‘Ashura & the Struggle Against Injustice

Khatib : Sadullah Khan
Khutbah No: 137
Khutbah Date: 02/18/05

Think not of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord; They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah. And with regard to those left behind, who have not yet joined them, they are comforted in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have they (cause to) grieve.
[Qur'an 3:169]

FIGHTING AGAINST THE ‘PHARAOHS’

The tenth of Muharram marks a significant day in the Muslim calendar; it is the day on which, according to some reports, Allah saved Prophet Moses/Musa from the tyrannical Pharaoh, that prototype despotic authority. The are many pharaoh-like authorities who have appeared through history and there were those incorruptible standard-bearers of justice who opposed them. It is in that vein that another significant event occurred on Muharram 10th in 61 AH, an event that serves as a milestone in the history of the faithful; the martyrdom of the beloved grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, Imam Husayn, at Karbala, Iraq. A martyrdom at the hands of those who claimed to act in the name of Islam yet unremorsefully and shamelessly were prepared to obliterate its true exponent; those who (like so many who proclaim faith) are prepared to kill for Islam yet are unable to live by it.

THE LESSONS OF KARBALA

Imam Husayn's martyrdom at Karbala provides evidence of the moral victory of right over wrong, of virtue over vice, of principle over compromise, of the oppressed over the oppressor, of the denied over the denier; the ultimate victory of blood over sword. Karbala teaches humankind through the inscription of blood on the scrolls of human history, how Husayn explained to the world by his death, through martyrdom, the meaning of life; that living is truly of value that offers itself for a cause greater than its self, that to die with honor is better than living in subjugation to injustice. The lesson is not only that he was prepared to fight for what is right, but that he was willing to die for it; selflessness, not selfishness; humility not ego. Imam Husayn was martyred at the hands of those who considered themselves followers of our beloved Prophet Muhammad , and yet cut off the precious head of that dear grandson of the holy Prophet; a head which the Prophet so often stroked and kissed with affection.

THE LEGACY OF IMAM HUSAYN

The memory of Husayn excites the spirit, the very name of Husayn evokes the tradition of resistance against tyranny and inequity. His colossal struggle and monumental martyrdom is so poignant that it continues to serve as a beacon of light to all the faithful who struggle for freedom and justice.

“In a distant age and clime the tragic scene of the death of Husayn will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.”
[Edward Gibbon in Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]

Imam Husayn is an example of the conscious, uncompromising revolutionary... one of the nearest and dearest relatives of the Prophet whom Allah orders us to love:
“SAY (to the people , O Muhammad!); I DO NOT ASK OF YOU ANY REWARD, EXCEPT LOVE FOR MY NEAR RELATIVES. WHOEVER EARNS GOOD, WE INCREASE THE BLESSINGS.”
[Qur’an 42:23]

 

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