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The human in Imam Hussain

While in many cultures the occasion of New Year is the time for celebrations and festive activities, such as in Western or Chinese traditions, the Islamic New Year, although marked by a public holiday in many Islamic countries, is not accompanied by fun parties or fireworks. On the contrary, you will find certain areas of the Muslim population that are decorating their streets, mosques, and community centres with black banners and drawings of mourning people. That’s the time of Muharram, the first Islamic calendar month, with a very important date on its tenth day, Ashoora. For Shia Muslims and the followers of Prophet Mohammed’s Progeny this is a very special time of the year.

When the month of Muharram draws near there is this unique feeling of impatient anticipation for the days of Ashoora that has been commemorated for hundreds of years with ever increasing zeal and love for Imam Hussain, his family and companions. For the outsider this zeal and love might seem very strange. In fact, before I knew anything about Imam Hussain and Ashoora, I too was bewildered but also intrigued by what I saw and heard in the streets, mosques, and religious centres. And even though I didn’t understand very much from what was being said in the vivid lamentation of the sermons and the rhythmic lyrics, I became fascinated by the whole spectacle and the genuine emotions so openly displayed by people. Who was this man who caused these outbreaks of compassion in grown up men and women? Then I wondered why I hadn’t heard about Imam Hussain and Karbala before? In actual fact, throughout 20 years that I grew up and lived in Europe I had never heard even the name of Imam Hussain anywhere, leave alone what happened to this important historical figure in Karbala.

After getting to know the story of Karbala and Imam Hussain in more detail, hearing its gruesome facts, and shocking descriptions of what exactly had happened to Imam Hussain, his family and companions, I couldn’t help but feeling a deep sense of sympathy and I began to ponder about its meaning for us today. People surely wouldn’t commemorate this occasion year after year with such enormous efforts and zealous emotions only to remember a historic battle in which the grandson of Prophet Mohammed had died. In order to remember this fact of history a simple memory service would have served this purpose. But during the Ashoora activities the followers of the Progeny of Prophet Mohammed, the Shia of Ahlul Bait, seem to relive the pain and sorrows of this battle, as if it happened only yesterday. Therefore, it began to dawn on me that there was much more to it than meets the eye of an observer of the Ashoora traditions.

Much has been said and written about Imam Hussain and the battle of Karbala. Year after year we hear about the brave resistance and courage that Imam Hussain, his family and companions put up. Year after year we read and hear the very same stories about his infallible character, his magnificent virtues, his incomparable patience, his outstanding knowledge, his great generosity, his heroic bravery, or his praiseworthy purity that were so brutally wiped out by an army that was under the command of the Muslim nation leader. Again and again we listen to the unimaginable sufferings and terrible deaths of each and every martyr in Karbala in the most vivid description. And yet, people never seem to get enough of Ashoora. Men, women and children in Iraq today even risk their lives to march days on foot till they reach the holy shrine in Karbala. They defy all terror threats and dangers just in order to be there for Ashoora, to be with Imam Hussain in Karbala, when the holy shrine becomes engulfed by a sea of people, the faithful followers of Imam Hussain till this very day and age after almost 1400.

Great effort and financial resources are invested each year for the commemoration of Ashoora, which is much more, much, much more than, for example, the financial and physical efforts that are invested into the Good Friday services before the Easter Festivities in the Christian culture, in which the Christians commemorate the death of no other but their “son of God.” However, although Imam Hussain was “only” the grandson of the Prophet of Islam, the commemoration of his death stands in no comparison to how Christians commemorate the loss of Jesus. Besides, I have never seen people cry on Good Friday the way people cry for Imam Hussain. Maybe there are people who do cry on Good Friday, but it is not part and certainly not specifically recommended during commemoration services. With the alleged death of Jesus in mind, I began to think about the similarities and differences of the assumed crucifixion of Jesus and the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. In Christian theology, which, of course, elevates Prophet Jesus to the status of the son of God, Jesus was tortured on the cross and died for peoples’ sins. Hence, for Christians it was God who became in part human in order to show His love for mankind through the sacrifice of “His son.” Thus, in this case the love comes from God to mankind.

Imam Hussain, on the other hand, was, of course, “just” a human. But this human suffered incomparable torture, pain, and sorrow, which he bore in a way like no other human did before or after him. What was his secret? How could anyone be able to bear such indescribable physical and mental strain? After all, despite being infallible, Imam Hussain was still “only” a human. And yet, he demonstrated his love for God beyond intelligible human capacity to the last drop of his blood and with everything and everybody that meant the world to him. But it wasn’t the world for which he sacrificed everything; it was God the Almighty Imam Hussain totally submitted to by bearing what he suffered on that day. And this becomes clear through the quotation of Imam Hussain, who said: “I don’t see death but as success; and life with the oppressors as nothing but a deviation.” What kind of love is this, if not, yes, if not only the love for God? So the direction that this love is taking is totally different than that of Jesus in Christian theology! It is not from God to mankind, but from man to God. And therefore, the effect of this love on humans is totally different too. In the case of Christian belief, God demonstrated His love for mankind through the death of Jesus. So we said that this love comes from above, sent down onto mankind. Man can accept it or not, although one would easily understand its message. God loves you, the human.

