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Muharram

By Mehnass Tariq

Muharram for many Muslims brings thoughts of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) and many of his family to mind.  I will try to explain briefly what lead to the battle of Karbala.  Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) was born to the daughter of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) Sayyida Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) in the month of Shabaan, 4 Hijri.

Imam Hussain had brother's Sayyiduna Hessian (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Mohsin (may Allah be pleased with him), who passed away in infancy).  The importance of the Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) was illustrated by the Prophet (peace be upon him) many times for example when an Angel appeared and asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) "Do you love him?" referring to Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him).   Prophet (peace be upon him) replied "yes".  The angel explained "Your followers at a later date will martyr him." And the angel proceeded to show where he would be martyred.  This was to be at the battle in Karbala during the month of Muharram. 

Some time after the Prophet (peace be upon him) had passed away one of his companions Amir Mu'awiyah was leader of the Muslims. Amir Mu'awiyah had a son called Yazid who was known to have some bad habits which included consuming alcohol.  When his father passed away Yazid took leadership of the Muslims and most people pledged allegiance to him.  The exceptions being Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him), Abdullah Bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) and Abdullah Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him, who later pledged allegiance to Yazid).  Even when called for the by the governor of Madinah both Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) and Abdullah Bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid.

Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) left Madinah and headed for Mecca where he settled but was also the subject of an invitation from the people of Kufa, "Yazid has appointed Nu'man bin Bashir as the Governor of Kufa and none of us has sworn allegiance to him...If you come to us we shall remove him from his post and swear allegiance to you."  Imam Husain also received many personal invitations. 

Muslim bin Aqeel (may Allah be pleased with him) was sent by Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) to Kufa to check on the state of Kufa.  Initially many Kufans pledged their allegiance to Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) and Muslim Bin Aqeel (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) advising him of this. However most of the people of Kufa broke their promise and Muslim Bin Aqeel (may Allah be pleased with him) was executed by the governor of Kufa. Imam Hussain unaware of what had happened began his journey towards Kufa expecting the support of the people in Kufa.

Imam Husain (may Allah be pleased with him) was warned many times during his journey and advised not to proceed to Kufa.  A poet "Farzuq" said "The people's hearts are still with you, but because of their fear of Yazid, their swords are with Yazid".  Imam Husain (may Allah be pleased with him) also encountered much resistance on his journey and decided to turn back to Mecca upon realising the disloyalty of the people of Kufa.  However Hur Bin Yazid (may Allah be pleased with him), leader of Yazid's army would not let Imam Husain (may Allah be pleased with him) and his people move towards Mecca.  Eventually on 2nd Muharram 61 Hijra Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) and his people arrived in Karbala.  Hur Bin Yazid (may Allah be pleased with him) later realised his mistake and joined Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him).

Amar Bin Sa'd led the army against Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) as battle became inevitable.  On 10th Muharram 61 (AH) the armies were ready to go to battle.  Before the battle Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) delivered a sermon, "O people do not rush to kill me as I am the grandson of our Prophet (peace be upon him), I have not come here of my own accord but have been called by you people."
 
Amar bin Sa'd fired the first arrow towards Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) and his followers (may Allah be pleased with them).  During the battle of Karbala 72 people (may Allah be pleased with them) were martyred including some of Imam Husain's (may Allah be pleased with him) closest family and companions. It was the time of Jummah prayer, on 10th Muharram in 61 Hijrah, when Imam Husain (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred.  Muharram and the martyrdom of Imam Husain, his family and his companions (may Allah be pleased with all of them) is a sombre time for Muslims but it should also be an example of how to express courage and Iman in the face of adversity.

The Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) loved his family and we should also love them.  The Prophet (peace be upon him) said "Whoever loves them (Sayyiduna Hasan and Imam Husain), I will also love him and whoever holds a grudge against them, he in fact holds a grudge against me"

Sayyiduna Laila bin Murrah (may Allah be pleased with him) says, "The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that Husain is mine and I am his.  Whoever loves Husain, Allah most high will love him because Husain is my grandson".

I hope I have passed on information that is accurate and may Allah the Almighty be forgiving of our mistakes.