{"id":6711,"date":"2021-09-15T10:57:43","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T09:57:43","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2021-09-15T11:00:51","modified_gmt":"2021-09-15T10:00:51","slug":"the-impact-of-the-day-of-ashura-on-the-muslim-ummah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/6711\/the-impact-of-the-day-of-ashura-on-the-muslim-ummah\/","title":{"rendered":"The Impact of the Day of Ashura on the Muslim Ummah"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Impact of the Day of Ashura on the Muslim Ummah<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The Impact of the Day of Ashura on the Muslim Ummah:<\/strong> Imam Husain\u2019s (a) uprising was certainly a great one, with unlimited impact and without divergent objectives. It was not confined purely to taking power, though political power was of extreme importance in the view of Imam Husain (a) for positively changing the social conditions and reforming the community. His mission had several short term and long term objectives. He viewed political power as his father Imam Ali (a) did: \u201cO Allah! You know that what we have done wasn\u2019t a contest to take power, or aimed at seeking to possess the remnants of worldly trivia. We wanted, indeed, to restore the lost aspects of Your faith and revive Your laws that were being ignored, so that the oppressed may feel secure.\u201d As soon as Imam Husain (a) stood against the regime, he was sure that his
\nmovement would not succeed militarily, but that it would be the starting point
\nof a large-scale opposition.<\/p>\n

The Ummah began to feel the weight of having abandoned Imam Husain (a) to the hands of the
\noppressors. Imam Husain\u2019s (a) uprising was certainly a great one, with unlimited impact
\nand without divergent objectives. It was not confined purely to taking power,
\nthough political power was of extreme importance in the view of Imam Husain (a)
\nfor positively changing the social conditions and reforming the community. His
\nmission had several short term and long term objectives. He viewed political
\npower as his father Imam Ali (a) did:<\/p>\n

\u201cO Allah! You know that what we have done wasn\u2019t a contest to take power, or
\naimed at seeking to possess the remnants of worldly trivia. We wanted, indeed,
\nto restore the lost aspects of Your faith and revive Your laws that were being
\nignored, so that the oppressed may feel secure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imam Husain (a) had the following aims in mind when he started his uprising:<\/p>\n

1. Changing the political conditions, the ruling system and the way of
\nadministering civil affairs, and treating the Ummah (Muslim community) in
\naccordance with the Divine standards set forth by Islam.<\/p>\n

2. Awakening the political conscience of the Ummah and making a powerful
\noverseeing body out of it, lest the ruler deviates or neglects Islamic laws (Shariah).<\/p>\n

3. Emphasizing the legality of military opposition to the unjust ruler<\/p>\n

4. Re-educating the Ummah in line with Islamic laws.<\/p>\n

5. Rectifying deviation and putting into practice the Shariah.<\/p>\n

6. Breaking down the wall of fear and terror that was imposed on the Ummah and
\nstirring the spirit of revolution and sacrifice within in it.<\/p>\n

As soon as Imam Husain (a) stood against the regime, he was sure that his
\nmovement would not succeed militarily, but that it would be the starting point
\nof a large-scale opposition. Accordingly, explosions and upheavals commenced and
\nthe regime reached the edge of collapse. The government swayed and lost the last
\nthreads connecting it to the Ummah. It then resorted to oppression and terror
\nas a means of silencing any opposing voice and suppressing liberties. The Ummah
\nbegan to feel the weight of having abandoned Imam Husain (a) to the hands of the
\noppressors. A series of armed uprisings sprouted, weakening the Umayyads and
\nending in the fall of that regime. Thus Imam Husain\u2019s (a) holy blood was the key
\nelement for the downfall of Umayyad\u2019s regime.<\/p>\n

Imam Husain (a) confronted a regime that threatened to destroy Islam and the
\nIslamic aspect of the Muslim Ummahh. When Yazid succeeded his father, Muawiya
\nwho was known as the \u2018Command of the Faithful\u2019 by the tribes and provinces, his
\nthrone was not secure until he received the homage of the four most notable
\npersonalities of Islam, whom Muawiya, in spite of his utmost efforts, could
\nneither buy nor coerce to recognize his heir apparent. Without their recognition
\nYazid\u2019s authority couldn\u2019t be firmly established. They were as follows:<\/p>\n