But the love of a human for God through sacrifice and the effect it has on the rest of mankind seems less apparent and thus more difficult to comprehend. One difficulty in fully grasping its meaning might be the difference between the understanding of martyrdom in Western and Islamic terms. A martyr in Islam is called a “shaheed”, which also means a ‘witness’. As such he bears witness to the truth, because a witness is called upon to testify about the truth, to establish reality. Therefore, a martyr is not simply someone who dies for the higher cause that he believes in, which could be anything even his own principles, but a “shaheed” is someone who witnesses to the truth or bears testimony to the truth. To find out about the truth we need a witness and Imam Hussain was the absolute witness to the truth of Islam and human creation by God the Almighty.

You might argue that the truth could be established by revelations and divine signs. Ironically enough, God had already sent plenty of those and people again and again rejected or falsified them. But again, the direction of this love is different. It is not God that proves His love to us, but it is man who proves the degree of love possible that a human can show to his Creator. So in order to bear such witness of the absolute love, he had to be a human. By doing so he also bore witness to the absolute truth, which is God the Almighty. Besides, God the Almighty doesn’t need to bear witness to His own truth. This would be quite illogical too. A human, however, is only a part of God’s creation within God’s absolute truth. And as such we have a purpose, which God the Almighty tells us in the holy Quran: [51:56] I did not create the jinn and the humans except to worship (Me alone). “wa ma khalqtu aljinna wal insa illa liya’abudoon”  By becoming a martyr or a witness in death, a shaheed, Imam Hussain was also a witness to the ultimate act of worship, he gave his life to submit to the eternal truth of his Creator and all His attributes.

So, what’s the effect of Imam Hussain’s martyrdom on mankind? We said that through his martyrdom, his witness to the truth of God the Almighty, he perfected his worship and therefore the purpose that he was created for. Imam Hussain completed his submission in the utmost way possible, as it was only God the Almighty he would submit to. And what is more, he did not sacrifice everything by simply accepting death like a lamb to the slaughter. He did not, like the Christian story of Jesus suggests, have the enemies of God in superior numbers kill him without any resistance, because it was a hopelessly unequal fight. He did not give in to the overwhelming number of Yazid’s soldiers by simply admitting defeat as natural consequence due to being totally outnumbered. On the contrary, the Imam and his small group fought back most bravely and killed so many enemy troops in a way that their status of unequalled heroes cannot be denied even by their killers. And there we find the evidence for the effect his martyrdom had on mankind.

Of course, many people have asked this question before why did it all have to end this way? Why did the Imam fight back in this manner? When we hear reports from people that have been tortured, we feel immense compassion and we certainly understand if they gave in to their torturer. After all, they we are only humans. There is only so much pain and especially psychological strain a human can bear. No one would blame a person that is being subjected to inhumane torture for wanting to end their suffering. And isn’t it also permissible to submit to a violent tyrant in the face of cruel suppression as long as one resists the wrong in one’s mind? If I am being tortured or victimized to the point that I will die if I don’t give in to the oppressor’s demands, then I am likely to consent to signing an agreement with whatsoever conditions attached to it, just to get end the physical torture. But the question is can a human end his suffering by giving in to evil?

Let’s take a look at more recent history. There are many terrible and gruesome reports that reach us time and again caused by tribal or civil wars in Africa. The latest horrible news came from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where men in uniforms kill children and their young mothers, for the simple reason that they are suspected of being on the wrong side. We read about children soldiers that were forced to kill their own family members just because some powerful man in uniform told them to do so. And I heard on BBC radio from a mother who killed her own small child on the brutally imposed order of a female commander who came into their village to terrorize its people. These are all very, very terrified and traumatized humans who don’t see any other option but to obey their tyrants in the hope of ending their suffering and pain. After all they are only humans. But the question is have these humans ended their suffering by giving in to their oppressors? I think the answer is obvious.

For the very same reason Imam Hussain could not give in being a human to the powerful oppressor army of Yazid. In the light of true human value we know that Imam Hussain could not pledge his allegiance to someone like Yazid. And because Imam Hussain’s spiritual power was too great a threat for Yazid’s legitimacy, it became clear that Yazid could not allow the Imam to live. But why was the Imam’s death so brutal, why so tragic and inhumane? The reasons lie in another aspect of human nature as the oppressors were simply driven by greed for power and leadership. Hence, Yazid’s troops were so unnecessarily cruel for political reasons. Firstly, Yazid would not have benefitted from a quick assassination of the Imam because that would have increased people’s sympathy for Imam Hussain. Yazid needed to confront the Imam in a battle so that he could claim that Imam Hussain had been threatening his “legitimate” government. Yazid also needed an ostentatious parade of the captives to justify his “legal” suppression of this so-called “rebellion,” not only to intimidate possible followers and sympathizers among the population but also in order to “proof” their guilt. However, Yazid’s wickedly calculated plans could not disguise his falsehood, oppression, and tyranny. On the contrary, Imam Hussain’s martyrdom was a victory to preserve the truth and ultimately save Islam from obliteration. Imam Hussain did so as a human without supernatural or magical powers in order to defend Islam and all that it stands for. He fought other humans, who defended a human power, who claimed to be the rightful leader of the Muslim nation. But because this power was oppressive and evil it was doomed to lose the fight despite winning the battle. This is why the great Indian jurist and thinker Mahatma Gandhi had this to say: “I learnt from Hussain how to achieve victory while being oppressed.”

