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Sayyid Wahid Akhtar

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Al-Tawhid





Karbala',
an Enduring Paradigm of shia
ic Revivalism[1]





Sayyid Wahid Akhtar


Vol XIII No. 1 (Spring 1996)



The martyrdom of Imam Husayn ibn 'Ali ('a) and his companions
in Karbala' proved to be the beginning of the downfall of the Banu Umayyah
dynasty which had usurped the shia
ic khilafah by deceit, repression, and
corruption of the Muslim community. Though the Imam ('a) was martyred
with his family and companions, and apparently his murderers seemed to
emerge winners from the conflict, it was the martyr of Karbala' who was
the real victor. The mourning ceremonies that have been held through the
last fourteen hundred years to commemorate this most significant event
in the history of shia
are generally known as Muharram ceremonies, as
they are held during the month of Muharram in remembrance of the 'Ashura'
movement. This incident has its background whose elaborate details have
been given by Muslim historians and I need not cite them here. Briefly,
it may be said that Imam Husayn's revolt, staged against the tyranny, injustice,
and repression of the regime and torture and execution of pious Muslims,
which violated the shia
ic concept of a just shia
ic polity and society,
was to uphold the ideals and values of shia
propounded in the Qur'an and
the traditions of the Prophet (S), to rescue the higher human values, moral,
social, political and spiritual, and to preserve the true spirit of shia
.
It was basically aimed by the martyred Imam ('a) to rescue shia
as the message of the last Prophet, a message that had to endure, not only
in the hearts and spirits of saints but on the plane of society, and he
achieved his purpose most completely. The episode of Karbala' became the
everlasting stage on which, more than anything else, the great spirit of
an Imam of the Ahl al-Bayt was put for eternal display, not in mere words
or traditions recorded in books, but against the background of the greatest
tragedy in human history and scenes of love and loyalty, bravery and sacrifice,
nobility and high spirituality, blood and battle, and also those of treachery
and betrayal, human abasement and wretchedness, perversity and depravity.
Due to his refusal to compromise with godlessness and tyranny, the Imam
has been remembered as the very embodiment of tawhid, of la ilaha
illallah, by all great shia
ic mystics, thinkers, writers and poets.
In the words of the great Indian Sufi of Iranian origin, Khwajah
Mu'in-al-Din Chishti:




He gave his life but wouldn't give his hand in the hand of
Yazid (for allegiance, bay'ah)



Verily Husayn is the foundation of la ilaha illallah [2]

Mahmoud Ayoub in his study of the devotional aspects of 'Ashura', Redemptive
Suffering in shia
, justifiably interprets the Imam's message to Muslims
as a call for enjoining good and prohibiting evil. In a will he made to
Muhammad ibn Hanafiyyah while departing from Makkah, the Imam declares:




Indeed, I have not risen up to do mischief, neither as an adventurer,
nor to cause corruption and tyranny. I have risen up solely to seek the
reform of the Ummah of my grandfather (S). I want to command what is good
and stop what is wrong, and (in this) I follow the conduct of my grandfather
and my father, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib.




In a letter that he wrote to the people of Kufah, in a short sentence he
outlines the shia
ic concept of a worthy ruler:




By my life, the leader is one who acts in accordance with the
Scripture, upholds justice in society, conducts its affairs according to
what is righteous, and dedicates his self to God. Was-salam.




Addressing Hurr ibn Yazid Riyahi and his troops, who had been dispatched
by 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, the infamous governor of Kufah, to intercept
the Imam's caravan on the way and to stop him from entering Kufah, Imam
Husayn ('a) quotes this tradition of the Prophet (s), which states
the duty of Muslims vis-a-vis corrupt and un-lslamic rulers:




O people! Verily the Messenger of Allah (s) said: "Whoever
observes a sovereign legalizing what God has made unlawful, violating the
covenant of God, opposing the Sunnah of the Messenger of God, and treating
the creatures of God sinfully and oppressively, and does not oppose him
with his speech and action, God has a right to bring him to the same fate
as that of the tyrant." Indeed, these people (i.e. Yazid and the ruling
Umayyads) have committed themselves to the following of Satan, and abandoned
obedience to God. They have given currency to corruption and abolished
the shia
ic laws, plundering the public treasury, making lawful what God
has forbidden and forbidding what God has permitted. And I, of all people,
have a greater right to act [in accordance with the Prophet's exhortation].




