By: Ali Sajid Lashari
Hussain is of myself and I am of Hussain. O’ Allah be pleased with those who please Hussain and hate those who hate Hussain
Hadith
Crown of martyrs, Heritor of Prophet’s legacy, Flagbearer of right, Benefactor of Humanity, Arch-adversary of Islam’s adversaries, Reviver of Islam, and Savior of Islam, Hazrat Hussain, was born to Hazrat Fatima bint-e-Mohammad (S.A.W.W) on 3rd Shaban 4th A.H. After the birth of this infant, his father Hazrat Ali requested the Prophet of Islam to name him. The Holy Prophet named his grandson Hussain, the most beautiful.
In conformity with some widely reputed religious scholars of both Sunni and Shia schools of thought, when the Prophet was first given Imam Hussain in his lap, at that very moment Prophet’s eyes teared up, and HE prophesied that his son would consummate the incomplete sacrifice of my grandfather Ibrahim (a.s) in the scorching and arid plain of Karbala. As Hazrat Anas bin Harith narrates: One day the Holy Prophet (salat and salam be upon him) ascended the pulpit to deliver a sermon to his associates while Imam Hussain and Imam Hasan were sitting before him. When the sermon concluded, he put his left hand on Imam Hussain and raising his head towards Heaven, said: “O my Lord! I am Muhammad, your slave, and your Prophet, and these two are the distinguished and pious members of my family who would fortify my cause after me. O, my Lord! Gabriel (an angel) has informed me that my son Hussain will be killed. O my Lord, bless my cause in Hussain’s martyrdom, make him the leader of the martyrs, be his helper and guardian, and do not bless assassins.”
Furthermore, when Hazrat Hussain was forced to leave Madina because of not showing loyalty to Yazeed, he went to the Messenger of Allah to greet him last. He slept there and dreamt that the Prophet embraced him and said, “My beloved Husayn, I foresee you when you will be, in the very near future, covered with your blood, slain at the land of Karbala, while thirsty, being deprived of water. This will be done to you by people who claim that they are from my followers.”
As attested by Ibn Saad, an eighth-century historian, Hazrat Ali, while on his way to Siffin, passed through the desert of Karbala. He stopped and wept bitterly. When asked about the cause of his weeping, he commented that one day he visited the Holy Prophet and found him weeping. When he asked the cause, the Apostle of Allah replied, “O’ Ali, Jibrael (an angel) has just been with me and informed me that my son Hussain would be martyred in Karbala, a place near the bank of the river Euphrates. This moved me so much that I could not help weeping.”
Crying in sorrow for Imam Hussain is the Sunnah of the Holy Apostle (blessings and greetings be upon Him and his purified progeny) and the best source of salvation, as Allama Iqbal states in his poetry: “Roney wālā hoon shaheed-e-Karbala kay gham may mei’n, Kyā durrey maqsad na dai’ngay Sāqi-e-Kausar mujhey” (Baqiyat e Iqbal).
Besides, Quaid-e-Azam, a great leader of Muslims, has been reported to pay homage to Imam Hussain with these unique words: “My admiration for the noble sacrifice of Imam Hussain as a martyr abounds because he accepted death and the torture of thirst for himself, for his sons, and for his whole family, but did not submit to unjust authorities.”
Ibn e Ali has not only been praised and prized by people who believe in the Religion descended from his grandfather Hazrat Mohammad (SAW) but also by disciples of other faiths and illustrious figures of the world, as accepted. Sarojini Naidu, the Nightingale of India, said, “I congratulate Muslims that from among them, Hussain, a great human being, was born, who is revered and honored by all communities.” Another Indian leader, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who served as vice president of India, holds Imam Hussain in high esteem, saying that “Though Imam Hussain gave his life almost 1300 years ago, his indestructible soul rules the hearts of people even today.”
Woefully speaking, Muslims who put baseless allegations on Hazrat Hussain that he waged war for worldly desires and the throne have been retaliated by a well-known non-Muslim novelist, Charles Dickens, with unmatched words that, “If Hussain fought to quench his worldly desires, then I do not understand why his sisters, wives, and children accompanied him. It stands to reason, therefore, that he sacrificed purely for Islam.”
Hazrat Hussain’s sacrifice dispenses a lesson: never surrender before forces of tyranny and diabolicalness, whether your number is less than the cruel. And those who lay down their lives for a noble cause are venerated and admired by all antagonists of barbarism and brutality without the imprisonment of religion and race. Last but not least, if Islam is breathing and getting roots in every nook and cranny of the globe today, this is just because of the Holy blood of Imam Hussain shed on the terrain of Karbala; otherwise, it would have been extinguished long ago.”
The writer can be reached at [email protected]