In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.
As you know, today the 3rd of the Islamic month of Sha'ban is the auspicious birth anniversary of the person to whom all seekers of freedom are indebted. It is the day on which in the year 4 AH, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) became grandfather for the second time with the birth of the boy who would one day revive Islam with his lifeblood in the face of tyranny and oppression.
Yes friends, today is the birthday of the Immortal Martyr of Karbala, a day celebrated in the Islamic Republic of Iran as Day of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps for their heroic enacting of epics to safeguard Islamic values and the country by treading the path blazed out by Imam Husain (peace upon him).
"The example of my Ahl al-Bayt is that of the Ark of Noah; whoever boards it is safe and whoever lags behind is drowned."
What is mentioned above is a famous saying of the Prophet of Islam, quoted extensively in the authoritative works of both the Sunnis and Shi'ite Muslims. It is proof of the salvaging role of the Blessed Family after the passing away of the Prophet, especially in view of his other renowned statement known as Hadith Saqalayn that puts the Ahl al-Bayt on a par with God's Revealed Word, the holy Qur'an, with an emphasis for all believers to hold fast to this inseparably linked duo, so as not to go astray. Today on the 3rd of Sha'ban we are celebrating the birth anniversary of a prominent member of the Infallible Ahl al-Bayt. To be more precise, as we said at the beginning of this programme, it is the birthday of the Prophet's younger grandson, Imam Husain (peace upon him), who was hailed by the grandfather with the immortal words:
"Inn al-Husain Misbah al-Hoda wa Safinat an-Najah"
It means "Indeed, Husain is the Beacon of Light and Ark of Salvation."
As a matter of fact, according to the Prophet's 6th Infallible Successor, Imam Ja'far as-Sadeq (peace upon him), the Martyr of Karbala is the speediest Ark of Salvation for humanity because of his immortal role in guiding the ship of Islam through the stormy waters of the tyrannical rule of the charlatan Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan and his libertine son, the accursed Yazid, by readily sacrificing his own life and that of his dearest and nearest, rather than yield to illegal demands. And so gloriously did Imam Husain (peace upon him) accomplish his mission that till this day, the whole humanity and humanitarian values feel indebted to the Prophet's grandson.
Born in 4 AH in Medina, and hardly 7 years at the time of departure of the Prophet from the mortal world, in the next three months he became orphan on one side, when his noble mother, the Prophet's immaculate daughter, Hazrat Fatema az-Zahra (peace upon her), was tragically martyred, as a result of the smashing of the door of her house upon her by a group of roguish companions of her father who forcibly seized from her husband his political authority.
During the next 25 years, Imam Husain and his elder brother, Imam Hassan (peace upon them) – the two Leaders of the Youths of Paradise as hailed by the Prophet – stood firmly beside their father, Imam Ali (peace upon him), in safeguarding the legacy of the Prophet at a time when the usurpers were playing havoc with the caliphate or political rule of the Islamic state. Imam Husain (peace upon him) was 32 years when his father had to reluctantly take up the political reins of the Islamic state when the caliphate came begging at the doorstep of the Ahl al-Bayt – 25 years after it was hijacked by a group of seditionists at the scandalous gathering of Saqifa Bani Sa'da.
The Martyr of Karbala, regarding whom the Prophet had explicitly said "Husain is from me and I am from Husain", now had the opportunity to prove the second part of his grandfather's famous saying, since the first part, that is, he was from the Prophet, was clear and needed no explanation. In other words the grandson set out to prove with his unrivalled role for the sake of God, Islam, and humanitarian values, that the Prophet could only be properly recognized through him and the Ahl al-Bayt.
After a quarter century of being overshadowed by the usurpers, the Ahl al-Bayt were now back into public limelight, and this factor annoyed those who had exploited political power after the passing away of the Prophet. The conspirators plotted the first civil war in Islam against the righteous rule of Imam Ali (peace upon him) by inciting the people of Basra in Iraq. The result of this sedition was the Battle of Jamal or the Camel, where we see Imam Husain (peace upon him) leading the left wing of the Islamic army until decisive victory over the seditionists. He then demonstrated to the deceived enemies the highest form of Islamic humanitarian treatment in order to win their hearts.
With the shifting of the capital of the Islamic state from Medina to Kufa in Iraq, which is more centrally located, Imam Husain (peace upon him) was sent by his father on inspection visits to the northern parts of the Muslim realm, including Azarbaijan and the western areas of Iran, where he ably dealt with various matters, including spreading of the genuine teachings of Islam amongst the people. As the chosen of God, he was well versed with the Persian, Turkic and other languages, besides Arabic. Next, when the villainous governor of Syria, Mua'wiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, came out into open rebellion against the rule of the Ahl al-Bayt, Imam Husain (peace upon him) returned to the side of his father, Imam Ali (peace upon).
In the Battle of Siffin that ensued, when the Omayyad forces blocked access to the River Euphrates at a place called Reqqa in Syria, we see Imam Husain (peace upon him) launching a lightning attack to wrest control of the river bank. Then as per the orders of his father, he magnanimously allowed the dastardly enemy to avail of water, the elixir of life, since the bounties of God to His creatures, cannot be denied even to the infidels and the agnostics.
A brief radio programme cannot do justice to the memorable events of the 57-year life of Imam Husain (peace upon him). He was 36 years old when his father, Imam Ali (peace upon him) was martyred by a renegade while praying in the Mosque of Kufa. Seven months later, he saw how his brother, Imam Hasan (peace upon him), was forced to handover rule of the Islamic state to Mu'awiyah because of the treachery and fickleness of faith of the Iraqis.
For the next nine years, he steadfastly stood beside his brother in Medina and spared no efforts to enlighten people with the genuine teachings of Islam. In 50 AH, following the martyrdom of his brother through a fatal dose of poison by Mu'awiyah, the divine mantle of imamate fell upon his shoulders. For the next ten years, in the face of oppression by the Omayyads, Imam Husain (peace upon him) ably discharged his God-given duties.
In 60 AH, with Mu'awiyah's naming of his infidel son, Yazid, as successor, in violation of the terms of the treaty signed with Imam Hasan (peace upon him) some twenty years ago, the momentous life of Imam Husain (peace upon him) entered the stage of climax. The tyrant demanded allegiance to his illegitimate rule which the Prophet's grandson duly refused. He was forced to leave Medina for Mecca, and then move towards Iraq, where on the 10th of Moharram, on the banks of the River Euphrates in Karbala, Imam Husain (peace upon him) was denied water by the bloodthirsty Omayyad hordes, and along with his two sons, nephews, brothers and loyal companions, achieved glorious martyrdom in the state of three days of thirst.
He thus, not just confirmed his role as the Ark of Salvation for mankind but also proved true his grandfather's hadith that the genuine sunnah and seerah or practice and behaviour of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) could only be determined by the proper cognizance of Imam Husain (peace upon him).
We congratulate you once again on his auspicious birthday and present you a famous statement from him for leading a life of dignity and freedom:
"If you do not have religion, at least be free persons in your worldly life."
