Karbala; The Tradegy or Metaphor of Islam

Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) presented great and the unforgettable sacrifices at Karbala in the month of Muharram Ul Haram in 62 AH. This essay reflects that how Karbala rejuvenated religion Islam as preached by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)?

In the name of ALLAH, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

ALLAH is the creator and owner of this universe. He made it, when He wanted, as He wanted. HE decorated it, embellished it, inhabited it, and when He wills, He will order Qiyamah and establish the Resurrection and establish a new world. He created His creatures and assigned those matters and functions as He willed. He taught them to worship and glorify Him and made them aware of His purpose of creation. He also told His creatures their functions and roles and their resources and limitations. What the world is for and what is He himself like, we do not know anything except the forms that He himself showed us. He told that this Earth is just a mortal place and the real life is in hereafter and man is only on this earth to under take test as he acts his affairs.

Let’s take guidance from Quran:-

وَ اِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلٰٓىٕكَةِ اِنِّیْ جَاعِلٌ فِی الْاَرْضِ خَلِیْفَةًؕ- قَالُوْۤا اَتَجْعَلُ فِیْهَا مَنْ یُّفْسِدُ فِیْهَا وَ یَسْفِكُ الدِّمَآءَۚ- وَ نَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَ نُقَدِّسُ لَكَؕ- قَالَ اِنِّیْۤ اَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ (البقرہ 30)

And (recall) when your Lord said to the angels: ‘I am to place a khalifah78 on earth.' They said: ‘Will you place therein one who will do corruption in it and shed blood, while we chant Your praises and sanctify Your Name?' He said: ‘Verily, I know what you do know not.'

After all His creations, Allah (swt) created Adam in the end [perhaps] and gave him superiority over all other creations and made him the caliph on earth. We see that only the children of Adam have the authority to do something on this earth and bring changes in its form. We see that only Allah's order is running in the entire universe and everything is subject to some unseen force and who else can that force be except Allah.

وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَى وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ (البقرہ 34)

“And when We said to the angels: ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam.' They fell prostrate, except Iblis. He refused, waxed pride, and became of the infidels.”

Allah (swt) gave superiority to Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him) and his children and gave them the caliphate on earth, so He must also given them some things to do and made every soul a witness on his own self and made him make promises and vows.

وَ اِذۡ اَخَذَ رَبُّکَ مِنۡۢ بَنِیۡۤ اٰدَمَ مِنۡ ظُہُوۡرِہِمۡ ذُرِّیَّتَہُمۡ وَ اَشۡہَدَہُمۡ عَلٰۤی اَنۡفُسِہِمۡ ۚ اَلَسۡتُ بِرَبِّکُمۡ ؕ قَالُوۡا بَلٰی ۚ ۛ شَہِدۡنَا ۚ ۛ اَنۡ تَقُوۡلُوۡا یَوۡمَ الۡقِیٰمَۃِ اِنَّا کُنَّا عَنۡ ہٰذَا غٰفِلِیۡنَ ۔ (الأعراف 172)

And when Your Lord took from the loins of Adam's children their offspring and made them testify concerning themselves, ‘Am I not your Lord?' They replied, ‘Yes. We do testify,' lest you should say on the Day of Judgment, ‘We were completely in dark over this.'

Now as it is known that Allah Ta'ala created an enemy, a foe, a rival with the birth of Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him); "Iblis, Satan of Regime" said [Iblis] O my Lord! Since you have led me astray, I also swear that I will also embellish sin for them in the earth and will also mislead them all (al-Hajar 39); Who asked for authority that from the front, from the back, from above, from below; He will lead the children of Adam astray and sit in the way of Allah so that the children of Adam will not be entitled to their original place of paradise.

Iblis indeed embellished this earthen life and the children of Adam were led astray; forgetting the purpose and vision of the creation; So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent prophets, messengers and Rasuls frequently. ALLAH sent His message through Prophets which had only one concept; to provide the children of Adam the guidance to the purpose of creation and to distinguish between right and wrong in the affairsbetween humans and daily course of life.

