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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Husyan the Sacrifice For Mankind Foreword Who was Imam Husayn, and why was he the sacrifice for the whole of humanity? Imam Husayn alayhis-salam3 was the grandson of the final Messenger of Allah Almighty to humanity, the holy Prophet of Islam Muhammad sallallahu-alayhi-wa-aalih4; the messenger who “has been sent as Mercy to the worlds” to paraphrase the holy Qur’an.
His father was Imam Ali alayhis-salam, the commander of faithful, who comes second only to prophet Muhammad in the excellent merits that he possessed; qualities such as piety, sincerity, charity, tolerance, vast knowledge, to name a few. His mother was Fatima al-Zahra’ alayhas-salam5, the daughter of prophet Muhammad and, given her immaculate qualities and moral values that she possessed, the leading lady of the worlds.
After the death of his grandfather, father and brother Imam Hasan, Imam Husayn was in charge of protecting Islam, the Almighty’s final Revelation to humanity, from deviation. It was 60 H (around 680 CE). It was the most crucial time in the history of mankind.
The forces of evil have been amassing all their forces, skills and expertise for fifty years, and over this period, and through all the devious means, they had managed to achieve considerable gains, but not enough to totally obliterate the teachings of Islam and its Messenger. They needed one final big push, and this task was assigned to Yazid bin Mo‘awiyah. Through threat and brute force, Yazid had managed to quell all the voices of opposition, except for one.
Husayn, the son of Imam Ali, being who he is, and the Imam (leader) of Islam and Muslims had one duty to discharge; the protection of the final revelation to mankind – and at any cost. And this is exactly what he did. He stood up to protect the torch that was lit to guide mankind to the light of truth. 3 alayhis-salam, meaning peace be upon him. This invocation is made after the mention of the name of any of the twelve impeccable imams, out of respect.
4 salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih, meaning peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his pure progeny. This invocation is made out of respect and devotion after the mention of the name of the last Messenger of Allah. 5 alayhas-salam, for feminine use, meaning peace be upon her, as above. He left Makkah for Karbala, along with his women and children. He was joined by his devout friends, along with their families.