Thomas Carlyle (Scottish historian and essayist):
“The best lesson which we get from the tragedy of Cerebella is that Husain and his companions were rigid
believers in God. They illustrated that the numerical superiority does not count when it comes to the truth and the falsehood. The victory of Husain, despite his minority, marvels me!”
Edward Gibbon (English historian and member of parliament):“In a distant age and climate, the tragic scene of the death of Hosein will awaken the
sympathy of the coldest reader.” (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, London,
1911, volume 5, p. 391-392)
Mahatma Gandhi (Indian political and spiritual leader):“I learnt from Hussein how to achieve victory while being oppressed.”
Charles Dickens (English novelist):“If Husain had fought to quench his worldly desires…then I do not understand why his sister, wife, and children accompanied him. It stands to reason therefore, that he sacrificed purely for Islam.”
Edward G. Brown (Professor at the University of Cambridge):“…a reminder of that blood-stained field of Karbala, where the grandson of the Apostle of God fell, at length, tortured by thirst, and surround by the bodies of his murdered kinsmen, has been at anytime since then, sufficient to evoke, even in the most lukewarm and the heedless, the deepest emotion, the most frantic grief, and an exaltation of spirit before which pain, danger, and death shrink to unconsidered trifles.”
(A Literary History of Persia, London, 1919, p.227)
Sir William Muir (Scottish orientalist):“The tragedy of Karbala decided not only the fate of the Caliphate, but also of Mohammadan kingdoms long after the Caliphate had waned and disappeared.”
(Annals of the Early Caliphate, London, 1883, p.441-442)
Ignaz Goldziher (Hungarian orientalist):“…Weeping and lamentation overthe evils and persecutions suffered by the ‘Alid family, and mourning for its martyrs: these are things from which loyal supporters of the cause cannot cease. ‘More touching than the tears of the Shi’is’ has even become an Arabic proverb.”
(Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law, Princeton, 1981, p.179)
Dr. K. Sheldrake:“Of that gallant band, male and female knew that the enemy forces around were implacable, and were not only ready to fight, but to kill. Denied even water for the children, they remained parched under the burning sun and scorching sands, yet not one faltered for a moment. Husain marched with his little company, not to glory, not to power of wealth, but to a supreme sacrifice, and every member bravely faced the greatest odds without flinching.”
Antoine Bara (Lebanese writer):“No battle in the modern and past history of mankind has earned more sympathy and admiration as well as provided more lessons than the martyrdom of Husayn in the battle of Karbala.” (Husayn in Christian Ideology)
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