Allah has repeatedly told that the main purpose of life is religion of Islam; the life of the world is only a mere illusion and a deception. Man's life is only for the worship and glorification of Allah and every human being should spend every breath, every hour only in the pleasure of Allah. Allah has the sovereignty over everything in the universe and Allah Almighty has given man the authority to establish the sovereignty of Allah on this earth. It should always be kept in mind that at any time on earth the children of Adam are either in the service of Allah or on the path of Iblis. By misusing the authority entrusted to him by Allah, man becomes deserving of divine punishment, which will be revealed in this world as well and will be a cause of disgrace and humiliation on the Day of Resurrection.

اَلَمْ اَعْهَدْ اِلَیْكُمْ یٰبَنِیْۤ اٰدَمَ اَنْ لَّا تَعْبُدُوا الشَّیْطٰنَۚ-اِنَّهٗ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِیْنٌ ( یٰس 60)

وَّ اَنِ اعْبُدُوْنِیْﳳ-هٰذَا صِرَاطٌ مُّسْتَقِیْمٌ ( یٰس 61)

Had I not enjoined upon you, O children of Adam, that you should not worship Shaytan, (that) surely he is your open enemy?

And that you worship Me (alone)? This is the straight path.

Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, has said something special to the children of Adam in the Qur'an while mentioning the creation of their father (Adam). He fixed the effigy of Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him) himself and then breathed his soul and made him prostrate.

وَاِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَآئِكَـةِ اِنِّـىْ خَالِقٌ بَشَـرًا مِّنْ صَلْصَالٍ مِّنْ حَـمَاٍ مَّسْنُـوْنٍ ( الحجر 28)

فَاِذَا سَوَّيْتُهٝ وَنَفَخْتُ فِيْهِ مِنْ رُّوْحِىْ فَقَعُوْا لَـهٝ سَاجِدِيْنَ ( الحجر 29)

And when your Lord said to the angels, ‘I am to create a human being from a clay of (stinking) transmuted slime.

When I have proportioned him and blown into Him of My Spirit, fall into prostration before him.

Iblis's refusal to prostrate to Adam was a refusal of Adam’s caliphate, so satan was turned into a desolate shrine.

We read in the Qur'an how Allah sent so many chosen prophets, messengers and Rauls. And when their people rejected them, Allah, the Exalted, made them forgetful through His Azaab. Today there are only their ruins and signs for those who want to learn and be warned. But today is Muharram of 2023 CE; 1445 Hijri; There are about eight billion people living in this mortal world and about two billion of them are Muslims. Does this group of human beings believe in Allah Almighty and His sovereignty? Does human civilization hyms the glories and attributes of Allah; Does it look like His creation obeying His will? There is a lot of vulgarity and obscenity going on everywhere, but the love that the Creator has for His creation, especially the children of Adam; That is, me, you and all of us; has it any manifestation, a glimpse, in our individual and collective lives?

The imprint of Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is very clear in the civilization that is on the earth today. Today, the vast majority of civilized nations in the world are either Jews, Christians or Muslims. Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is known as Khalilullah. He set an immortal example of love to Allah Subhan Ta'ala, so Allah made him the Imam of mankind. Today, the faith of a Muslim is not complete without blessings and peace upon him. Allah blessed him with two sons Hazrat Ismail and Hazrat Ishaq (peace be upon him). And through these two sons and their families, they gave the lessons of civilization, society, state, welfare, and the ways of life for the hereafter immortal life.

The life of Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is the story of a lover of God who makes individual sacrifices of every kind for his beloved who is one and only and we the children of Adam are His “Eiyal” (family, children). Allah Ta'ala took the biggest individual test of love in human history from Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) when he showed him a dream of slaughtering his son Ismail; and they did that. It was an eternal event of filial piety and the prostration of humanity.

