The Tragedy of Karbala

On the 10th of Muharram Al-Haram, 61 A.H., a most abominable and tragic event occurred in the desert of Karbala that resulted in the martyrdom (shahadah) of Hussain Ibn Ali (RAA), the grandson of our Prophet (SAAW) and the son of his daughter, along with most of the members of his family and their supporters. It should be borne in mind that this tragedy did not take place all of a sudden like a bolt from the blue. It was in fact the manifestation of the plot of Sabayees which had claimed the life of Uthman (RAA), the third Caliph and the son-in-law of the Prophet (SAAW) twenty-five years earlier. Caliph Uthman’s martyrdom took place on 18th of Dhu Al-Hajj, 36 A.H.

We must not overlook the fact that the struggle between the forces of good and evil is a continuous process which never ends. In the history of mankind, evil has reigned supreme most of the time whereas the triumph of good has been sporadic and short-lived. Another well-established fact is that the evil forces, even if subdued and subjugated, never acknowledge total defeat. On the contrary, they become submissive for a while and lay low, waiting for an opportunity to strike back. Often the evil forces, when subdued, go underground but never abandon their struggle to cause rift and strife among their opponents. The Prophet of Islam (SAAW) brought about an incomparable and unprecedented revolution in the history of mankind, a unique miracle for all times, and established a state and government to dispense justice to the people over a vast tract of the globe. In the words of the Qur’an:

“…the Truth came and the falsehood vanished...”(Al-Isra 17:81)

But toward the end of the Prophet’s revolution, the evil forces put on a disguise and lay low, waiting for the right moment for a counter-attack. Thus, immediately after the demise of the Prophet (SAAW), insurgencies raised their ugly heads against the Islamic state. False prophets and those who defied Zakat challenged the central authority and waged wars against the state of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwara. These were the counter-revolutionary forces, determined to disintegrate the newly established Islamic state; but through resolute and prompt action, Abu Bakr Siddique (RAA), the first Caliph, defeated them and consolidated the achievements of the Prophet’s Islamic Revolution. It was a great service to Islam rendered by the first Caliph who had a short but glorious reign.

In the next twenty years which include the reigns of Omar (RAA) and Uthman (RAA), the second and third Caliph of Islam, many more countries were conquered under the banner of Islam and the Muslim empire extended over a vast expanse of the globe, comprising Iraq, Syria, Iran on one side and a large part of North Africa including Egypt and Morocco on the other. But the historical process has its immutable laws. As the Revolution of the Prophet (SAAW) was challenged by the reactionary movements on the Arab land, the same happened with the conquests of those two Caliphs. The first target of these reactionaries was the person of Omar (RAA) who was assassinated by Abu Luloo Feroze, a Parsi slave from Persia. It was purely a Persian plot hatched by Hurmuzan, a Persian general, who thought that if Omar (RAA) was removed from the scene, the empire of Islam would fall like a house of cards. But by the grace of Allah (SWT), it survived the calamity. Abdullah Ibn Saba, a Jew from Yemen, under the garb of a Muslim, took his sojourn at Madinah. He had all the trappings of an expert plotter and the Jewish genius at intrigues, an attribute of his clan. He planted subversive ideas among the people. He pleaded for the usurped rights of the house of the Prophet (SAAW), carried out a propaganda campaign against Caliph Uthman (RAA) and incited the people to revolt. He declared Ali (RAA) to be the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad (SAAW) and dubbed Uthman (RAA) as a usurper. He told people that every Prophet has a wasee and Ali (RAA) is the wasee of Prophet Mohammad (SAAW) and, therefore, entitled to be the caliph after the Prophet. He also preached the divinity of Ali (RAA), thus striking at Tauheed, the very root of Islam. The Persians, who had embraced Islam only a few years before, were taken in by this propaganda because they had a long history of kingship and hero-worship. They were familiar with the divine rights of kings, and hero-worship was diffused in their blood. They readily accepted these ideas and became their champions. Similarly, Abdullah Ibn Saba floated another viewpoint related to the second appearance of Prophet Isa (AS). He argued that Prophet Muhammad (SAAW), who is the best amongst the prophets of Allah (SWT), would also appear with Christ, for the contrary would imply that he is inferior to Prophet Isa (AS). Unsophisticated and illiterate Muslims saw a point of adoration in it for Prophet Muhammad (SAAW) and fell an easy prey to that sort of propaganda.

Abdullah Ibn Saba travelled all over the Muslim lands and set up his propaganda centers at Basra and Kufa, but his attempts failed in Damascus. Then he went to Egypt where he formed a party of his supporters. Consequently, the last two years of Caliph Uthman’s reign were filled with machinations, intrigue, and turmoil all over Muslim territories. It culminated in the most unjustified murder (martyrdom) of Caliph Uthman (RAA) who was the ruler of a vast empire and had tens of thousands of soldiers under his command but refused to shed the blood of Muslims in self-protection. Governors of provinces from all over the empire besought the Caliph to allow them to send troops to quell the uprising and to protect his person from the rebels who had surrounded his residence, but he remained strict and steadfast in his decision. It is perhaps a unique and unprecedented episode in the entire history of mankind that a very powerful man, like the Caliph Uthman (RAA), refused to use authority for his personal safety and let himself be assassinated. May Allah (SWT) shower His blessings on him.

Ref: An excerpt from the English translation of the Book "سانحہ کربلا"byDr Israr Ahmad (RAA); “The Tragedy of Karbala” [Translated byCommander (retd.) Muhammad Tufail]