Imam Hussein's Martydom: Battle of Karbala

Imam Hussein Martydom The Story of Imam Hussein (Grand Son of Prophet Mohammad: Peace be upon him ) Every year on the 10th of Muharam the Shia Muslims all over the world commemorate the Martyrdom of Imam Hussein (A.S). The commemoration starts from the first day and the peak reached on the 10th day of month of Muharam. Today is the sixth day of Muharam which is 1st month of Muslim's Hijri Year 1435H. Imam Hussein (A.S) is the grand son of Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) from his daughter Fatima and his cousin and son-in-law Ali Bin Abi Talib (A.S.). Prophet Mohammad used to call Hussein and his brother Hassan as his beloved sons. He is the one who chose their names after they born. They grow in the environment of Bano Hashem, the tribe of Prophet Mohammad and Ali. Unlike tribe:Bano Omaiyah, another tribe:Bano Hashem rejects corruption, oppression and racial discrimination. Bano Omaiyah tribe considers themselves above the others and the Arabs above the non Arabs. This discrimination reached its peak during the reign of Maawiyah Bin Abo Sofiyan and his son Yazid in Damascus in Syria. One of the major causes for Imam Hussein to reject the leadership of Maawiyah and Yazid is because of their corruption, oppression, slavery and injustice. It is very difficult to elaborate about the history in details but I will try to write very briefly about the main events and points. Ali Bin Abi Talib was declared as the "Succesor of Prophet Mohammad" in presence of over 70,000 Muslims (who gave oath also submitted their allegiance to Ali Bin Abi Talib ) by both famous tribes of Bano Hashem and Bano Omaiyah ( including Al Insars and the Mohajreen ) at the place of Gadir near Mecca before the death of Prophet Mohammad. Hence, Ali Bin Abi Talib became religious leader and 1st Khalifa of all Muslims by appointment as "Succesor of Prophet Mohammad" as Prophet Mohammad had chosen him so in the presence of over 70,000 Muslims. After the death of Prophet Mohammad and before his burial a new era of struggle for power started. Al Insars who were the inhabitants of Madinah gathered in a place called Saqefat Bani Saiedah which is their community meeting place and selected among them Saad Bin Uobadah to be the leader despite giving oath of allegiance to Ali Bin Abi Talib. The Mohajreen who migrated with Prophet Mohammad the tribe of Koriesh heard this. They left the body of the Prophet and went to the same place to select person from their tribe as the leader. The two tribes/sides clashed and argued about who should be the leader. The scene was chaotic with threats from both tribes/sides. Ali Bin Abi Talib and the family of Prophet did not attend the above mentioned community meeting (as they were busy in arranging burrial ceremony of body of Prophet Mohammad) and had been ignored. Ali Bin Abi Talib was adopted by Prophet Mohammad when he was a boy to help his uncle Abi Talib during economical crises. He was the son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammad, his cousin, and brother by choice and the first one to embrace Islam after the prophet and his succesor/deputy at least according to many Muslims at that time. Ali was poor and he was disliked by the rich aristocrats of Qurishis and tribe of Bano Omaiyah. The community meeting resulted in taking allegiance to Aboo Baker who was one of the Immigrants to Madenah, despite giving oath of allegiance earlier to Ali Bin Abi Talib by over 70,000 Muslims from all different tribes during the life-time of Prophet Mohammad. Some Muslims rejected and some asked to wait until Ali Bin Abi Talib and the prophet kinsmen finished from his burial but the matter moved forward by some. That was a breakthrough point in the history of division in Islam (i.e., Shia and Sunni sects ). Soon after this many Muslims refused to accept Aboo Baker as their leader as they had already accepted Ali Bin Abi Talib as religious Leader and Succesor of the last Prophet Mohammad. Hence they refused to pay charity (Zakat) to Aboo Baker and that was suppressed by force led by Khaled Bin Alwaled who killed the leader of the region Malek Bin Nowerah and married his beautiful wife on the same day! Ali Bin Abi Talib (the father of Hussein) hasn't submitted his allegiance to Aboo Baker until the death of Fatima 6 months later. At this time the power established well in the hands of Aboo Baker and Omar and had he not done so he may have been killed. Aboo Baker and Omar ( ruled as 1st and 2nd religious Leaders ) used Ali Bin Abi Talib as a consultant for them, because of Ali's knowledge and wisdom in all aspects of religious laws ( Fiqah ) also because they had also given allegiance to Ali Bin Abi Talib in presence of over 70,000 Muslims gathered at a place called: Gadir near Mecca/Saudi Arabia!! During the reign of Othman (ruled as 3rd religios Leader) who was from Bano Omayiah tribe there were a lot of unrest in Egypt and Iraq and other parts due to the oppressive and unjust behaviours of the local corrupt leaders. Othman appointed leaders among his family and some of them were arrogant to the people. The unrest resulted in surrounding Othman house and Ali Bin Abi Talib tried to stop things getting worst but was unable so the revolted people killed Othman. This was a major point in the history of Islam. Here the division started to take a different shape. Now Ali Bin Abi Talib had been selected by the people to lead as 4th religious Leader and he refused initially