Iqbal on Imam Hussein (AS)
Iqbal had an abiding faith in Ahl-ul-Bait (the Chosen Descendants of the Holy Prophet). He was intensely moved by the tragic events of Karbala so much so that in many of his couplets he carried a universal message to mankind to emulate Imam Hussein (AS), who sacrificed his life at the altar of truth. His elegies on the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) stand unmatched and are an eye-opener to all those who are giving mere lip service to Islam.
Iqbal expresses his extreme love for Imam Hussein (AS). Just as Almighty Allah loves to listen to the invocation of the orphans, he also has the same kind of love for the martyr of Karbala.
Iqbal has a sincere and genuine faith in Imam Hussein (AS). The hero of this episode, Imam Hussein (AS), the brave son of the bravest of the brave Ali (AS) and grandson of the Holy Prophet (S), took a firm stand not to acknowledge Yazid as the caliph of Islam. It is a fight for the preservation of the principles and tenets of Islam. Imam Hussein (AS) arrived in Karbala on the 2nd of Muharram, 61 AH along with his small children, women, and some comrades numbering 72 only. On the l0th of Muharram he was brutally killed. This was the tragedy over which Iqbal sheds tears. He believes that mourning and wailing over him would lead to his (Iqbal's) salvation… Imam Ali (AS) loves those, who weep for Imam Hussein (AS). He hoped and prayed that since he shed tears out of grief for Imam Hussein (AS), Imam Ali (AS) would give him all the help he needs.
Iqbal says that the event of the construction of the Kaba was very simple and interesting. Prophet Ismail (AS) suffered great pains in its construction. The Holy Prophet (AS) purged it of the idols that were in it and so raised its glory. The first stone was laid by Ismail (AS) indeed. He offered for sacrifice his own life but the sacrifice was not completed as he was replaced by a ram and according to the Holy Quran the great sacrifice or Zibh-e Azim was to come later and completed by one of his descendants, Hussein (AS). So in fact culmination of the spirit of love for Allah was manifest when Imam Hussein (AS) sacrificed his life and preserved the dignity of the Holy Kaba.
Iqbal here compares two things Shabbiri or Husseiniyat, i.e., principles enunciated and adhered to by Imam Hussein (AS), and Yazidiyat, i.e., worldly power and authority. Hussein (AS) was the symbol of devotion to and love for Allah, i.e., submission to none except Allah.
The spirit as shown by the rulers of Kufa and Syria is always changing since it tries to gain strength through fraud, dishonesty, and political expediency and maneuvering as against this truth never changes. So the place Imam Hussein (AS) has achieved is a reality which shall be hailed and acknowledged for all times to come. Iqbal was distressed to note that Iraq was under the yoke of the British. He was disappointed that the Muslims had lost courage and were suffering humiliation. The land of the Tigris and Euphrates called some staunch devotee of Islam who could relieve them of their serfdom. Iqbal only wished a man, a follower of Imam Hussein (AS), might come up to help the Muslims of Iraq!
Iqbal says that love of Allah manifests itself in many ways. Prophet Ibrahim (AS) had to suffer many difficulties in the cause of Allah. He accepted being thrown into the fire, and the fire was turned into a blooming garden.
It showed his intense love for Allah. Our Holy Prophet (S) won the battles of Badr and Hunayn through his ardent love for Allah. Similarly, Imam Hussein (AS) showed his patience on the battlefield of Karbala where he, with his family and comrades, not only suffered the pangs of three days' thirst, but willingly sacrificed his life for the cause of truth and love for Allah. Love for Allah is a quality, a force, an impetus, which creates in us extraordinary patience and forbearance.
