An Overview

Battle of Karbala is one of the greatest tragedies that the human history has witnessed till date. It is not just an account of win and loss, but it recounts the stories of truthfulness Vs Hypocrisy, Honesty Vs Dishonesty, Justice Vs Injustice, Bravery Vs Cowardice and Loyalty and disloyalty. Muslims all over the world commemorate the legacy of Immam-e-Hussain and his family and companions on 10th Moharum every year. This day refreshes our mind with the memories of that war which resulted in the defeat of Yazid and Martyrdom of Hazrat Immam-e-Hussain. This is the day that revolutionized the Muslims world which otherwise had been facing a despair and gloom after the death of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and His all the four companions- Abu Bakar, Ummar, Uthman and Ali(r.t.a). The history of Karbala reveals that Yazeed had intended to change the rule of Touhid and Sunnah into a monarchial sort of rule wherein he could rule the land as per his own wishes and not according to Quran and Sunnah. Taking Bayat (allegiance from Hussayn) was not just a matter of rule, but it was an ill design to misuse the power and position. Although the precondition of the allegiance between Immam-e-Hassan and Mawuya was that he must not make it as a rule of dynasty and rather the rule of Shariya must prevail. Hassan had the intention that there should not be any more bloodshed after the assassination of Hazrat-e-Ali (r.a).

Background

“The Battle of Karbala was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad caliph Yazid I (r. 680–683) and a small army led by Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, at Karbala, Sawad (modern-day southern Iraq). After the third caliph Uthman's assassination by rebels in 656, the rebels and the townspeople of Medina declared Ali, a cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, caliph. Some of Muhammad's companions including Talha ibn Ubayd Allah, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (then governor of Syria), and Muhammad's widow A'isha, refused to recognize Ali. They called for revenge against Uthman's killers and the election of a new caliph through shura (consultation). These events precipitated the First Fitna (First Muslim Civil War). When Ali was assassinated by Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, a Kharijite, in 661, his eldest son Hasan succeeded him but soon signed a peace treaty with Mu'awiya to avoid further bloodshed. In the treaty, Hasan was to hand over power to Mu'awiya on the condition that Mu'awiya is a just ruler and that he would not establish a dynasty. After the death of Hasan in 670, his younger brother Husayn became the head of the Banu Hashim clan to which the Islamic prophet Muhammad also belonged. Though his father's supporters in Kufa gave him their allegiance, he would abide to the peace treaty between Hasan and Mu'awiya as long as the latter was alive.
The Battle of Karbala occurred within the crisis resulting from the succession of Yazid I. In 676, Mu'awiya nominated his son Yazid as successor, a move labeled by the historian Wilfred as breach of the Hasan–Muawiya treaty. With no precedence in Islamic history, hereditary succession aroused opposition from several quarters. Mu'awiya summoned a shura, or consultative assembly, in Damascus and persuaded representatives from many provinces to agree to his plan by diplomacy and bribes. He then ordered Marwan ibn al-Hakam, then the governor of Medina, where Husayn and several other influential Muslims resided, to announce the decision. Marwan faced resistance to this announcement, especially from Husayn, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Abd Allah ibn Umar and Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, the sons of Muhammad's prominent companions, all of whom, by virtue of their descent, could also lay claim to the caliphal title. Mu'awiya went to Medina and pressed the four dissenters to accede. He followed and threatened some of them with death, but they still refused to support him. Nonetheless, Mu'awiya convinced the people of Mecca that the four had pledged their allegiance, and received allegiance from them for Yazid. On his return to Damascus, he secured allegiance from the people of Medina as well. There was no further overt protest against the plan for Yazd’s succession. According to the historians Fitzpatrick and Walker, Yazd’s succession, which was considered as an "anomaly in Islamic history", transformed the government from a "consultative" form to a monarchy. Before his death in April 680, Mu'awiya cautioned Yazid that Husayn and Ibn al-Zubayr might challenge his rule and instructed him to defeat them if they did. Yazid was further advised to treat Husayn with caution and not to spill his blood, since he was the grandson of Muhammad.”(Source: Wikipedia)

Theme

The message that comes out of the greatest tragedy is like Imam-e-Hussain fought for the dignity of faith and upheld the basic principles of Islam. His fight, although imposed upon him, was not for the establishment of any sect/ community/ group/ party. So the massage that he passed on to rest of the world is that we should always stand by the truth, honesty, justice and accountability. Why do Muslims fail to understand the historical reality that Imam-e-Hassan (r.a) signed a peace treaty with Mu’awiya not for his own, but only for the sake of public so that any more bloodshed is avoided and loss of life is prevented? Even Imam-e-Hussain would abide by that treaty. The hostility arose only when Yazid demanded alliance from Imam-e-Hussain so that he can erect his hegemony. Imam-e-Hussain refuted his proposal only for the sake of Islam and Ummah. So there is no scope for any doubt on the credibility of any of the companions of Prophet (pbuh). There are various accounts about why Mu’awiya (r.a) appointed Yazid as a successor in a hasty way . Dr Israr(a.r) a renowned scholar of 2th century maintains that Amir Mu’awiya can be blamed for his choice of appointing his son as a Khalifa in the sense that it was not done in a consultative way and its notion was only dynastical. But to challenge his intention would be equal to razing a finger on the teachings of prophets (s.a.w).Hence; it can be called a miscalculation, but not an intentional fault.

Conclusion

Therefore, Karbala is the discourse that transcends sectarianism, communism and party system. Karbala has left a legacy of truthfulness, honesty, dedication, devotion and valor. These moral values are not confined to any a particular religion, sect, community, party etc. rather these values are valid throughout the whole universe and applicable to whole humanity. There is no question for doubting the credibility of anyone of the companions of the Prophet (pbuh). It was only a divine plan to check the characters otherwise it was predestined and Prophet (pbuh) has been revealed during the journey of Meraaj.

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