Allah Almighty has told in the Qur'an the story of Bani Israel in great details in order to explain and teach the children of Adam certain lessons. Bani Israel are the descendants of Hazrat Yaqub (peace be upon him) who is the grandson of Hazrat Ibrahim. Through the story of Hazrat Yusuf (peace be upon him) Allah Ta'ala is teaching the story of a family, to mankind, who strive for trivial things and create problems for each other, but Allah fulfills His will as He pleased. The lesson in this is that how important family is, infact very important; And we have to apologize for our sorrows and pains that we bring to each other due to the work of Iblis. Only then are families formed and Allah Subhan Ta'ala loves human life on earth together with peace and security; which only families can build; After all, we are all human beings. Children of one father (Adam).

Moving forward, we see that the family of Bani Israel has progressed and changed into twelve tribes; and in slavery in Pharaoh’s Egypt. Allah frees them from Pharaoh's slavery by showing miracles to them. And how could that nation, Israel not believe in the sovereignty of Allah? Perhaps that was the first lesson in politics, state and worship for a nation in human history; Which the Israelites could not understand; (when they refused to fight for the Promised Land despite the good news of Allah to Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him).

 

قَالُوْا يٰمُوْسٰۤى اِنَّا لَنْ نَّدْخُلَهَاۤ اَبَدًا مَّا دَامُوْا فِيْهَا فَاذْهَبْ اَنْتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَاتِلَاۤ اِنَّا هٰهُنَا قَاعِدُوْنَ (المائدہ 24)

قَالَ رَبِّ اِنِّىْ لَاۤ اَمْلِكُ اِلَّا نَفْسِىْ وَاَخِىْ فَافْرُقْ بَيْنَـنَا وَبَيْنَ الْـقَوْمِ الْفٰسِقِيْنَ (المائدہ 25)

They replied, ‘Musa! We shall not set foot in it, so long as they are there. Go forth, you and your Lord, and the two of you fight. We shall remain seated right here.'

Musa said, ‘O my Lord! I have no power over anybody except myself and my brother. Therefore, judge between us and (these) wicked people.'

The Israelites were a nation; a family; All were sons of one father. Allah showed His majesty in front of their eyes; He showed His mercy and grace, but when the time came for the test of Allah's love, the Jewish nation was afraid and fled from becoming Hezbollah. Then Allah left them to wander in the same region of the earth for forty years. And a new generation was born in that abomination and grew young, so they asked Allah to appoint one of them as a king so that they could go and fight and get the promsed land. The Promised Land was today's Palestine. On which the Zionists have built Israel. Finally, the Jewish people got their own homeland and Allah Almighty gave them a noble prophet and ruler like Hazrat Dawud and Hazrat Sulaiman (peace be upon them). After his death, the Jewish nation did bad moderation, fought with each other and turned disagreements into hatred and enmity, so Allah imposed on them the powerful.

Moving forward in history; The descendants of Hazrat Ismail (peace be upon him) flourished and emerged as the Quraysh nation in the Valley of Batha. Allah had given them great glory. His Kaaba was built there and He made it the center of revelation. But with the passage of time, idolatry had gained a foothold there as well. Only Iblis satan regime could be happy with ignorance and misguidance spread there.

In this polluted environment, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent His Beloved.

When Hazrat Muhammad bin Abdullah (peace be upon him) was forty years old, Allah began to reveal the Qur'an to him through Hazrat Gabriel (peace be upon him), which continued for the next twenty-three years. Among them, thirteen years in Makkah and ten years in Madinah al-Rasul; which was earlier called Yathrib. Allah sent the Prophet (PBUH) as an evangelist and prophet and gave him the mission of purifying mankind. The Prophet ﷺ fulfilled his duty in such a way that history is in awe. The Companions of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) established their authority on the whole world in just a few years. Time saw that there was a village of Bani Adam who were pleased with their Lord and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala was also pleased with them. Allah then declared that He had completed the religion of Islam for His servants. For 23 years, Allah (swt) informed the children of Adam directly through his beloved Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him). The symbols and purposes of God's sovereignty on earth; Determined its essentials and limitations.

