Lessons from the tragedy of Karbala

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This was the moving dua' made by Imam Hussein (ra) before the massacre in Karbala. before his martyrdom at the hands of the forces of Yazid bin Muawiya.

"O Allah! It is Three in whom I trust amid all grief. You are my hope amid all violence. Thou are my refuge and provision in everything that happens to me. How lots of grievances weaken the heart, leaving me with no means to handle them, in the work of which mate deserts me, and enemy rejoices in it. I lay it before Thee and complain of it to Thee, because of my desire in Thee, Thee alone. You relieve me of it and remove it from me. Thou are the Master of all Grace, the Essence of Goodness, and the Final Resort of all Desire."

There's positive events in history that shape the emotions of a nation; moments that stir passions and produce personalities that mould the fate of peoples. The massacre of Karbala is such event. As Muslims all over the world in the month of Muharram keep in mind the bravery of Imam Hussein (ra), they ought to understand the lessons to be learnt from Karbala.

Succession to the Throne (Wilayatul A'hd)

Near the finish of Muawiya (ra) period as Khalifah, they (ra) became influenced by definite prevailing notions from the recently conquered Persians. This was the notion of hereditary rule. Hence they (ra) began a campaign to introduce hereditary rule in to the structure of Islam. They did this because they used to understand the state leadership as monarchy & not Khilafah. To have monarchy, by force or otherwise, is something which Islam does not accept, & cannot be added in to the Islamic ruling method.

They (ra) tried to place his son, Yazid, as the crown prince although there is no prince-hood in Islam. The historians like Ibn Kathir & Ibn al-Athir narrated that after his Walis had failed to take the Bay'ah (oath of allegiance) to Yazid in Hijaz, Muawiya went there himself accompanied by the army & loaded with funds. They summoned the prominent figures & said to them: "You have known my conduct towards you & my relatives ties with you, Yazid is your brother & your cousin. I need you to propose Yazid for the Khilafah, so that you would be the ones who remove & appoint; who put people in authority & collect & distribute the money."

Abdullah b. Al-Zubayr (ra) replied to him that they ought to either pick what the Messenger of Allah (saw) did, when they (saw) did not designate someone, or what Abu Bakr (ra) did, or what Umar (ra) did. Muawiya became angry & they asked the remainder of the people, & their reply was the same as Ibnul-Zubayr (ra). On this Muawiya said: "You have been warned! I am going to speak a word, & I swear by Allah that if any of you replied to me by uttering a word on that occasion, they would not utter another word before the sword had reached his neck. So every man has only to spare himself." Then they ordered the chief of his guards to place men behind every prominent person of Hijaz & every opponent, with the instructions that if any of them answered back, to strike his neck with their swords. They then climbed up to the Minbar (podium) & said: "This group of people are the leaders & the best among the Muslims & no decision is taken without them, & no matter is settled without their consultation. They have consented & given the Bay'ah. So, do give your Bay'ah in the name of Allah."

This is the basis on which Muawiya (ra) established the process of appointing a crown prince. However this was not what the Sahabah as a whole agreed . Umar (ra) described appointing a crown prince, by saying: "If a man gave authority to someone because of a relationship or a friendship between them while there were among the Muslims men better qualified than him, he would betray Allah, His Messenger & the believers."

Muawiya (ra) was getting older day by day. At the age of 75, he became seriously ill & died in the midst of the month of Rajab 60 AH.

The road to Karbala

As Imam Hasan (ra) had already died before Muawiya (ra), a political vacuum had developed. Yazid took advantage of this situation & wrote a letter to Waleed bin Utba bin Abu Sufyan, who was appointed the Governor of Madinah by Muawiya (ra), to demand the bay'ah from Imam Hussein (ra) or else on refusal, his head. Waleed invited Hussein (ra) to a gathering for this purpose. Hussein (ra) did not give his word at the meeting & decided to leave Medina along along with his relatives to proceed to Mecca. When Hussein (ra) reached Mecca he received letters from Kufa urging him to go to Kufa to become the Khalifah. Hussein (ra) sent an emissary, his cousin Muslim Ibn Aqeel, to Kufa to ascertain first-hand information about the situation in Iraq. Imam Hussein (ra) also knew that giving the bay'ah to a usurper like Yazid would definitely place Islam at great jeopardy. Therefore he decided to leave Mecca for Kufa. Plenty of friends & relatives urged Imam Hussein (ra) not to go to Kufa, but he insisted on going. Imam Hussein (ra), along along with his relatives, friends, & companions began the journey towards Kufa (one,100 miles away) in a long caravan in the blistering heat of summer.

