Islamic Revolution

by admin September 7, 2023

Blog Post 12

October 19, 2018

Karbala

“I have risen up solely to seek the reform of the Ummah of my Grandfather,

peace and blessings be upon him and his family. I want to promote virtue and prevent vice and I follow the conduct of my Grandfather and my Father, Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace and blessings of Allah be upon them and their family.”

These are the stirring words of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, who stood up against injustice, tyranny and oppression in 61 A.H./680 CE, fifty years after the death of his Grandfather, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family. He wrote and spoke these words to inform and warn the people what his mission was in traveling to Kufa. Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, was stopped on the plains of Karbala and massacred along with his relatives, children and followers on the orders of Yazid ibn Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan on the Day of Ashura. Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, brought the voice of Truth to the people to reform Islam and humanity through his jihad (striving for Truth) fi Sabil Allah (in the Way of Allah).

Killing and beheading the innocent

did not begin with ISIS.

For Muslims, it began with the battles against Islam and Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, continued with the unjust rule of Yazid ibn Muawiya who ordered the mass killings, executions and beheadings of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, his family and companions, and goes on with ISIS brutally and ruthlessly killing, beheading and crucifying the lovers of the Prophet’s family and non-Muslims, labeling them all apostates, infidels and heretics. We cannot say that Yazid nor ISIS are Muslims. In fact, history reports that Yazid said, when the head of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, was placed before him: “Bani Hashim staged a play for a kingdom. There was no news from the skies neither was there any revelation.” He didn’t believe in revelation from Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala and ISIS doesn’t either. Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says in the Holy Qur’an for Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, to:

“Say: ‘I do not ask of you any reward for it

[duties of Prophethood],

but love for my near relatives.’”

– The Holy Qur’an 42:23

The Prophet, his family and companions were exiled, ostracized and placed under an embargo for three years in the Valley of Abu Talib. Such measures are used today to force people to do what the oppressors want. They are the weapons of Shaitan’s followers to force resistors to give in to their rule. Breaking treaties is another ploy used by oppressors. Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan, who fought against Imam Ali, peace be upon him, and instituted the cursing of Imam Ali, peace be upon him, from the minbar (pulpit) and during the qunut (supplication in salat), broke all the conditions of the treaty with Imam Hasan, peace be upon him, and declared his son Yazid the caliph after him.

The Prophet’s family and companions were denied water at Karbala. The inhumane control of water and food against people is still being used today by ruthless rulers. Imam Husayn’s son, Imam Zain al-Abideen, and grandson, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, peace be upon all of them, the women, including his sister Lady Zainab bint Ali, may Allah be pleased with her, and the children were looted, abused, taken as prisoners, paraded through the streets of Kufa and Damascus and brought before Yazid’s court. The oppressors and ISIS loot, abuse, imprison and enslave whoever they can.

It is clear that the west,

especially the US and the zionist state,

are the makers and supporters of ISIS.

They’re the ones who taught them how to lie, oppress, terrorize and murder others, and they have done and continue to do the same thing to the native people, the black people, the Palestinians, the downtrodden, people seeking freedom from oppression and injustice and the Muslims all over the world. Their goal is to wipe out Islam completely and, if that’s not successful, which it will never be, they try to change it into a ritualized, apolitical skeleton “religion.” That’s the mission of the taghut (those who rebel against Allah, oppressors), the disbelievers in Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, the party of Shaitan, that’s always been there and will always be there until the Mahdi, peace be upon him, arrives.

Muslims from around the world converge on Imam Husayn’s, peace be upon him, and his brother Abbas’s, may Allah be pleased with him, graves in Karbala during Muharram and on the fortieth day of their massacres (Arbaeen) to mourn and raise their voices against injustice and falsehood, making it the largest gathering of people in the world, a gathering of 27 million in 2016.

Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, did not leave Makkah and Medina to fight and kill Yazid with a huge army. He was seeking justice and truth and took along his infant son, children and women because the Muslims of Kufa had asked him go come there and lead them as their Imam. Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, said:

“Oh people! This is from the Messenger of Allah, who said,

‘If anyone notices a ruthless ruler

encroaching upon Allah’s boundary,

breaking His covenants,

opposing the traditions of the Prophet

and behaving indecently among the people,

one must stand in opposition to him

by action and word.