but the revolted people and others convinced him that they need his leadership now! He accepted but Muawyaih in Damascus who was the cousin of Othman refused that and entered into many wars with Ali. After the death of Ali Bin Abi Talib (killed by conspiracy of Muawyaih during prayer in Kuffa mosque, Iraq), Maawiyah signed agreement with Ali's eldest son: Imam Al Hassan to stop blood shade and promissed that the power will go to Al Hassan after him but Maawiyah killed Al Hassan by putting poison in his honey. He then forced every one to give allegiance to his son Yazid after him. After his death Yazid sent for Madenah to ask the people to recognize him as the leader. He instructed his army if any one refused to give allegiance to be killed and named youngest son of Ali Bin Abi Talib:Imam Hussein as one of the most important people to be killed first. Battle of Karabala: Yazid was arrogant, oppressive, and unjust man. His messenger to Imam Hussein through the governor of Al Madenah HQ asked Imam Hussein after summoning him to submit his will to Yazid. Imam Hussein knew if he does so it means the end of the moral aspects in the Muslim religion and the acceptance of the slavery dictatorship of Yazid. He refused and asked the messenger to wait for a while. Imam Hussein then decided to leave with his family (wife, children, brothers and some others) to Iraq because he knew Yazid already planned to assassinate him. He took his family because if he leaves them Yazid will take them as captives. The followers of his father and grand father in Iraq have written to him before to go there and provide him with protection. He then made his mind and went from Madenah to Makkah then across the desert towards Kuffa. Imam Hussein leaving the city of his grand father to IraqTo KuffaYazid arranged a huge army of 33,000 men very well equipped and appointed Oubiad Alla Bin Ziad as the governor of Kuffa. Bin Ziad was a known person for his arrogance, un-mercifulness, oppression, and every thing inhuman. He was governor on Basrah. Since his arrival to Kuffa worked in two ways, threat and killing and buying the people with money. He captured the messenger of Imam Hussein and his cousin Muslim Bin Akeel; beating him and throws him from the roof of the palace then crucified him with Hani Bin Urowa his hostess. Yazid sent his strongest army while Bin Ziad sent an army to surround Imam Hussein and his family and prevent them from changing their direction until Yazid army arrives. Imam Hussein have just about 100 with him most of them were among his family.They forced Imam Hussein and his family (the family of Prophet Mohammad) to retreat to Kerbala. Kerbala is two phrases word; ker means anguish and bala means vexation. Imam Hussein debated with them that they are themselves send for him to come and tried to convince them that they are in actual fact surrounding the women and children of their Prophet but they refused to let him to go. They said that he has to submit completely his will to Bin Ziad and then Yazid or he will face his fate. He showed them more than 500 letters that they sent but they denied it! After a long journey through the desert his children were thirsty as well as the women and the men. They prevent him from the Euphrates water. He got a 6 months old baby who was crying aggressively for water and he took him to the army asking for water just for this baby, instead they throw the baby with a dart which strike him on his neck and killed him instantly. Imam Hussein then took the blood of his baby in his hand and throw it to heaven asking God to witness what these people done to a baby belong to the family of their prophet. On the 10th of Muharam around mid-day Yazid army attacked Imam Hussein camp. Imam Hussein first advised them saying that we are until now one nation but if the war of swords happened between us then we'll become two nations; you are one and we are different. From that time the practical division between Shias and Sunni manifest itself very clearly and widely. Shia means the supporters or followers of, and here it means the supporters of Ali and Ahil Al Biat which means the family of the Prophet Mohammad. The night before the war Imam Hussein gathered his family and followers and told them that the army want him himself and so he told them you are free to go while it is dark but all of them refused. One of those who fought with him was a Christian young man called John.Last moments before battle, Hur a famous warrior/commander from Yazid army also joined Imam Hussein army of 72...In few hours they killed every one and when Imam Hussein remained alone Yazid army men asked loudly if there is any one to protect the family of the messenger of God! They attacked Imam Hussein and then racked him with the feet of their horses when he tumbled. They then cut his head and the heads of his brothers and followers and raise them on spears. After this they attacked the women and put the tents in fire. The children escaped in all directions and the women tried to protect them. They had beaten the children and women by the whips and ripped off their clothes also looted their belongings...Then they took them as captives!!! Children and women!! Among them was Zainab the sister of Imam Hussein who witnessed the massacre of her sons, brothers, nephews and other relatives in the bloodiest way of barbaric killing. Back without Hussein! Zainab asked; Oh horse, where is Imam Hussein my beloved brother?They cut the heads and left