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Martyrdom exists as an active and powerful force in the ideology of Islam and to understand why it has such powerful roots and such great symbolic weight it's necessary to examine the different levels at which the concept manifests itself. It exists initially at the Qur'anic level and then takes on an expanded and active life in the minds of the Muslim people through the unfolding of it's significance in tafsir (Qur'anic explanation) and in history. To view it as a rigid system of ideas or a very specific philosophy with clearly laid out rules is to fail to see it as it actually exists, for it is too fluid and flexible a concept to pigeonhole or dissect the way one would dissect a scientific or philosophical idea. In other words it is a 'living' idea, vibrantly alive in the hearts of Muslims. It is necessary to examine it at this level - a very ingrained and intuitive level.
The Arabic word 'shahid', meaning one who is present as a witness, is
translated into English as martyr. Through its usage in the Qur'an and
through the manner in which it has been employed in early Islamic
history, shahid has come to mean one who bears witness to the truth.
This definition sets the ground rules for deciding who qualifies as a
martyr and who does not. To attain the status of a martyr it is
necessary to die or be slain in the course of defending and upholding
the principles of the Qur'an, so martyrdom became valid only under
certain specific circumstances.
The modern media's perception of Islam, especially as it has emerged
since the tumultuous events of the Islamic revolution in Iran, was of a
religion and a people obsessed with martyrdom. Recent events have not
changed this perception.
This concept did not, however, originate in a vacuum but emerged from
the ayats of the Qur'an and from a history and philosophy which had its
roots and its sustenance in these ayats and in the words of the
Prophet.
With the Qur'an and hadith furnishing a rich foundation, the tree of
martyrdom grew like a powerful oak within the house of Islam. Early
events of historic islamic importance added weight to the power of the
Qur'anic
tenets and the groundwork was laid for a perception of martyrdom, which
while falling short of being a fully developed philosophy, nevertheless
ran as a consistent and dynamic current throughout Islamic history.
The Qur'an says:
"And say not of those who are slain
in the Way of God: 'They are dead.'
Nay, they are living, Though you perceive it not." (Qur'an 2:154)
and,
"Think not of those who are slain in
God's way as dead. Nay they live,
finding their sustenance in the Presence of their Lord...."
Other passages can be found in 3:157-171, 22:58 and integrated into
numerous other verses of the Qur'an. Taken together,
these passages convey the undeniable message that for martyrs there is
a
unique and immediate reward. This belief in the special qualities of a
martyr found immediate expression in the practice of Muslims so that,
among
the dead, only the bodies of martyrs need not be washed before burial
as
they are rendered pure by the very act of martyrdom. The martyr has
erased his past sins and purified himself by giving his life as a
sacrifice in the service
of God. The deaths of members of the Prophet's family (the ahl al-bayt)
and his close companions reinforced the importance of the Qur'anic
verses and imbued martyrdom with an emotional resonance that continues
to impact the hearts of Muslims and thus their destinies.
The khutbas (speeches) and the writings of Ali (a.s.), the as well as
those by the grandson of
the
Prophet(s.a.) and those of other Islamic commentators served to
highlight and strengthen the Muslim conviction about the importance of
martyrdom. Throughout Ali's works runs a thread of warning about the
proximity and the inevitability of death. The mortality of man is one
of the consistent themes infusing his works. He portrays the world as a
road, a passage down which men travel for a brief time and the one
thing they can be certain of is their eventual demise so they should be
cautious concerning what they spend their efforts on. Some in positions
of wealth and power spend their time pursuing desires and
self-interests and seeking to bend others to their will. Some spend
their time distracted by petty grievances or pointless preoccupations.
Those who actively seek to fulfill the noblest standards and aims
brought by the Prophets face the opposition of these other groups and
the undercutting of their standing and influence through all means
available. All face the certainty of death, and all face the fact of
shifting fortunes and changing conditions. In one Khutba, Ali says:
"This house is surrounded by trials,
distresses, and ill-fortunes....No
condition here is permanent....Here one has always to face adversities,
disappointments, and failures, and in the end death finishes him."