On reaching Karbala', a point where they had been forced to discontinue
their journey and to disembark on the orders of Ibn Ziyad, the Imam stood
up to address his companions. In that sermon he declares that life under
tyranny is not worthy of man, unless the people rise in an attempt to restore
the higher values.




Don't you see that what is true and right is not acted upon
and what is false and wrong is not forbidden? In such a situation, the
man of faith yearns for the meeting wit', his Lord. Indeed, (in such conditions)
to me death is happiness, and life under the yoke of tyrants is disgrace.




Giving the details of Imam Husayn's refusal to accept a tyrannical and
unjust ruler, starting from his journey from Madinah to Makkah and afterwards
through its various stages until the Imam reached Karbala', the scene of
his battle and martyrdom, historians refers to verses which are said to
have been recited by the Imam on the night of the 10th of Muharram (the
day of 'Ashura'):





O Time (dahr), fie on you of a friend.





How many are those you claim at the morn and eventide.





Many a friend, and many a one seeking revenge,


Yet Time is not satisfied with a substitute or proxy.





Truly judgement belongs to the Glorious One;





And every living soul takes the path [of death].





It is important to note that the Imam's address to Time inspired a number
of Muslim thinkers to propound a new revolutionary concept of Time with
reference to the Qur'anic verses in the Surat al-'Asr. The Imam did not
actually vilify time, but he condemned the time-servers. Otherwise Time,
as interpreted by Iqbal, the contemporary philosopher poet of the Indian
subcontinent, is, in the light of the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions,
an expression and manifestation of the continuing process of God's creativity
as well as the creativity of the human being. While addressing Time, Imam
Husayn ('a) indicated that man is not a time-server but time is
at the service of man. He proved by his example that man has the power
to turn the tide of time and he actually did it.





The tragedy of Karbala', which was in the words of Imam Khumayni the
symbol of blood's triumph-the blood of the martyrs-over the sword, transformed
not only the history of shia
but also human history for ever. Husayn ('a)
initiated a movement that proved to be an archetype representing an eternal
struggle of truth against falsehood, justice against injustice and tyranny,
human dignity against dehumanization, the revolt of the oppressed against
oppressors, and overpowering of the strong by society's weak. The unlslamic
rule of the Umayyads was challenged after him by his followers and descendants,
such as Zayd ibn 'Ali, Yahya ibn Zayd, and before them by Mukhtar al-Thaqafi
and the Tawwabin, which created a ferment that finally resulted in the
overthrow of the Umayyads and the coming to power of Banu 'Abbas, who deceitfully
claimed to avenge the martyrdom of Husayn ('a) and to advocate his
revolutionary mission.





However, this movement continued to be inspired by the message of 'Ashura'
during the reign of the 'Abbasid caliphs and afterwards. The emergence
of Shi'i Sufi movements, like those of the Sarbidaran, the Nuqtawis, and
the Mar'ashis, as well as the Fatimi-lsmaiili sects, culminated in the
victory of the Safawi Sufi order in Iran, who made it a point that the
'Ashura' movement should continue as an inspiring force and dynamic principle
in Muslim polity and society. It were the Safawis during whose reign the
'Ashura' commemoration ceremonies took a particular shape.





The remembrance of the tragedy of Karbala' as a ritual did not remain
confined to Iran and Iraq, but also influenced the socio-political and
cultural life of Muslims in the Indian sub-continent. As a result of this,
in India, particularly in Avadh, there developed a culture that was inspired
by the spirit of 'Ashura' which was all-embracing. Other Muslim sects and
even non- Muslims came under the cultural influence of this movement.





Unfortunately this movement, which represented a resurgence of the 'Ashura'
culture in literature and other art forms, gradually degenerated in the
course of time in Iran, Iraq, and the sub-continent, losing its revolutionary
spirit. One of the greatest contributions of Imam Khumayni is that he recreated
and revived the spirit of 'Ashura' through his messages against the despotic
Pahlavi rule and the exploitive domination of alien powers over Muslims
throughout the world. Some of his disciples and contemporaries have also
contributed to this 'Ashura'ic resurgence of shia
, Shari'ati and Mutahhari
in particular. Imam Khumayni and other champions of the revolutionary ideology
of shia
in Iran made use of the traditional ritual 'Ashura' ceremonies
to reach the common Muslim masses for effectively conveying their message
to the grassroots of the Muslim society.