The Prophet ﷺ established a state; established a society; gave birth to a civilization, a culture. He taught such a lesson of human welfare and ways of life for the hereafter that the two world powers of that time were defeated during the caliphate of Hazrat Umar Farooq. Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) set new heights of love. He memorized "that hand of a momin is the hand of Allah". This world is a mortal hatch and the original will be found tomorrow in heaven because the real home and real place of the believer is Jannah; it was established in the heart of every companion. Time has proved it.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) planted such a plant of Allah's oneness and righteousness in the thoughts and eyes of every companion that poverty and wealth; Self-sacrifice and equality, respite and justice were established in the hearts. Such a population had settled down that surely the angels in the heavens would look and say that they would not have reached the secret of what Allah knows if Muhammad Mustafa (peace be upon him) had not shown why Adam was the best creation.

But maybe Allah Subhan Ta'ala had something else in mind. That state, that civilization and society did not last long. One of the reasons may be that He has to test every human being, every generation. Iblis encouraged his workers and finally the external forces started to rise up; And the last three caliphs were martyred. With the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali Al-Murtaza, Islamic state became an orphon. The Islamic State was buried. In the Islamic civilization, the fusions started to happen. As soon as the majority of the Prophet's companions left the world, new temptations began to arise among the followers. It became difficult for ordinary Muslims to recognize right and wrong. The injustice took place in such a way that the path shown by Allah and the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was turned into an enemy; and that created Karbala.

Maybe Allah wanted to create an eternal history of loves and masti, poverty and wealth, dedication and sacrifice, and for this He chose the family of the Prophet (PBUH). Allah Ta'ala had taken a test of patience and steadfastness from the Prophet's family in Shob Abi Talib. And since the Prophet could not be martyred, Allah reserved this honor for the Prophet's descendants.

Perhaps he had to solidify the example of Hazrat Ismail (peace be upon him).

غریب و سادہ و رنگین ہے داستان حرم

نہایت اس کی حسینؑ ابتدا ہے اسماعیل

The story of Haram is poor, simple and colorful; Ismail is the origin end is Hussain

What happened in Karbala? Karbala is a commentary on the Kalima Tayyaba which was revealed to the Messenger of Allah. Allah's name was raised and recited from the spear. The love of Allah should be priority for His servants. There was a Hussain (peace be upon him); who was the head of the family under whom all members, who were sons, half-brothers, nephews, and relatives; Everyone preferred to a martyr, but they did not bow down those who on the orders of Yazid bin Muawiya for the love of dirhams and dinars killed them. Hazrat Hussain (peace be upon him) elevated the position of love to Allah to such an extent that even today even after 1400 years his name Hussain is recited everywhere. At that time, Islam in Karbala was shining under the banner of Hazrat Hussain (peace be upon him) for its civilization, its traditions, its stories and its brilliance. Can one destroy these objects with swords?

 

صدق خلیل بھی ہے عشق، صبرحسین بھی ہے عشق

معرکہ وجود میں بدروحنین بھی ہے عشق

Sadiq Khalil is also love, Sabr Hussain is also love; In the battle of self Badr & Hunain is also love

Karbala proved that who is the servant of Allah and who is the servant of self? Who is the one who can stimulate this mortal world and who is the one who prefers the pleasure of the world? How easy it is to say La ilaha illa Allah and how to prove it is taught by Karbala? In order to understand Maqam-e-Shabeer, one has to remove the love of the world from one's eyes and extinguish the fire in one's stomach. Karbala only gives a message to the Muslims of every age that the one who considers the obedience of God's laws as the purpose of life and thus binds his covenant with Allah, no chain of slavery and subjugation of any master will remain on his neck. . And if it is not like that, let him know that he is not a slave of Allah.

