Ashura: The Stand for Justice

The crescent of the moon of the New Islamic Year, 1446 A.H., is expected to make its appearance on Saturday evening.

The mosques will be jam packed and decorated in black wall coverings, flags (a’alam) and replica shrines (taziyas).

Majalis (assemblies) will be held every night during the first 12 days with poetry recited and speeches made pertaining to the martyrdom of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

The day the battle of Karbala took place is known simply as Ashura, which falls on the tenth of Muharram coinciding on July 17^th.

The freeing of the Bani Israel from the oppression of the Pharaoh Firaun, and the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBHU) by Yazid are the two major events in Islamic history.

Muslims need to contemplate and reflect on both these historical events and how to fight oppression and persecution.

The Story of Moses (Musa), Abrahim, and Hussain.

As we begin the Islamic New Year on July 7^th with the month of Muharrum, it is crucial to reflect and contemplate the story of resistance to oppressors like Pharaoh Firaun, King Nimrod, Yazid, Hitler, and many others like Zionist Israel.

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Pharaoh Firaun was the arrogant tyrant who held the children of Israel captive as a slave and killed every male child to protect his throne. He feared that a boy would grow up to challenge his rule.

King Nimrud mentioned in Quran and Bible, Genesis 10:8-12 who established the tyrant dynasty of the Assyrians and defied the oneness of God during the Prophet Abrahim.

Yazid, another tyrant, drunkard defied Islamic tenants, was the second Umayyad caliph particularly noted for the martyrdom of grandson of Prophet Muhammad Hussain the son of Ali.

And, in today’s time it is Zionist Occupying Force who have killed over forty thousand people, damaged eighty percent of all housing units, injured hundred thousand civilians, displaced 2.5 million people, and destroyed all hospitals and schools in Gaza.

Prophet Moses (Musa) who was miraculously brought up in the Pharaoh’s palace and helped free the Israelites from Egypt by crossing the Red sea.

However, the conversation between the small bird Ababeel and the larger bird is a very inspiring story of resistance.

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When Nimrud was about to catapult Prophet Abraham in the fire, the larger bird questioned Ababeel, “How can you extinguish such a huge fire with so little water.”

Little Ababeel bird said:  “I am sure God (Allah) will not question me whether I manage to put out the fire or not. But Allah will ask what I have done to stop the fire.”

The story of Prophet Ibrahim, King Nimrod, and the little bird Ababeel carries a powerful message we must work for our liberation, however small the action.

 

Muharrum and the tragedy of Karbala.

Another important parable of resisting oppression that occurred on the plain of Karbala where Imam Hussain, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad was martyred by Yazid.

It is important to understand the significance of this event which is not limited to any specific time or denominators but rather an important event for all Muslims to ponder upon and take lessons.

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The oppressive ruler named Yazid who persecuted dissidents, was an abusive drunkard, gambler, and violated all Islamic principles.

At Karbala, Yazid’s army surrounded Imam Husain, his family including children and his seventy-two companions to the point that they were deprived of food and water.

Yazid’s army then completely massacred Imam Husain’s family including Imam Husain’s six-month-old son baby Aliasgher and imprisoned and paraded the ladies from Kabala, Iraq to Damascus, Syria.

The important lesson lies in the women hero of Karbala – Zaiinab binte Ali, the granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad and daughter of Ali.

She courageously spoke up in Yazid’s court and exposed his war crimes in front of everyone. So, did the Iranian women who played a leading role during the Islamic revolution. Ali Shariati said:  

“For every revolution, there are two visions: blood and message. All battlefields are Karbala, all months are Muharram, and all days are Ashura. One has to choose either the blood or the message, to be either Hussein or Zainab.”

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The role of women in the victory of the Islamic revolution

https://www.al-islam.org/position-women-viewpoint-imam-khomeini-ra/role-women-victory-islamic-revolution

The lesson in the story of the Prophets lies in the importance of fighting oppression. The great Islamic intellectual, Ali Shariati said that “Every place is Karbala, and every day is Ashura.”

Shariati continues to say “Those who died committed a Hussaini act. Those who remain must perform a Zainabi act. Otherwise, they are Yazidis.”

Speaking against oppression is important in Islam. We must recognize the message of Imam Hussain, and fight oppressors every day and every place. Every day is Ashura, and every land is Karbala.

One must stand for justice, be it the victims of police brutality or systemic racism or victims of militarism, it is critical that we stand up for the oppressed every day in every part of the world.

We experience Ashura every day with poverty where children go to sleep hungry, are homeless, with police brutality, policies of separation of children at the southern border, and mass incarceration.

African American is killed every 28 hours, and 33% of Black men will go to prison at some point in their lifetime.

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Poverty, unemployment, homeless and Incarceration disparities in the African American communities are the highest compared to other communities why? Racism!

We must engage in a Hussaini act by speaking up, while also engaging in a Zainabi act to amplify our voices by letter writing and protests.

Today, Zionist Israel which is committing genocide and 435 members of Congress and one hundred Senators—535 American elected officials—lacked the moral courage to condemn this act of oppression.

It is critical that we follow in Imam Hussain legacy of nonviolent civil disobedience and help those who are suffering in whatever way we can.

One of the most important ways we can stand with Palestinians is through the BDS movement, a movement of boycott, divestment, and sanctions, by not investing in companies and products that are complicit in their oppression.

Martin Luther King Jr, in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” says that the first path in the journey of attaining freedom is “self-purification.”

Because if we are oppressed and not purified, then we become oppressors ourselves. History can attest to many examples of this.

One of the most profound Islamic critiques of Zionism is that it is not guided by a moral and spiritual ethic. Zionist Israel a ‘cancerous tumor’

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The Zionist have dominated the destiny of the Islamic countries for years by installing the Zionist cancerous tumor in the heart of the Islamic world,

Zionism is racist, violent, oppressive, and capitalists’ ideology. A settler colonialist movement, which opportunistically co-opts aspects of Judaism to justify its criminal practices of apartheid.

The Prophets of all Abrahamic faiths from Moses to Prophet Muhammad mobilized their nations to resist the oppressors of their times from Fir’aun to Romans to Nimrod to Quraish.

We must base our activism on an Islamic principle by reflecting upon stories of Moses, Jesus, and Imam Hussain by understanding the importance of justice and resisting oppression.

We have for example the contemporary cases of oppression around the globe and genocide committed by Zionist Israel, yet we refuse to speak out.

We can condemn Yazid and invoke the curse of God on the killers of Imam Hussain (AS), yet our tongues are tied, our hands are folded, and our attitudes are insensitive to the genocide in Gaza.

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Imam Hussain said, “Those who are silent while others are oppressed are guilty of oppression themselves.” 

 

So, the beating of our chest should be tied to the injustice happening around the globe. The month of Muharram is a reminder that we must pause to reflect on the injustices happening across the globe, regardless of religion, color, race, or ethnicity.