the bodies unburried!Yazid army set fire in the camp and terrified women and children.This is the present site where Imam Hussein was killed and slaughtered...Bin Ziad looked at the head of Imam Hussein and started to strike Imam Hussein's head/mouth with a cane, feeling the joy and happiness filling his sadistic inhuman personality. He then turned to humiliate the women of the family of Prophet Mohammad. Zainab then delivered a strong speech describing the magnitude of their crime. Bin Ziad ordered his guards to kill Ali Zainul Abedeen the son of Imam Hussein who was a young boy and had not joined the battle of Karbala because he was ill. Zainab threw her-self over the boy and said if you want to kill him you have to kill me first before him. Bin Ziad withdraws his devilish wish after Zainab insistence. The Tomb of the body of Imam Hussein in city of Karbala, Iraq where millions of Shia Muslims go through out the year to do Pilgrimage and pay tribute to Imam Hussein for saving Prophet Mohammad's mission and religion. The head of Imam Hussein is buried in Cario, Egypt!The tomb of the 72-Martyrs who died with Imam Hussein in fighting against over 30,000 Yazid's army. Despite lapse of almost 1400 years, every year in the month of Moharum:1st month of Islamic Year the Battle of Karbala in Iraq is commemorated through out the Muslim World as the Martyrdom of Imam Hussein (A.S). The army then took the women and children on a camel caravan to Damascus. They passed many cities and villages. They told the people that those women and children are among foreigners who were out law and refused to submit to the Caliph Yazid. Fear and Terror producing strategy exactly like Saddam. They haven't told the truth that they were the prophet's family to prevent revolt. Captives with chains to Bin Ziad.Before they arrive to Damascus there was a Priest in his remote chapel he spotted the caravan from a distance and saw a light shining from the head of Imam Hussein up to the sky. The Christian Priest stopped them and asked them who is that head for? They refused to tell him. After the Priest gave them lot of money they told him that the head belongs to Imam Hussein the son of Fatima the daughter of Prophet Mohammad. He got some money with him and asked them to take it and let the head with him for a while. They took the money and gave him the head of Imam Hussein..The Priest washed it and heard recitation of the holly Quran coming from the head of Imam Hussein! Witnessing the Miracle, the Priest and his members of family embraced Islam and were converted to Muslims!! In Damascus, Syria: Yazid put them (i.e., Captives: mainly women and children of Prophet Mohammad's Family ) chained in a ruin before departing them to city of Madenah, Saudi Arabia. Many of the children died from starvation, diseases and beating during this long journey by foot. The little daughter of Imam Hussein while in the abandond ruin in Damascus, Syria started to cry and insisted to see her father. Zainab (sister of Imam Hussein) tried to please her but she never stopped crying. Then they brought the head of Imam Hussein and told her this is your father. She hugged the head and took a deep sigh and passed away!In the Palace of the tyrant! Imam Hussein remembered as a symbol of freedom and dignity against tyrant and slavery. Imam Hussein never bowed to tyrant and oppressive regime of Yazid. This is why the similar tyrant like Saddam prevents the commemoration because of its symbolic state which rejects not only Yazid but every tyrant in history like Saddam. Ghandi the strongman of India said (I learnt from Imam Hussein how I'll be tyrannized and achieve victory!). A woman who was mourning in Muharam has been asked about it. She said to mourn for a beloved one is a personal thing which will fade with time but to mourn for Imam Hussein is to mourn for the mankind which will never fade as far as there is tyranny and oppression and slavery. Imam Hussein had said; dignified death is better than humiliating life. Many intellectuals wrote about Imam Hussein. Gerhard Konsilman a German journalist said that Yazid used to despise the people, salving and oppressing them and was irresponsible sinful person. Imam Hussein by his realistic personality and death defeated the tyrant. His revolt was the ignition for the end of Umayyad density. Konsilman added that the dead Hussein was more dangerous on Yazid than the live Hussein. The martyrdom of Hussein in Kerbala remained the symbol for freedom, dignity and rejection of the tyrants. There are some similarities between Jesus Christ and Imam Hussein in that both of them rejected tyrant and wrongful and gave themselves in the way of freedom, salvation, dignity and righteous aspect of life. Their path is one and their salvation is by following their path of peace and justice. Before them Moses and Aaron defied the tyranny of Pharaoh and Aaron was deemed weak by his own people when Moses left to receive the Ten Commandments. Imam Hussein will remain as a revolution against all tyrants and oppressors. He will continue as a symbol for dignity and freedom for all the mankind till the end of World; and not only the Shias Muslims. In Urdu, a poet said: "Namaaz, Roza, Zakat, Hajj and Jihad ye sab Farz Ain hay; Lekin Jannat usay milay gi jo Mohibbe Imam Hussein hay" Meaning the Gateway to Heaven is love and following Imam Hussein's way of life also his teachings.... Salam and salute of Allah (God) and Salam of His High-Ranked Angels, His prophets who