Otherwise, it is Allah’s right

to take him to his proper place.’

“One must first advise him and if this fails one must use force. Whoever endorses such a ruler’s actions through silence, Allah will take him to hell as an accomplice. O people! Watch and beware that they have chosen obedience to Satan, have forsaken Allah’s obedience, have manifested corruption, have abrogated Allah’s ordinances, have appropriated public funds, have permitted what Allah has prohibited and have prohibited what Allah has permitted.

“If all Muslims have chosen silence, I am the first one responsible to alter this situation. You wrote to me and I received your letters and your message. Your representatives came to me. You made a covenant to help me and not to leave me alone. If you remain steadfast in your commitment and pact, you will have become mature. I am Husayn, son of Ali and Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet. My life is with your lives and my family is with your families. If you have broken your covenant, if you feel regret for having made such a covenant with me, this is not unexpected from you. You did the same to my father, my brother and the son of my paternal uncle, Muslim (ibn Aqil). The loser is the one who relies on your covenant. If you do not fulfill your promise, you have denied yourself intellectual growth, but you have not harmed us.”

What is Islam without sacrifice (al-tadhiat bi-aldh-dhat, tadhia, dhibh) and martyrdom (istishhad, shahadat)? Without reform (‘islah)? Without revolution (thawra)? What is Islam without Prophet Muhammad, Imam Ali and Imam Husayn, peace and blessings of Allah be upon them and their family? What is Islam without Lady Fatimah, Imam Hasan, Lady Zainab and Imam Zain al-Abideen, peace be upon them?

Dr. Ali Shariati, in his book Red Shi’ism, explains what the title and Imam Husayn’s, peace be upon him, Islamic Stand means. It is:

“The flame of the spirit of revolution,

the search for freedom and justice,

always inclining towards the people and

fighting relentlessly against

oppression, ignorance and poverty.”

In his 1982 speech, Imam Khomeini said:

“Imam Husayn (a.s.)* taught us all how to stand up and resist cruelty and the government of tyranny. Although he knew that the path he had chosen would cost him his life and the lives of his disciples and kinfolk and they would all be sacrificed for Islam, he also knew the consequences that without his uprising Yazid and his men would distort Islam and present it to the people in a perverted form because they did not believe in Islam from the beginning and they resented the rightful authorities and were jealous of them. By this sacrifice, the Master of Martyrs actually defeated the antagonists for in a very short time people realized what a calamity and tragic event had taken place and their awareness of it upset the rule of the Umayyads.

“Imam Husayn’s (a.s.) example taught us all that his is the true path in all history. Do not mind the inadequacy of numbers. It is the quality that counts not quantity. It is the quality of the jihad of numbers that triumphs.

“Imam Husayn (a.s.), his family and disciples taught us our duty and task – to offer our lives in the battlefield and to propagate the faith when away from it. The sermons of Imam Sajjad (a.s.) and those of Lady Zainab, the sister of Imam Husayn (a.s.), have done as much or nearly as much to propagate the movement of Imam Husayn (a.s.) and are equivalent to it before Allah. They made us understand that neither men nor women should fear the rule of tyranny.

“We must fathom

the depth of this martyrdom

and its influence on the world

to this day.”

In another speech, Imam Khomeini said:

“Ashura is the revolution of the advocates for justice. It rose amongst the few in number and great in faith and love to face the oppressors, people of palaces and arrogant thieves and its law is that this approach addresses the life of this nation at all times and all the lands.

“All the Prophets came in order to reform society. All of them were of firm belief in this issue – that the individual must give his all for society. So Imam Husayn (a.s.) revolted according to this driving factor and sacrificed himself and his followers.

“The revolution of Ashura exploded at the hands of the Master of Martyrs and by sacrificing his own blood and the blood of his dear ones saved Islam and justice and condemned the rule of the Umayyads and demolished its rules and its foundations.

“This phrase – every day is Ashura and every land is Karbala – what a great phrase it is – our nation should live by this word every day. Today is Ashura and we need to stand in the face of injustice, and here also is Karbala, and it is not confined to a piece of land, is not limited to a range of individuals. Karbala is not confined to seventy warriors and the land of Karbala. All the land must play this role and fulfill its duty.

