Tajdeed

Was Husayn b. Ali thoughtless & hasty? A reply to Dr Israfil Balci of Turkey

Dr Israfil Balci, a known academic in Turkey said, “As much as Yazid & Ibn Ziyad were tyrannical & oppressive, Husayn was equally hasty & thoughtless. His relatives & friends begged him not to go. Not only did he fall into the trap of the Kufans, but he also burnt himself, his family & the believers with fire & that fire never has & never will be extinguished” – Israfil Balci

Response: “We are here in this world to get closer to God & acknowledge his infinite mercy, justice & glory because this is the greatest Truth & the ultimate reality of life. As humans, we get closer to God by attaining virtue & once we attain virtue, we enter the eternal abode of heaven.

Mercy, love, justice, power, courage, generosity & selflessness are all great virtues. And know that the peak of virtue is achieved through altruism & self-sacrifice. Husayn b. Ali reached a rank of virtue which most people never have & never could achieve. His father (ancestor) Ibrahim (Khalilullah) gave one son in the path of God to show his submission, servitude & trust in God, and how many sons, daughters, nephews, friends & relatives did Husayn give in the path of God? How much did Husayn sacrifice for honour, truth & justice?

Qur’an: And [mention, O Muhammad], when Abraham was tried by his Lord with commands and he fulfilled them. [Allah] said, “Indeed, I will make you a leader for the people.” [Abraham] said, “And of my descendants?” [Allah] said, “My covenant does not include the wrongdoers.” (Surah al-Baqara:124). This verse is an evidence that Husayn’s sacrifice is a proof for his Imamate.

The companions of Husayn are likened to Ashab al-Ukhdud (the people of the ditch) in the Qur’an who got killed for their religion (Surah al-Buruj:4-10)

Imam al-Husayn gave everything away to reform the nation of his grandfather! What a great sacrifice this is!?

Imam al-Husayn says to the army of Yazid, “people are slaves of the world, whereas religion is what they lick with their tongues. As long as their wealth is flowing, they protect it; but when they are put to the test, the truly religious people become very few”.

As shown, sincerely & bravery can be claimed by all, but it is sacrifice that truly proves sincerity. And higher the sacrifice, greater is the sincerity. By taking the stance of resistance, Imam al-Husayn showed mankind who he really was. The strong stance of the Imam demonstrated that he is the true representative of the Divine religion. Through this stance, he added to the religion of his grandfather. Thus, Karbala showed the people in general & the Muslims in particular what kind of nobility was produced from the progeny of the Prophet who was sent to guide mankind and perfect morals.

If the world cannot exist without evil, humans cannot achieve the peak of virtue & submission without self-sacrifice.

The stance & resistance of Husayn taught people to live in honour, to not tolerate oppression & to do whatever one can to rise against oppression, even if it means to sacrifice one’s self. At the end, it is this great sacrifice that gets one close to God & maintains honour & dignity.

Husayn: “No! By Allah, I will not give you my hand in allegiance like a humiliated person, nor will I run away from this encounter as a slave!”

By Abul Hasan al-Gabikani al-Shadi al-Shaddadi al-Hadhabani -al-Kurdi

Reference: Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi – Al-Islam.org