Dec 3, 2011 / Muharram 8, 1432
According to the Islamic calendar, Muslims recently entered a new year, 1432 years from the Prophet Muhammad’s migration to the city of Medina. The month is named Muharram, and is one of the four sacred months of the Islamic calendar where fighting is forbidden. It is truly an important time of year for all Muslims, however in strikingly different ways.
Among most Sunni communities, the vast majority of Muslims around the world, it is a positive time of year, where fasting is encouraged and, in some cultures, sweet pudding distributed. However, in pious circles of Shi’i Muslims, reflection on the first 10 days of Muharram and especially on the 10th day, the day of ‘Ashura, could not be more different than for their Sunni brothers and sisters.
For the Shi’a, the day of ‘Ashura is a day where black is the color, and scores gather to weep over the tragic story of the demise of the beloved grandson of the Prophet and third Shi’i Imam, Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib. It is a day of sadness, remembrance, and reflection on both the person Imam Husayn was and the righteous cause for which he died defending in the sands of Karbala’.[1]
As a Muslim convert who participates in, and deeply appreciates, both Sunni and Shi’i tradition, I find it difficult each year to see disregard, and at times ignorance, for the events of ‘Ashura in the year 61 AH (680 CE). Less than fifty years after the death of the Prophet, the Muslim community entered a period of sharp political divisions and decadent lifestyles due to the community’s rapid expansion in the region and enormous wealth. Caliphs became Kings, as any religious significance to their rule was forfeited in favor of the pleasures of richness.[2]
As religious history, and history in general, often does, we uncover through the recalling of Imam Husayn’s martyrdom at Karbala’ a story of good versus evil, truth versus falsehood. His rebellion to the Umayyads, though fully legitimate as per an agreement between Mu’awiya[3] and Hasan[4], was met with violence. Husayn refused to declare his allegiance to Yazid, even to the point that when his companions pleaded with him to pledge allegiance he replied, “Surely we belong to God, and to Him we return,[5] for Islam would be ruined if the community (ummah) is to be afflicted with a shepherd such as Yazid.”[6]
The story of the battle between Husayn’s few companions and family members against tens of thousands of soldiers is heroic, yet full of sadness.[7] Why then do most Muslims have little to no regard for the plight of Husayn? It may be a concern of innovation, where Muslims desire to avoid any new practices that were not directly condoned by the Prophet himself. This understanding claims that after the Prophet’s death nothing acquires religious significance, a puritanical world-view based on a warped understanding of Islamic history. Possibly it could be that mourning for the dead in Islam has certain guidelines, and the practices attached with ‘Ashura do not comply. This argument however implies that reflection on ‘Ashura is only ritualized mourning, which it most surely is not and has no need to be.
More importantly I see the difficulty for the majority of Muslims to reflect on these events based on the high sectarianization of the Muslim community. Unfortunately beliefs, phrases, or personalities that have Shi’i connotations are avoided based on that fact alone. Rather than judging a thing based on its proofs, a methodology Islam in general is famous for, judgments are made based on the groups that ascribe to them. The fact that Imam Husayn’s name now has those connotations, after being declared by the Prophet as one of the “masters of the youths of paradise”[8], is more than unfortunate. Likewise the Prophet also declared, as is reported in authentic Sunni hadith literature:[9]
“Husayn is of me, and I am of Husayn. May God love those who love Husayn.”[10]
“Whoever loves Hasan and Husayn, I love him, and whomsoever I love, God loves, and whomsoever God loves, He shall cause him to enter the garden of bliss.”[11]
There is no doubt that ‘Ashura in the Shi’i world has issues, one visible aspect being the extreme displays of agony shown through self-flagellation. These practices, however, are rare and religiously condemned, though watching media coverage of ‘Ashura one would assume the whole Shi’a world is bloody on this day. A more important aspect is the extreme politicization of Husayn’s cause beginning in the 60s and 70s. It is dangerous when nations make domestic and foreign policies based on a worldview that they are battling the forces of evil as Huseyin did. Just as the “War on Terror” has shown us the danger of seeing our enemies not only as opponents but as the embodiment of evil, the story of Husayn’s demise also has potential to lead to such an understanding to be used for political ends.[12]
How then can we, as fluid Muslims not attached to any specific madhhab, convey a Karbala’ narrative that is beyond politicization, yet still relevant in transnational movements, such as Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring? How can love for Husayn manifest itself in our contemporary calls for justice? How can we reduce sectarian divides within Islam through the sacrifice of Husayn?
