Today many Muslims in the world are commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Husain (A.S.) who is to be regarded without any dispute as the champion of freedom. This event is often called the tragedy of Karbala. However, it would be better to be called the “the redemption of freedom”. From a higher perspective, it is sad to classify the sacrifice of Imam Husain (A.S.) as mere tragedy, for such classification would keep the divine message of Imam’s sacrifice within the context of tears and emotions. Furthermore, it may render this universal human revolution into sensational event devoid from any real purpose. Consequently, this would compromise its main goals and objectives and that is to uphold the principles of justice and love.
Sensational point is only one of the dimensions of the Karbala incident. Indeed, with the martyrdom of more than sixteen members of the Prophet’s (PBUH) family and the brutal nature of the incident, the Karbala episode inflicted deep wound in the heart of the Muslim Ummah. The Tawwabin (Penitents) were the first group to have been affected by this aspect of the incident since they considered themselves guilty for their earlier actions of failing to come to Imam’s help in Karbala. Thus, they chose the path of martyrdom without any clear political aspirations. It is known that before leaving Kufa for Syria, they visited the grave of Imam Husain (A.S.) and spent several days mourning bitterly for him. This was indeed a remarkable phenomenon even in the society of those times. In any case, the martyrdom of more than sixteen members of the family of the holy Prophet (PBUH), especially in a gruesome manner, was hard to bear. Since then, the name of Imam Husain (A.S.) became inevitably attached with mourning and the Ashura incident came to be considered as a great tragedy in history.
Moreover, the martyrdom of the Imam, to some extent, shook up the people from their sleep of neglect and they could now see the deterioration of their beliefs and actions.
From the political perspective, Imam Husain (A.S.) took this selfless step as an attempt to make the people to revolt against the cruel regime. From this angle, mourning and shedding tears for Imam Husain (A.S.), in the form of a political step, could prove to be very effective. It is very difficult for those who have taken an extremist point of view in their political interpretation to accept that Imam Husain (A.S.) wished to shed his blood in order to revive the true message of Islam.
The overwhelming level of love and emotions which are displayed by the Muslim during Muharram annually are admired. However they must be very aware of the danger of their current emotional approach and the corrupted traditions of the event towards the Imam’s martyrdom. There is too much emphasis on the physical aspect of the battle and very little attention towards the true purpose of Imam’s universal message of peace and love. The relentless and perpetual talks of the details of the martyrdom of Imam Husain (A.S.) and the martyrs of Karbala in essence represent a killing of the entire message of Imam Husain (A.S.).
“The best lesson which we learn from the tragedy of Karbala is that Husain (A.S) and his companions were firm believers in God. They demonstrated that the numerical superiority of one’s enemies does not count when it comes to truth and falsehood.” It was Thomas Carlyle who said: “The ultimate victory of Husain (A.S), despite his being out-numbered, amazes me!”
Many lessons can be learnt from Imam Husain (A.S) - we learn to be brave, resilient and firm just as Imam Husain (A.S) and his companions were; that it is better to die with dignity than to live in humiliation; that our rights can be defended even in the face of death. True faith is tested in the hardest of adversities. Life can be sacrificed for a just cause. One of the most influential men of peace in recent history, Mahatma Gandhi, said this about Imam Husain (A.S): “I learnt from Husain (A.S) how to achieve victory while being oppressed.”
Imam Husain (A.S)’s revolution does not necessarily belong to Muslims, but he teaches all the nations around the world that when law and order are violated flagrantly, human dignity and moral values are undervalued and oppression is taking place which have to be protested against. In Imam’s ideology, keeping silent in such a crucial situation will be crime and complicity. People have to take action against unacceptable situations even at the cost of life. Imam teaches that sometimes death and martyrdom are the only remedy to revive the moral values in a society. Moreover, he teaches, through his sacred revolution, to protest against oppression whether it is done at the highest rank by a caliph, sultan or any other leader. Hence, the revolution of Karbala should be studied from different perspectives rather than being merely focused on the tragic point. In other words, only mourning over the martyrdom of Imam and his companions will not heal the bleeding nation, but practicing Imam Husain (A.S.)’s divine message, which he offered through the drops of his blood, in our daily life will instill the spirit of justice, freedom and virtue – which are the very needs of our society – in the nation.
It should be noted that the Imam is very much a man of superior qualities and, therefore, he can be a role model for everyone.