Along with this emphasis on the nearness of death is an awareness of
entropy - of the gradual breakdown of order and the eventual
destruction of material things. Adjacent to this awareness is an
admonition to look to the hereafter and to Allah for fulfillment and
not be ensnared by this world but to bypass the useless things among
its myriad distractions. A warning is placed on the attachment of human
beings to things of
ephemeral and fleeting value. The real problem is in the human
attachment and uncontrolled desire for the world and not the world
itself. He says:
"This life and the hereafter are like
two mothers and human beings are
like children. Take the life to come as your mother and do not let the
world adopt you as her son, because on the day of Judgment every child
will be attached to its mother."
Finally there is the declaration, repeatedly made, that if one has
lived according to the Qur'an and the sunnah seeking nearness
to God by transforming oneself inwardly, then death should be welcomed
whenever it comes for it is the
only remaining barrier between man and God. He says:
"There is no barrier between you and
Heaven or Hell but that of death,
which everyone will have to cross.... Death, which approaches everybody
with certain and steady steps...."
Concurrent with these themes is the refusal to subjugate or compromise
Qur'anic principles no matter what the personal cost of refusal. (This
is predicated on a correct and deep understanding of the principles.)
If the
refusal results in death then this should be accepted, as the person
would die a martyr and be a recipient of the special rewards attendant
to
martyrdom. As Ali says:
"...nothing in this world can
compensate the loss of self-respect,
nobleness of mind, and honor."
It is necessary to be able to look beyond the enticements of the
material world for martyrdom to become acceptable since anyone deeply
rooted in the world would find himself unable to sacrifice life (a most
valuable possession) for an intangible idea - a connection to unseen
realities. (Passionate hatred or an all consuming desire for revenge
are also strong motivators for giving up ones life in order to
retaliate against an enemy - but these factors are in oppsition to the
view of martyrdom that emerges from Qur'an and hadith - they are
indicative of desperation and an overthrowing of the balance of
intellect and faith (iman). Although one can sympathize with the plight
of a person pushed to such extreme behavior, this is a different
category than that of the martyr who bases his scarifice on an
attachment to the unseen world, and detaches himself from the extreme
compulsions and passions of this world).
With the death of Al-Husayn ibn Ali (the grandson of the Prophet) the
Qur'anic concept of martyrdom became emotionally embedded in the
consciousness of Muslims, thus gaining added force from the emotional
link joining Muslims to the household of the Prophet (s.a.). Husayn's
death takes on the aspect of a divine command which he carried out,
with the purpose of convicting, before the entire Islamic world, those
who were corrupting Islam and by doing this he re-vitalizes it. His
martyrdom is seen as a choice to stand for truth against destroyers and
distorters of truth, a choice made with awareness of its difficulty,
and a standard and
ideal inspiring future generations. About this choice Husayn (a.s.)
says:
"...there is no shame in the death of
a youth if he intends
truthfulness
and engages in the struggle as a Muslim (with nobility and the highest
standards
of behaviour)... For then if I live I shall
have no remorse and if I die I shall incur no blame. It is sufficient
humiliation for you to live and be coerced."
This is an echo of the words of Ali (a.s.) but because of the emotional
intensity of the events at Kerbala and the fact that these events
formed such a crucial juncture in Islamic history, the ideas became
ingrained on a deeper level. They became as if written on the hearts of
the
people.