In a major way, Sunni calls for revolution and the overthrow of dictators is a sign that there is now room to create that narrative. Sunni preachers very rarely, if ever, spoke about revolution from the pulpit before the revolution in Tunisia, opting for a traditional approach of “obeying those in authority”.[13] What the Arab Spring has done is allow for the Sunni world, country after country, to embrace emphatically the cause of Imam Husayn (whether they know it or not). The catalyst was that it happened in Tunisia, and the masses in other countries realized that they too could make it happen.
Imam Husayn’s protest was political and social, religious and secular. His time and his cause preceded and transcend any identification among Muslims as Shi’i and Sunni. His example is a catalyst for unity, and should be recognized as such. When we all allow Husayn’s story to transcend boundaries of sectarianism, we will be reminded that the cause is bigger than the individual.
May God’s peace be on Husayn and his decedents, and on all those who have suffered or been killed striving in the way of justice. May Husayn always be remembered for the sacrifice he made for the continuation of the religion of God and his grandfather. May the love of Husayn occupy the hearts of all believers and his cause be a symbol of strength and endurance in the face of tyranny and oppression. Amin.
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Upon bidding farewell to his family on the 10th of Muharram, the day of ‘Ashura, Imam Husayn taught the following supplication to his son, Zayn al-Abidin.
“O son! I am teaching you a dua’ which you should remember. Angel Jibrael taught it to my grandfather the messenger of Allah who passed it to my mother Fatima. Whenever you have a special need or are faced with any calamity or crises, or are inflicted with any grief or hardship, then recite the following supplication”:
اللهم بحق يس والقرآن الحكيم وبحق طه والقرآن العظيم يامن يقدر على حوائج السائلين يامن يعلم ما في الضمير يا منفسا عن المكروبين يا مفرجا عن المغمومين يا راحم الشيخ الكبير يا رازق الطفل الصغير يا من لا يحتاج إلى تفسير صل على محمد وآل محمد
By the truth of Yaseen, and the Quran full of wisdom, And for the sake of Taa-haa and the great Quran O He Who is able to fulfil the desires of those ask. O He Who knows what is in the heart. O He Who banishes sorrow from the sorrowful. O He Who dispels grief from those who grieve. O He Who is merciful to old men. O He Who provides for infants. O He Who needs not to be explained. Send blessings upon Muhammad and his progeny… (mention your wishes)
[1] Karbala’ is a city in central Iraq.
[2] The Umayyad rulers did retain the title of Caliph (khalifa), as did many dynasties up until its dissolution at the end of the Ottoman Empire. The term Caliph however, according to many scholars, lost its religious significance after the assassination of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth “Rightly Guided Caliph” (according to Sunnis) and first legitimate Imam of the community (according to the Shi’a). This is, however, not unanimous and many Sunnis regard the Umayyad Caliphate as legitimate, yet often in an indefinite way.
[3] The father of Yazid, and “Caliph” before the martyrdom of Husayn.
[4] The brother of Husayn, and second Shi’i Imam.
[5] This verse of the Qur’an (2:156) is recited at the news of death or great calamity.
[6] Khawarizmi, I, p. 186.
[7] It is beyond the scope of this post to go into any detail. For a historical approach to the events please see M. Ayoub, Redemptive Suffering in Islam, pp 93-122.
[8] al-Tirmidhi, II, 307
[9] See M. Ayoub, “The Excellences of the Imam Husayn in Sunni Hadith Tradition,” Al-Serat, Vol XII (1986). Accessible at http://www.al-islam.org/al-serat/default.asp?url=Excellences-Ayoub.htm
[10] al-Tirmidhi, II, 306
[11] al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, p 221
[12] Robert F. Worth, “A Nation Defines Itself by Its Evil Enemies: Truth, Right and the American Way,” in The New York Times, February 24, 2002. Also see Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, p 7
[13] In reference to Qur’an 5:49: “Oh you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.”