Rameez Makhdoomi
The martyrdom of Imam Hussain (as) in the Karbala has inspired entire humanity and globally known thinkers and leaders have taken it as an inspiration in their respective struggles of justice.
African noted peace icon and leader Nelson Mandela wrote –“ I(Nelson Mandela) has spent more than 20 years in prison, then on one night I decided to surrender by signing all the terms and conditions of government. BUT suddenly I thought about Imam Hussain and Karbala movement and Imam Hussain give me strength to stand for right of freedom and liberation and I did.”
Mahatma Gandhi stated – “My admiration for the noble sacrifice of Imam Hussain (as) as a martyr abounds, because he accepted death and the torture of thrust for himself, for his sons, and for his whole family, but did not submit to unjust authorities.” “I learnt from Hussain how to achieve victory while being oppressed.”
Gandhi has added -“My faith is that the progress of Islam does not depend on the use of sword by its believers, but the result of the supreme sacrifice of Hussain.”“If India wants to be a successful country, it must follow in the footsteps of Imam Hussain(as). “If I had an army like the 72 soldiers of Hussain, I would have won freedom for India in 24 hours.”
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1st Prime Minister of India) reflecting on Karbala martyrs wrote -“There is a universal appeal in his martyrdom. Hazrat Imam Hussein (as) sacrificed his all, but he refused to submit to a tyrannical government. He never gave any weight to the fact that his material force was far less in comparison with that of an enemy; the power of faith to his greatest force, which regards all material force as nothing. This sacrifice is a beacon light of guidance for every community and every nation.”
Nehru added – “Imam Hussain’s sacrifice is for all groups and communities, an example of the path of righteousness.”
Muhammad Ali Jinnah ( Founder and 1st President of Pakistan) wrote – “The world is unable to present an example finer and brighter than the personality of Imam Husain (as). He was the embodiment of love, valor and personification of sacrifice and devotion. Every Muslim, in particular, must learn a lesson from his life and should seek guidance from him.”
Reynold Alleyne Nicholson (Eminent English orientalist scholar of both Islamic literature and Islamic mysticism) wrote- “Hussain fell, pierced by an arrow, and his brave followers were cut down beside him to the last man. Muhammadan tradition, which with rare exceptions is uniformly hostile to the Umayyad dynasty, regards Hussain as a martyr and Yazid as his murderer.”
Edward Gibbon (English historian and member of parliament) wrote “In a distant age and climate the tragic scene of the death of Hussain will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.(The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, London, 1911, volume 5.)
James Corne (Author of History of China) wrote –
“Hussain and his companions faced eight kinds of enemies. On the four sides the army of Yezid was their enemy which was ceaselessly raining arrows; the fifth foe was the sun of Arabia that was scorching the bodies; the sixth foe was the desert of Karbala the sands of which were scorching like a heated furnace; the seventh and eighth foes were the overpowering hunger and the unbearable thirst. Thus on those who fought with thousands of infidels in such conditions has ended bravado; on such a people no gallant (hero) can ever have pre-eminence.”
Rabindranath Tagore ( Nobel Prize in Literature 1913) wrote :
“The world of things in which we live misses its equilibrium when its communication with the world of love is lost. Then we have to pay with our soul for objects which are immensely cheap. And this can only happen when the prison walls of things threaten us with being final in themselves. Then it gives rise to terrible fights, jealousies and coercions, to a scramble for space and opportunities, for these are limited. We become painfully aware of the evil of this and try all measures of adjustment within the narrow bonds of a mutilated truth. This leads to failure. Only he helps us who proves by his life that we have a soul whose dwelling in the kingdom of love, and things lose the tyranny of fictitious price when we come to our spiritual freedom.In order to keep alive justice and truth, instead of an army or weapons, success can be achieved by sacrificing lives, exactly what Imam Hussain did. Imam Hussain is the leader of humanity.”
Dr. Rajendra Prasad (1st President of India) wrote- “The sacrifice of Imam Hussain is not limited to one country, or nation, but it is the hereditary state of the brotherhood of all mankind.”
Dr. Radha Krishnan (Ex President of India) wrote – “Though Imam Hussain gave his life almost 1300 years ago, but his indestructible soul rules the hearts of people even today.”
