Tragedy of Karbala

The events of Karbala reflect the collision of the good versus the evil, the virtuous versus the wicked, the collision of Imam Husayn (the head of virtue) versus Yazid (the head of impiety). al-Husayn was a revolutionary person, a righteous man, the religious authority, the Imam of Muslim Ummah. As the representative of his grandfather Prophet Muhammad (S), Imam Husayn’s main concern was to safeguard and protect Islam and guide fellow Muslims. On the other hand, the staying power of the rulers (Mu’awiyah and his son Yazid) depended solely on the might of the sword. They used brute force to rule over the Muslim empire even by all possible illicit means. Imam Husayn as head of Ahl al-Bayt (AS) never recognized Mu’awiyah nor his followers. Before him Imam ‘Ali (AS) had fought battles against Mu’awiyah because Mu’awiyah continuously violated the Islamic principles. Imam al-Hasan (AS) had to swallow the bitter pill of making a peace agreement with Mu’awiyah, in order to safeguard the security of the Ummah which was at stake. When Yazid son of Mu’awiyah declared himself as a ruler over the Ummah, he demanded Imam al-Husayn’s (AS) allegiance of loyalty. Imam Husayn on his part flatly rejected Yazid’s rule and behaviour, for there was no way Yazid could represent Islam, it would be blasphemy. But Yazid, the tyrant ruler over the Ummah, was adamant in his demand, and tension between the two parties increased day by day. Imam Husayn was quick to realize that giving allegiance of loyalty to Yazid would serve no purpose but to jeopardize the survival of Islam. To safeguard and protect Islam, therefore, the Imam had no choice but to confront and collide with Yazid’s rulership irrespective of consequences. Since Yazid had ordered his commanders to seize the Imam’s allegiance of loyalty at any cost, even by brutal force, the commanders had to assemble a relatively large army, surrounding Imam Husayn’s camp in a desert called Karbala. Then they cut off the basic necessities to the camp, including access to water. The camp consisted of Imam Husayn, his family, friends, and companions, all of whom stood fast and firmly with him. These braves would rather face death for the noble cause of Islam, than submit to the outrageous tyranny and the un-Islamic ways of Yazid. Thus, Karbala proved to be a clash involving Islamic truths versus falsehood, right versus wrong, belief versus disbelief, the oppressed versus the oppressor, faith against brute force. Karbala was about standing in the face of oppression, regardless no matter the cost. Thus, in Karbala, al-Husayn the 57 year old grandson of Prophet Muhammad (S), sacrificed his totality and all he had, for one goal. This goal was to let the truth triumph over falsehood eventually, and he did that brilliantly. His goal was to foil the plan that Mu’awiyah had expertly developed for his son, Yazid, which was to establish a permanent Bani Umayyah rulership over the Muslim Ummah (even by sacrificing the Islamic principles), but doing it in the name of Islam. Brilliantly, Imam Husayn succeeded in foiling this plan and he exposed the disreputable nature of Bani Umayya though this was at the expense of his life.

Zaynab’s (SA) Speech in Front of Yazid

Oh Yazid, practice any trick you can and do anything that you think would vanish Islam, but you should know that you can not eradicate our message, path and memory. You should know that our memory will never die.

Yazid recited the blasphemous poetic verses of ‘Abdullah ibn Zab’ari Sahmi which he had composed while he was an unbeliever and also added some poetic verses of his own and said openly that he wanted to take revenge upon the descendants of Muhammad because Muhammad and his companions had killed his polytheist ancestors.

Zaynab, the daughter of ‘Ali rose and began speaking. She added a new chapter to the history of the Caliphate of Yazid which covered a period of three years and a few months, and said: “Oh Yazid! God and His Prophet have said that committing sins and considering the signs of God to be false is ridiculing them,” i.e. deny the sign of God today and hold them in derision and have become happy, and recite poetic verses on account of the martyrdom of the children of the Holy Prophet just as the polytheists of Makkah became happy and sang songs because of the martyrdom of some Muslims in the Battle of Uhud, and talk about taking revenge upon the Holy Prophet. This is how you become like them and how you have reached this stage? You have reached this stage because you have committed too many sins. Whoever treads the path of sin and persists in committing sins will, according to the verdict of the Quran, deny the signs of God one day and eventually will ridicule them and then deserve Divine punishment.

She added: “Oh Yazid! Do you think that we have become humble and despicable owing to the martyrdom of our people and our own captivity? As you have blocked all the paths for us, and we have been made captives and are being taken from one place to another, do you think that God has taken away his blessings from us? Do you think that by killing the godly persons you have become great and respectable and the Almighty looks at you with special grace and kindness? For this reason and on account of this wrong thinking you have become elated and arrogant. You have become boastful because you have seen that the matters have taken a turn in your favour. You have, however, forgotten what God says: The disbelievers must not think that Our respite is for their good We only give them time to let them increase their sins. For them there will be a humiliating torment.” (Surat Aale ‘Imran, 3:178)

Then Zaynab reminds Yazid that his grandmother and other relatives came into the fold of Islam only after the fall of Makkah at the hands of the Muslims. Since Makkah was taken without any war or bloodshed, legally the entire inhabitant could have been made the slaves of the Prophet. But the Prophet, out of his mercy, declared to the people of Makkah that ‘I release you from the bonds of slavery, you are free.’ In other words, Zaynab wanted Yazid to remember that his ancestors were the ‘freed slaves’ of her grandfather. Look at the courage of Zaynab! Standing as a prisoner in the court of Yazid, she does not hesitate to remind him of his reality.

