محرم ماه حزن و اندوه آزادگان نزدیک میشود

                                          

دلها  ضجه خود را آغاز میکنند و تاب آرامش ندارند

در هر کجای دنیا که باشند به هر زبانی که باشند

فقط ضجه را آغاز میکنند

عزیزی که ۳۴ سال است دوری اش را تحمل میکنم

از ۱۱۰۰۰ کیلومتر آنطرف تر از مانیل در رسای

سیدالشهدا امام حسین (ع) متنی را به زبان انگیسی برایم ارسال

کرده است که دریغم آمد در سایت نگذارم  و از او

از پرفسور محمود صادقی طجر استاد دانشگاه در فیلی پین تشکر ننمایم

عاشورا : روزی که عشق مرد

 بخوانید و اگر افرادی را میشناسید که میشود برایشان ارسال کرد

آدرس این پست را برایشان ارسال کنید

http://jeipar.blogfa.com/post-1307.aspx

باشد که در راه مولامان قدمی برداریم 

ASHURA : THE DAY WHEN LOVE DIED*

( On the Martyrdom of Imam Hossein ^A.S)

By: Prof. M. S. Tajar

Imam Hossein’s^(A.S.)  martyrdom in 61 A.H (680 A.D) was a shining example of how the true lovers of Allah (S.W.T.) and the Holy Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) will react, in order to protect their own dignity and faith, even if that means sacrificing their own lives, as all the heroes in history have done, before.

To understand Imam Hossein’s^(A.S.)  movement and his subsequent martyrdom better, we should tell the story as it was narrated in his own words:

 “O' people! I am not a rebel, nor am I a lawbreaker, but rather I feel the responsibility of     upholding the lofty principles of the religion of my grandfather the Holy Prophet   Mohammad, which  is   Islam, and the  human  dignity,  which  is   the duty  of   all the responsible citizens in a humane society. I don’t see death under  these circumstances, but an honorable choice, and living under the  oppressors,   to   me   is  shameful!”.

Centuries later, in 1940s, Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian struggle against the British colonizers, used  the same message of Imam Hossein by declaring that:

“For the Freedom of the Indian people from the evil clutches of the British Imperialism, I have no  other example, better than the struggle of Imam Hossein, in Karbala,  against   the  oppressive  government  of  Yazid!”

 And Dr. Ali Shariati, one of the pillars of the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979,   has this to say about Imam Hossein^(A.S.)  (and the Ahlal-Bayt^(A.S.)):

“In the struggles of this world, those who die for their beliefs are like the Great Imam Hossein, those who are left behind, should continue the struggle as did Zainab, the great sister of Imam Hossein, otherwise they are categorized as Yazid’s (the silent majority, who do nothing, and thus they allow the oppression to go on unchecked, and that way, they become accomplices, as well.) 

“The head of all the martyrs./The fighter of the oppressed,/

 Hosain gave all that he had got, /That no one should ever be suppressed!”

            It was a day just like any other day, yet it became a day unlike any other day, in history. On the day of Ashura, Imam Hossein, the most beloved grandson of Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) died a hero’s death, in the most heroic way, in Karbala/Iraq,  in 61 A.H. (680 A.D.).

               The Small vs. Large Army

In the heroic battle of Karbala, Imam Hossein and 72 of his loyal followers “defeated” not only an army of 30,000 strong men, but the entire system of the Caliphate of the Ommayad Dynasty.

Among the soldiers of Imam Hossein on that day, were some fighters as old as 70 years (Habib Mazahir) and some as young as 6 months old (Ali Asghar, the baby of Imam Hossein) and many others.

 Revolutionary, Not a Rebel

Imam Hossein^(A.S.)  died the death of a revolutionary man. As we all know, he was born into the great family of Prophet Mohammad ^(P.B.U.H.). His father was Imam Ali^(A.S.), and his mother was Fatima Zahra, the beloved daughter of the Holy Prophet ^(P.B.U.H.).

The Holy Prophet Mohammad ^(P.B.U.H.) had no living son; he treated his grandsons as his own sons (in the same manner that he used to call his own beloved daughter Fatima Zahra “the mother-to-her-father”. That is how deep the love was between the family of  Prophet Mohammad ^(P.B.U.H.)  or the Ahlal-Bayt ^(A.S.))

The Holy Prophet^(P.B.U.H.) loved Hossein^(A.S.) so much that everyday, before going to the Mosque for the daily prayers, or after the prayers, he would make sure to visit his beloved grandson Hossein^(A.S.) and his elder brother Hassan^(A.S.); but the center of attention was mostly Hassan’s little brother Hossein (“the little cute one”). He was named Hossein, because the Holy Prophet ^(P.B.U.H.) often used to say:

“This little cute one of mine will be tragically murdered, in a land called

 Karbala, one day that none of my family members will be around to help.”

Every Muslim, both in the neighborhood of Madinah, as well as those in the far flanged areas, who had heard the message of Prophet Mohammad, knew of the “tragic story of Hossein’s martyrdom, long before it took place, as it was prophesied by the honorable Prophet himself.”

            ?   But Why

The reason for Imam Hossein’s martyrdom was his “brave stand against the tyrannical and repressive forces of Yazid, son of Mo-awaia, son of Abu-Sufian, the dominant anti-Islamic family that used to control Arabia, financially, culturally, and even politically, before the advent of Islam.”