“Almighty Allah’s Divine Light shines

and it will go on shining

and shall enlighten the world.”

We must:

“Remember Ashura to humiliate the ruling group

who call themselves the inheritors of the traditions

of the Prophet for the remembrance of it

will prove that they are the inheritors of the killers

and murderers of the Prophet’s family.”

– Dr. Ali Shariati

“Shias do not accept the path chosen by history. They deny the leaders who ruled the Muslims throughout history and deceived the majority of the people through their succession to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and then their supposed support of Islam and fight against paganism. Shias turn their backs on the opulent mosques and magnificent palaces of the caliphs of Islam and turn to the lonely, mud house of Lady Fatimah, peace be upon her. Shias, who represent the oppressed, justice-seeking class, find in this house whatever and whoever they have been seeking.” – Dr. Ali Shariati

Study the lives of:

Lady Fatimah bint Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon her, her father and their family, “the heir of the Prophet (s.a.w.)**, the manifestation of the ‘rights of the oppressed’ and the symbol of the first objection, a strong and clear embodiment of the ‘seeking of justice.’”

Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, “the manifestation of a justice which serves the oppressed, a sublime embodiment of the truth who is sacrificed at the altar of anti-human regimes which lie hidden in the layers of the formal religion of the rulers.”

Imam Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, “the manifestation of the last resistance of the garrison of ‘Imamate Islam,’ who confronts the first garrison of ‘Islamic rule.’”

Imam Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, who “bears witness to those who have been martyred by the oppressors throughout history, heir of all the leaders fighting for freedom and equality and the seekers of justice, from Adam to himself, forever the messenger of martyrdom, the manifestation of the blood revolution.”

Lady Zainab bint Ali ibn Abi Talib who “bears witness to all of the defenceless prisoners in the system of executioners, the messenger left after martyrdom and the manifestation of the message of revolution.” – Dr. Ali Shariati

Dr. Shariati advises:

1.Choose a central organization of the Islamic movement through the marjaia (religious leadership).

2. Choose energy, order, discipline and direction through a responsible leader.

3. Choose imamate and justice.

4. Spend on the socio-political struggle, education and teaching.

5. Mourn to continue the constant historical struggle of the Shias against usurpation, treachery, cruelty and the sources of fraud, lying and degeneration and to keep the martyrs’ memories alive.

6. Aggressively mobilize against existing conditions where the taghut try to show everything to be in accordance with the Will of Allah, the Divine Law and the satisfaction of Allah.

7. Have faith in the ultimate downfall of tyrants and ruling powers who use satanic forces to oppress us.

8. Engage in reform and revolution.

You’re either in the Party of Allah

Subhanahu wa ta’ala

or the Party of Shaitan.

Be successful or be a loser.

– Taken from The Holy Qur’an 58:19 & 22

“Surely there exists in the hearts of the Mu’mineen

with respect to the martyrdom

of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him,

a heat that never subsides.”

– Prophet Muhammad, Peace and Blessings of Allah

be upon him and his family

“Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger,

they are among those whom Allah has favored

of the Prophets, the upholders of truth, the martyrs and the righteous.

They are the best of company!”

– The Holy Qur’an 4:69

Stand up for Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala and the oppressed. Be in the Party of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, the best of company. Do not accept injustice and humiliation. Follow the Islamic Path and Revolution of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him and his supporters, family and children.

“For me, death is nothing but happiness

and living under a tyrant is nothing but hell.

You have offered us two choices:
humiliation or death.

We reject humiliation.”

– Imam Husayn, Peace be upon him

* Alayhis Salaam (Peace be upon him)

** Salla Allahu alayhi wa ala alihi wa salaam (Blessings and Peace of Allah be upon him and his family); See The Holy Qur’an 33:56

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References

Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project. A Shi’ite Encyclopedia. https://www.al-islam.org/shiite-encyclopedia-ahlul-bayt-dilp-team/some-traditions-imam-al-husayn.

Ashura meant to reform society and maintain justice: Imam Khomeini. http://en.imam-khomeini.ir/en/NewsPrint.aspx?ID=6689.