There have been various attempts in the Muslim world to reinterpret
and reconstruct shia
ic ideology to meet the challenges of time. Ghazali
demolished what was in his view unlslamic in the ideas of Muslim philosophers;
Jamaluddin Asadabadi, popularly known as Afghani, emphasized the importance
of ijtihad and propagated a pan-lslamic ideology; his followers
in Egypt and the Arab world, particularly Muhammad 'Abduh, Rashid Rida'
and others, revived the practice of ijtihad in the Sunni world.
Before them, Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi and Shah Waliullah had made attempts
to awaken Muslims to the needs of the time and revive the shia
ic spirit.
In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries Sayyid Ahmad Khan and Iqbal
tried to reconstruct shia
ic beliefs according to the challenges of the
time and the ascendant supremacy of science and Western philosophy. In
the words of Iqbal, all the earlier Muslim thinkers had failed in their
mission because they destroyed the prevalent philosophies but could not
reconstruct shia
ic ideas on a secure ground, and they failed to influence
the Muslim society in general.





This failure, in my view, is due to these thinkers' inability to reach
the Muslim masses and convey their message to them in a popular idiom.
The success of Imam Khumayni and the other ideologues of revolutionary
Iran found the popular platform of the Muharram ceremonies as a convenient
weapon against the repressive Pahlavi rulers, imperialism and Western domination,
particularly the exploitive American dominance of the East, to awaken Muslim
masses and revive in them the spirit of martyrdom inspired by the episode
of Karbala'. Because of this they succeeded in their movement, while others
had failed to achieve the desired end.





Imam Khumayni not only rekindled the flame hidden in the hearts of the
pupils of 'Ashura' culture, but also vehemently criticized the so-called
'ulama' and fuqaha' who, as time-servers, interpreted shia
and shia
ic laws according to the convenience of the rulers and the exploiting
class.





One who makes a study of al-Kawthar, a selection in two volumes of the
speeches of Imam Khumayni, as well his writings on the shia
ic government,
in particular his lectures on wilayat-e faqih, one would be surprised
to find that the most vehement criticism of Muslim clerics, Shi'i and Sunni,
was made by a Muslim scholar. It was because Imam Khumayni understood profoundly
the spirit of the 'Ashura' movement and was angry that the so-called 'ulama'
and rawdeh-khwans had transformed its true spirit into a mere ritual
of lamentation over the martyrdom of Husayn ('a) and his companions,
making it a regular means of their livelihood. He criticized and condemned
these persons and rejuvenated the true spirit of 'Ashura' among the Muslim
masses, who were sincerely devoted to Muharram ceremonies. These ceremonies
provided him with the most effective weapon to propagate his message based
on the shia
ic values of justice and truth. Had there been no such platform
to reach the masses, he might have also failed in his attempt to revive
true shia
ic values and reawaken the Muslim masses. It was here that the
secret of his success lay. The important milestones of his movement could
not have been covered without taking recourse to 'Ashura'.





The tragic event of the martyrdom of Imam Husayn ('a) at Karbala'
deeply influenced the tide of time in various ways, in the fields of philosophy,
kalam, political thought, social reform, and cultural resurgence
of the Muslim world. In India (and also Pakistan and Bangladesh), a culture
developed that was inspired and motivated by the 'Ashura' movement. Even
during the period of Muslim decadence that culture has, in the words of
Iqbal, produced the cream of Muslim poetry and literature in the form of
the elegies (marathi) in Urdu, which have exercised a great influence
on the Indo-Muslim culture, an influence that extended to non-Muslim communities
as well. Presently one can find the influence of the 'Ashura' movement
in this region even in non-Muslim literature and culture. Even in the so-called
progressive (Marxist and modern) literature, particularly poetry, one can
find Karbala' and 'Ashura' used as metaphors to depict the present reality.
All these aspects may be elaborated in the form of a lengthy article or
even a book, but here, for the purpose of brevity, I would abstain from
going into details.





