Mouood Mouood English Edition
The 10th of Moharram 61
The 10th of Moharram 1436
The 10th of October 680
The Tragedy of Karbala
Elapsed Time: 1375 A.H years.
Truly speaking I have never found myself in such a difficult and dilemmatic stance as in this case , while trying to compile this Historic diary, I felt both incapable and hesitating in trying to choose the right and accurate material to this Tragedy despite the wealthy references and other sources at hand , but my humble aim in this diary has reached the conclusion of describing and narrating some of the noble Speeches , Sermons and Advices that were given by Imam Hussain (AS) before his Martyrdom on the10th of Muharram 61 AH, the 10th of October 680 AD in the Land of Al taf or Karbala and the vivid ever lasting Lessons and other reactions to his Martyrdom by some Eminent world figures.
Realising the very modest and God-rewarding attempt of this composition of mine, therefore if it is found to achieve even a small part of what I want to achieve then the credit of its Goodness and achievements goes to the day which is always inspiring me in the Hereafter while quenching my thirst from the “Hawdh” or water spring by the Blessed Hands of his Grand father and my 32nd Grand Grand-Father the Beloved Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and Intercessor (Shafi’i) on the day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail.
Having said that , it is crystal clear that , the paradox within this tragic historic event is that it has brought two extremes on the opposite ends of the Heavenly scale, there is no Muslim on earth before or at present that doubts the purity and high qualifications of Imam Hussain as from his early childhood he was foreseen by the Beloved Prophet (PBUH) to be the future Martyr of Islam, Surely the Great Messenger of God was Divinely informed about the regressive evolution which was to take place a few decades after his passing away.
For that purpose, and seeing the purity of his Grandson to rise against injustice and tyranny he spoke in such highly and ever reverberating terms:
“Hussein is from me and I am from Hussein, May Allah love whoever loves Hussein”
[Sunan Ibn Majah –Hadith N°144] and
“Hassan and Hussein are the leaders of the youth of paradise” [Sunan Ibn Majah Hadith N°118 & Al Kamil, Ibn Al Atheer 3-32]Also reported in the Musnad of Imam Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, part 1, page 85:
Once Imam Ali entered the house of the Prophet and noticed tears flowing from his eyes, when Imam Ali asked him if anyone had saddened him, He said:
“ Gabriel has just left me , he informed me that Hussain will be killed at the shore of the Euphrates river , and he asked me if I like to smell the soil on which he will be killed, then he brought a handful of soil and gave it to me , when I smelled it I could not check my tears”.
Imam Hussain and due to his high standard level of piety, awareness and Responsibility towards the Ummah of his Grand father could not stand by, while seeing an unscrupulous and a wicked man like “yazid” illegally chosen to the higher position of leadership of the Ummah, although the reign lasted only three years, it was a real nightmare for the Muslims.
Hussain was planning for a complete revolution in the religious consciousness of the Muslims. All of his actions show that he was aware of the fact that a victory achieved through military strength and might is always temporal, because another stronger power can in course of time bring it down in ruins. But a victory achieved through suffering and sacrifice is everlasting and leaves permanent imprints on man’s consciousness.
In view of the very hard and unbearable events of this tragedy of Imam Hussain and his Beloved household and the slavery of his Women, it is quite impossible to go in details recalling back the atrocities that occurred during that day, but one thing remains so important:
“No Human being Witness , let alone be Muslims of this inveterate grief re- enacted annually on the tenth of Muharram in Achoura’s day Passion can remain unmoved by its telling and melancholy clue to the evil and callousness of a powerful establishment that was dressed in religious garb.”
Seeing the public wealth of the Ummah becoming the exclusive property of the Ommayad rulers, and yazid’s motto was to jail on suspicion and kills on accusation, a Man like Hussain could not tolerate such insane deeds so he decided to act according to a very famous Hadith he heard from the Beloved Prophet (PBUH):
“O people , the Messenger of God said : Whoever sees an unjust ruler , legalising what Allah prohibited , breaching the covenant of God , violating the precepts and instructions of his Messenger and administrating the affairs of his Servants by sin and injustice, and does not try to change the situation by deed or word , he deserves from God what that ruler deserves.”
*In a letter to the People of Kufa through his Envoy Moslim Ibn Aqil:
“God has chosen Muhammad from among his people graced him with His Prophethood and selected him for His message. After he admonished the people and conveyed His message to them God took him back unto Himself. We, being his Household, his close associates endowed with the quality of guardianship , his trustees and vice regent, and his heir and legatee, are the most deserving among all the people to take his place. But the people preferred themselves over us for this, we became contented, disliking dissension and anxious to preserve the peace and well-being of the community, though we were fully aware that we were more entitled to this leadership than those who had taken it for themselves, I have sent my messenger to you and I call you to the Book of God, and the Sunna of his Prophet, the Sunna which has become obliterated and innovations have become active and energetic. If you listen to me and obey my orders I will guide you to the right path. May the Peace and the Mercy of God be upon you.” [Tabari II – p.240]*Before the Tragedy of the 10th of Moharram, he made this very thorough and high significant statement:
“ O People , remember who I am and search your conscience , think if it is legitimate for you to shed my blood , am I not a son of the Daughter of your Prophet and son of his executor , his cousin and the first Believer in God and his Messenger? Isn’t Hamza the Leader of Martyrs, the uncle of my father? Isn’t Jaafar the two-wing flier in Paradise my uncle?
Did you not hear the famous statement of the Prophet Mohamed who said to me and to my brother: “Hassan & Hussain the leaders of the youth of Paradise ?”.
“If you believe that what I say is true , it would be better for you , by God I never deliberately spoke an untrue word since I knew that God dislikes untruth , if you do not believe me , there are Men among you who can inform you of the veracity of my statement , Ask Jabir Ibn Abdullah , Abu said Al Khidri , Sahl Ibn Saad , Zayd Ibn Al Arkam , they will testify that they heard it from the Messenger of God .Isn’t this sufficient to prevent you from shedding my blood?”.
“If you doubt my words, do you doubt that I am the son of the Daughter of your Prophet? By God there is not in the east or in the west a Son of the Daughter of the Prophet other than I, Do I owe you a blood that you want to avenge? Do I owe you a fund that I took from you? Do I owe you a compensation for violation of a right?”.
There was a dead silence from the transgressors.