Swami Shankaracharya (Hindu Religious Priest) wrote -“It is Hussain’s sacrifice that has kept Islam alive or else in this world there would be no one left to take Islam’s name.”
Sarojini Naidu (Great Indian Poetess titled Nightingale of India) wrote – “I congratulate Muslims that from among them, Hussain, a great human being was born, who is revered and honored totally by all communities.”
Thomas Carlyle (Scottish historian and essayist) -“The best lesson which we get from the tragedy of Cerebella is that Imam Husain (as) and his companions were rigid believers in God. They illustrated that the numerical superiority does not count when it comes to the truth and the falsehood. The victory of Husain, despite his minority, marvels me!”
Charles Dickens (English novelist) -“If Husain had fought to quench his worldly desires…then I do not understand why his sister, wife, and children accompanied him. It stands to reason therefore, that he sacrificed purely for Islam.”
Edward G. Brown (Professor at the University of Cambridge) “…a reminder of that blood-stained field of Karbala, where the grandson of the Apostle of God fell, at length, tortured by thirst, and surround by the bodies of his murdered kinsmen, has been at anytime since then, sufficient to evoke, even in the most lukewarm and the heedless, the deepest emotion, the most frantic grief, and an exaltation of spirit before which pain, danger, and death shrink to unconsidered trifles.” (A Literary History of Persia, London, 1919, p.227)
Sir William Muir (Scottish orientalist) wrote – “The tragedy of Karbala decided not only the fate of the Caliphate, but also of Mohammadan kingdoms long after the Caliphate had waned and is appeared.” (Annals of the Early Caliphate, London, 1883, p.441-442).
Dr. K. Sheldrake wrote – “Of that gallant band, male and female knew that the enemy forces around were implacable, and were not only ready to fight, but to kill. Denied even water for the children, they remained parched under the burning sun and scorching sands, yet not one faltered for a moment. Husain marched with his little company, not to glory, not to power of wealth, but to a supreme sacrifice, and every member bravely faced the greatest odds without flinching.”
Antoine Bara (Lebanese writer) “No battle in the modern and past history of mankind has earned more sympathy and admiration as well as provided more lessons than the martyrdom of Husayn in the battle of Karbala.” (Husayn in Christian Ideology)
Washington Irwing (American author, essayist, biographer and historian) wrote – “It was possible for Hussein to save his life by submitting himself to the will of yazid. But his responsibility as a reformer did not allow him to accept yazid’s Caliphate. He therefore prepared to embrace all sorts discomfort and inconvenience in order to deliver Islam from the hands of the Omayyads. Under the blazing sun, on the parched land and against the stiffing heat of Arabia, stood the immortal Hussein.”
Al Fakhri (Famous Arab Historian)”This is a catastrophe whereof I care not to speak at length, deeming it alike too grievous and too horrible. For verily, it was a catastrophe than that which naught more shameful has happened in Islam…There happened therein such a foul slaughter as to cause man’s flesh to creep with horror. And again I have dispersed with my long description because of its notoriety, for it is the most lamented of catastrophes.”
Josh Malihabadi (Shaayar-e-Inqilaab or The Revolutionary Poet) “Insaan ko bedaar to ho lene do, har qaum pukaraygi hamare hain Hussain”(Let humanity awakens and every tribe will claim Hussain as their own.)
Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar (Pioneer of the Khilafat Movement and a dauntless fighter in the struggle of independence) “Qatl-e-Hussain asl main marg-e-Yazid hai, Islam zindaa hota hai har Karbala ke baad” (In the murder of Hussain, lies the death of Yazid, for Islam resurrects after every Karbala)
Allama Iqbal (Famous Poet) wrote:
“Imam Hussein uprooted despotism forever, till the day of Resurrection. He watered the dry gardens of freedom with a surging wave of his blood, and indeed he awakened the sleeping Muslim nation. If Imam Hussein (a.s) had aimed at acquiring the worldly empire, he would not have traveled the way he did. Hussein weltered in blood and dust for the sake of truth. Verily, therefore he becomes the foundation of Muslim creed. ‘La Ilaha Illallah’, meaning there is no deity but Allah (God).”
Undoubtedly, the personality of Imam Hussain (as) will continue to inspire humanity forever.