worthy to be read.....

........~The relevance of Karbala~.......

By Mahdi Masud


ALLAMA Iqbal saw the history of Islam as marked by two definitive sacrifices, that of Ismail in the beginning and of Imam Hussain (A.S.), as defining moments. According to Iqbal, the role of Imam Hussain in Islamic history is as central as the position accorded to Surah-e-Ikhlas in the Holy Quran.

The Islamic world today faces unprecedented threats to its security and integrity. In the realm of ideology and thought, there is an onslaught on the values and validity of the Islamic creed. On the ground, Islamic states face threats of destruction while freedom movements are threatened with extinction. Never was the message of Karbala as relevant as it is today. The stand against the impossible odds, taken at Karbala, reflected the Imam’s conviction that the challenge to fundamental human values could not be met by force of arms alone but by the example of courage and conviction, compassion and forbearance, morality and sacrifice.

Karbala demonstrated beyond any doubt that the ability to stand firm and be prepared if the cause is high enough to offer any sacrifice, gives an ultimate and lasting, if not immediate, victory to a people. With the passage of centuries and down the corridors of hallowed time, Imam Hussain has come to symbolize more and more the integrity, sense of justice and courage of conviction which the Ummah needs today for its survival.

If the Muslim world has proved unable to rise to the current ideological and physical challenges, it is largely because of the dichotomy between professions and actual practice, the perceived contradiction between narrow, self serving, interests of the different Islamic regimes and because of the absence of the necessary conviction and faith which was symbolized so fully at Karbala.

If the lesson of Karbala is to be assimilated, involving a willingness to risk safety, life and liberty for a just cause, oppression and injustice would not thrive with so much ease. It is only when men are afraid to stand up and be counted that evil flourishes. A German historian has aptly referred to this phenomenon, “First they came for the Jews and I was not concerned, since I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the communists and I was not a communist. They next came for the gypsies and I did nothing. Then they came for the Catholics, while I was a Protestant. And finally when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up and be counted.” In the words of Carlyle, all great ages are ages of faith.

Few events in history will rank besides Karbala as an epic manifestation of faith. The month of Muharram, which heralds the advent of the Hijra calendar, had traditionally been an eventful month. The saga of Karbala has lent to the month a historical dimension and marked it as a memorable milestone in human history.

Material progress, although one of the essential objectives of any society, has to be buttressed by the element of faith. Even those who only believe, as the Marxists do, in ‘matter and motion’ cannot go forward without the stimulus of faith in a higher ideal. Harold Laski, by no means unsympathetic to communism, reached the conclusion that “communism had made its way by its idealism and not by ‘realism’ alone, by its ‘spiritual promise’ and not merely by its material prospects”,

In this world, with more than its share of trials and tribulations, no character quality is more important than a sensitive, social conscience. In listening to the saga of Karbala, one achieves a heightened sensitivity, sharpening one’s receptivity to human suffering and pain and blessing us with compassion and kindness for all people afflicted with sorrow and pain.

The feelings evoked by the martyrs of Karbala should, if properly assimilated, melt the heart into compassion for all victims of oppression, injustice and torture. Those amongst us, exposed to the saga of Karbala, but lacking human awareness and compassion, have tragically missed the heart of the Imam’s message.

Allama Iqbal has described Karbala as the greatest unifying message for Muslims of all sects and persuasions. That a monumental event like Karbala which should bring all Muslims together in sorrow at its tragic aspects and in pride at the epic achievement of the martyrs, should be turned into an occasion for inter-Islamic feuding, is a matter of great shame. Karbala should be commemorated to cement Islamic bonds, not to rend them asunder.

Genuine tolerance involves an instinctive appreciation of the feelings of others, an ability to place ourselves in the others’ situation. Tolerance, it has been said, is reverence for all possibilities of the truth. While in the past intolerance was mostly a product of ignorance or bigotry, in the present populist era it is exploited for narrow, sectional ends. In the words of Disraeli, “We must educate our masters, the people, otherwise we would be at the mercy of a mob, masquerading as democracy.”

Religion teaches nothing, nothing at all if it does not teach respect for each other’s feelings which is the only way of co-existing in a multi-denominational society. The publication by sections of western media of items, most hurtful to Islamic sensibilities, under the shelter of freedom of speech, testifies indubitably to the total failure of western societies to imbibe the core element of sensitivity and mutual respect, the pre-requisite of all civilized creeds.

It is most important that we present the real message of Karbala to our people, specially the youth, whose minds are troubled by conflicting ideologies and systems. It may be relevant here to recall the memorable exhortation of Imam Ali (A.S) that “In educating your children, take care to educate them for the challenges of their generation, not merely for the requirements of your generation.”

What distinguishes Karbala from other tragedies, where a larger number of people perished is the element of conscious choice, which determined the Imam’s stand at Karbala. The unprecedented mental torture and physical sufferings were entirely avoidable if the Imam had not insisted on upholding the values of Islam. While Karbala did not bring to an end the evil in this world, it succeeded in setting Islam clearly apart from its evil subterfuge and ensured the continuing validity of the Holy Prophet’s mission.

Toynbee, discussing comparative religions, identified justice as the essence of the Islamic creed. The clearest enunciation of the requirement of justice is contained in the statement of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), who, when asked as to when would justice be established on earth, said that “Not until he, who sees injustice done to another, feels it as much as if the injustice was done to him.” Pakistan must strive to be a symbol of the ideals it has inherited from its enlightened creed.

The age of isolation on the local, national or international level is a relic of the past. Whether we want it or not, we have become our brother’s keeper. In the words of John Donne: “None of us is an island, we are all a piece of the main, a part of the continent. So do not ask, for whom the bell tolls, for it may toll for thee”.

In the sands of Karbala, nearly a millennium and a half back, Imam Hussain drew a line in his blood and in the blood of the Holy Prophet’s family and friends — a line where a final decision had to be made if fundamental Islamic values had to be sustained. Unlike lines drawn by military commanders, fortified by military strength, the line along the Euphrates was sustained only by the indomitable force of human will. Even after a millennium and a half, Karbala stands out as a shining point of reference for the dictum that ephemeral military victories are of little consequence in the face of ideology’s ultimate triumph.

The well known orientalist, Professor Ralph Russell, in his inestimable translation of Iftikhar Arif’s moving verses on Karbala, vividly portrays the tyrannical regime of Yezid which had to be clearly distinguished from the spirit of Islam if the Holy Prophet’s mission had to be preserved by his illustrious grandson: -

“Now the companions of the King are satisfied;

The severed hands and arms of those,

Who would not bow their heads,

Hang from the battlement.

On every side is peace,

Peace, perfect peace.

The people’s cry cannot be heard,

A victim to the trumpet’s blare,

Men’s stock of patience is all spent,

Lost in the lunacy of prayer

Words have no credibility, respect for human life is gone,

The cords of the pavilion of tongue and word have all been cut,

Peace, perfect peace.


with regards,
Muskan