1. Abdullah bin Al-Zubayr<\/p>\n

2. Abdullah bin Umar<\/p>\n

3. Abdulrahman ibn Abi Bakr<\/p>\n

4. Husain bin Ali<\/p>\n

These were the sons of the most prominent companions of the Holy Prophet (a). Of
\ncourse, Imam Husain (a), being the grandson of the Holy Prophet (SAW), enjoyed
\ngreater esteem than the other three.<\/p>\n

It was this insistence on the recognition and this demand for allegiance (bay\u2019at)
\non the part of Yazid\u2019s government, and the flat refusal of Imam Husain (a) to
\ngive allegiance to Yazid that finally led to Imam Husain\u2019s (a) martyrdom and
\nthat of his 72 loyal companions and the captivity of the women and children of
\nhis household.<\/p>\n

It is an undeniable fact that at no time in history, before or after the Karbala
\ntragedy, do we find a group of more than 100 men, women, and children so
\nstrongly united in purpose and determination. There wasn\u2019t the slightest
\ndisagreement among them regarding their ultimate goal and the necessity of
\nself-sacrifice. We know that on several occasions, Imam Husain (a) addressed his
\nenemies and advised them to reconsider their decision to kill him, but never,
\ndid he speak to his companions for the purpose of raising their spirit of
\nloyalty and courage. Neither in Medina nor Mecca, nor during his journey towards
\nKufa, did he ever try to add to the number of his supporters. On the contrary,
\nhe repeated his advice to them to leave him and save themselves. But despite
\nthis, not a single person left him to join the enemy, while some left the
\nenemy\u2019s ranks to join him and chose to be martyred along with him. There were no
\nsigns of weakness or regret on the part of his companions throughout this tough
\ntrial. On the contrary, they were all happy and in good spirits at the prospect
\nof the precious opportunity to be martyred with their Imam (a).<\/p>\n

The tragedy of Imam Husain (a)\u2019s martyrdom sent a wave of resentment throughout
\nthe Muslim lands against Yazid\u2019s oppressive regime. The tragedy of Karbala
\nopened the eyes of the masses and awakened the public mind. The martyrdom of
\nImam Husain (a) and the great courage and outspoken criticism of the captives,
\nparticularly Hazrat Zainab (a) [Imam Hussain\u2019s sister], shook the masses out of
\ntheir submission to oppression and tyranny.<\/p>\n

Imam Husain (a), his family and his companions set a sublime example of human
\nresistance against oppression and injustice for the Muslim Ummah and all other
\nmankind. Up to the present day, one hears with a mixture of wonder, sorrow, and
\nadmiration of the tales of indomitable courage, generous self-sacrifice and
\nunlimited patience in severe hardships for the attainment of a sacred goal. Imam
\nHusain (a) not only saved Islam from deviation, distortion and corruption by the
\nforces of apostasy and oppression, but he also revived the institution of
\nmartyrdom in a world of cowardly men who were willing to bear even the utmost
\ndisgrace and indignity for their fear of death and love of the life in this
\nworld. His words echoing through the long distance of centuries.<\/p>\n

Imam Husain\u2019s (a) martyrdom gave rise to a series of popular insurrections,
\nwhich decades later, ultimately resulted in the collapse of the Umayyad dynasty.
\nHe deprived the caliphate of its dangerous aura of undeserved sanctity that
\nthreatened to obliterate the Divine faith by degenerating into a hereditary
\nmonarchy.<\/p>\n

The message of Karbala has preserved its power in spite of the passage of 1,000
\nyears. The endurance of its message is characteristic of all the things connected with man\u2019s divine attachment and sublime human goals. If the following Qur\u2019anic Verses have motivated the future generations and aroused our generation, it is because of the sacrifices of the martyrs of Karbala whose blood saved the purity of the Divine Message. The Holy Qur\u2019an thus says:<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly We sent Our apostles with clear arguments, and sent down with them The Book and The balance that men may conduct themselves with equity.\u201d
\n(57:25)<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what reason have you that you should not fight in the way of Allah and of the weak among the men and the women and children, of those who say: Our Lord! cause us to go forth from this town, whose people are oppressors, and give us from Thee a guardian and give us from Thee a helper.\u201d (4:75)<\/p>\n

Thus, Imam Husain (a) remains forever a slogan for the revolutionaries, a lighthouse for freedom, and a source for struggle and liberation.<\/p>\n

Hazrat Ruqayyah (A.S), the Young Hero of Karbala<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n