In Kufa, Muslim Bin Aqeel with the help of Mukhtar Al-Thaqafi & Hani Ibn Urwah continued to hold meetings with the supporters of the Imam. Within a short time period the gatherings began to gain momentum. Yazid learned about Muslim's successes in Kufa & appointed Ubaidullah Ibn Ziyad to replace al-Nu'man Ibn al-Basheer as Wali of Kufa.


In the work of the early phase of the journey the caravan met Al-Farazdaq (a famous poet) at a place called al-Sifah. Al-Farazdaq advised the Imam not to go to Kufa because though people's hearts were with him, their swords would be against him. But the Imam continued with the journey, & he received the first letter from his emissary Muslim Ibn Aqeel with excellent news. The letter indicated that the people were over prepared to welcome the Imam in Kufa & were looking forward to his leadership. Hussein (ra) decided to send another emissary to Kufa with a message. The caravan kept proceeding toward Kufa. Plenty of days passed but the Imam did not get any more responses from Muslim Ibn Aqeel.

Hussein (ra) found the proposal fair and turned the caravan away from Kufa. Hur and his army marched parallel to the Imam. The sides reached a village called Nainawa where Ibn Ziyad's messenger delivered a message to Hur. The message read: "...force Hussein to a halt. But let him cease in an open space, without vegetation or water." Hur conveyed the contents of the letter to Imam Hussein (ra). The Imam defiantly resumed his journey and reached a place where another enemy force blocked his move and forced him to cease. When Imam Hussein (ra) learned that the place was called Karbala, they ordered his camp to be setup. That day was 2nd of Muharram, Hijri 61.

Meanwhile, as Hussein's (ra) caravan got closer to its location (Kufa), coming to a place called Zubalah, Hussein (ra) unexpectedly received shocking news. The shocking news was about Muslim Ibn Aqeel and the that provided him shelter, Hani Ibn Urwah, both of whom were arrested and beheaded by the Governor Ibn Ziyad. Mukhtar was also arrested, imprisoned and tortured by Ibn Ziyad. Hussein (ra) gathered his companions and disclosed to them the bad news. Becoming terrified, some companions left the caravan. Imam Hussein (ra) continued with the journey along with close companions and relatives members until they was head to head with one,000 horsemen led by Hur al-Riyahi, representing Yazid's forces. The enemy army blocked the camps of Hussein (ra) from advancing and tension began to rise between the sides. Hussein (ra) addressed the enemy explaining to them his motive for going to Kufa was in response to the invitation of the people. They even showed them a bag filled with letters they had received from Kufa. Hur said that they and his men were not the writers of those letters. The Imam told them that in the event that they did not like him to advance with the journey, they was prepared to return to Hijaz. Hur replied: "We are commissioned to follow you until they take you to Governor Ibn Ziyad", and suggested to the Imam to go towards a station which is neither Kufa nor Medina.


On learning that his army had succeeded to lay a siege around the Imam's camp, Governor Ibn Ziyad sent additional military units to Karbala and appointed Umar Ibn Sa'ad in charge. Imam Hussein (ra) opened a dialogue with Umar Ibn Sa'ad and satisfied him to lift the siege so that the Imam along with his relatives and companions could leave Iraq. Umar Ibn Sa'ad liked the Imam's proposal and sent a message to Governor Ibn Ziyad notifying him about the results of the talks with Imam Hussein (ra). Ibn Ziyad also found the Imam's proposal acceptable. However before agreeing to it officially, Shimr Bin Dhil-Jawshan, opposed it strongly. As a result Ziyad wrote a letter to Umar Ibn Sa'ad commanding him to either go to war with Imam Hussein (ra) or be relieved of his duties as commander of the army and Shimr would not only replace him but despatch Ibn Sa'ad's head to Kufa as well.
Umar Ibn bin Sa'ad got the letter. After pondering over the consequences they decided to fight Imam Hussein (ra). On the 7th day of Muharram they moved his troops closer to the camp and began to surround the Hussein camp. Ibn Sa'ad laid a blockade around the camp to cut it off from access to the river Euphrates, to deprive it of water in a move to force them to surrender.

 days later, (on the 9th of Muharram), the enemy forces closed in on the camp of Imam Hussein (ra). Hussein (ra) asked his sister, Abbas, to speak to Ibn Sa'ad and request a delay of the aggression by night. Umar Ibn Sa'ad agreed to the request. They ordered his troops to delay the aggression until the following morning. Imam Hussein (ra) and his companions spent that night in prayer.

