By: Hussein Al-Rumaithi
These days are the anniversary of Imam
Al-Hussein’s martyrdom along with his family members and companions during the
Battle of Karbala, as millions of Shia Muslims around the world mourn and
commemorate this occasion in various forms and ways. There are thousands of
lessons and ideals, which can be learned and taught from the sacrifice of Imam
Al-Hussein, as the day of Ashura illustrates the confrontation between good and
evil in its ultimate demonstration. The small army of Imam Al-Hussein faced the
army of Umayyad king Yazid Ibn Muawiya, which according to many sources were
over 120,000. Nevertheless, Imam Al-Hussein and his companions demonstrated the
absolute pictures of sacrifice, courage, mercy and submission to Allah, and the
army of Yazid demonstrated the ultimate picture of abjectness, rascality,
vileness, cruelty and acrimony.
However, one of the most powerful
statements in the history of mankind was given during that battle, when Imam
Al-Hussein was left alone before that monstrous army, after his entire family
and companions were slaughtered. Imam Al-Hussein stood before that army and
said: “if you have no faith, at least be freemen in your life”. These words are
worthy of being written with gold ink, as they outline the guideline for any
situation or condition that a person might ever face in his/her lifetime. Being
courageous, brave, honorable and noble requires nothing but being a free person
and no faith or belief.
In addition, one of the most beautiful
demonstrations of this statement was illustrated through an encounter between
Imam Al-Hussein and a Christian physician, who worked in Yazid’s army.
Historians narrate: once Imam Al-Hussein was severely wounded, bleeding and
laying on the hot surface of Karbala, everyone was afraid of finishing him off,
and sealing the battle, as they all knew the person laying down and wounded was
the grandson of Prophet Mohammad. Imam Al-Hussein was the person, who Prophet
Mohammad had narrated several narrations and hadith about. In one narration,
the Prophet stated: Hussein is from me and I am from Hussein, God loves,
whomever loves Hussein. Therefore, everyone rejected killing Imam Al-Hussein
and be the person that history will curse for eternity. The commanders of
Yazid’s army came to Omar Ibn Sa’ad (Chief Commander of the army) and suggested
to him that you will be better off paying the Christian physician to kill
Al-Hussein, as he is not from our religion and he would not care, if he is paid
well.
Therefore, Omar Ibn Sa’ad approached the
physician and tells him about the task required and offers him a very notable
prize, if he gets the task done and finishes Al-Hussein off. The Christian
physician agrees, takes the prize, grabs a sword and heads toward the
spot, where Imam Al-Hussein has fallen and badly bleeds from his severe wounds.
Once the Christian Physician approaches the Imam, he looks closely at Imam
Al-Hussein’s face and starts shaking and stops on his spot. Imam Al-Hussein,
tells the physician with a low voice: “you can ask your question, but I will
answer it for you even before you ask it, as I know what you are thinking and
what you want to ask. You dreamt of being in a gathering, where the Christ and
his disciples were present and sitting in a circle. You approached them and
greeted them, and asked to be permitted to join them. Jesus permitted you to
sit with them and then told you: Please don’t be the one, who lowers my head
before Prophet Mohammad, if you were asked to kill his grandson. O’ brother, I
swear to Allah, I am that grandson and Jesus was talking about me in that
dream”.
The Christian Physician was shocked and
speechless, as he did not know how to respond to what he had heard from Imam
Al-Hussein, even before he opens his mouth and says a word. All of the sudden,
the Physician shouts: “I swear to Allah’s greatness, I will not be the one, who
lowers the heard of Jesus and turned toward the army and Yazid and said: O’
Sa’ad, have you gone mad? You expect me to kill the grandson of Mohammad and
son of Fatima? I will not do such an action, and I would rather die defending
the grandson of Mohammad”.
The physician waved his sword and attacked
the army of Yazid and fought for few minutes and he was ultimately martyred and
later on buried by Imam Al-Sajjad in Karbala. However, this story shows that
defending justice, honor, courage and good requires no faith or it is not
exclusive to a specific belief. All men are equal before their creator, as they
all have been granted the power of intellect and will, which enables them to
side with either good or evil, and in the case of this hero, he chose to side
with Good and became historically immortal.
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