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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Karbala and Beyond Part 3: The Revolution’s Outcome What place does Imam al-Husayn’s revolution occupy in Islamic history? Those who are not familiar with its motives "innocently" or ignorantly inquire about its results, outcomes, fruits, achievements, etc. Others have even questioned its wisdom, arguing that to challenge a mighty force like that of the Umayyads of the time was fatal, suicidal, futile.

The revolution’s motives have already been discussed; therefore, a brief review of the changes brought about in its aftermath throughout the Muslim world is appropriate at this stage.

Murdering Imam al-Husayn (ﻉ), grandson of the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ), produced great shock waves throughout the Islamic world due to its horrible nature, to the unprecedented cruelty with which he and his family members and companions were treated, to the fact that he and his family were forbidden from having access to water while dogs and pigs were drinking of it, to the fact that he and his family were recognized as the most prestigious people on the face of earth, securing the highest esteem and regard of the Muslims who still remembered some of the statements made by their Prophet (ﺹ) in honour of al-Hassan and al-Husayn (ﻉ) in particular and of (ﻉ) in general.

Muslims, as a result, loathed to associate themselves with his murderers or with anyone who had a hand in that massacre, in effect performing an act of civil disobedience of their rulers. Many of them openly cursed his murderers, for who can call himself a Muslim and who does not curse the murderer of his Prophet’s family?

Thus, the revolution achieved the task of unveiling the Umayyad’s un-Islamic character to the general public, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind about what kind of barbarians those Umayyads were. The concepts which the Umayyads were promoting were now being questioned by everyone; they were for the first time being recognized for what they really were: a distortion of everything Islam stands for.

This isolated the Umayyads and changed the public’s attitude towards them and towards anything they said or did. Imam al-Husayn’s revolution set a living example as to what every Muslim should do in such situations. It had deeply penetrated people’s hearts, producing a great pain and feeling of guilt at thus abandoning al-Husayn (ﻉ) and leaving him to be slaughtered at the hands of Allah’s worst creatures without assisting him.