Ask an Alim

Bismillah al-Rahmaan al-Raheem

The situation of the time of Imam Husayn was such that there was a need for a revolution against the oppressive ruler and the revival of the religion of Islam. The circumstances were such that the only way to revive Islam, wake the people up and make them come back to the real Islam, was for Imam Husayn to sacrifice his life. It is important to understand the principle of Allah that he does not use “supernatural” means to do things, because that would go against the whole concept of free-will and test in this world. Therefore, the natural process of saving Islam was for Imam Husayn to give away his life.The misuse of “free-will” by some people is also a test and tribulation for other people, and therefore the oppression of Yazid against the Imam was a test for him. Now let’s understand why we face tribulations:
Tribulations and difficulties of life area test for us from Allah, and these allow us to get closer to Allah. The greater the station of a person, the harder the test, and passing these tests allows a person to progress higher. Therefore, the difficulties that Imam Husayn and the Ahlul Bayt faced were not injustice from Allah, rather they were tests, a means for them to progress spiritually. Of course, Allah only tests everyone to their own capacity, so any random person is not given such a big test. The station of martyrdom is very great, and the station of Imam Husayn is the greatest station of martyrs, as he had the greatest test. Therefore, there is no reason for Allah to stop the event from happening, and the event of Ashura was not only not an injustice towards Imam, rather it was a great mercy, which takes us to the second part of the question.

Tribulations have two perspectives: the outward worldly perspective, and the inward spiritual perspective.

When you look at Ashura from its outward and worldly perspective, then it’s all about oppression, suffering, sadness, pain, loneliness, torture, imprisonment, losing family members, etc., and this is sad, and we cry for this, and this is one reason Sayyida Zainab and the others would cry and lament. The other reason for crying and lamenting is the fact that the best people on earth, the most generous and kind human beings were kept thirsty, mistreated, insulted and slaughtered. The representative of Allah, the manifestation of Allah’s Mercy and Kindness, the best of creation was oppressed, insulted, thrown stones at, and slaughtered. This is worth crying and lamenting for, and Sayyida Zainab truly comprehended this status of Imam Husayn, and therefore her pain and sorrow was very intense. However, when you look at the spiritual side of the event, when you look at the sacrifice and altruism, the sincerity, the loyalty, the patience, the brotherhood, the taqwa, the total submission to Allah, and the fact that Islam and guidance will continue through this sacrifice, then you see the beauty side of Ashura.

So when Sayyida Zainab said she saw nothing but beauty, she was referring to this aspect of the situation. With regards to Allah’s Ridha (pleasure), it lies in the guidance of the people and their reaching perfection, and this can only happen through the continuity, spread and establishment of Islam in this world. Imam Husayn took the responsibility to make this happen through his sacrifice because Islam was being threatened. The fact that Imam took this responsibility also gave him a very special position with Allah, since the “Master of all the martyrs” is a characteristic that is specific to this great personality. Therefore, Imam obtained levels of perfection through this great sacrifice, and Islam was also preserved and allowed to continue, and the Ridha of Allah is in this.

May Allah give us the tawfiq to cry for our Imam with sincerity and follow his path of total submission to Allah.

Yassir R.