Of course, the day of Ashura is a day of mourning for all lovers of the Prophet (PBUHH) and pure household (Ahl al-Bayt). However, this should never deprive us of acquiring the required lessons from this unparalleled tragedy. Since numerous lessons could be learned from the uprising of Imam Husain against the tyrant leader and his martyrdom on the day of Ashura.
LESSON 1: Never support injustice and oppression
One of the unique messages of the uprising of Imam Husain is that one should always be an advocate of justice and freedom and we should never support injustice and oppression. No matter how powerful the oppressor or how much the number of the oppressors might be, one should always be an advocate of justice and oppressed ones.
Imam Husain with his family members and companions who were hundreds in number refused to bow down and support a tyrant ruler; Yazid and they faced boldly Yazid’s armies which were thirty thousand.
LESSON 2: Always be with the truth and the truthful ones
The Qur’an categorically instructed the believers to be truthful and to always be with the truthful ones. This is because, no matter how sophisticated the falsehood is, the truth shall prevail. The day of Ashurah, year 61 A.H., was a battle between truth and falsehood. Imam Husain and his companions represented the truth while Yazid and his allies represented the falsehood. And the battle between the truth and the false is a continuous one. That is to say, we shall continue to have advocates of the truth and advocates of the falsehood till the day of Judgement.
LESSON 3: No prize is too high in defence of the truth
On the day of Ashura, Imam Husain (a.s) gave everything he could avoid in defence of the truth (Islam). He gave out the beloved members of his family, including a six-month-old baby and his committed companions in order to reform the Muslim Ummah. And that is indeed the peek of sacrifice one could render in the defense of truth. And that is to buttress that no prize is too high to be sacrificed in the defense of the truth.
In defense of truth and justice, no prize is too high to be sacrificed in this regard and believe me, such a sacrifice will not go uncompensated in this world and the Hereafter.
LESSON 4: Death With Dignity
The uprising of Imam Husain depicted to the world that Imam Husain believed in dignity and freedom and it was based on this that he refused to pay allegiance to Yazid. He preferred death with dignity to life in support of injustice and oppression. In one of his sayings, Imam Husain said: Nay by Allah! I will never surrender my hand in humiliation and I will not run away like a servant [Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 44, p. 191]
Likewise, he (PBUH): Death with dignity is better than life with humiliation [Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 44, p. 192]
In light of this, it is obvious that one of the universal messages of the uprising of Imam Husain to the whole world is that one must never surrender himself subserviently to injustice and oppression; rather, it is better to die honourably.
LESSON 5: Submission to the Divine Will
Despite a prophesy of his martyrdom on the land of Karbala, Imam Husain never for once queried the decree of Allah; rather he accepted it with perfect faith.
One of the unique lessons we should learn from the uprising and the martyrdom of Imam Husain is that we should welcome and accept the divine will (be it pleasant or otherwise) wholeheartedly and in good faith. It is obvious that the life of the believers is a life full of trials and tribulations and we cannot escape from it. Thus, we must prepare ourselves psychologically and spiritually to welcome the divine will.
LESSON 6: Proper Understanding and Preparation for death
Death is never the termination of life; rather it is a transformation from a material world to the world of eternity. The practical demonstrations of Imam Husain, his relatives and devoted companions on the day of Ashura proved to us that they had a wider and better understanding of death. They selected and preferred martyrdom above all other forms of death, because, their missions were achieved and continued even after their deaths. Thus, martyrdom is a great honour that should be longed for by a believer.
On the other hand, the day of Ashura was the last preparatory point for the reunion of Imam Husain and 72 members of his family and companions with their Lord. Imam Husain categorically requested from the enemies a respite of a night to prepare for the reunion with their Creator. Imam Husain and every member of his family and devoted companions prepared for martyrdom with prayers (salat), recitation of the Qur’an, supplications and glorification of Allah.
One universal message every believer should learn from the uprising and the martyrdom of Imam Husain is that our existence on the surface of the earth is temporary and that death is an inevitable end of every soul and it is a reunion of a servant with his Creator. Thus, a believer should always be in a preparatory state for the reunion with his Creator. More importantly, the fact is that the exact day of our reunion is unknown to us; thus, it is more necessary that we are always in a state of meeting Him.
LESSON 7: Significance of Daily Prayers (Salat)
Salat (i.e. prayer) is one of the obligatory acts of worship which is made compulsory five times a day. It is made compulsory at every time and in every condition and no one is exempted from observing this obligatory act except women in a state of impurity and unconscious person or someone in a state of madness.
According to the Messenger of Allah (PBUHH), he said that: “The first thing that a servant will be taken to account for on the Day of Judgement is the Salat. If his Salat is accepted in the eyes of Allah, then all of his other actions would be considered.“
Karbala was a display of Imam Husain’s love for the daily obligatory prayer. Despite the unfavourable condition at Karbala, Imam Husain together with his associates did not abandon the observation of Salat at its first time even at the point of death. Imam Husain during the course of fighting with the Yazid’s Army on Ashura day requested a respite for the observation of the noon prayers.
LESSON 8: Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evils
Enjoining good and forbidding evils are two important Islamic requisites from the glorious Qur’an and Hadith. Imam Husain stood against the tyrant Yazid in order to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. In one of his popular speeches on his way to Mecca, Imam Husain categorically declared thus: “… I want to enjoin goodness and to forbid vices and to move in the path of my grandfather and my father.”
It was because of the significance of this that the Imam decided to lay down his dear life and those of beloved family members and devoted companions on the day of Ashura.
LESSON 9: Social Reform
One of the duties of the Messengers of God is the reformation of the people and the society to which they were sent. During the time of Imam Husain, the deviation from the Prophetic path was at its peak when someone like Yazid son of Mu’awiya could assume the status of a vicegerent (Caliph) of the Muslim community. In that period, lawful things became unlawful while unlawful became lawful and there was no respect for religion anymore.
Imam Husain who was the ideal vicegerent of the Prophet seemed necessary to correct the wrong and reform the society. In his popular speech, Imam Husain said: I am not rising out of selfishness, or lust for power, nor to cause mayhem or pain. I rise looking for the correction in my grandfather’s Ummah.
In light of this, one important lesson, particularly for the scholars (who are the successors of the Prophets) is to stand up for the reformation of our rotten society. It is their responsibility to stand up and participate in politics, as Islam is a complete code of life, which presents the necessary guidance on individual and societal life.
LESSON 10: Adopting lawful means to achieve one’s goals
Islam enjoins Muslims to use lawful means to achieve their life’s good. For the attainment of worldly and spiritual goals, a Muslim is required to adopt lawful and acceptable means. In essence, based on the Islamic perspective, the ends do not justify the means.
The commander of the Yazid’s army in Karbala; Umar Ibn Sa’ad was enticed by the governorship of Ray to accomplish this evil task. He was disturbed and sometimes rejected the offer to face Imam Husain but because of his love for worldly position, he finally decided to commit the great sin.
Imam Husain (a.s) on several occasions tried to awaken his consciousness but he turned a deaf ear to the admonition of the Imam. He told him thus: “Those who use unlawful means to achieve their objectives never attain them.” Thus, we must endeavour to adopt a lawful means to attain our life goals, as the ends never justify the means.
Of course, the day of Ashura is a day of mourning for all lovers of the Prophet (PBUHH) and pure household (Ahl al-Bayt). However, this should never deprive us of acquiring the required lessons from this unparalleled tragedy. Since numerous lessons could be learned from the Imam uprising against the tyrant leader and his martyrdom on the day of Ashura.
