ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Ashura Husayn (As)’S Letter From Karbala To His Brother, Muhammad Mayassar ibn Abd al-Aziz reported that Abu Ja‘far (as) has said: Husayn ibn Ali (as) sent a letter from Karbala to Muhammad ibn Ali. [It read]: “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. From Husayn ibn Ali to Muhammad ibn Ali and the Hashimites who are with him. [Know that] the world is as if it has never been and the hereafter is as if it has always been.

Peace.”[^1] The Reason The Letter Was Written Husayn (as) wrote this letter from Karbala to his brother Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah at a critical juncture in the history of this nation. The Umayyads had gone to great lengths in tyranny and had corrupted Islamic society.

They had succeeded in spreading terror, temptation and deception to different regions of the Islamic world, and the people had responded to this three-pronged agent of control and acquiesced to the oppression and corruption that was being perpetrated by the Umayyads.

They altered the outlines of this religion to such an extent that nothing would have remained of Islam but its name, as Husayn (as) said: “Then bid farewell to Islam for the nation has been afflicted with a shepherd like Yazid.” On the one side, the people had been possessed by fear and terror and their preference for safety and well-being, and on the other by enticements.

Imam Husayn (as) had witnessed this severe trial in all its ramifications as he traveled from Medina to Karbala… And now here he was confronting the army of the Umayyads. He was the son of the daughter of the Messenger of God (S), and one about who no one was in any doubt as to his honour in the sight of God and his eligibility for the leadership of the Muslims. With all this, no one stood by him from this nation, large as it was, except seventy-two souls from his family and companions.

There were two faces to this tribulation: an external one in the form of the political and social life of the nation that came under the oppression and corruption of the Umayyads, and an internal one which was the minds of the people with their love for the world, personal well-being and anxiety about death.

Between these two faces a clear reciprocal relationship existed, for terror and corruption results in weakness and mental impotence, and love for the world enables the rulers to oppress and corrupt the people. Yes, Husayn (as) was facing a big problem, as big as the Islamic world itself.