By Ishna Ashari Youth’s Foundation
Unlike the solar year which begins on 1st of January every year, Islamic New Year start with the moon sighting for the month of Muharram, the first month of Hijri year based on lunar cycle. The first Islamic year calculated is in AD 622 with the emigration of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him & his households, from Mecca to Medina, known as the Hijrat.
Throughout the world almost every New Year brings along festivities, fanfares and a lot of celebration. The Islamic New Year, i.e. Muharram begins with the remembrance and sacrifice of Imam Hussain. It is to commemorate the death of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Hussain who, along with his family and followers, was martyred by Umayyad Caliph Yazid I in the Battle of Karbala on the tenth day of Muharram.
A tazia procession in Varanasi on Dec. 6th, 2011. [TCN Photo]
Remembrance of the massacre at Karbala is yearly ritual to keep alive the flame of sacrifice for peace & social justice, which Hussain, the grandson of Prophet, has given with his household and companions.
Especially in India, name of Imam Hussain is very common across the masses, be it Muslim or Hindu, Christian or Buddhist. This is because of the yearly mourning ritual which Muslims observe during first ten days of the month of Muharram. Across the nation, there happen lots of ceremonies, processions and gatherings remembering the sacrifices and hardships which befall on Hussain. These gatherings are not only attended by Muslims, rather it’s a sign of communal harmony in most of rural India.
But who is Imam Hussain? Why is he so sacred that he is remembered across the communities? Or this is just a mythical story which is remembered without any base or logic?
The incidence of Battle of Karbala is just 1400 years old and is well documented in history and hence it is a fact and not a mythical story. Hussain, who was the grandson of Prophet of Islam, was against the unjust and cruel practices put forwarded by Yazid on the name of religion which were totally against the human nature and social justice, hence Imam refuse to pledge allegiance to Yazd but also tread a very difficult path of extreme hardship to protest. He not only ensured that there was no mass bloodshed which was lurking around by deciding to migrate but also observed a high degree of patience while suffering the cruelty of Yazid against his followers and family.
The noted historian Charles Dickens quotes “If Husain fought to quench his worldly desires, (as alleged by certain critics) then I do not understand why his sisters, wives and children accompanied him. It stands to reason therefore that he sacrificed purely for Islam.”
The historical progress of Islam, according to the father of our Nation Mahatma Gandhi, is not the legacy of the Muslim sword but a result of sacrifices of Muslim saints like Hussain. Historian Edward Gibbon writes “In a distant age and climate, the tragic scene of the death of Hussain will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader”.
The sacrifice of Hussain, the Imam of Muslims, is not only for that era or that of Muslims; rather his oppressed blood gives lesson to whole of humanity in every age. The lesson well learnt by Mahatma Gandhi in which he said, “I have learnt from Imam Hussain, on how to win while being oppressed” and same thing repeated by many famous personalities of the world.
The real lesson of Karbala and that of Imam Hussain says that we have to give sacrifice of ourselves, our desires, our household and whatever we have for the sake of values and ethics.
Today in the modern age it is common for almost every one of us to have a New Year resolution. The Islamic year thus starts with the remembrance of the greatest sacrifice for the mankind, the sacrifice of Imam Hussain and his followers. It serves as a remembrance that non violence against the greatest tyrant is the way of God. It reminds us to stand united against the oppression of the people and to do our best to stop the same. It also leads us to follow the traditional narration “Every day is Ashura and every land is Karbala!”. Every day is a test and if we follow Imam Hussein the world will be a better place.
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Based in Mumbai, Ishna ashari youth’s foundation is an organization of Shia youths.