped sword of the coward Abdur-Rahman bin Muljam.

Now Imam Husain (AS) stood firmly beside his elder brother Imam Hasan (AS) as the next divinely-decreed heir of the Prophet. Despite the seizure of the caliphate through deceit by the rebellious governor of Syria, Mu’awiyya ibn Abu Sufyan, he steadfastly supported his brother till Imam Hasan (AS) was martyred in 50 AH through poisoning by Mu’awiyya, who ten years later, in violation of the terms of the treaty with the Prophet’s elder grandson, installed his own libertine and Godless son, Yazid.

The situation was now very crucial, and as the Imam of the Age, the Prophet’s younger grandson had to make decisive move rather than yield to tyranny and injustice.

Today, while rejoicing on the birthday of the Chief of Martyrs, who taught us the meaning of freedom and liberty to submit to none but the One and Only Creator of the universe, we need to contemplate on the fact that it was not Yazid's illegal ascension to the caliphate that made Imam Husain (AS) rise against the Omayyads.       As a matter of fact, Imam Husain (AS), had opposed Mu'awiyya ibn Sufyan's bloodthirsty rule ever since the start of his ten-year imamate following his elder brother’s martyrdom,
This is clear from the following passages of a letter he wrote to the founder of the Omayyad dynasty. Parts of the Imam’s letter to Mu’awiyya read:

"You have killed those with whom you had made treaties, promises and oaths. And you killed them when they had neither any intention of waging a war against you nor had they committed any murder. You shed their blood only because they related our merits and were cognizant of the greatness of our rights. Although it was possible that natural death would have occurred to them or to you even before their uprising to reach to a conclusion.

"O Muawiyya! Be prepared for divine retribution and be sure of the accounting before Allah. And know that the scroll of deeds has a record of every small and big sin. Nothing is omitted from it. Allah will never excuse your act of arresting people on mere suspicion. You accused wrongly the saintly people with baseless allegations and slaughtered them. You made them abandon their houses to be homeless in strange lands. You forcibly extracted allegiance from the people for your drunkard and dog-loving son (Yazid).

 "I see that you are sinking in loss and destroying your faith."

For his dynamic move to sacrifice his life in defence of God and humanitarian values, Imam Husain (AS) has been hailed as not only the Legatee of his grandfather, father, and brother but also the Legatee of the Prophets Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and others, for safeguarding humanitarian values and bequeathing them to humanity.

No wonder, God Almighty, as part of His blessings on the birthday of Imam Husain (AS), restored the wings of the fallen angel, Futrus, when in the company of Archangel Gabriel, this angel descended on Planet Earth and circumambulated the cradle of the Prophet's grandson, with supplications to the Lord Most High.

"O Allah, confer on us the best of gifts today, and grant us success in whatever we seek, just as You gave Husain to Muhammad, his grandfather. The Angel Futrus sought refuge by Husain’s cradle, and we seek shelter by his tomb. Being present at his graveside, we await his return. Amen, O Lord of all the worlds.

To sum up, Imam Husain (AS) fearlessly drank the elixir of martyrdom in 61 AH at the age of 57 by refusing to endorse the ungodly rule of the tyrant Yazid. As a reward, Divine Providence decreed in the lineal descent of the Martyr of Karbala "Nine Infallible Imams", of whom the Last One will be the promised Redeemer of mankind, Imam Qa'em al-Mahdi – may God hasten his reappearance to rid the world of corruption and oppression by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity, and justice.

The Islamic Republic of Iran every year marks the birthday of Imam Husain (AS) as Rouz-e Pasdaraan or the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) for their heroic defence of Islam and humanitarian values against terrorists and terrorism of all kinds, including the state terrorism of reactionary regimes and the US.

AS/ME