Finally, the day of Ashuraa (10th Muharram) dawned on the soil of Karbala. It was the day in which Muslim blood would be shed & 72 innocent lives would be sacrificed.

The Dawn of Ashuraa

"O Allah! It is Thee in whom I trust amid all grief. You are my hope amid all violence. Thou are my refuge & provision in everything that happens to me. How plenty of grievances weaken the heart, leaving me with no means to handle them, in the coursework of which friends desert me, & my enemy rejoices in it. I lay it before Thee & complain of it to Thee, because of my desire in Thee, Thee alone. You relieve me of it & remove it from me. Thou are the Master of all Grace, the Essence of Goodness, & the Final Resort of all Desire."

In the morning Hussein (ra) went out of the camp & saw Umar Ibn Sa'ad mobilizing his troops to start the hostility. They stared at the intimidating army, & as massive as it was Hussein (ra) showed no signs of compromise. Hussein (ra) raised his hands to Allah:


Umar Ibn Sa'ad threw an arrow in the air to indicate the beginning of the battle.

The tragedy at Karbala

Imam Hussein's (ra) supporters insisted on being the first to fight. Therefore, they took the brunt of the enemy assault. The battle was ferocious. Within a short time the Imam's supporters slew a large number of the enemy fighters, they were on the offensive & the enemy on the defensive. This caused apprehension & confusion in the enemy. The 72 people of Hussein's (ra) force against the 5000/- of the enemy force. So worried & nervous did the enemy become that their commander-in-chief ordered his army to set fire to the Imam's tents (which were occupied mostly by frightened females & kids), & they reinforced his fighters with more troops.
By noontime, the Imam stopped the fight to perform the Salah. By this time those left were chiefly his relatives as well as a few supporters. They performed the Salah together. supporters were guarding the performers of the Salah. When the Salah was done of the guards fell dead; there were 17 arrows in his back.

Ali Akbar, Hussein's son obtained permission to fight & dashed toward the enemy. They engaged them in fierce fighting & they continued to move forward, deep inside the enemy. The enemy was overpowering in number, it overwhelmed him cutting him with swords & spears, & his body became nothing but wounds gushing blood, until they died. Imam Hussein (ra) rushed to the area & picked up the wounded limp body & brought it to his camp. His father & others in the camp were horrified & shocked at the scene.

Abbas & other brothers of Imam Hussein (ra) went to fight next. They also engaged the enemy in fierce fighting. Abbas went towards the river to bring some water for the thirsty kids. While they was returning on his horse with the water, they was attacked by a large horde of the enemy, overwhelming & severely wounding him. As much as they tried Abbas could not save the water, they fell from his horse to breathe his last.

Next to the battlefield went the sons of Hasan (ra) & Zainab (ra) & their cousins (about 17 of them). They were all in their teenagers but each stood bravely.

O Allah, O my Lord! My consolation is the fact that Thou in Thine Majesty are witnessing what I am going through.

By the afternoon 70 people had sacrificed their lives in Karbala. All had fought under nerve-racking conditions: extreme thirst, dehydration, exhaustion, & agonizing feelings of what would happen to the relatives of the Prophet (saw) afterwards. Hussein (ra) endured all that & more, for they saw all his beloved ones brutally cut to pieces, including children. Remaining the , Hussein (ra) was to face the enemy head on. Exactly at that moment Hussein (ra) heard his child crying incessantly, agonizing because of the thirst. Hussein's (ra) love for his relatives was unbound, for a suffering child. They held the six months elderly child, his youngest son (Ali Asghar) in his arms, & appealed to the enemy fighters for some water for the child. The Imam desired to awaken their Islamic feelings but the stonehearted enemy, in lieu of giving water, zoomed an arrow toward the agonizing child & killed him instantly. Imam Hussein (ra) was shocked. They felt an unbearable wave of pain. The sight of the limp child in his arms was agonizingly painful. They filled his palm with the blood of the child, & threw it upwards toward the sky, complaining to Allah (swt):

It was at this point, that Shimr came forward & severed Imam Hussein's (ra) noble head from his body, the noble head kissed often by the Prophet (saw)! Shimr & others had the audacity to carryover it on the tip of a spear to Yazid, 600 miles away! At this, an elderly man in the assembly cried: "Gently! It is the Prophet's grandson. By Allah, I have seen these lips kissed by the lucky mouth of RasoolAllah (saw)."


