ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Uprising of Ashura and Responses to Doubts The Effects of Ashura ‘Ashura from the Viewpoint of Great Thinkers of the World Any person who reads about the event of Karbala and carefully ponders what came to pass on the day of ‘Ashura, or hears about it from another person, will certainly be deeply saddened by what befell Imam al-Husayn (as), his (as) and the rest of his companions.

When a person with a sound conscience and healthy mind truly comprehends the heartrending occurrence, he will definitely decide to undertake a spiritual journey. He will embark on an inner pilgrimage and expedition towards Imam al-Husayn (as). He will find Imam al-Husayn (as) and the purpose of his uprising captivating and concur with the objectives.

In fact, this is exactly what has happened to many people who have read or heard about this event and we will now mention a few examples of such people: The English author and explorer, Freya Stark In her famous book entitled, “ The Faces of Baghdad ” [ Suwar Baghdadiyyah ], Freya Stark has assigned a short chapter to the event of ‘Ashura. At the beginning of that chapter she says, “Shi‘ahs from all corners of the Muslim World remember al-Husayn and the site of his execution.

They publicly follow up on this event for the first ten days of the month of Muharram**.** Sorrow and grief is so predominant over them that on the last day, they parade mourning dramas and engage in public wailing and group weeping…”[^1] In a separate chapter of this book, and in a more detailed manner, she has talked about the holy city of Najaf. She recounts, “And at a distance not far from the mausoleum, his son al-Husayn arrived from the other side of the desert.

He rode his horse and crossed the desert until he reached the land of Karbala. There, he pitched a tent. His enemies surrounded him and closed all access to water from him. The events which came to pass have been retained in the memories of people. Detailed accounts about the sad events that occurred at Karbala have been passed from one generation to the next for the last 1257 years.

There is no possibility of deriving benefit from this holy city unless one has enough knowledge and information about this event, because the tragedies which befell al-Husayn penetrate and seep through every existing being to the extent that it shakes the very roots of their inner conscience and the foundations of their beliefs.