The History of Karbala
The important place Imam Husain (رضی اللہ تعالٰی عنہ ) occupies in Islamic History is too well known and requires no elucidation. Subsequent to the period of the Holy Last Messenger’s true successors, the incident that had a powerful impact on the religious and political history of Islam is the tragic event of Sayyidinaa Imam Husain’s Shahadat (martyrdom). It may not be an exaggeration to say that no tragic incident that has occurred in this world caused humanity to shed tears so profusely as this particular event. More than thirteen hundred years have passed since this soul-stirring event in Islamic history and still the month of Muharram brings to the mind of every Muslim a vivid remembrance of the noble sacrifice offered by Sayyidinaa Imam Husain ibn Ali bin Abu Talib (رضی اللہ تعالٰی عنہ ).
A king requested the presence of a Sayyid in his court, but with the intent of destroying him. When the Sayyid appeared, the king sought his forgiveness, begged his pardon, bestowed many gifts upon him, and then dismissed this Hashimite in a very courteous manner. In response to the inquiry as to why he acted in such a manner, the king said “When he came in, I saw two lions, one on his right and one on his left who threatened to destroy me if I should attempt to do harm to him.” The Wali whom Allah Ta’ala protected in this story is Al-Imam Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Ali al-Baqir, Radhi Allahu ‘Anhu. This tremendous conveyer of ‘Ilm is a great asset of Al-Islam, though very few know about him.
His full name and lineage is Muhammad bin Ali bin al-Husayn bin Ali bin Abu Talib al-Qurashi al-Hashimi, born in the Holy City of Madinah in the year 57 A.H. His father and teacher was Hazrat Imam Ali Zaynul-Abideen, survivor of the tragedy of Karbala, son of the Sayyid of Shuhadaa, Sayyidina Husayn bin Ali, Radhi Allahu Ta’ala Anhu. His mother was Sayyidah Fatimah bint al-Hasan bin Ali (Radhi Allahu Anha). From this marriage was born the first generation of the Ahlul-Bayt that was both al-Hasani and al-Husayni, therefore both the paternal and maternal sides were connected to Sayyidina Ali bin Abu Talib and Sayyidah Fatimah az-Zahra, may millions of Salaams be upon them.
The kunya for Hazrat Muhammad bin Ali (Radhi Allahu Anh) was Abu Ja’far, though his was given many titles, such as Abu Abdullah, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, and Maulana al-Baqir ul-‘Uloom. The most commonly used title is “Al-Imam Muhammad al-Baqir.” Baqir literally means to rip open or cut open, and in the case of Imam al-Baqir, he split open knowledge, that is scrutinized it and examined the depths of it so that it can be spread to all people, therefore, his title also meant “The Expounder of Knowledge.” Those who were fortunate to be in his presence would unanimously report that he would rip knowledge down to its very root, reaching its origin, and then convey that knowledge to the people. Hazrat Ahmad ibn Hajar al-Makki, Rahmatullahi alayh, wrote in his book, As-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqa:
“Al-Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has disclosed secrets of Ilm and Hikmah and unfolded the principles of spiritual and religious guidance. Nobody can deny his character, his God-given knowledge, his divinely-gifted Hikmah, and his obligation and gratitude towards the spreading of knowledge. He was a sacred and highly talented spiritual leader and for this reason, he was popularly titled al-Baqir, which means the expounder of knowledge. Kind in heart, spotless in character, saved by soul, and noble by nature, the Imam devoted all his time to Allah’s Ibadah. It is beyond the power of a man to count the deep impression of knowledge and guidance left by the Imam on the hearts of the faithful. His saying in devotion and abstinence, in knowledge and wisdom and in religious exercise and submission to Allah are so great in number that the volume of this book is quite insufficient to cover them all.”
The Spirit of Imam Husain's Martyrdom
Nature of Umayyad Rule
To illustrate a few points, it may be stated that the Umayyad’s rule was un-Islamic. Any rule which is based on force and violence can never be Islamic. The Umayyads crushed the spirit of democratic freedom. They laid the foundation of their authority on unscrupulous tactics and coercive methods instead of on mutual consultation and Ijma’ (Consensus). The Umayyad state craft did not follow the Shari’ah in total, but it was motivated merely by lust of power and political ends. Such a serious menace to the basic values of Islam demanded a heroic struggled against arbitration and a crusade for the vindication of truth and freedom.
Imam Husain’s character as a Mu’min
These were the changes that appeared in the wake of converting the Islamic Khilaafat into dynastic imperialism. No one can deny that Yazid’s nomination as successor to his father was the starting point of all these transformation. It cannot be gain said that after a short span of time from the point of origin all the corrupt practices mentioned above came into existence. At the time when this revolutionary step was adopted, there was no indication of these evils, but a man of vision could have predicted these inevitable consequences of such a beginning and that the reforms introduced by Islam in the administration and political phases of the state would be rendered null and void by these charges. This is the reason why Imam Husain (radiyallahu ‘anh) could not remain indifferent to this undesirable development. He, therefore, decided to stem the tide of the evil forces taking the risk of confronting the worst consequences by rising the revolt against an established government. The consequences of his bold stand are known to everyone. The fact which Imam Husain (radiyallahu ‘anh) wanted to emphasize by plunging himself into grave danger and enduring its consequences heroically was that the fundamental features of the Islamic State are valuable assets. It would not be a bad bargain, if a believer sacrificed his life and get his family members slain for preserving this valuable object. A believer should not hesitate to sacrifice all that he possesses for preventing the changes which constitute a serious danger to the religion of al-Islam and the Muslim Community which is a custodian of the constitutional values. One is at liberty to contemptuously disregard it as merely a maneuver for securing power, but in the eyes of Imam Husain bin Ali (radiyallahu ‘anh), it was primarily a religious obligation. He, therefore, laid down his life in this cause gaining the crown of martyrdom.