The example of Husayn's martyrdom and of martyrdom in general as an act
receiving special grace from Allah was incorporated into the minds of
the Muslims on a deeply penetrating level. It became part of the
personality of the people because of the many levels
at which it is instilled in them - intellectual, emotional, esoteric
and elemental. At the emotional and elemental level of shared grief,
the power of Husayn's story and the purity of his example is palpably
evident to anyone who visits or participates in one of the ceremonies
of Ashura. A western visitor to a mourning procession in the
early 1900s describes the commemoration of Husayn's martyrdom as
follows:
"...we heard the fierce, grief
stricken background of this sound - the
sound of men groaning, crying, and shouting.... There came into
view....rank after rank of men naked to the waist.... They were like a
regiment of...soldiers marching as captive to their doom....their eyes
gazed fixedly ahead from faces pale and terrible in the torchlight,
like the faces of martyrs on their way to the stake.... These breast
beaters were like men transfigured in some sorrowful dream, and in
their...eyes was something of the anguish of Husayn parched and wounded
on the plain of Kerbala.... I felt that never in my life should I
forget the (La illah ha illallah (No god but God)) of their wailing
chant, which had
sung itself into my brain."
Husayn became a symbol for a world view of the unceasing battle between
good and evil. Large scale conflicts (such as the Iranian revolution)
took on this symbolic significance in which the dissenters aligned
themselves with the symbol of Husayn. He typified the concept of revolt
against a corrupt, established order and losses suffered by the
revolutionaries were perceived in terms of wronged martyrs. In this way
a struggle can take on an immense mythical quality which has the
capability of stirring masses of people who would otherwise remain on
the sidelines never stirring outside their own sphere of personal
interests. With each loss and death on the side of the oppresssed
there is an increase in their fervor and thus their strength grows. The
people embrace the spirit of martyrdom, their fear of personal harm and
death is overcome. They see themselves as part of a righteous
movement which is a response to Husayn's cry against an oppression
that targets both the physical and the spiritual - seeking to cut the
heart out of people's faith as well as rule the shape and pattern of
their lives. These martyrs are the ones who show endurance, patience,
and persistance in the face of overwhelming brute force. They persist
in correct action even when faced with death at the hands of an
uncaring, brutal, or indifferent enemy with the assurance that their
reward is the presence of God.
"Remember me not through the shedding
of the blood of others but
remember me when you seek to save the truth from the claws of
falsehood.... Remember me in your tears when the meek and lowly are
oppressed...and when the corrupt among you are set up in government
over the destiny of men of faith.... when the poor complain and the
pockets of the rich bulge, remember me.... Remember me when all these
things take place and rise up...to lift high the emblem of justice and
truth.... But if you hold your peace amidst deception and accept
humiliation, then I would be slain anew." (from an Egyptian taziyah on Imam Husayn)
The Qur'anic verses which indicate that the martyrs are not dead but
live on unperceived by us takes on a two-fold meaning in Islam. They
live on in the presence of God and also the ideal which they died for
gains power and renews strength in the people who are witnesses to
their sacrifice. Death, instead of having a disheartening influence,
only adds fuel to the determination and righteous feeling of the
people. Martyrdom creates a powerful emotional synthesis within the
believers. A western observer of Islam (Robin Carlsen) describes the
charged atmosphere which pervaded his visit to a martyr's cemetary. A
deeply felt, intuitive
current with its own special logic comes to the forefront.
"This was a holy cemetery; the others
I had visited had something
ordinary and pale about their presence; this place contained the
psychology, the consciousness of those martyrs at the point of their
death; it was alive to the purpose and form for which the people had
come to pray....somewhere the circumstances of one's death made some
registration in the great memory of the universe. These creatures died
in some noble and exalting moment of purity; that purity was now
singing its wounding message to all of us still inside our fleshy
bodies.... Here something was proclaiming the miracle of Husayn's
sacrifice, the physical power of martyrdom.... it seemed but the
collective character of their death - its memory and purpose in the
context of something holy and just - that now had to force its impact
upon the living.... (In a sense) the collective souls of the martyrs
watch over the people."