After the death of the Holy Prophet^(P.B.U.H.),the old oligarchs of Arabia, led by the Umayyad family, and represented by Mo-awia and later on by his son Yazid, started to regain the power that they had lost during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet ^(P.B.U.H.).

Imam Hossein^(A.S.) being raised and trained by the Holy Prophet^(P.B.U.H.) himself, was determined to protect “the growing tree of Islam, that was planted by the loving hands of the Holy Prophet^(P.B.U.H.)” from being uprooted by the pre-Islamic Jahiliyyah system, led by the Banu-Umayya. While the Umayyad family under “Khalifa Yazid” was extending its deadly tentacles around the Muslim society and the Islamic state, and almost choking it to death, by controlling every aspect of Muslim life, Imam Hossein had to “fight that corrupt political structure, and to dismantle its foundation, as did his grandfather, the Holy Prophet, earlier in Mecca and Madinah”, several decades earlier.

Now, let us listen to what Imam Hossein himself had to say about his own movement:[i]

                “I am not a rebel, nor a lawbreaker, but rather I want to  protect the Islamic society, as it was started and led by my beloved grandfather, the Holy Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H.).” “Don’t you see that the  truth and justice are not being observed (under the rule of the Umayyads) and the falsehood is not being challenged?”

            “I feel the responsibility of upholding the lofty principles of the religion of my grandfather, the Holy Prophet Mohammad^(P.B.U.H.), which is Islam, and human dignity, which is the duty of all responsible citizens in a humane society.”

“Woe unto Islam and the Muslim citizens, if the society is led by an abusive ruler like Yazid, son of Mo-awaia!”

“I don’t see death under these circumstances, but an honorable choice, and living under the oppressors, to me is shameful!” 

“If you, the followers of the oppressor Yazid, have no religion (fear of God) then at least be honorable and dignified citizens!”

  From Martyrdom to Victory

While to most people, victory only means winning in a war against their opponents, killing them and eliminating their forces, to the grandson of the Holy Prophet^(P.B.U.H.) victory came in the form of “self sacrifice, for a worthy cause” just as all the martyrs of history and the honorable heroes of all nations have done before, and after. For instance, Socrates, the Athenian teacher, died a hero’s death, but his ideals live forever, long after his murderers were gone.

The Muslim heroes in the history of Islam also died, yet their ideals are forever living and Imam Hossein^(A.S.) is known in the History of Islam, as “the Sayyid Al-Shohada” (the leader of all martyrs). In the history of the Philippines, too, all those Muslim freedom fighters against the Spanish, American and the Japanese invaders, died the hero’s death, but they live in the hearts of all of us.

The Philippines’ national heroes like Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Ninoy Aquino, and many other freedom fighters, died while fighting against injustice and oppression, but their deaths brought life and freedom to their countrymen, who are forever grateful to them.

Imam Hossein’s martyrdom in the year 61 A.H. (680 A.D.) set an example for all the succeeding generations, to follow the continuous path of struggle of “good versus evil” which has been a constant part of human life on this earth, right from the very start, when the two brothers Cain and Abel fought, which ended in the martyrdom of the “Good Abel” in the hands of the ‘Evil Cain”!

This war between light and darkness will go on in this world, as long as there is a day and night!

But again going back to Imam Hossein’s exemplary martyrdom, I would like to quote Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian struggle against the British colonial empire. Gandhi, who was not even a Muslim, but a Hindu, was so inspired by Imam Hossein’s martyrdom that he even said, and I quote:

“For the freedom of the Indian people from the evil clutches of the British Imperialism, I have no other example, better than the struggle of Imam Hossein^(A.S.), against the oppressive government of Yazid!”

In closing, I would like also to quote the most prominent Muslim sociologist of the 20th century who was also martyred in his own struggle against the Shah of Iran, and his ally the US Government. He was Dr. Ali Shariati, the eminent professor and lecturer at the Tehran University in Iran, the great writer and lecturer par excellence.

While lecturing to his students, Dr. Ali Shariati expressed his wish in a form of prayer, and I quote:

“O’ Allah! Teach me how to live a meaningful life,

 and then I shall know how to die a useful death!”

 And true to his own words, Shariati, lived a purposeful life, and then he also died a meaningful death, as he had learned this lesson also from Imam Hossein^(A.S.).

When in the year 61 A.H. (680 A.D.) Imam Hossein^(A.S.)  and his entire family members died fighting against the oppression of the oligarchy and the anti-Islamic practices of the Ummayads, they were full of love for the cause of Allah^(S.) and the Mission of the Holy Prophet ^(P.B.U.H.) and the Muslim society as a whole.

This great love for truth and freedom gave them that indomitable power to fight till death so that the Islamic society, with its justice and freedom, shall live forever in peace.

That is why I say, those great martyrs, who loved Allah^(S.) and great human values above everything, including their own temporary lives, died a hero’s death.

And with the death of those brave men and the great lovers of truth and justice on that tragic day of Ashura, in 61 A.H. (680 A.D) love also died! And here is a eulogy to their memory:

“The head of  all the martyrs,

The fighter for  the oppressed,

 Hossein, gave all that he had got,

That no one should ever be suppressed.”