Imam Husain s Martyrdom [Electronic resources] : Reasons and Motives نسخه متنی

Imam Husain's
Martyrdom: Reasons and Motives

All those who are familiar
with Imam Husseins life do certainly realize that his
role in serving Islam had started very early in his life. He has contributed to
the rising Islamic movement when he was a boy, and played a significant role
when his father was the Commander of the Faithful, taking part in all three
wars that his father fought along with the rest of the faithful companions and
followers.

When his brother Hassan (A.S.) became Imam, he obeyed
and followed him in all what he said or did. Then his role entered a new stage
with the passing away of his brother. And since the role of
any Imam of Ahlul Bayt is
defined in accordance with the nature of the social and political conditions of
his age. the Imam drew a new course in
determining the direction of the Islamic movement.

Winds of Revolution

When Muawyiah died , his son
Yazid took power and ordered his walis
(governors) to ask for the people's pledge of loyalty and especially that of
Imam Hussein, a wave of rejection and opposition to the policy of betrayal and
tyranny mounted, and the Imam decided to rise to his religious responsibilities
as the lawful Imam and the leader of the Islamic Nation entrusted with the task
of preserving its Divine message.

He went to his grandfather's (P.B.U.H.) grave, and recited the following
prayer:

"0 God, This is the grave of your Prophet, Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) and I am
his daughter's son, and I have come to know what you undoubtedly know. 0 God, I
like to enjoin the good and reject the evil. I ask you 0 All-Mighty God by this
grave and by he who is in it to choose for me what would please You and Your
Prophet"

Thus Imam Hussein pledged that he would defend the message whatever the cost,
as long as it would lead to Allah's satisfaction. The Imam went on to meet with
his relatives and followers and inform them of his intention to leave to Mecca. He was met by a lot of opposition of those who tried
to dissuade him, either because they were afraid that he would get killed, or
because they were not courageous enough to follow him. But his resolve to
uphold the right was not shaken by such objections or threats.

He declared his first revolutionary communique which
took the form of a will, he wrote to his brother, Muhammad bin Al-Hanifiah:

"...I did not revolt to cause evil , tyranny or
corruption, but to reform my grandfather's (Muhammad P.B.U H.) Ummah. I
want to enjoin the good and denounce the evil, and take the course of my father
and grand-father...."

This eternal message was the official declaration of his revolution. The Imam
(A.S.) traveled to Mecca and there he chose to stay at the house of Abass bin Abdull Mutalib, where the faithful believers of Mecca, as well as those outside it, started to visit him
and pledge loyalty to him.

News about the political uprising in Kufa reached Mecca, and the leaders of the city wrote a letter in which
they declared their opposition to the Ummayad rule,
and they would not accept anybody else but Imam Hussein (A.S.) to rule them.
This letter was followed by many other letters asking the Imam to come to their
city to assume his rule as an Imam of the faithfuls.

On the way to the Great Martyrdom

Yazid became so worried that he decided to send an
army led by Amr Bin Said bin Al-Ass, to kill the Imam
wherever they found him and whatever the costs. When the Imam heard that Yazid's army was heading towards Mecca, he wasn't afraid that they would kill him but was
afraid that they would violate the sanctuary of the City, so he decided to
leave to Kufa although he knew before hand the
ultimate destiny he was to face. Al-Hussein (A S.) and his companions headed
towards Iraq, although he was going to be killed. But he believed
that the true victory would be his, along with his Ahlul
Bayt through their Martyrdom at Karbala.

The Reasons of the Revolution

Imam Hussein did not possess the nesessary force that
would enable him to win, he did not even rely on those
who wrote to him from Kufa. For he
declared his revolution before he received their letters and delegates.

AI-Hijaz too did not give him enough support to be
able to stand against the Ummayads. Therefore he
decided to leave to Iraq for the sole reason of preventing any blood

shedding in the Holy City of Mecca. Moreover, he knew that he was destined to
die, yet he went on. Why then did he insist, and why did he declare his
Revolution?