Of course, there emerged some movements in the Muslim world inspired
by the 'Ashura', but could not leave a lasting effect and died away after
a short time. Imam Khumayni's success in bringing about the shia
ic Revolution
in Iran and, through it, influencing the entire Muslims world, lies in
the fact that he made the 'Ashura' movement the prime mover of a continuing
process in human history for evolving a better society that could safeguard
the principles of justice, social equity, and the cultural independence
of the East. The impact of the 'Ashura' movement on Muslim polity and culture
and its role in changing and moulding the history of shia
and the world
may be discussed in detail under various heads such as: its impact on Muslim
theology ('ilm al-kalam), mysticism, and philosophy, its impact
on socio-economic reforms in the Muslim world, its impact on political
upheavals in the Muslim world, and its impact on culture, literature, fine
arts and other creative expressions of Muslim ethos. Imam Khumayni played
the most influential role in our times in translating the revolutionary
and creative potential of this movement into reality through his writings,
speeches, leadership, and his reinterpretation of the fundamental principle
of "enjoining good and prohibiting evil."



It is necessary to elaborate certain significant aspects of the commemoration
ceremonies of the martyrdom of Imam Husayn ('a). Generally these
ceremonies are viewed from two angles: one is the spiritual, pietistic
angle that considers them a means of catharsis and redemption; the other
is the socio-political approach that regards it as instrumental in the
realization of the shia
ic ideals for which the great sacrifice (dibh-e
'azim) was made.





The former approach, which treats the 'Ashura' rituals from a pietistic
angle, gives importance to mourning, lamenting, breasting beating in remembrance
of the mazlum Imam and considers sorrow as the means of participating
in the sufferings of the Imam ('a), his family, and companions.
This approach is supported by the traditions of the Imams ('a) of
the Prophet's Family. There are traditions that emphasize that the tragedy
of Karbala' was predestined and all prophets of God from Adam to the Seal
of the Prophets (S) had been informed of the sacrifice of Husayn ('a)
through Gabrael in advance. They themselves mourned and made it obigatory
for all believers to mourn and be sorrowful in the remembrance of this
great tragedy. Fatimah al-Zahra' ('a), the bereaved mother of Husayn
('a), is believed to be the host of the mourning observances, and
she is the main addressee of all expressions of sorrow and the condolences
that are offered, in this world as well as the other world, and, it believed,
she will intercede in favour of her son's mourners on the Day of Judgement.





Authentic traditions record that Imam 'Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al- 'Abidin
('a) mourned his father and his companions throughout his life after
Karbala'. He was present at the site of the tragedy and witnessed all the
sufferings of his father. Moreover, he had to shoulder the responsibility
of taking care of the womenfolk and children of his family after 'Ashura'
and he passed through the tribulations of the journey of the captive family
of the Prophet (S) from Karbala' to Kufah and from Kufah to Damascus, putting
up with all the humiliation with exemplary equanimity, patience, and firmness
of character. He is regarded by the Sufis as one of their early great masters,
who also emphasized the value of God's fear and sorrow for the sake of
purifying the heart and soul. His collection of supplications, known as
al-Sahifat al-Sajjadiyyah or al-Sahifat al-kamilah, is a
valuable source of ma'rifah and high spirituality.





The other great mourner of Karbala' was Imam Husayn's sister, Zaynab,
known as "Zaynab-e Kubra" and "Thani-e Zahra" (i.e. the Second
Fatimah). She bore the martyrdom of her two young sons, 'Awn and Muhammad,
without shedding a tear, but was the first to mourn her brother. After
the episode of Karbala', Imam Sajjad and Zaynab made continuous efforts
to create the institution of mourning for the martyred Imam as a vehicle
for the revolutionary message of shia
against perverse socio-political
conditions that negated the shia
ic ideal of a healthy society ruled by
committed and competent leaders. The institution of mourning over Imam
Husayn became a vehicle for the propagation of almost everything that shia
stood for. It was not the martyrdom of an ordinary moral, no matter however
pious or saintly. It was the martyrdom of an Infallible Imam and the greatest
wali and vicegerent of God and the God-appointed heir to the Prophet's
authority and spirituality. To those who understood the sublime spiritual
station of Husayn ibn 'Ali it was as if the Prophet himself had been martyred
at Karbala'. And what greater calamity could be imagined? As the martyred
Imam represented the highest embodiment of shia
, his martyrdom was the
greatest crime that could be perpetrated against shia
and God.





