| Benefiting from Ashura |
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| Tuesday, 15 February 2005 | |
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Page 2 of 6 In the thought of the supreme religious authority (marji') Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Husseini al-Shirazi (May Allah preserve him.), we can clearly sense today the effects of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (a) and the extent of its influence on the survival of the Islamic religion and in protecting it from the guiles of the enemy, all because of the historical stance that he took and the sacrifice he made on the day of al-Taff. [7] We can also discern with ease from amongst these effects that the power of government, however great and developed that might be, can never compare with the power of the Islamic nation. The power of government is partial and is derived from the power of the Islamic nation above which there can be no power as long as the nation remains firmly upon the religion and follows it. The Imam (a), alongside his knowledge by divine will of what would happen to him and to his family on the day of Ashura, also knew of the outcome of events and of the future. His uprising did not only uncover the scandals and crimes of the Umayyad regime but there was a mission behind this uprising; namely to make clear the reality of the Islamic religion and to clarify its features for everyone. The result of the battle of Karbala was the uprooting of the Umayyad government despite its tyranny, influence, power, wealth and military might at a time when the society was not even allowing itself to consider the question of overthrowing the Umayyads because of their might and despotism. The events at Karbala renewed life for Islam and corrected the religious beliefs that had arisen due to the Umayyad's fabrication of prophetic traditions or hadith and their adoption of ideas from false philosophies. Ideas such as predeterminism (jabr) - the idea that men are compelled by Allah in their actions; delegation (tafwid), and theomorphism (tajsim) - the idea that Allah has a bodily form, and others like them, which served to shore up the pillars of their illegal regime. Hence Islam appeared once again, shining in the true form in which Allah had revealed it to His noble messenger (s), in the form of the madhhab or school of the Ahl-ul-Bayt (a) after being cleansed of the detritus of Ummayad falsehood. This uprising was and remains a model for all other liberationist uprisings in the world against oppressors. This uprising was the ‘big bang', which prepared the way for a succession of revolutions and motivated those involved in the struggle to defend the sacred values of Islam and taught them the art of combating tyranny and to be steadfast in the struggle until they achieved a life of nobility and freedom. The nation then is a great power, and government has no power if the legality of its existence has not acquired the approval of the sacred law (shari'ah) and the nation. The nation must grasp however, that for the legal government to be righteous the nation must also be righteous. On this note, the renowned scholar Sheikh al-Baha'i [8] says: ‘There is no fault in the religion of Islam itself, rather the fault lies in the Muslims themselves.' Imam Hussein (a), through his uprising, pointed out the way for the future generations and made clear the path to solving the problems of society and attaining the happiness of this life and the nobility of the next. When Islamic society indeed put into practice some of these Islamic teachings it lived a life of prosperity and nobility as history witnessed in the days of Sayyid al-Murtada and Sheikh al-Mufid and Allamah al-Hilli and Sheikh al-Karaki and Sheikh al-Baha'i and Allamah al-Majlisi (May Allah venerate their souls). Then society was living an honourable life without being afflicted by any of the problems that afflict the Muslims today. On the contrary, it was the enemies of Islam who suffered from these crises since they were drowning in the seas of ignorance and backwardness and the like. ‘Hussein is the lantern of guidance and the ship of salvation,' as the Messenger of Allah (s) said. This hadith or prophetic tradition depicts the world in the finest of ways in order to bring us closer to understanding the true nature and reality of this world. It likens this world to the dark depths of the ocean from which there is no salvation except by means of a ship and there is no way to escape from its glooms except by a lantern. This is a splendid simile. Man in this world is in need of a lantern to light for him the way otherwise he will be lost in the darkness of ignorance and poverty and illness and will fall into the abysses and will not be able to perceive and hence avoid the wild animals and beasts which seek to prey on him. He is also in need of a ship, which will preserve him from drowning and perishing in the clashing depths of the seas of the world and will take him to the shores of tranquillity in safety and peace. What is it that functions as the lantern to guide mankind in the world and the ship to rescue him from its depths? It is none other than that which was specified by divine revelation and which was pointed to by the Messenger of Allah (s) when he said: ‘The people of my household are as the stars, which ever one of them you seek guidance from, you will be guided.' He (s) also said: ‘The similitude of the people of my household is as the ship of Noah, whoever boards it will be saved, and whoever tarries behind from it will drown.' |