Imam Hussein (ra) was alone, man against thousands. They took them on, fighting them bravely, & kept fighting, receiving plenty of wounds in the system. Thousands of enemy fighters were surrounding him but none dared to move towards him. The silence was broken when Shimr screamed for an assault, & then screamed again, threatening. In response they attacked collectively, & sword fell on Imam Hussein's (ra) left wrist & deeply cut his left hand. The blood gushed like a fountain. Another sword was soon to follow & it hit his upper back. Imam Hussein (ra) felt numb as they fell to the ground, bleeding profusely. They was at the point of shock, although staggering they tried to stand by leaning on his sword. Then they received the deadly blow.

Yazid the usurper (Mutasallit)

It is clear that these events were organised & executed by Yazid. Yazid never received the bay'ah by consent & choice, & thus never held the stool of Khalifah. He was a usurper (Mutasallit).

However, if the usurper managed to persuade the people that it would be in the interest of the Muslims to give him their Bay'ah & that the implementation of Shar'a rules obliges them to give the Bay'ah, & they were satisfied of that & accepted it & then gave him the Bay'ah by consent & free choice, he would become Khalifah from the moment that the Bay'ah was given to him by consent & choice. This never happened in the case of Yazid, & the Muslims were correct in trying to secure the Bay'ah for the man whom they wished to pledge allegiance to.


If a usurper were to seize power by force he would not become Khalifah, even if he declared himself to be the Khalifah of the Muslims. This is because the Khilafah in this case would not have been contracted to him by the Muslims. If he were to take the Bay'ah from the people by force & coercion he would not become Khalifah even if the Bay'ah was given to him (taken by him). This is because a Bay'ah that is taken by force & coercion is not thought about valid & the Khilafah cannot be concluded by it. For it is a contract based on mutual consent & choice, & cannot be concluded forcefully, or by coercion. The Khilafah cannot therefore be concluded except by a Bay'ah of consent & choice.

Karbala is amongst of the worst tragedies humanity has ever seen. It is imperative that they learn vital lessons from this catastrophe. The following lessons can be learnt from this whole episode:

Lessons from the tragedy of Karbala:

The institution of Khilafah is matter of life and death. A matter which Imam Hussein (ra) gave his life, his family's lives and the life of his son for. This was done in order to make positive that the stool of Khilafah not be abused or usurped.

Khilafah is a vital issue

The Bay'ah is the only Islamic process to appoint the Khalifah. They can see clearly that Yazid never received the Bay'ah by consent and choice. Indeed his sister took the Bay'ah by force for him, and they subdued any opposition to his power by killing. A vital lesson to learn is that, like any contract, the Bay'ah cannot be taken by coercion, but must be based on consent and choice.

one. Bay'ah is the only process to appoint the Khalif - It must be given by consent and choice

They saw how Muawiya (ra) could manipulate the Bay'ah contract for his son. This would have been far more difficult had the method of Bay'ah been codified and put in the constitution of the Islamic Khilafah. This would make positive that due method would be followed which the Ummah had agreed .

two. The method of Bay'ah must be codified and put in the constitution of the Islamic Khilafah

three. Rotating the Walis quickly

It can be seen that of the reasons that allowed Muawiya (ra) to gain such popularity and build a powerful support base in Syria (which later allowed him to appoint Yazid) was that they was allowed to stay in the position of Wali for over twenty years. It would be thought about wise political manoeuvring for the Khalifah to change his Walis regularly.


The Messenger of Allah (saw) used to appoint Walis for a timeframe and then relieve them, and no Wali remained at his Wilaya in the coursework of the whole period of the Messenger of Allah (saw). This indicates that the Wali ought to never be appointed permanently, but only for a short spell after which they is removed. However, proof about the length of this period (i.e. whether it ought to be long or short) has not been determined by the actions of the Messenger of Allah (saw). All that is related to this matter is that the Messenger of Allah (saw) did not keep a Wali at his post in the coursework of the whole of his life. What has been established as a fact is that they (saw) used to appoint the Walis and then relieve them. However, the civil strife (fitna) that shook the Ummah was caused by the lengthy period of Mu'awiya's Wilaya over Ash-Sham in the coursework of the times of Umar (ra) and Uthman (ra). This leads us to the conclusion that a lengthy period of Wilaya could harm the Muslims and the State. This is why the period of Wilaya ought to not be long.
four. Constantly checking up on them

Umar (ra) was known to be strict when accounting the Walis and the Amils. They would even remove a quantity of them on a suspicion without conclusive facts. They even used to remove a Wali on the slightest doubt that did not even reach the level of suspicion. They was asked about this day and they said: "It is simple to swap an Amir for another so as to change the people's affairs."