As we know, the chiefs and elders of Quraysh had conspired to murder
the Prophet (S) on the night of his migration to Madinah. Acting out a
plan aimed to mislead the waiting assassins, 'Ali ibn Abl Talib slept on
the Prophet's bed that night, while the Prophet (S) left the town. Later,
for a decade, the Quraysh, led by Banu Umayyah, and in particular Abu Sufyan,
unrelenting in their hostility against shia
and its prophet, made repeated
attempts to annihilate the Muslim community in Madinah, which formed the
nucleus of the expanding revolutionary creed. When these attempts did not
succeed, they joined the fold of shia
, and this time all their efforts
were aimed to recapture the supremacy they had lost due to the Prophet's
movement and to destroy shia
from within. The martyrdom of Imam Husayn
and his companions at Karbala' was viewed by Banu Umayyah as a great victory
in the course of a long struggle against shia
and its prophet. Their sense
of triumph is reflect in the following verses of Ibn al-Ziba'ra that Yazid
is reported by historians to have recited when, after the battle Karbala',
Imam 'Ali ibn al-Husayn ('a) and the women and children of the Prophet's
family were brought as captives into his court at Damascus:





Alas! Had only my elders that were slain at Badr,


seen the torments of Khazraj by the edge of the sword.





They would have cried 'hurra!' and given cries of joy,


and said: Bravo, O Yazid, for what you have done!





We have killed the elect of their chiefs,


avenging by his death, the viclims of Badr.





The clan of Hashim dallied with kingdom,


and there was neither any revelations nor any news from the heavens.





I am not of Khindif should I fail to take revenge,


from the family of Ahmad for what they have done.





As can be seen, the vengeful spirit that pervades these verses is one
that characterized the pagan Arab tribes of the Jahiliyyah. It is a base
spirit that still wallows in the loyalties and attachments of a barbaric
tribal society that is a stranger to the message of shia
of a universal
creed based on higher moral and spiritual values.





Besides mourning for the martyrs, 'Ali ibn al-Husayn ('a), Zaynab
('a) and her younger sister, Umm KulthEm, made very forceful orations
describing the sufferings of 'Ashura' and its aftermath that moved the
listeners to tears. These orations and elegies composed by Zaynab ('a)
and 'Umm Kulthum ('a) extempore exercised great influence on the
Muslims and were instrumental in propagating the message of 'Ashura' and
the message of Imam Husayn's sacrifice. These may be taken as the early
foundations of the 'Ashura' movement and beginnings of the mourning ceremonies.





There are equally authentic traditions of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq
('a) and Imam 'Ali al-Rida ('a) exhorting their followers
regarding the observance of mourning in remembrance of Imam Husayn ('a)
and his companions as a means of redemption. In traditions ascribed to
the Prophet (S), Fatimah ('a) and the Imams ('a) of the Prophet's
family there is another significant aspect to be taken note of. A recurring
theme that characterizes them is that not only the prophets and the angles
mourned the martyrdom of Imam Husayn and his companions, but also the whole
cosmos mourned this tragedy. Strong winds began to blow on that tenth of
Muharram and when the Imam was beheaded after he fell in the field of battle,
there arose tides in rivers and oceans as if they would flood the entire
earth, the stars collided, the sun was eclipsed, mountains moved from their
places and the seven heavens rained blood, as blood gushed forth from the
ground. Such descriptions of the effect of Imam Husayn's martyrdom on the
whole order of being persuade his devotees to participate in a mourning
ritual that encompasses all the natural and supranatural realms. If not
taken literally, these traditions may be treated as metaphorical expressions
of a tragedy possessing cosmic dimensions. There is no doubt that these
traditions served as the source of inspiration for the devotees and made
them feel one with the whole universe and its purpose.





Later, when ta'ziyyah, majalis and rawdah khwani became popular
rituals among the Shi'ah, sufis, and some other Muslim sects, gradually
more and more such descriptions were improvised and many events that never
occurred were intertwined with the historically recorded events and authentic
traditions of the Imams ('a). This was done sometimes intentionally
and sometimes due to ignorance by rawdah khwans, zakirs and poets.
In poetry there might be some justification for the flights of imagination
at the pretext of poetic license, but in written prose works such mixing
of myth with history and attributing inauthentic or totally false traditions
to the Imams ('a) is unpardonable. This practice was started by
some professional rawdah writers with a view to gaining popularity among
naive audiences by touching their most sensitive chords to make them weep.
Mulla Wa'iz Kashifi, the author of Rawdat al-shuhada, is severely
criticized by Muhaddith Nuri in Lu'lu' wa al-marjan, and by Mutahhari
in H'amaseh-ye Husayni. Muhaddith Nuri devotes the major part of
his book to describing how sinful it is to attribute some sayings or occurrences
that have no authentic basis.





