According to the belief of us Shi'ah none of the religious...

According to the belief of us Shi'ah none of the religious orders is devoid of philosophy. Hence the philosophy under-lying these two things should be known. When that philosophy becomes known, it will be realized as to what the importance of these orders is and how much we should profit from the orders relating to the tragedy of Karbala. Why did Imam Husayn (P) rise? This can be explained in three ways.

Firstly, we may say that the rising of Imam Husayn (P) was an ordinary event the object of which was (God forbid) an effort to achieve personal gain. However, this is an explanation which cannot at all be accepted by any Muslim and it is also not supported by historical events. The second explanation which is usually given by the common people is that Imam Husayn (P) sacrificed his life and attained martyrdom for the salvation of this Ummah i.e.

" in fact, his martyrdom is an atonement for the sins of the Ummah. This thinking is exactly like the belief coined by the Christians about Christ (P) who, they say, got himself crucified so that he might make atonement for the sins of his followers. In other words Imam Husayn (P) was martyred so that the sinners might escape the punishment which was to be awarded to them on the Day of Judgment and might, therefore, commit sins freely.

This belief would mean that Imam Husayn (P) saw that although some Yazids, Ibne Ziads, Shimrs and Sinans were present in the world, their number was small. He there- fore, thought of doing something which might increase their number. Hence he set up a factory for manufacturing Yazids and Ibne Ziads so that they might form large numbers in the following days. This way of thinking and this explanation is extremely dangerous.

No method can be more effective than this way of thinking to eliminate the effect of the movement of Imam Husayn (P), to fight against his aims and objects and to make ineffective and prove irrational the orders which we have received regarding mourning for him. Believe me, one of the reasons for our being reckless and remiss in our acts is that the movement of Imam Husayn (P) has been explained so wrongly and its result is before your eyes.

I have said 'One of the reasons' because there are other reasons also which are connected with the national and racial aspect. Murjia were of the view that faith and belief are sufficient for salvation and good deeds are not necessary. If the belief is true the Almighty Allah will forgive every misdeed.