To answer this question, one should be aware of the following facts:

First

Yazid represented a real danger to the Islamic
Nation, for he was not a true Muslim. He was not properly educated with the
teachings of Islam. And he used according to historical sources, to drink
alcohol, gamble, and commit all other sins.

Such a man could not be entrusted with the affairs of the nation.

Nonetheless, the faithful forces, with Imam Hussein as their leader, had
benefited a lot from these points of weakness in the personality of such an
evil ruler as Yazid which he used to reveal so openly
before the people.

In these circumstances it might not be strange to see many Muslim dignitaries
trying to convince Imam Hussein to avoid the confrontation with Yazid, although they bore witness to the corruption of the Ummayads, and they also realized that it was the lmam's duty and right to face it... He was thus approached
by Abdallah bin Umar bin
AI-Khattab and Abdallab bin
Al-Zubair, as well as some of his family members.
These are some of the manifestations of the absence of the militant spirit
among most Muslim leaders.

As for the common people, this negative spirit spread among them to the
terrifying extent that the people of Kufa, for
example, broke all their pledges promises and oaths ,
once they were subjected to the wave of terror led by ibn-Ziyad,
as well as seducing them with promises of wealth and power. These factors were
among the main reasons that led to the announcement of the revolution. The Imam
wanted to shake the dead consciences because he knew that there was no other
way of preserving Allah's message except through his Martyrdom. Since there was
no one else to stand up for the oppression, he knew that the nation would not
wake up except by such speeches and talks amongst themselves to galvanize and
mobilize the people and solidify their morales.

Second

The general level of the nation as a whole was below
the required to stand up to the currents of sweeping deviation. A tendency to
treasure the pleasures of this world began to be visable
in all sections of the nation, as a substitute to the spirit of sacrifice for
the cause of Allah. And this enabled the oppurtunistic
current to win and hold the positions of ruling and guidance.

Third

It was necessary that the nation should learn about
the true Islamicconception of the Imamate; its true
role and its dimensions. The dangerous effects of undermining the Islamic
conceptions which was played by the Ummayad rule was
never emerging from the grass-root level, but rather from the high levels of
Leadership that monopolized all means of guidance.

Therefore, in accordance with the demands of the Islamic message, and the
qualities that have to be availabe in a Muslim ruler,
Imam Hussein had to explain these issues to the Muslim masses in every speech
he made or any other opportunity he had:

"0 people you have to be pious believers, and know the truth. That is
better for you. We the members of the family of Muhammad (AhIul
Bayt )
are more entitled to be the rulers than those who claim what is not rightfully
theirs; those oppressors and tyrants".

With such roaring words the Imam (A.S.) revealed that the Ummayads
who have deviated from the right Islamic path are not fit to be rulers, and
explained to the nation the foundations of the course on which the Islamic
ruler should be committed to, as well as the Islamic ,traits
.that are embodied in the Imam himself that qualify him to be the Imam of the
nation.

Thus, underlining the Islamic conception of the Imamate and revealing the
falsehood of the Ummayad claims were among the
fundamental reasons that made the Imam declare his revolution.

Fourth

The Islamic message offers no justification for the
Muslim to relieve him from performing his duties as a man who has obligations
towards themessage he believes in. Man in the Islamic
Society is not an independent individual but rather a person who is integrated
in his society and who should perform his duties towards the Islamic faith.

But to fulfil his commitments towards Allah's Shariah in enjoining the good and forbidding the evil meant
that he had to follow the path of the revolution, because it was the only way
that provided any hope for reform in his grandfather's (P.B. U.H.) nation.

These are the main reasons that gave Imam Hussein and his companions the right
to declare the victorious revolution, that
immortalized Islam and inspired the coming generations to defend it and to hold
fast in the Holy Wars of Jehad.