She said, “Oh son of the freed ones! Is it justice that you keep your women and slave-girls in seclusion but have made the helpless daughters of the Holy Prophet ride on swift camels and given them in the hands of their enemies so that they may take them from one city to another.”

Then she said, “Why shouldn’t Yazid be spiteful against us, it is he, who looks at us with hostility. You say with perfect intrepidity and without imagining that you are committing a sin: ‘I wish that my ancestors who were killed in Badr had been present here today’. Then you strike Imam Husayn in his teeth with a stick in your hand! Why shouldn’t you be like this, although you have done what you wanted to do and have pulled out the roots of piety and virtue! You have shed the blood of the sons of the Holy Prophet and have hidden the brilliant stars on the earth from amongst the descendants of ‘Abdul-Muttaleb under the clouds of oppression and injustice. However, you shall go before God soon.

You shall meet your ancestors and shall also be taken to their place. At that time you will wish that you had been blind and dumb and had not said that it was a day of rejoicing for your ancestors.”

At this stage the daughter of Imam ‘Ali prayed to God and said: “Oh Lord! Procure our right and take revenge upon those who have oppressed us.”

Then she turned to Yazid and said: “By God you have pulled off your skin and cut off your flesh. You will soon go before the Prophet of God and will see with your own eyes that his children are in Paradise. It will be the day when God will deliver the descendants of the Holy Prophet from the state of being scattered and will bring all of them together in Paradise. This is the promise which God has made in the Holy Quran. He says: Do not think of those who are slain for the cause of God as dead. They are alive with their Lord and receive sustenance from Him. (Surat Aale ‘Imran, 3: 169)

Oh Yazid! On the day when God will be the Judge and Muhammad will be the petitioner, and your limbs will give evidence against you, your father, who made you the ruler of the Muslims, will receive His punishment. On that day it will become known what reward the oppressors earn, whose position is worse and whose party is more humble. Oh enemy of God and Oh son of the enemy of God! I swear by God that I consider you to be humble and not fit even to be reprimanded and reproached. But what am I to do? Our eyes are shedding tears, our hearts are burning, and our martyrs cannot come to life by our reprimanding and reproaching you. My Husayn has been killed and the partisans of Satan are taking us to the fools so that they may get their reward for insulting God. Our blood is dripping from their hands and our flesh is falling down from their mouths. The sacred bodies of the martyrs have been placed at the disposal of the wolves and other carnivorous animals of the jungle. If you have gained something today by shedding blood, you will certainly be a loser on the Day of Judgment. On that day nothing but your deeds will count. On that day you will curse ibn Marjanah and he will curse you. On that day you and your followers will quarrel with one another by the side of the Divine scale of Justice. On that day you will see that the best provision which your father made for you was that he enabled you to kill the children of the Prophet of God. I swear by God that I do not fear anyone except Him and do not complain to anyone else. You may employ your deceit and cunning efforts, but I swear by God that the shame and disgrace which you have earned by the treatment meted out to us cannot be eradicated.”

The daughter of Fatemah az-Zahra ended her speech with offering thanks to God. She said: “I thank God Who has concluded the task of the chiefs of the youths of Paradise with prosperity and forgiveness and accommodated them in Paradise. I pray to God that He may elevate their ranks and favour them more with His kindness, for God is Omnipotent.”

Who will respond to Yazid (LA)?

22:60 – “That (is so); and he who retaliated with the like of that whereby he was wronged, and again he was wronged, then most certainly God will help him; verily God is Merciful, Oft-Forgiving.” (22:60)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim narrated in his Tafsir from Imam Sadeq (AS), who said:

The Quraysh banished the Messenger of God (S) from Makkah, and he escaped, (hiding) in a cave. (The Quraysh) chased him in order to kill him. However, God retaliated against them on the Day of Badr. ‘Otbah, Shaybah, Walid, Abu Jahl, Handhalah ibn Abi Sufyan, and many others were killed on that day.

After the death of the Prophet (S), (the enemies among the Quraysh) sought revenge for the Day of Badr by killing Husayn (AS) unjustly.

After the killing of Husayn (AS), Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah read the following poem:

I wish my forefathers of the Day of Badr could see the revenge of the tribes. (If they could see it) they would be extremely pleased and they would say to me, “Oh Yazid! May your hand never be paralyzed.” I am not the son of Khendef (the Mother of Quraysh) if I do not seek revenge against the children of Ahmad for what they did to us. We killed the elite of their masters and we avenged the day of Badr; so now we are even.

(In this verse), “he who retaliated” refers to the Prophet (S). “With the like of that whereby he was wronged” refers to the killing of Husayn (AS). “And again he was wronged, then most certainly God will help him” (this “help” refers to) the Qaem (AS) who is from among his sons.

These men were among the Quraysh leaders who fought against the Messenger of God (S).

Tafsir al-Qomi 2:87

"About fifty years had passed since Prophet Muhammad’s demise and Muavia, a provincial governor, had set aside the democratic electoral process and assumed the control of Muslim Arabia. After Muavia, his son Yazid inherited the throne. This was not acceptable to one man, Hussein. He stood up against the dictator and decided to move to a remote province in search of like-minded friends. Yazid sent his thirty five thousand men strong army to stop Hussein and his hundred or so family members and friends from reaching their destination. The battle ensued near the place called Karbala, Iraq.

The forces of Yazid brutally killed Hussein and many of his family members including infants. Yazid delayed the inevitable for a few more years, but his rule was over soon. Muslims learned from the sacrifice of Hussein that dying fighting for freedom and choice is better than living without it."  (Saad Mian, Oshkosh Northwestern)