The Khalifah ought to appoint someone who would check their state of affairs and over out inspections. The Khalifah ought to also meet with all of them or a quantity of them from time to time and listen to the complaints of the subjects against them.

Another lesson they can learn is that the Khalifah must constantly enquire about the works of his Walis and they ought to monitor them closely.

Umar (ra) used to closely monitor the Walis, and they appointed Muhammad Ibnu Maslama (ra) to examine their state of affairs and inspect them. Umar (ra) used to collect the Walis in the work of the Hajj season to review their performance and to listen to the complaints from the people about them, and they also used to discuss with them the affairs of the Wilayahs and ask about their own conditions. It's been reported that Umar (ra) one time said to people around him: "Would you say that my duty would be fulfilled if I appointed over you the best from amongst you, and ordered him to be ?" They said: "Yes." They said: "No. Not until I had checked his performance, and seen whether or not they did what I had ordered him to do."

It's been confirmed that the Messenger of Allah (saw) used to examine the Walis when appointing them, as they did with Mu'az (ra) and Abu Moussa (ra). They used to describe to them how they ought to conduct their duties, as they did with 'Amr b. Hazm (ra). They also drew their attention to some important matters as they did with Aban b. Sa'id (ra) when they appointed him Wali over Bahrain and said to him: "Look after Abd Qays and honour their leaders". Likewise it's also been confirmed that they (saw) used to hold the Walis to account, inspect their situation and listen to news brought to him about them. They (saw) used to ask the Walis to account for the revenues and expenses spent.

Muawiya (ra) was appointed Wali over Syria and Iraq with general powers, i.e. a general Wilaya. They had full control over the armed forces, the finances, the judiciary, the police force, the economy, the administration and all other aspects of ruling. It can be seen that had the powers of Muawiya (ra) been limited, they might not have been able to muster the support needed to fight Ali (ra) or award his son leadership.
In the wake of Uthman's (ra) death, Ali (ra) had issues getting Muawiya to come under his authority. This was because, Muawiya (ra) had built a powerful power base when they was a Wali over Ash-Sham. Therefore, giving a general Wilaya causes a known harm to the Islamic State. Thus, the Wali ought to be given a restricted Wilaya in a way that would prevent him from becoming autonomous of the Khalifah and strengthening the Khalifah himself.


five. Walis ought to have restricted powers
This can be further seen in the latter Khulafah of the Abbasid period where the Wilaya became autonomous from the centre, further weakening the Khilafah state itself.

The main factors contributing to a breakaway would be the armed forces, money and the judiciary, because the armed forces represent the power, the money represent the "life blood" and the judiciary demonstrates the safeguarding of the rights and the execution of the penal codes. Therefore the Walis ought to be given a specific (Khassa) Wilaya that excludes the judiciary, the armed forces and the money. Delegating these to the Wali would encourage a feasible breakaway and this would undermine the State's authority.

6. Conditions of the Wali

The Messenger of Allah (saw) used to pick his Walis from among the lovely people, and those who had knowledge and were known for their piety. They used to pick them from among those who were specialists in their field, and who would fill people's hearts with Iman and respect for the State. Sulayman Ibnu Barida reported on the authority of his father that they said:

"Whenever the Messenger of Allah (saw) appointed an Ameer over an army or an expedition, they used to advise him regarding himself to fear Allah, and to be lovely to the Muslims who accompany him," [Muslim]

Since the Wali is, in fact, an Ameer over his Wilaya, the Hadith would then apply to him as well. Appointing Walis and rulers devoid of these qualities could lead to the issues mentioned earlier.
Conclusion

The massacre of Karbala has highlighted the importance to Muslims to always stand steadfast in dealing with oppressive rulers. The rulers of the Muslim world today have not been appointed by the will of the Muslims, but imposed on the Ummah by the Western colonialists. They are usurpers (Mutasallit) and have taken the authority away from the Ummah. In order for the Ummah to realise her full potential, and restore the honour that Islam has given her, these false Yazids need to get replaced with a Khalifah.

"Allah has promised those among you who think, and do righteous lovely deeds, that They will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as They granted it to those before them, and that They will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which They has selected for them (i.e. Islam)."

[TMQ al-Nur: 55)

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