Imam Khumayni at the risk of losing popularity among the naive and inviting
wrath of professional akhands all over the Muslim world boldly restrained
the devotees from unnecessarily shedding their blood during mourning ceremonies
and advised them to donate their blood for the cause of defending the shia
ic
revolution. He also transformed the concept of intizar, waiting
for the appearance of the Twelfth Imam ('a), from a passive state
of waiting into active adherence to the shia
ic principle of amr b'il-ma'ruf
wa nahy 'an'il-munkar. This injunction was aimed to give to the participation
of mourners in the ceremonies a consciousness of the relevance of the ongoing
socio-political struggle of shia
and the Muslim world against imperialism
and oppressors by following the example of Imam Husayn ('a). Thus
he successfully synthesized the ritual mourning with social action. He
did not disapprove of mourning, but rather encouraged it with a view to
making it the main source of a revolution.





Every religion and culture has its own myths along with its history
and set of beliefs or ideology. The myths woven together with historical
facts create the ethos and milliue of the popular Shi'i psyche. The ta'ziyah
and majalis provided a basis for the integration of the entire cosmos into
the community of Imam Husayn's devotees. They served as a perpetual instrument
of keeping alive the memory of the tragedy of Karbala' by all possible
means.





The other approach which made use of 'Ashura' as a vehicle of social
and political action may be reconciled with the spiritual and ritual view
of the sufferings of Imam Husayn (a) in a creative and innovative way.
The Shi'i ethos is dominated by an urge to relive the sufferings of the
Holy Family ('a) every year. The Shi'ah re-enact the sufferings
of Husayn ('a) and his family with renewed vigour year after year.
In this enactment of reliving 'Ashura', men and women, young and old, all
participate with a unique sense of commitment and devotion. Thus the 'Ashura'
sufferings have come to occupy the very core of their own individual existential
experience. That is why poetry inspired by this interiorized subjective
experience becomes a genuine and authentic expression of collective human
suffering and attains universal validity. For the mourners of Imam Husayn
('a), 'Ashura' is the "Eternal Now." This experience occurs in a
pure and real space time continuum, a duration that is eternity. It transcends
serial mathematical time of day-to-day life and renders meaning and purpose
to human existence.





This experience prompts every member of the community of Husayn's devotees
to participate in jihad and a holy struggle against untruth, injustice
and all forms of repression and exploitation of the weak (mustad'ifin)
by the oppressors (mustakbirin). This Qur'anic terminology was for
the first time used in historical and modern context by Imam Khumayni and
was further popularized by 'Ali Shari'ati. Mahmoud Ayoub, in Redemptive
Suffering in shia
, says. "No one can deny the far-reaching significance
of the main rituals (i.e. five daily prayers, fasting of Ramadan, and the
pilgrimage ritual of hajj) to the entire Muslim community. But we wish
to argue here that the special rituals of the Shi'ah community, the rituals
of ta'ziyah and ziyarah, present an intensity of feeling
and a total encompassing of space and time unparalleled in the general
piety of the Sunni shia
". (p. 277) As mentioned earlier these rituals,
which acquired prevalence during the reign of the Al-e Buwayh and found
specific forms during the Safawi regime, continued to inspire and
stimulate the Shi'i psyche for a long time, despite Shari'ati's claim that
the Safawis exploited Shi'i sentiments for capturing power and were later
responsible for rendering the mourning rituals soulless formalities. Shari'ati
is justified in criticism of the Safawis to an extent, but his view
that Iranians adopted many elements of the paraphernalia of the rituals
by borrowing from Christian passion rituals during this period as a result
of diplomatic and cultural contacts with the West, is controvertible. It
is not yet established that the Shi'ah did not make use of certain symbols
of mourning such as the 'alam, dari', the coffin etc. before
coming into contact with the West. It may be conjectured contrarily as
well that the Christians borrowed the idea of passion plays during crusades
from the Shi'i 'Ashura' rituals of Aleppo and other Syrian towns. Whatever
may be the case, the rituals played a vital role in the Shi'i milieu and
psyche.