There is a strong quality of gnosis or jadhbah (divine attraction)
running through Islam. Ali and the other Imams are considered a
repository of gnostic knowledge because they are believed to have
understood the Qur'an in both its outward and inner meanings. They
traversed the "Tawil" of the
Qur'an. Tawil means to "...cause to
return, to lead back to the
origin,and thus to return to the true and original meaning of a written
text. It is to cause something to arrive at its origin. He who
practises tawil, therefore, makes something revert to its truth, to its
haqiqah." ("History of
Islamic
Philosophy", H. Corbin)
This was the practise of the Prophet and Imams - to reveal the tawil of
the Qur'an and the tawil of the events of their time. The verses of the
Qur'an are referred to as ayat. Since the Qur'an is a revelation from
God (God's speech to man) each of its verses is a signpost, an
indication of its origin. The interpretation, the hermeneutics (tawil)
of the ayat lead one back towards God, back towards the point of
Origin. The Qur'an, when approached properly (with a purity of
intention and intellect) becomes a catalyst capable of transforming the
internal world of the devotee so that he percieves, with the eye of his
heart, the spiritual realities which encompass this mundane material
world. Through correctly traversing the tawil of the qur'an he learns
to look towards God. Then when he looks back towards the things of this
material world he sees God before them, and after them, within them,
and encompassing them.
This strong gnostic vein is
tempered by a strict adherence to the outward, apparent meanings of the
Qur'an (since, according to the Qur'an all things have been set in
balance with an outward and
inward aspect) and with adherence to the path of the
Prophet (s.a.). The martyr follows this balanced path, not neglecting
the outward aspect. But when faced with overwhelming opposition that
may lead to his death he looks with the eye of his heart towards Allah,
and thus the forces of this world lose their power and authority
over him and he embraces death and enters the presence of God.
The mystical poetess Rabia al-Adawi wrote about her desire to achieve
gnosis, to achieve a state of nearness to God. This was to be
accomplished by a very gradual process of spiritual ascendancy away
from worldly concerns and towards divine truth (like climbing a
spiritual step-ladder).
"I do naught
But think on Thee, excluding all
beside;
But that purest love, which is Thy
due,
Is that the veils which hide Thee
fall, and I gaze on Thee...."
There is a desire to penetrate the veils which separate man from God
and by purification of the soul to gain the ability to experience
something of the Divine presence. The goal of the martyr is a similar
one, only instead of a gradual spiritual journey through the veils,
they are torn aside in one brief moment of sacrifice.
The veils which separate man from God are said to coalesce in the veil
which is man himself - that is his nature and rootedness in this world.
Thus life itself is a veil which conceals the eternal from man. By
giving away this veil (life) for God alone, he has torn aside all
veils. By committing this act of absolute submission to God (and
suppressing his own ego), he embodies the true essence of pure Islam.
It achieves the same goal as the mystic but in a more complete manner,
as the mystic does not remove the final veil (in which all others are
embodied) and thus remains connected to the temporal/material world of
limited existence and is unable to achieve true gnosis. The martyr,
however, is seen to achieve true gnosis by fulfilling the very
definition of the word Islam.
"...a martyr looks in the direction
of God. This is said both of all
the
Prophets and of all martyrs. It might be thus explained...that all
veils which separate man from the direction of God...end in the veil
existing within man himself.... All veils originating from darkness or
light convene in the veil which embodies man himself.... Once a person
should give away this veil in the cause of God...he has broken down the
origins of all veils.... He has destroyed his egoism and his
selfishness and he has offered himself.... The martyrs who...solely for
the Blessed and Supreme Lord...have offered everything within their
possession...will see God's epiphany, as did the Prophets before
them.... They were free from individuality and from "self". And so did
they unveil the shroud which separated them from God." (from "Lectures on the Supreme Struggle
(Jihad)" in "Islam and Revolution")
At Karbala, Hilal ibn Nafi' was accompanying 'Umar ibn Sa'd (who was in charge of the forces responsible for the slaughter of Husayn and his small group) as Umar Sa'd's chronicler. He says: “al Husayn ibn Ali was astonishing to me. As the time of his death drew nearer and his ordeals became more severe, his countenance appeared to be more refreshed and ruddier, like someone about to meet his beloved."
