“The Essence of Karbala”

By Israr Hussain

“Security tightened across the country”.

“Law enforcement agencies on high alert”.

“Entry of firebrand clerics restricted in various cities”.

“Scores of cities declared sensitive”

“Pillion riding banned”.

These are some of the news we see in the Media in Pakistan when the month of Moharram ul Haram arrives. With the arrival of the holy month, hate-mongering catches pace on social media as well. Sporadic incidents of violence are also reported from different parts of the country. The kind of atmosphere which prevails in the country has led the common man to believe as if the holy month of Moharram ul Haram is a source of division among various denominations of Muslims. Further, a large number of rituals performed in the first 10 days of the month, which vary in type from city to city and country to country, suggest that the First Ashra is a festival of a certain sect. Moreover, hate speeches across the aisle give the impression as if Imam Hussain A.S is, God forbid, a divisive figure. Enough of this stereotyping, let’s try to see Karbala from a different lens.
From a historical perspective, Moharram marks the tragic event of Karbala, which took place in Karbala, Iraq (hence the event referred to as Karbala) in 61 A.H. when Imam Hussain A.S, the grandson of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم along with his male family members was martyred and female family members were incarcerated by the then Umayyad ruler Yazid.
To understand Karbala better, and to know the essence of the event of Karbala, we need to ask Imam Hussain A.S himself what his motives were. Whether he rendered huge sacrifices so that we celebrate it in the form of some rituals and go to homes, or he had a greater motive in his mind. Imam Hussain A.S made many statements throughout his Karbala Movement to explain what was the purpose of all woes and sufferings he and his family had to go through. To this effect, we need to assess these statements of Imam Hussain A.S. Doing so will reveal that contrary to the common perception and practices, Imam A.S had a different and sacred mission in his mind, and he wanted us to carry forward that mission.
So, in the lines to follow, we will discuss two of those statements of Imam Hussain A.S to have a basic understanding of the essence of the event of Karbala. When Imam Hussain A.S was leaving Madina for a long journey that would culminate in Karbala, people asked Imam why he was leaving Madina with all his family. To this, Imam A.S replied:
“انما خرجت لطلب الاصلاح فی امتی جدی رسول اللہ ارید ان آمر بالمعروف و انھیٰ عن المنکر۔ “
“I have risen for the betterment of Ummah of my grandfather, the messenger of Allah, and I desire to propagate to do good and forbid against evil.”
In the above statement, Imam Hussain A.S asserts that the very purpose of his movement is to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil. All religions of the world as well as human conscience agree on what is good. Justice is good; truthfulness is good; pluralism is good; equitable distribution of wealth is good; equality is good; helping the needy is good; assisting the oppressed is good; knowledge and wisdom are good, etc. Similarly, evil is also agreed upon by the human conscience. Oppression is evil; coercion is evil; corruption, be it moral or financial, is evil; discrimination is evil; ignorance is evil; falsehood is evil; concentration of wealth by a very few at the expense of many others is evil; depriving the orphans and widows of their due share in inherited property is evil; supporting a cruel and unjust ruler is evil; abetting the oppressor is evil; domestic abuse is evil; harassment is evil; extrajudicial killing is evil; massacre of the innocent is evil. We would, unfortunately, hardly find someone to throw light on these goods and evils in the holy month of Moharram.
When Imam A.S was asked to obey Yazid as the ruler of the Muslim world, Imam A.S replied:
“۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔ و یزید رجل فاسق، قاتل نفس المحرمہ۔ مثلی لا یبایع مثلہ”
“….. And Yazid is a wicked and corrupt person, a murderer of the innocent. Likes of me cannot follow likes of Yazid”
Imam Hussain A.S has, in the above statement, impressed upon us that Yazid is not a person, but a character; a character known for wickedness, evil, corruption, and tyranny. Imam A.S has also taught us the lesson that those who claim to be the supporters of Imam Hussain A.S will never follow the Yazid of their times, never assist them, never abet their actions, or else their claims are hollow and in fact, they are in Yazidi camp. Cursing the dead Yazid is easy; standing up to the alive Yazid of the contemporary world is a hell of a difficult task. Ironically, Yazids of the contemporary era also celebrate the rituals of Moharram, oblivious to the fact that Karbala is not a set of rituals and customs, but a movement; a movement against tyranny, injustice, coercion, and corruption. Again, these topics are seldom discussed when the tragic event of Karbala is commemorated.
Self-appraisal will reveal that we have lost the message of Karbala and have limited it to a set of customs and traditions. On top of that, unfortunately, we have made Imam Hussain A.S a divisive figure. This is sheer injustice to Imam A.S from our side. It is the responsibility of those at the helm of affairs – Ulema, intellectuals, hosts of Moharram events, media, etc., – to disseminate the true meaning and message of Karbala to the masses so that evils are eradicated from society.
In a nutshell, the essence of Karbala is enjoining what is good, forbidding what is evil, and standing up to tyranny. Those who do not understand this are deceiving themselves whether they commemorate the event of Karbala or not.