Tragedy of Karbala

The martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) marks a momentous occasion in human history, eternally keeping alive among people generation after generation the spirit of sacrifice for a noble cause and would continue to do so till the ends of time. By standing up to the tyranny and oppression of Yazid the great Imam upheld principle over expediency, commitment over compromise and refused to remain silent amidst abounding injustice. He had no illusions how the tyrant of the time would react in case of his refusal to owe allegiance. But he kept moving on the righteous path and offered the supreme sacrifice. Indeed, the grim tragedy of Karbala symbolises the struggle and determination against the forces of evil whatever it costs. That in the month of Muharram millions upon millions of people commemorate the sacrifice the family of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) offered is indeed perennial vindication of the Imam Hussain's just cause and infallible stand against a cruel unjust ruler. His sacrifice would shine forever the path for the entire humanity out of the darkness of hopelessness and helplessness. But sadly the spirit of sacrifice that so much underlines the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) is missing from our lives both as individuals and a society. In Muharram, one of the four months in which war is forbidden, tension goes up by many notches and towns and cities all across Pakistan begin wearing battle-ready looks. As it arrives the authorities start worrying about security of places where the Majalis are be held and the routes the mourning processions have to take. If a majlis remains safe or the procession completes its route without a mishap for the concerned authorities a great job is considered to have been done. No wonder extensive security arrangements were made to ensure that Muharram remains peaceful - how weird a challenge in a country created in the name of Islam, which translates into 'peace'. Of course, the Sunni-Shia sectarian schism is not new in this part of the world or anywhere else in the Muslim world but of late it has acquired a lethal dimension - ironically, as unacceptable fallout of the Jihad in Afghanistan that was ostensibly fought to defeat the Soviet "infidels". That schism has survived the Afghan Jihad, in fact even sharpened, is unfortunate, but no less factually, a case of our failing as a society. That the ulema belonging to various sects have not been able to forge a common strategy to ensure that the occasion commemorating the martyrdom of the Holy Prophet's family remains strife-free is extremely disappointing. That the government too has not succeeded in this is no less frustrating. The spirit of sacrifice that the great Imam's legacy if understood in its essential sense and translated into right action would help alleviate the curse of tension that comes to obtain during the month of Muharram. It was not his personal cause that he fought; it was the cause towards obtaining a just, lawful society in place of Yazid's unjust and unlawful rule. He was for the rule of the just and the honest in line with the injunctions of Holy Quran. He refused to accept the authority of morally bankrupt and politically corrupt Yazid, and preferred to die for his cause. "Sar Dad Nah Dad Dast Dar Dast-i-Yazid..." is Imam Hussain's legacy that would continue to enrich human thought as it has done in the past. Copyright Business Recorder, 2011