The Qur'an, the tafsirs of Ali (a.s.), the stand for truth made by
Husayn (a.s.), the concept of gnosis as derived from the teachings of
the Prophet and Imams - all these influences blend together to create a
fluid philosophy
deeply rooted in the rich traditions and truths of Islam. Transmitted
through revelation, hadith, historical truth, and shared memories of
past suffering and sacrifice, this swirl of mixed and varied concepts
is assimilated on emotional, intuitive, intellectual and spiritual
levels and thus becomes
ingrained within the Muslim character with the solid and potent imprint
of
permanency - of a faith that looks towards God before looking at the
world.
- Irshaad Hussain
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New Year's Day - Mourning the Imam
Battle of Badr“...many of Al-Husayn’s supporters had been killed by Umar bin
Sa’d’s army when a young lad came out against us. His face was like the
first splinter of the new moon and he carried a sword. He was wearing a
shirt and a waistcloth (izar), and a pair of sandals, one of whose
straps was broken.
Umar bin Sa’d bin Nufayl al Azdi said to me: “Let me attack him.” I
said: “Praise be to God, what do you want to do that for? Leave
him....”
But he insisted: “By God, let me attack him.” So he rushed against him
and did not turn back until he had struck his head with his sword and
split it. The young lad fell face downwards and called out: “O uncle!”
At this al-Husayn showed himself just like the hawk shows itself. He
launched into attack like a raging lion and struck Nufayl with his
sword.
That man tried to fend off the blow with his arm but his arm was cut
off from the
elbow, and he gave a great shriek of pain which was even heard by the
people in
the camp. As al-Husayn turned away from him, the cavalry of Kufa
attacked in order to save Nufayl but they only succeeded in trampling
him to death beneath the horse’s hooves, and the dust rose.
I saw al-Husayn crying out: “May the people who caused your death
perish. For the one who will oppose them on the Day of Resurrection on
your behalf will be your grandfather (Ali). Then he continued: “By God,
it is hard on your uncle that you called him and he did not answer you,
or rather he answered but your cry was too late to help you. For by
God, those who kill his relatives are many but those who help him are
few.”
Then he carried him in his arms. It is just as if (even now) I am
looking at the two legs of the boy making marks (as they trail) on the
ground. He took him and put him with his son...and the other members of
his household who had been killed. I asked about the boy and was told
that he was Qasim b. Al-Hassan b. Ali b. abu Talib.
(from Kitab al-Irshad)
"You are the artist of Islam, Husayn.
On the canvas of Karbala
You painted with your blood,
Each mujahid of yours
A brilliant stroke of red
Illuminating the darkness of that time.
Habib spread the white of his
hair in that blood
Hur trod his footsteps from
that end to this
Qasim spread the broken pieces of his body
Ali Akbar brought his heart
Abbas adorned it with his arms
He let them be cut lest they
interfere with Husayn's
great masterpiece
Ali Asgher - the small mujahid
gave his smile,
his innocence,
And, yes, his blood.
And Husayn you -
you orchestrated it-
Your hair turned white
Your steps were leaden
Each part of your body,
torn...
Your heart pierced
Your arms cut off
Your smile taken away
this was what you faced...
when you came to the canvas
To make your contribution
You gave yourself - but not quite,
You stood back and looked,
it wasn't enough.
I ask you....What was left?
You turned to the tents
you asked Sakina.
Sakina - she gave her father
her sacrifice,
And you asked for more...
You said Zainab -
Zainab, I need your hijab!
After all this, O Imam,
Some say we remember too much.
Some look at the painting,
yet forget why the artist
painted it.
No!
As long as we look
at the canvas with the eye of our heart
We will never forget -
Never forget why the artist
painted it.
But if we turn away
and in turning away
think we are progressing -
No...
It is just that -
turning away -
It is just our hearts growing blind.
"For surely it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts
(which are in the breasts) that grow blind." (Qur'an 22:46)
- Atiya Hussain