حقیقت ابدی ہے مقام شبیری

بدلتے رہتے ہیں انداز کوفی وشامی

The Reality of Shabbir is eternal; the styles of Kofi and Shami keep changing

Karbala brought true Islam to light and exposed the Khawarij and Yazidi elements in the name and guise of Islam. Hazrat Hussain (peace be upon him) made it clear in Karbala that the soldiers of Allah were not in the pursuit of booty and glory. In Karbala, Imam al-Maqam did not come out of a palace or was fenced in a fort. There were no sacks for money and goods, which had to be protected. If there was anything, it was only the inheritance of his grandfather Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and was the obedience of Allah Subhan Taala. He carried bravery of his sage Ali Murtaza (RA) with him; which was humility, tolerance, patience and the training of mother Hazrat Fatima al-Zahra (RA). On the night of Ashura Hazrat Hussain (peace be upon him) and his companions were hungry and thirsty; Ali Asghar's heels would have produced springs if he wanted. If the sword were drawn, the conqueror of Khyber would have taken the oath of the ark; They would have turned the army of Yazid into the dust of the desert, but they had to show their love for Allah Almighty and thus sacrificed in His way. Karbala is the end of devotion in true love.

The cruelty is that even today in the world of Islam, Yazidism emerges in a new guise, even though Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) has made the identification easier. Even at that time Yazidis chanted Allahu Akbar when the Imam's head was beheaded and even today the wicked and the hypocrites follow the same way.

Allama Iqbal, a scholar of Karbala and the poet philoshor of the nation, while exposing the Yazidism of the 61st Hijri and all eras, expressed very beautifully and eloquently about Hazrat Hussain (peace be upon him) and Karbala and explained its importance in the religion of Islam:

 

عجب مذاق ہے اسلام کی تقدیر کے ساتھ

کٹا حسین (ع) کا سر نعرہ تکبیر کے ساتھ

What a joke with the fate of Islam; Hussain (AS) was murdered with the slogan Takbeer

The solution to today's problems is that we should not think of Karbala as a tragedy and not only lament; Rather, know that Karbala is the radiance, the light, the hope and the hope in the soul of Islam that Allah tests His servants and the believer never panics; who either succeeds or is martyred; Everlasting life without death. All we have to do is travel to the destination of love. To understand Imam Hussain (a.s.) and Karbala, intellect is not enough, but the sight of love is needed. If you explain the incident of Karbala on rational arguments, you will always express doubts. Those who look through the eyes of love, and then they come to the conclusion that "love finds complete peace and satisfaction in freedom, its crown is freedom".

قتل حسین اصل میں مرگ یزید ہے

اسلام زندہ ہوتا ہے ہر کربلا کے بعد

The killing of Hussain is actually the death of Yazid

Islam comes alive after every Karbala

The status of Hazrat Hussain (A.S.) in the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ is similar to that of Surah Ikhlas in the Holy Qur’an. Tawheed is presented in Surah Ikhlas, which is the central point of the Quranic teachings. Allah (swt) has created this world in such a way that the conflict between right and wrong has been going on in it since the beginning. And it will continue until the Day of Judgment. When the caliphate was cut off from the Qur'an and there was no freedom of thought and vision in the Muslim system, at that time Hazrat Hussain (peace be upon him) rose up like a cloud rising from the direction of the Qibla an drained at Karbala which made a desert into Lalah Zar.

Imam (AS) blocked the paths of oppression and tyranny with his blood for those who follow the religion of his grandfather until the Day of Resurrection. An oppressor has no excuse; there was no argument left; there was no law. The sword of the believer will always be raised for the domination and power of religion, not for personal interest, its purpose will be to protect the constitution and law. A Muslim does not submit to anyone except Allah and does not force to submit to him; thus, he does not bow down to any pharaoh, nor does he bow anyone's head to him.

Today is the night of Ashura; My Imam, the Imam of all believers; They were starved and thirsty; They were singled out; on this day he was martyred. But was the imam not successful? O brothers of Islam; Be encouraged, persevere and stand up and stand firm; Hold fast the rope of Allah; We will be successful if we believe.

شاہ است حسین و بادشاہ است حسین

دین است حسین و دین پناہ است حسین

سر دادن و نداد دست در دست یزید

واللہ کہ بنا لا الہ است حسین

The king is Hossein and the king is Hossein

Religion is Hussain and religion is the refuge of Hussain

He gave his head and did not give hand in Yazid hand

By Allah, Hussain is the source of La illa Ha

Written by Muhammad Asif Raza