My Chest is Redder than Yours!

by Mohsin Asharia


I would like to take this opportunity to offer my
condolences to the whole Muslim community on
the anniversary of the merciless killing of Imam
Husayn (as) and his pious family and companions,
about which the Prophet (saw) said:
“Surely, there exists in the hearts of the believers,
with respect to the martyrdom of
Husayn (as), a heat that never subsides”
(Mustadrak al ‑ Wasail v10 p318).

Hence we must old onto this tradition of remembering
Imam Husayn (as) and his companions, for
no-one has, or will, suffer the way they did.
It is perfectly valid, and desirable, to mourn for
Imam Husayn (as) during Muharram. After all, several
narrations speak of the reward of doing so,
such as the following by Imam Ridha (as):

“Should you weep for Husayn (as) in the
measure that tears roll down your cheeks,
Allah would forgive all the sins committed by
you, whether they be the great sins or the
small sins and whether they be meagre or
immense.” (Amali Saduq, p111)

Thankfully, we often see this mourning of Imam
Husayn (as) accompanied with the reduction in our
sins. Backbiting, music and haram gatherings are out
of bounds, and a more serious and humble tone
overcomes us. I think it is fair to say that we all
become better people during this period. What we
now need to work on is retaining these advantageous
traits within us for the whole year.

You know what I’m talking about. As soon as the
40 days are up, the dust is wiped off the CD player
and we can forget about Imam Husayn (as) for
another eleven months. It goes against the whole
essence of the sacrifice. That is what the 6th Imam
(as) meant when he said “Every day is Ashura,
every land is Karbala”. The Imam died so we
could practise Islam in its true form for the whole
year, yet what we seem to be doing is following
Yazid for eleven months of the year and Imam
Husayn (as) for one!


It is extremely saddening to see that we beat ourselves
so hard and complain when Matam ends 23.4
seconds early, then go and commit sins throughout
the rest of the year! Sure, Matam for Imam Husayn
(as) is extremely beneficial, but what is much more
beneficial is to make a positive change in ourselves.

On the Last Day, we won’t be judged on how red
our chests became on Ashura night, rather on how
well we followed the life of the Imams (as).