And this is what people remember in Ashoora, they remember that Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed, the son of Imam Ali and Fatima az Zahra, did not submit to evil, he did not obey evil orders, he did not trade his valuable life for an existence in misery and mental suffering, but he preferred martyrdom for himself and his family to living under oppression and tyranny. And in the end he prevailed and won, for he became the eternal symbol of strong faith and the paramount servant to the truth. He became the symbol of a pure human who was elevated from the cruel actions and the dark side of man. Because he knew and taught us that a human who dies in faith and obedience to God the Almighty will find eternal life in paradise. Thus, he taught us how to be a human who incorporates the best human attributes and how to preserve our humanity in the face of inhumane evil. But a human who obeys tyrants, gives in to injustice, and agrees to live under evil forces has lost humanity as s/he is already living in hell on earth. Therefore, Imam Hussain’s martyrdom is also a “statement” and “guidance” not simply a “sacrifice.”

There is one more point we need to look at when we want to discover the human in Imam Hussain. So far we have looked at how Imam Hussain stood up for the truth and in defence of Islam that made him a perfect servant to God and thus a complete human. But what about the way how Imam Hussain dealt with other people before and during the battle? In such an extreme situation, one would expect the leader of a small group that is being threatened by an overwhelming enemy to think of himself first. After all, his life and that of his family were dangerously at risk. A person in Imam Hussain’s position would probably try to take advantage of any situation that might favour his course. However, Imam Hussain also remained fair and a perfect human towards others.

First of all we know that Imam Hussain felt too compassionate towards his companions so much that he couldn’t expect them to fight with him against the mighty army of Yazid. Although someone in his position needed every man he could get in order to be able to at least defend the women and children. But Imam Hussain knew that Yazid’s people were only after him, so he couldn’t possibly ask of his companions to stay with him which meant certain death. The night before Ashoora he showed his great human character by encouraging his followers to leave under the protection of night’s darkness. The Imam specifically told them that there was no shame in doing so and that they had his blessings if they wanted to leave. As we know, no one did.

But yet before that last night, he even showed compassion to his enemies who had met the Imam’s caravan on the way to Kufa with no water left for their troops and their horses. So the Imam shared his caravan’s water rations with the very soldiers that had come to confront him. And what is more, on the day of Ashoora, before the battle started, one of the leading generals of Yazid, whose name was Hurr Bin Yazid Ar Riyahi realized he was on the wrong side and defected Yazid’s army to join the Imam. This was the very person who had prevented the Imam and his small group from returning to Medina to avoid a confrontation with Yazid’s army, because the Imam knew only then that the people of Kufa no longer supported him. But instead of feeling angry or refusing this man who had been responsible for causing so much harm to Imam Hussain and his party, the Imam open-heartedly welcomed Hurr and gave him permission to go into battle first, which was considered a great honour. And consider this situation. Your infant son is dying of thirst, his mother is so weak that she has no milk left to feed him, but the enemy blocks your way to the close-by river just to increase the suffering of innocent children and women to force you into obedience. This proves them to be completely inhumane. But instead of resorting to violence against such cruel criminals, Imam Hussain shows patience and asks for little humanitarian aid in form of some water only for his baby. Of course, we know that the Imam’s act of diplomatic approach was answered with an arrow into the infant’s neck. One would think that this would be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, but not Imam Hussain’s. He just wouldn’t resort to any kind of human rights violations despite the enemy’s constant use of excessive force and atrocities. All details that emerged from this historic and very tragic event give clear evidence that Imam Hussain never lost an ounce of his humanity till the very moment of his inhumane death in Karbala. In fact, even during the worst war situations Imam Hussain strictly adhered to the highest human rights principles and codes, which the world governments only came to agree upon 1268 years later through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 1948. And it was this humanity that also bore witness to the truth of Islam, which is underlined by another quote from our friend Mahatma Gandhi, who remarked:  “My faith is that the progress of Islam does not depend on the use of the sword by its believers, but is the result of the supreme sacrifice of Husain, the great saint.” (Mahatma Gandhi)

For who else could be more human than the individual who preserves his humanness in the face of the worst and inhumane treatment from another human being? Or to put it in the words of another martyred Islamic philosopher: “For the eyes which can no longer read the truth and cannot see the face of the truth in the darkness of despotism and istihmar (stupid ignorance), all they see is being nothing but pollution, the blood of the shahid is a candle light which gives vision and [serves as] the radiant light of guidance for the misguided who wander amidst the homeless caravan, on mountains, in deserts, along by-ways, and in ditches.”