– Ahmed Osama Jafri
“Hussain is from Me, and I am from Hussain.” These wordings of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ are sufficient to understand the greatness of Imam Hussain R.A.
His journey, which started on 5th Shaaban, the fourth year of Hijrah, in the house of Ali R.A. and Fatimah R.A., concluded with the great achievement of martyrdom, the highest martyrdom ever, on 10th Muharram 60 Hijri. The popular Muslim historian Shah Moinuddin Nadvi wrote about Imam Hussain R.A. “His life is the abstract of Quraysh and fragrance of Banu Hashim.” (Sayr-us-Sahaba). Ibn-e-Umar R.A. reported “I heard the Prophet ﷺ saying that these (Hassan and Hussain) are my flowers of this world.” (Sahi Bukhari)
As mentioned in Al Bidaya Al Nihaya and Jami Tirmizi, Imam Hussain’s appearance was very similar to that of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. His life’s end was revealed at the start itself. It is reported that once Umme Fazal R.A., the wife of Abbas R.A., came and handed over baby Hussain in the lap of Prophet ﷺ. She saw that the Prophet ﷺ had tears in his eyes. She enquired about the reason behind those tears to which he responded that Jibrail A.S. came and informed me that my ummah would martyr this child (grandson) of mine. The Prophet ﷺ further added that he also brought me a part of red-blood-soaked-sand of that place. In one more hadith from Jami Tirmizi, it is reported that Prophet Mohammed ﷺ used to pray, “Both of them (Hassan and Hussain) are my children and my daughter’s children. I love them; thus, you love them too, and love those who love them both.” The life of Hussain R.A. in one line can be described as “Perfectly Righteous.”
This was Hussain. As a youth, he is a great role model for us. Since he himself is the leader of Jannati youths and we hope, aim and pray to Allah that he grants us Jannatul Firdaus. We also want Allah to love us. One way to achieve this is by loving Hussain. But what does this mean? Just by chanting Hussain’s name can make us Hussaini? No, definitely not! Surely, we must follow the path of Hussain. The path which according to Maulana Amir Usmani:
Ye qadam qadam balayen, ye svaad e kuye Jaana’n
Woh yahiin se Laut jaaye, jisey zindagi ho pyaari…
The path of Hussain is such that only a crazy person can walk on it. Those who work according to so-called knowledge and wisdom can never travel on this path. Life is surrounded by death; this is an open secret which can be proclaimed but practicing it is not everyone’s cup of tea. Normally people will term it as suicide, but someone has beautifully explained, “the death of a martyr is the life of the nation.”
The path of Imam Hussain is of sacrifice in the struggle for safeguarding the Khilafah, a narrative lost in today’s times
To understand Hussain’s path in today’s world, one must switch on his TV or open the newspaper or just google “Gaza Palestine”. Hussain’s way will come in front of the eyes. To join the team of Imam Hussain R.A., one should just check what is truth (Haq) and act accordingly. Whatever the truth is, keep on standing with it, even if the world’s superpowers are against you. The same path is termed as the top-most tier of Imaan by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. “Whoever among you sees evil, let him change it with his hand. If he cannot do so, then with his tongue. If he cannot do so, then with his heart, which is the weakest level of faith.” This means that the highest achievable level of Imaan is – “whenever the heart starts believing that something is truth, then he or she never sees what will happen by standing with it. Whether it is the beloved home, relationships, friendships, or any sort of terms, any benefits, even if their own life has to be sacrificed, but the path must not be left.” Also, doing whatever is possible in this path, is a part of Hussain’s model – the Hussainiyat.
But what is this Haq (truth) standing by which is Hussainiyat? It can range from small tasks in our day-to-day life to all the matters related to our society. The utmost level of this Haq is the mission of Imam Hussain, for which he sacrificed his and his family’s life. “If this land is owned by Allah, then this land must be governed according to and as per the orders of Allah.” This is the true and original preaching of Islam. This is the ideology for which Prophet Mohammed ﷺ struggled in his life. In Mecca, he gave away whatever he had, and in Madina he did whatever he can. The system of Khilafat e Rashida came into existence due to this struggle. When the path and direction of that system and governance diverted from its original and foundational ideas, Hussain thought that if he remained silent then this change will get credibility. So, he decided that he will raise his voice and confront this change with all he has, so that the path, on which the Islamic governance should move, will remain clear. Whenever the foundations of Islamic ideology are in threat, sacrificing everything in safeguarding them is Islam.
As a conclusion, we can say Hussainiyat is “standing every time and with everything in the path of Haq, spreading the true ideology of Islam, no matter how dangerous the path is or is expected.” We can only be termed as Hussaini if we follow this model of Imam Hussain in our life. I pray to Allah that he helps us to become a lover of Hussain in its true sense, follow his path and be loved by Allah. May Allah also help us in struggling for the cause of Islam with everything we have. Oh Allah! Send mercy upon Muhammad ﷺ and his family. Ameen.