Iqbal says that the life of a dervish is a very noble way of living but it is different from the life of a mendicant or friar who lives on begging or in seclusion. We should learn from Imam Hussein (AS), who while passing the life of a dervish had no other consideration except love of Allah and submission to His will. Our treading the path practiced by Imam Hussein (AS) will bestow on us the title of chief among the people. A Muslim has inherited this wealth from Imam Hussein (AS), and we should make the best use of it. Imam Hussein (AS) has given us the lesson of self-sacrifice, patience, and forbearance and submission to none except Allah.
Now Iqbal pens his praises for the son of Lady Fatima (SA). He was the chief of the lovers of Allah, and an evergreen tree from the garden of the Prophet (S). Imam Hussein (AS) who stood against the forces of evil, refused to acknowledge Yazid as the caliph of Islam, and upholding the dignity of Islamic principles, sacrificed his life along with a small band of 72 of his followers at the battlefield of Karbala.
In a state of supreme bliss, Iqbal says, “O' Allah, what an exalted position Imam Hussein (AS) possessed, as his illustrious father (Imam Ali {AS}) was the first letter of the Quran!” A tradition says that Imam Ali (AS) said, “What is in the Holy Quran is in the first chapter (Surah Fatiha); what is in this surah (chapter) is in the first verse (Bismillah); what is in Bismillah is in its first letter (Ba) and I am the dot below ba.” Doubtless Imam Ali (AS) was acknowledged to be the best expounder of the Holy Quran. The Holy Prophet (S) had himself declared: “Ali (AS) is with the Quran, and the Quran is with Ali (AS)”. Imam Hussein (AS) was the son of such an eminent personality. It is Imam Hussein's martyrdom which is referred to as Zibh-e Azim, the greatest sacrifice in the Holy Quran. Imam Hussein (AS) was the direct descendant of Prophet Ismail (AS) and had offered himself for sacrifice at Karbala to save Islamic principles from annihilation. The Holy Quran says that Zibh-e Azim, the great sacrifice of Prophet Ismail (AS), was left over for the coming generation. Iqbal alludes to this and says that Zibh-e Azim in the Holy Quran means the sacrifice of Imam Hussein (AS).
Iqbal here alludes to an event stated by Tirmizi and others. Once Imam Hussein (AS) mounted the shoulders of his grandfather, the Holy Prophet (S). Somebody said, "What a good carriage it is!" The Prophet (S) said, "And what a good rider it is!" Iqbal mentions this event to show what affectionate feelings the Holy Prophet (S) had towards his grandson.
Iqbal says that it is because of Imam Hussein's blood that modest love has gained honor and dignity. This couplet can well serve as a title for the episode of the Tragedy of Karbala which shows how piously and valiantly Imam Hussein (AS) defended the tenets of Islam, sacrificed his own life along with his kith and kin, sincere followers, and comrades, and raised the honor of love to its acme.
Iqbal shows here the position of Imam Hussein (AS). He says that among the followers of the Holy Prophet (S), Imam Hussein (AS) is like the divine phrase Qul huwallah (Say He is Allah) meaning that Allah is One, in the Holy Quran. Since the entire Holy Quran turns to this verse -- Qul Huwallaho Ahad (Say that He is One) -- similarly the whole Islamic world turns towards Imam Hussein (AS) who is the source of our guidance. Iqbal knows the tradition of our Prophet (S): "Hussein (AS) is from me and I am from Hussein (AS)", i.e., Hussein (AS) is his grandson and that he (the Prophet {S}) would be made known by him, and his mission would be fulfilled by Imam Hussein (AS) who sacrificed his life to immortalize Islam and its tenets.
Ever since the creation of life two opposing forces have been at war with each other: virtue and vice, right and wrong. Musa (Moses) (AS) rose against Firun (pharaoh) and Shabbir (Imam Hussein {AS}) rose against Yazid. These struggles were between the right and the wrong. Consequently, right prevailed against wrong and it was proved that right is might.
