Contextualizing the Struggle of Imam Husayn with the Current State of Muslims

10th
In such conditions how can any discourse about the great struggle of al‑Husayn ibn `Ali (A) be unaccompanied with a discussion of the lamentable condition of the Muslim Ummah? Is it not the height of callousness and even hypocrisy to pass by in silence the aims and ideals for which he took a stand against the regime of Yazid and sacrificed everything?
Is it not the very extreme of injustice to deprive the Muslim children and adults of the great potential of the majalis which are held in the memory of al‑Imam al‑Husayn (A)? Is it right not to use the great devotion of the Muslim masses to the Ahl al‑Bayt (A) and their great enthusiasm and zeal during the months of Muharram and Safar‑a time when the hearts are softened by the stupendous tragedy of Karbala’ to receive the teachings of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives with al-Imam al‑Husayn‑to inform and educate our children and adults about the ahkam of the Shari’ah and the akhlaq of the Ahl al‑Bayt (A)?
The Shiites have admired `Ali and his sons (A), their leaders and guides, for centuries, and wept over accounts of their sufferings. Is it not time that we should start following them in deed, in all walks of our life? After all they are our Imams, our leaders and our teachers, who underwent those sufferings and hardships in order to instruct us and guide us on the Straight Path of Allah? Should we not question our sincerity if we persist in our refusal to be benefited by their efforts to improve our lot, to purify our souls and to guide our intellects?
The majlis should inform and instruct. It should inspire and enlighten. Like al‑Husayn ibn ‘Ali (A), his dhakir, who occupies the minbar of the Ahl al‑Bayt (A), should aim at resurrecting the spirit of Islam and the message of the Qur’an. The majlis should instruct the people in the usul and the ahkam of the Shari’ah and the akhlaq of the Imams (A). If the majalis of al‑Imam al‑Husayn (A) do not help our youths and adults to understand Islam profoundly, who else can stop them from falling into the clutches of deviate philosophical schools and from being swept away by the tide of the pagan Western culture?
Would it not be more beneficial to discuss the great merits of the Ahl al‑Bayt (A) as ideal human beings and ideal teachers of mankind, instead of discussing them as metaphysical entities to be revered but not to be obeyed, to be glorified but not to be emulated, to be invoked for assistance in worldly needs and affairs and to be ignored in vital matters of our duties, obligations, and responsibilities as Muslims?
Only when our majalis become classes. for dissemination of the teachings of the Ahl al‑Bayt (A) which lie buried in hadith texts, only when our majalis become platforms of Muslim unity instead of being instruments of division and disunity, only when our majalis and manabir become the seats of the duty of al‑amr bil ma`ruf wa al‑nahy `an al‑munkar, only when the Qur’an is made again the book of our life and the light of our majalis, only then can it be said that our majalis and manabir are doing justice to al‑Imam al‑Husayn (A) and to the people whom the majalis were originally instituted to nourish spiritually, morally, and intellectually.
—-
Source:  al-Islam.org

© 2024 - Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission (AIM)