were sent as Messengers, His Righteous Slaves, all of the Martyrs and the Truthful Ones, and all of the Purified and Blessed greetings be upon you at all times, O son of the Commander of the Believers. I testify that you (i.e., Abbas Alambardar Bin Ali Bin Abi Talib) submitted and that you devoted yourself and remained loyal to the Remainder of the Prophet Mohammad who was sent as a Messenger (Imam Hussein AS), the Chosen Grandson, the Knowledgeable Guide, the Successor who announced (the message of Allah/God Almighty), and the one who was oppressed and wronged. May Allah reward you on behalf of his Messenger, the Commander of the Believers, Hassan and Hussein – may Allah's blessings be upon them – with the best of rewards, for you suffered (in this world) but remained patient expecting the reward from Allah. So how excellent is (your) final abode!! May Allah's curse be upon those who killed you. May Allah's curse be upon those who ignored your rights and breeched your sanctity. May Allah's curse be upon those who stood between you and the water of the Euphrates (river). I testify that you were killed unjustly and verily Allah ( God Almighty ) will fulfill that which He promised you and reward you in Heaven... Lesley Hazleton's Book: "After the Prophet":- It began with a question asked after a particularly ghastly suicide bombing in Iraq: "How come Muhammad, the prophet of unity who spoke of one people and one God, left behind him this terrible, unending, bloody legacy of division between Sunni and Shia?" The question haunted me, and led me to the magnificent story of the struggle for leadership after Muhammad's death, an epic as alive and powerful today as when it first happened. I knew then that how I wrote this book was as important as what I wrote. I had discovered a story so rich in characters, culminating in such a tragic and unforgettable sacrifice, that it would have made a writer like Gabriel Garcia Marquez green with envy. Of course -- how else could it survive and gather power over so many centuries? How else inspire people to forfeit their lives and those of others in its name? Yet though it is deeply engraved in Muslim consciousness -- to the Sunnis as history and to the Shia as sacred history -- the story of the events that divide them has remained largely unknown in the West. And our ignorance of it has haunted us as one Western power after another has tried to intervene in a conflict they barely understand. That's why I wanted to bring Western readers inside the story, to make it as alive for them as it is in the Middle East, so that they can not only understand it on an intellectual level, but experience it -- grasp its emotive depth and its inspirational power, and thus understand how it has survived and even strengthened, and how it affects the lives of all of us today. The subject was all the more irresistible to me personally since it brings together many of my deepest interests: the interplay of religion and politics, more intricately intertwined in the Middle East than anywhere else in the world; my own experience living in and reporting from the Middle East for Time magazine and other publications; my affinity for narrative nonfiction and for tracing the interplay of past and present; and my original training as a psychologist, which comes into play as I explore the story, the way it has endured, and how it is used today in politics, society, spiritual life, and, too often, war. I could almost imagine that if all this had only been better known in the West, American troops would never have been sent within a hundred miles of Iraqi holy cities like Najaf and Karbala, which figure in it so largely, and that we would never have tried to intervene in an argument fueled by such a volatile blend of emotion, religion, and politics. But I know this is wishful thinking. In the end, I will be happy if readers simply turn over the last page and breathe out the words I found myself saying again and again as my research deepened, and that seem to me an entirely appropriate response to a story of this power: "Oh my God..." Overview of the Book: "After the Prophet":- In this gripping narrative history, Ms. Lesley Hazleton tells the tragic story at the heart of the ongoing rivalry between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam, a rift that dominates the news now more than ever. Even as Prophet Muhammad lay dying, the battle over who would take control of the new Islamic nation had begun, beginning a succession crisis marked by power grabs, assassination, political intrigue, and passionate faith. Soon Islam was embroiled in civil war, pitting its founder's controversial wife: Aisha ( daughter of Aboo Bakar ) against his son-in-law Ali Bin Abi Talib, and shattering Prophet Muhammad’s ideal of unity. Combining meticulous research with compelling storytelling, the book: "After the Prophet" explores the volatile intersection of religion and politics, psychology and culture, and history and current events. It is an indispensable guide to the depth and power of the Shia–Sunni split. Meet the Author:- British-born Lesley Hazleton is a veteran Middle East journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Esquire, Vanity Fair, the Nation, and other publications. The author of several books on Middle East politics, religion, and history, Hazleton now lives in Seattle, Washington. She blogs about religion and politics at AccidentalTheologist.com. For more information, visit: www.aftertheprophet.com.