Iqbal says that truth or Islam exists today because of the strength shown and the spiritual power exercised by Imam Hussein (AS). In other words, Imam Hussein (AS) made Islam immortal. The wrong was crushed to annihilation in spite of its apparent success. Yazidism, or the principle enunciated by Yazid, is looked down upon by all, but Hussein’s blood spilled at Karbala still enlivens our hearts and makes us feel that his sacrifice to support the right against the wrong was unparalleled in the history of mankind.
Iqbal says that when the Islamic government severed its relation with the injunctions of the Holy Quran, the Muslims suffered moral degradation. It marred their freedom. When the rulers indulged in all sorts of vicious habits and satisfied their carnal desires against the clear-cut injunctions of the Holy Quran, the whole social structure was impaired. Nobody could utter a word against the tyrant ruler and his associates. Then arose that chief of the Muslims (Hussein {AS}) like a blessed cloud with the rain of mercy under his foot. It rained blessings on the sands of Karbala and turned that desert into a garden. It is the place where Imam Hussein (AS) with his kith and kin, children and comrades, numbering 72 only, faced a huge army and courted martyrdom after three days of starvation and thirst on the l0th of Muharram, 61 AH. Hussein (AS) was undoubtedly the savior of freedom and Karbala has become the symbol of struggle against tyranny. Hussein’s role at Karbala was so magnificent that it eradicated forever the savage idea of cruelty and cold-bloodedness. The wave of his blood has created a garden which is symbolic of his sacrifice for the preservation of freedom and truth.
Iqbal says that Imam Hussein (AS) voluntarily gave his life at Karbala for the sake of Allah or truth. So it goes without saying that Hussein (AS) laid the foundation of the cardinal principle of Islam -- the belief that there is no god except Allah. Since Islamic principles were being twisted, distorted and exterminated, it was Hussein’s blood which gave it a new life.
That Imam Hussein's only aim in refusing to accept Yazid as caliph of Islam was to preserve Islam can be borne out from the fact that while he left Medina for his journey towards Kufa he had a small band of his relations and followers, including women, and children. Had he the intention of fighting a political battle he would not have gone there with such people as he took with him. Those who accompanied Imam Hussein (AS) included his sisters, wives, children (even a six-month-old child was with him) and some followers, some of whom were more than eighty years of age.
In the Battle of Karbala, the number of the enemy was as countless as the particles of sand, but the number of Imam Hussein's friends was only 72.
Imam Hussein (AS) took up his sword of 'La' or 'No' that is, there is no deity (except Allah) and crushed infidelity. He imprinted the mark of Illallah (Tawhid), or monotheism in the wilderness of Karbala. It was a title for our salvation. In fact, we have learnt the lesson of Tawhid or monotheism from Imam Hussein (AS), who taught us in a practical way the secret of the Quran by sacrificing his life for the sake of Allah and for completing the mission of his grandfather, the Prophet (S). We have gathered warmth from the fire of love for Allah that Imam Hussein (AS) possessed. Iqbal means that the love for Allah shown and the sacrifice made by Imam Hussein (AS) at Karbala should serve as the best lesson for all the people of the world.
Iqbal says that kingly grandeur gained through political battles never survives. The pomp and vanity of the thrones of Syria and Baghdad, which were once seats of great kings, is no more present. Nobody remembers the splendor of Gharnata I which was the seat of Spanish kings. But the reverential call of Hussein (AS) at Karbala -- his call of La Illaha Illallah -- is still echoing in our ears and thrilling our hearts.
Iqbal's intense love for and faith in Imam Hussein (AS) is apparent. Fondly addressing himself to the breeze, which proverbially carries the message of the lover to the beloved, who is at a remote place, Iqbal asks her to carry his tears to the sacred tomb of Imam Hussein (AS). Iqbal weeps in sad and blessed memory of Imam Hussein (AS) and wishes to place his tears over his Imam's grave.
From Chapter 50 of A Probe Into the History of Ashura by Dr. Ibrahim Ayati, published by Islamic Seminary Publications, Karachi, Pakistan.