THE UPRISING OF
IMAM AL-HUSAYN (A.S.)
Islam clearly stipulates
that the leader of the Islamic nation must abide by the principles
of justice and equity. He should hold the laws of Islamic Sharia’h
and the will of the Islamic Ummah in highest esteem and at no cost,
should he compromise them. A leader must refrain from ruling
oppressively and misappropriating his power as a way to gain wealth,
luxury and a monopoly of property and privileges. Leadership ought
not to be given to anyone who lacks the ability of being an
exemplary leader in his deeds, morals and understanding of the
important divine laws. In addition, he should also be politically
efficient.
Yazeed,
son of Mu’awiya bin Abi Sufyan was well known to both, Imam Husayn
(as) and the Islamic nation to be unfit to lead the Muslims. He was
also extremely corrupt and bent upon making mischief. History
describes him as a debaucherous man engrossed in womanising,
drinking wine, playing with monkeys, reciting poetry, horse-racing
and hunting. Above all, he openly scoffed at Islam and its tenets
that are depicted from his poems.
Husayn (as) viewed questions of state, politics, the Ummah,
leadership and Imamate from the perspective of Quran. As opposed to
that, Yazeed viewed these questions from his castle of oppression.
Leadership in the eyes of Husayn (as), was a vehicle to place the
Ummah on the road of guidance and reform, a means to nourish people
with divine laws and build their characters and a tool to organize
life and develop it towards good and perfection.
In
his view, the Islamic state had the underpinnings of Islam,
according to which it formulates its regulations and its cultural
values. The state organs are assigned the task of protecting the
principles and aims of the Ummah. These organs are authorized by the
Ummah to institute rules, uphold justice and provide services. In
all this, they are answerable to the Ummah and Allah, the Almighty.
(Imam
Husayn (as) & the Day of Aashura)
It is for these reasons
that Imam Husayn (as) refused to swear an oath of allegiance to
Yazeed and took up arms against him and challenged the legitimacy of
his rulership of the Islamic Ummah.
In his letter to Muhammad
al-Hanafiyya, Imam Husayn (as) wrote:
“….I am
not taking up arms in order to make merry, or be ecstatic over what
I possess. I am not making mischief, nor exercising oppression. But
I am ready to fight for the sole goal of seeking reform of the Ummah
of my grandfather, the Apostle of Allah. I want to enjoin good and
forbid evil and guide the affairs of the people as my grandfather
and father were doing…”
(Maqtal al-Husayn)
Giving reason to his
refusal of accepting Yazeed as the leader of the Muslim Ummah, Imam
(as) said:
“Yazeed is a corrupt man, who imbibes wine, puts to death the soul
which Allah forbids to be harmed and declares his debauchery in
public. A man like me will never give pledge of allegiance to a man
like him.” (Ibn
Tawoos)
In his letter
to the people of Kufa, Imam (as) mentioned the qualifications of a
true Imam, so as to nurture their political awareness and make them
identify the true leader. He (as) wrote thus:
“…For by
my life, what is the Imam except one who judges by the Book, one who
upholds justice, one who professes the religion of truth and one who
dictates himself to the essence of Allah.”
(Al-Mufeed)
To the key leaders of Basra like Malik bin Masma
al-Bakri, al-Ahnaf bin Qays, al-Munthir bin al-Jarood and others,
Imam Husayn (as) wrote:
“…I call
you to abide by the Book of Allah and the practice of His Apostle
(saww). The Prophet’s practice has now been put aside, and
heterodoxy revived. Should you grasp my words and obey me, then, I
will most certainly lead you along the path of righteousness. And
may Allah bestow peace and mercy on you.”
(Maqtal al-Husayn)
__________________________________________________________
mulla@almahdi.org.uk