ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Uprising of Ashura and Responses to Doubts Who Killed Imam al-Husayn (as)? One of the accusations often raised against the Shi‘ahs in recent times is that they themselves were the killers of Imam al-Husayn (as). The accusers say that the majority of the soldiers who were recruited in the army of ‘Umar ibn Sa‘d to fight with Imam al-Husayn (as) were people from Kufah, and the people of Kufah at that time were all Shi‘ahs of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (as).

The fault-finders say that the reason the Shi‘ahs hold mourning ceremonies for Imam al-Husayn (as) is to show penance for the actions of their predecessors. They believe that the Shi‘ahs cry in order to express remorse at why their forefathers killed the Prophet’s grandson.

In his book entitled, “ Al-Husayn ”, the Egyptian writer, Sayyid ‘Ali Jalal Husayni writes, “A surprising thing about Imam al-Husayn (as) is that his own Shi‘ahs killed him, and then started holding mourning ceremonies for him every year in all countries of the Muslim World.”[^1] We intend to analyze this accusation to show who the real killers of Imam al-Husayn (as) were.

The different aspects of the Shi‘ah Islam The Shi‘ism has different aspects and forms, but we will only mention the four main ones here: 1. Political Shi‘ism Political Shi‘ism [ tashayyu‘-e siyasi ] signifies belief in the superiority and preference of Imam ‘Ali (as) over all the other companions of the Holy Prophet (S), including the caliphs.

Political Shi‘ism denotes belief that in the battles against the Khawarij and the companions at Siffin and Jamal, truth and justice was on the side of Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali (as). Political Shi‘ism refers to the presence of a group of people in the history of Islam who had determined a definite political point of view.

They had accepted the leadership of the (as) not because they believed that the fourteen Infallibles were appointed by Allah, but because they understood the (as) to be the most learned and virtuous of all the people on earth. This view was prevalent among most of the people who lived after the Holy Prophet (S). Many specialists in hadith and jurisprudents held this view. They preferred the judgement of the , especially in political affairs, over the verdicts of anyone else.

It is for this reason that they are called Political Shi‘ahs. This group opposed the group which was following the caliphs in political affairs.