Nobody has impressed the free and freedom-seeking people in the world, like Imam Hossein (Peace upon him). He is the role model of sincerity, courage, valor, justice-seeking, fighting oppression and servitude [of God]. In this article, we are going to have a look at the life and thoughts of Imam Hossein (Peace upon him):
Hossein, the younger grandson of the Prophet of Islam, Mohammad (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny), the younger son of Lady Fatimah and Imam Ali (Peace upon them) and the first Imam of Shia Muslims, was born in the holy city of Medina in the year 4 A.H.
Imam Hossein is one of the Ahl al-Bayt (Infallible progeny) of the Prophet about whom the ayah "Tat'hir" was revealed. This ayah of the Qur'an introduces the Ahl al-Bayt pure from any uncleanness and sin. He is the lofty man who did his best to revive ethics, humanity and freedom. According to the Shia and Sunni historical accounts, the Prophet of Islam informed of his martyrdom at the time of his birth and named him "Hossein". Hossein ibn Ali (Peace upon him), in addition to his status among Shias as the third Imam and Master of martyrs, is venerated by Sunnis, too, due to his merits narrated from the Prophet and also his steadfastness against the oppressive ruler of his time, "Yazid ibn Muawiyah".
Imam Hossein strongly protested the performance of Muawiyah- the Umayyad king of the time- in many cases. For instance, in the case of Muawiyah's appointment of Yazid as his successor, the Imam refused to accept it. He called Yazid a mean, oppressive and incompetent person who possessed anti-human and anti-social conducts. Imam Hossein considered caliphate a divine position and believed that the Wali (divinely authorized person) of society should be like the Prophet and these [12 Infallible Imams] had been introduced by the Prophet before his passing away. After the death of Muawiyah, Yazid pressured Imam Hossein for pledge of allegiance and even issued the order of killing him in case of his refusal.
Finally, Imam Hossein left Medina for Mecca under the pressures of Yazid's agents and mercenaries. He received many requests and letters from the people of Kufa, during his 4-month stay in Mecca, to accept their leadership. In view of this, Imam Hossein sent his representative, "Moslem ibn Aqeel", to Kufa. Moslem confirmed the support of the people of Kufa and thus the Imam set out for this city. On the other side, Yazid sent a troop to encounter Imam Hossein.
At last, the two sides faced each other in the desert of Karbala on the 2nd of Moharram of the year 61 A.H. But, the people of Kufa reneged on their covenant with Imam Hossein and left him alone unjustly. According to the historical narrations, while the hordes of Yazid comprised 30,000 men, the soldiers of Imam Hossein were only 72. Yet, the Imam didn’t surrender to the false allegiance of the enemy. On the day of Ashura (10th of Moharram), a very tough war broke out and the companions of Imam Hossein created the most indelible and greatest epic of history. The hordes of Yazid even prevented the camp of Imam Hossein from access to water and martyred them with parched and thirsty lips. Thus, the severed heads of Imam Hossein and his companions were raised on lances and sent to the court of Yazid.
Imam Hossein (Peace upon him) had announced in a letter before his martyrdom, "I have risen up not for rebellion, corruption or oppression; I have rather risen up to seek reform in my grandfather's Ummah. I want to bid what is right and forbid what is wrong; and to act according to the practice of my grandfather and my father, Ali ibn Abi Taleb."
The Prophet of Islam had said several times about him, "Hossein is from me and I am from Hossein". The first part of this statement is clear, but the second part means that the Prophet's religion, school and path will survive with the blessing of Hossein to lead mankind to the ultimate purpose and destination. Imam Hossein's shrine in Karbala is now the place where the free and the wise of the world come for pilgrimage and his martyrdom is the asset of uprisings of the downtrodden and the free across the world.
Now, we continue this article with some of the famous statements of Imam Hossein (Peace upon him):
Precious jewels
Imam Hossein (Peace upon him) said, "We are the victorious Hezbollah [Party of God]; and the progeny of the Messenger of God (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny) and his immediate family; and his pure Ahl al-Bayt; and one of the Weighty things which the Messenger of God put beside the Book of God." (Ehtejaj Tabarsi, p229)
Emergence of Mahdi, son of Hossein
Imam Hossein (Peace upon him) said, "If there remains only one day from the life of the world, God will prolong that day so much so that a man from my progeny will emerge and fill the world with justice and fairness as it has been filled with oppression and injustice. I have heard this from the Messenger of God (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny)." (Kamaloddin, p317- Behar-ol-Anwar v51, p133)
Death superior to meanness
Imam Hossein (Peace upon him) said, "Death with dignity is better than life with meanness. Death is superior to meanness and meanness is superior to entering the fire [of hell]." (Mosoo'a Kalemat al-Imam al-Hossein 499, 289)
Freedom
Imam Hossein (Peace upon him) said, "Woe upon you, the followers of the family of Abu Sufyan! If you don’t have any religion and do not fear [the Day of] Resurrection, be free in your life of this world." (Behar-ol Anwar, v45, p51- Maqtal Kharazmi, v2, p33)
Imam Hossein, death and life
Imam Hossein (Peace upon him) said to his enemies, "I am not like those who are scared of death. Death in the way of dignity and revival of truth is very easy for me. Death in the way of dignity is nothing but eternal life; and life with meanness is nothing but death. Do you frighten me with death? Can you do anything but to kill me? Bravo to death in the way of Allah. But, you cannot destroy my glory and annihilate my dignity and nobility." (Kalemat al-Imam al-Hossein, 360, p348)
Useful man
Imam Hossein (Peace upon him) said, "There are five things which if a person does not have them, there will not be much use in him: wisdom, religion, propriety, chastity and good tempers." (Hayat al-Imam al-Hossein, v1, p181)
Kinds of worship
Imam Hossein (Peace upon him) said, "A group of people worship God for reward; this is the worship of merchants. And a group of people worship God for fear of Him; this is the worship of slaves. And a group of people worship God because of gratitude; this is the worship of the free, and this is the best worship." (Mosoo'a Kalemat al-Imam al-Hossein 748, 906 and Balaghat al-Imam Ali ibn al-Hossein, p171, chapter three, maxims)
Wisdom of fasting
Imam Hossein (Peace upon him) was asked, "Why has God obligated fasting for His servants?" The Imam answered, "In order for the rich to taste the hardness of hunger and help the needy from their wealth." (Mosoo'a Kalemat al-Imam al-Hossein, p692, 756)
Everything but God
Imam Hossein (Peace upon him) said, "The inhabitants of heavens will perish and the inhabitants of the earth will die and none of the creatures will remain and everything will be destroyed except God." (Fotooh ibn A'atham, v5, p94- Maqatel al-Talebiyin, p112)
Wronging the helpless
Imam Hossein (Peace upon him) said, "My son! Refrain from wronging the one who has no helper against you but God." (Behar al-Anwar, v75, p308- A'yan al-Shia, v1, p620)
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