Skip to main content

Why did Imam Hassan (AS) not fight while Imam Hussain (AS) did?

When the prophet of Islam (PBUH) came it was the dark ages in Arabia. Bad was the norm. The message of the prophet was in stark contrast to this bad. It stood out. While collectively people must have wanted change for gradually they started accepting his message together they could not have brought about this change without him.

At the time of Hazrat Ali (AS) this difference between him and Muavia was not that clear to the people. They both wrote letters to each other quoting verses from the Quran. Even today some hold Muavia in respect naming their children Ameer Muavia.

Yazid was not as clever as Muavia and decided to go to any length necessary to kill Imam Hussain (AS). The first attempt on his life was when Imam Hussain (AS) was called to the court of marwan. The Imam went with his companions and told them to enter the court if he raised his voice. When marwan was about to attack Imam Hussain (AS), the Imam raised his voice and his companions came into the court. Thus an attempt on the Imam’s life was averted. The second attempt was when the Imam was planning for Hajj and was informed that assassins will be sent to kill him at Hajj. He then converted his Hajj to Umrah and left early thus averting the second attempt on his life. The Imam left and was stopped at Karbalah by Yazid’s army. On the 7th of Muharram when the water supply to the caravan was stopped the Imam ensured that the battle would not be fought on the grounds of “fighting for water”. Evenutally Yazid’s army declared war on Imam Hussain (AS) and what had started out as an attempt to quietly eliminate the Imam was made public to the world. Hazrat Zainab a member of his family went onto tell the story of Karbalah to the muslims. Yazid was unsuccessfull but Imam Hussain (AS) was successful – Yazidiyat was made public, Yazidiyat was killed.

In the case of Imam Hassan (AS) and Muavia, such a battle did not take place simply because Muavia had decided not to wage a public war on the Imam and for the Imam the priority was not to fight Muavia but preach the people an act that he was doing.

Imam Hussain (AS) till the end did not declare a war on Yazid, Yazid did on Imam Hussain (AS). If Yazid had not declared war on Imam Hussain (AS) then the Imam would have done what his elder brother did and Karbalah would not have taken place.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What should we aspire to

I have come about an understanding about the absolute purpose of our being and I think it’s not ambition but an aspiration. But if it is an aspiration what could be the absolute aspiration? Clearly the pharaoh must have taught his people to aspire to a position in his court. His method must have been a reward for serving him. But what service did he put his society to? It was the building of the Pyramids. Now the pyramids like all his other social projects were aggrandizement meant for him. And with the pharaoh at the top and his workers at the bottom another structure was created which was the hierarchy of society. Interestingly this entire society was put to one goal only: aggrandizement. Aggrandizement of any kind is inherently fleeting. For example if we aggrandize money it will get used up and disappear. If we aggrandize a seat of power sooner or later it will also disappear. Hence neither aggrandizement serving ourselves nor for another can be the highest we can aspire for. In fa...

Explanation of the movie 'Revolver'

I saw the movie for the umpteenth time last night and I finally got it. This is what the movie says: 1) In every game and con there is always a victim and there is always an opponent. It's good to know when you are the former so you can become the latter. 2) But the question is how do you prepare yourself for this game? 3) You only get smater by playing a smarter opponent. 4) The smarter the game the smarter the opponent 5) Checkers is an example of such a game. Chess is a better game. Debate is an even better opportunity to learn and so on. 6) But the question is where does the game stop? or one can ask what is the smartest game one can play? 7) The answer according to the movie is: "The game of con you play with yourself". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The text below has been added on 3 Dec 2008 and is based on a comment posted on October 30, 2008, at time 4:12 PM. I have only recently understood what this person meant an...

Why feedback is important

We learn about the world as we get feedback from things within it such as from family, friends, mentors and even books. Feedback can tell you where you went wrong and affirm what you do right. It can thus help you predict the future. Interestingly there are people I have met who question the importance of feedback. They say: “I can figure out everything I need to on my own. I don’t need feedback like others do.” This is not true. In fact there is a big danger lurking in this notion. If the world you are creating is your own you might get stuck in it or some part of it and not know what to do next. If however, this world of yours and all parts of it are based on some feedback you will always know who to ask if you get stuck. Somebody once said that "fundamentally we are here not to be seen, but to see" i.e. to see things outside of ourself. You will notice that all growth you have had has owed itself to some consistent feedback. Suppose you wrote an essay. You wouldn't re...