Ashura

Tonight will be the eve of Ashura (10th Muharrum). At that time approximately 1400 yrs ago, in the desert of Karbala, Imam Hussain (a.s.) and his companions were engaged in prayers and supplications to God. It was to be their last night on Earth, for all the men of the camp were to be martyred the following day - sacrificed to save Islam.

I can only imagine the strength of character of these people. They all knew their fate. 72 men versus 30,000 armed forces of Yazid, there was no question that death was their destiny. And yet they remained determined and steadfast to see it through. No-one's faith wavered. Imam Hussain (a.s.) offered everyone the opportunity to leave in the darkness of the night and their commitment would not be questioned, they would still be rewarded by God for having gone so far. Yazid's battle was with Imam Hussain (a.s.) alone, no-one else had to suffer, but not one person moved. They all remained loyal to Imam Hussain (a.s.) to the very end.

Would I have such strength of character? I honestly don't know. Would I readily face my death knowing that I would help save Islam? My thoughts are often tempered with the knowledge that I would be sent to paradise, but is that a rather simplistic way to look at it? Did the companions of Imam Hussain (a.s.) remain by his side because they knew of the reward of paradise? From all the narrations I've heard over the years, I've never got the impression that they all remained by the Imam's side simply because they were guaranteed paradise. They remained loyal because of their love of Imam Hussain (a.s.) and their love of Islam and God. It is too simplistic to think of it as the reward of paradise in return for death.

So do I have that strength in character? Inshallah, I'll never have to find out, but then I guess that's the point of Imam Hussain's (a.s.) sacrifice. He didn't go through all that only for more people to suffer similar fates. He did it to save Islam, so that never would there be a similar threat to its authenticity. His was the greatest and necessary sacrifice. His was the earth-shuddering sacrifice that would remain remembered throughout the rest of time to the Day of Judgment. 1400 years on and the message has not been diluted. Our struggle and fight is to preserve Islam's integrity, to engage in correct practices and spread the true religion of Islam.

However, do I have the strength of character to do even that? Are my practices correct? Do I do enough to maintain and spread Islam? I can definitely do more. Every year we are re-energised during Muharrum and Ramadhan, and every year we fade in the aftermath. Tonight and tomorrow will be filled with a lot of emotion and rightly so, without the emotion the message would be lost. But, as I have mentioned before, the emotion is not the be all and end all of the message. The idea should be to mourn the sacrifice of Imam Hussain (a.s.) and his companions during the first 10 days of Muharrum AND more importantly to make sure we carry the message forward in our daily lives afterwards, looking to improve year on year.

This is where we will surely be judged. Inshallah we will never have to prove ourselves on a battlefield, but carrying the message of Imam Hussain (a.s.) forward is extremely important. We all know as individuals what we need to do and it's just a case of making sure we continue to improve each year. We will be judged as individuals but often I find the most success can be found by working as a group, bouncing off each other and helping each other to continue to improve our faith, practices and help spread Islam further. Collectively we can improve, which in turn improves us as individuals.

Ashura saw, unarguably, the greatest sacrifice of mankind. No other story of sacrifice can compare. For someone to watch their sons (including a 6 month old), brothers, nephews, cousins and friends mercilessly killed and then to be killed themselves in the act of prostration does not bear thinking about and cannot equate to anything else. Imam Hussain (a.s.) watched and made the greatest sacrifice. I know I've kept going on about it for 3 blogs now, but that is mainly to re-invigorate myself. By typing this blog I keep the message of Karbala at the forefront and hopefully can continue forwards after Muharrum for a longer period before the inevitable fade out!

Ever since I had the chance to visit Karbala and the tomb of Imam Hussain (a.s.) and his family in 2002, every Muharrum has held even greater significance. Each year when the story is re-told I am able to imagine the actual location of each event and feel the heat of the desert at the time. Our trip struggled in the heat of Karbala even though we had a/c accommodation and travel, how did the Imam survive 1400 years ago, that too without any water for 3 days prior to the battle?

The true test will come after, what will I do from Wednesday? Majlises will continue throughout the months of Muharrum and Safar which will act has reminders but eventually they too will stop and hopefully this year will be better then last year and I can continue to improve myself and give and receive help from others in doing so.

The actual story of the battle of Karbala has been documented on numerous occasions and below are various links which you can read if you're interested in these events to which I have given such importance. I could type about it myself but feel the links below give better justice to the events of Ashura.

Story of Ashura I
Story of Ashura II
Story of Ashura III

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?