Imam Husayn: Life of struggle

by Imran Janmohamed


Imam Husayn was born on 3 Shaban 4AH. As soon
as he was born, the Prophet recited Adhan and
Iqama into his ears and then began to weep. Asma
bint Umays, who would go on to be the wife of
Imam Ali (as), asked the Prophet why he was crying
and the Prophet replied that after him a party
would kill Imam Husayn (as) but she should not tell
Fatima (as). Some historians also say that the
Prophet gave Asma a twig/sand and he said that
when the sand goes red, Husayn will have been
murdered.

From a young age Hazrat Abbas and Imam Husayn
were inseparable. Imam Ali (as) had told Abbas that
he should protect Imam Husayn (as) no matter
what. Whenever Imam Husayn (as) needed water
he would run to get it. And only until the day of
Ashura did Hazrat Abbas call Imam Husayn (as)
brother; before that he used to call him master.
Leading up to Ashura the Imam had the centre of
his teaching in Medina. But Yazid had made Medina
impossible for him to preach. So he left for Makkah
to perform Hajj. Whilst he was there Yazid had
threatened to kill people so the Imam didn’t complete
the Hajj, instead doing Umra and leaving, not
wanting bloodshed in the holy city.

So he left for Kufa as many people had sent a letter
to the Imam to fill the void left by his brother. The
Imam sent his 3rd cousin Muslim bin Aqeel to Kufa,
telling him to take his sons Muhammad and Ibrahim
to show that he came in peace. According to some
reports his sons were so young they couldn’t tie
their buttons. At Kufa thousands of people (some
say more than 18,000) pledged their allegiance to
Muslim, praying behind him. Hence Muslim sent a
letter to the Imam telling him to come to Kufa.
Yazid, after seeing the support for Muslim, sent Ibn
Ziyad to be governor. When Muslim finished the
prayers, no-one was left. Muslim hid as Ibn Ziyad
called for his capture. He also tried to send a message
to Imam Husayn telling him not to come to
Kufa, but the message never reached. As Muslim
stopped over at a woman’s house for some water,
her son, wanting the reward, told Ibn Ziyad.
Eventually he was caught and along with his sons he
was killed, thrown of the roof of a building in Kufa.
But Imam set off for Kufa, and was led to Karbala, a
barren land, by Yazid’s army led by Hur (he would
eventually fight for Imam Husayn (as)).

The Imam was brutally butchered by Yazid’s army
on 10th Muharram 61 AH along with 72 men who
stuck by him having been given the choice to leave.
“Surely Allah the Exalted has cleaned and purified
him.”-Prophet Mohammed, the day Husayn was born.
Although Allah had purified and cleaned the Imam
at birth, who was there to clean and purify his mutilated
body which was soaked in blood on the day
of Ashura?