Rituals are essential elements in every religion, but during the periods
of decline of a community they are taken as substitutes for the true spirit
of a faith and religion is reduced to mere ritualism. Shari'ati called
the ritualized form of Shi'i faith tashayyu'-e siyah ('black-clad
Shi'ism,' that is, a Shi'ism given to passive mourning) as against the
true Shi'i creed which he called tashayyu'-e surkh ('red Shi'ism,'
the red colour symbolizing blood, sacrifice, struggle and martyrdom), which
stands for active struggle against all that is untrue and unjust. Shari'ati
and Murtada Mutahhari used the 'Ashura' idiom for awakening and arousing
Iranians to the political relevance of Muharram ceremonies, paving through
their speeches and writings the ground for the overthrow of the vicious
Pahlavi regime.





But the main inspiration came from Imam Khumayni's interpretation of
the true spirit of Karbala', which in his view, is not a battle limited
to any particular period of time but a continuing struggle in the "Eternal
Now." By the means of Muharram ceremonies he revitalized and re-energized
the downtrodden Muslims to fight courageously, fearlessly, and selflessly
unarmed against the most heavily armed regimes in the region which enjoyed
total support of a superpower like the US. He brought about a metamorphosis
of the Iranian ethos and, as a result, there emerged from the fire of Phoenix
a revolutionary nation of free men and women.





Freedom is at the core of Imam Husayn's message. The Imam fought for
freedom of all humanity from hunger, poverty, tyranny, exploitation and
injustice. He chose death for himself as a free being and by choosing death
he chose God and His Will. In his speech delivered before his journey to
Iraq he spoke of his choice in the following words:




O God, You knows that we did not seek, in what we have
done, acquisition of power, or ephemeral possessions. Rather, we seek to
manifest the truths of Your religion and establish righteousness in Your
lands, so that the wronged among Your servants may be vindicated, and that
men may abide by the duties (fara'id), laws (sunan) and Your
ordinances (ahkam).




Imam Husayn ('a) recited some verses in answer to Farazdaq, whom
he met soon after he started on his journey from Makkah, when he was informed
by the poet that while the hearts of the Kufis were with the Imam (a),
their swords were with Banu Umayyah. The gist of these verses is that "If
bodies be made for death, then the death of a man by the sword in the way
of God is the best choice." The choice of violent death in the way of God
was not a better choice only in the eyes of the Imam ('a), but all
men among his relatives and his companions chose death in the way of god
of their own free will. Death was not forced on the them by the choice
of Imam Husayn ('a) either, rather, several times, particularly
on the night of tenth Muharram, the Imam advised and persuaded them to
leave him alone with the enemy. The old and the young among his family
members and companions declared that death in the way of God was a better
choice in their view. The Imam ('a) blessed them with eternal freedom
for their free choice. The responses of Muslim ibn 'Awsajah, 'Abbas ibn
'Ali, 'Ali Akbar ibn al-Husayn, al-Qasim ibn al-Hasan and others brought
tears to the eyes of the Imam ('a). Not only men but the womenfolk
of his family and those accompanying his companions offered their loyalty
and exhorted their husbands and sons to make their own free choice for
sacrificing their lives. They encouraged their men to welcome death on
the day of 'Ashura'.





Women played a very important role in the 'Ashura' movement of the Imam
('a), highlighting the role and freedom that shia
has bestowed
upon them. Imam Khumayni was perhaps the first religious leader to have
successfully brought women into the active ranks of his movement for the
freedom of Muslims in particular and the oppressed people of the world
in general. Hence it would not be an exaggeration to say that the spirit
of Ashura' was re-incarnated in him.

Notes:






[1]
Dr. S. Wahid Akhtar, formerly Professor and Chairman, Dept. of Philosophy,
Aligarh Muslim University, presented the paper at the conference on Imam
Khumayni wa Farhange Ashura, (Imam Khumayni and the culture of Ashura),
held on June 1-2, 1995 at Tehran.





[2]
There is no god save God, i.e the spirit of rejection of all worldly powers
that stand in the ways of man's submission to God.
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