Tasu'a Day, an Important and Fateful Day in Islamic History / The Tenth Night, the Last Night of a Lover's Whisper with His True Beloved

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Kabul: As the Tasua of Husseini approaches, religious and cultural experts in an interview with AVA describe Tasua as an important day for major decisions on both sides of the front of truth and falsehood, saying: According to the order of Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad, the war should have started on this day; but Imam Hussein (AS) asked the other side through his brother Hazrat Abbas (AS) for a respite, on the one hand, to deal with some political and military matters, and on the other hand, to spend a night alone with his God and seek his secret and needs, because Hussein loved solitude with God very much and even now, he has devoted his entire being to the path of God.

 

Hassan Ahmadi, a religious writer and researcher, says in an interview with AVA that on the night of Ashura, while organizing the affairs of the army and preparing for tomorrow's war, Imam Hussein (AS) concluded his last argument with his companions and said: Whoever remains in the ranks of Hussein will definitely be killed tomorrow. Therefore, I take my oath of allegiance from those who wish to go; and let them take advantage of the darkness of the night and go. The Imam did this because in the ideology of Hussein, there is no compulsion, reluctance, or deception, and the work of God should not be accompanied by reluctance, and everything should be done with complete satisfaction.

 

According to him, in order for there to be no flaws in his great movement, Imam Hussein (AS) prioritized honesty and sincerity in the path of God, and until the last minutes, he screened his companions and supporters, and through various tests, he kept the most honest and virtuous people by his side so that on the day of Ashura, which is the day of sacrifice and self-sacrifice, they would not show the slightest weakness in defending the religion of God and preserving the essence of Islam, and their names would be recorded in the annals of history with a golden pen as the best companions.

 

However, Najaf Ali Rahimi, a religious affairs expert, also said in an interview with Ava that Imam Hussein (AS), who did not want to be the initiator of the war in Karbala and was completely on the defensive, tried until the last minute to abandon the war and conflict and wanted to delay this unequal war through diplomacy, because the main goal of the Imam, as the leader of the Islamic nation, was to overthrow the ruling government and reform the nation in the first step, not to be killed; but since the Imam was not a person of humility and submission, he was eventually martyred with his companions, which of course was the result of the work, not the main goal.

 

According to him, the Imam knew that he had chosen a path that would lead to victory regardless of whether he was killed or killed; but at the same time, he tried hard to abandon the conflict and, according to some narrations, negotiated with Omar Saad several times; but it did not work, because Omar Saad was ordered that Hussein must either surrender or fight. But the Imam never surrendered to humiliation and ultimately chose the path of martyrdom, marking the victory of blood over the sword in Karbala and making his fruitful movement an eternal model.

 

The policy of surrender and the attempt to create hypocrisy and division in the ranks of the Imam

According to Mr. Rahimi, one of the events of the 9th of Muharram was the offer of a letter of protection by Shammar to Hazrat Abbas (AS). Shammar, with his naive imagination, while emphasizing to Hazrat Abbas that Imam Hussein had no chance in this war, added: You and your brothers are my nephews and your mother is from the Banu Kilab tribe, if you separate from Hussein, I will obtain a letter of protection for you from Amir Ubaidullah. Shammar's insolence had reached a point where he thought that with this weak and baseless logic, he would make Hazrat Abbas insolent and separate from Hussein; but Hazrat Abbas, contrary to Shammar's expectations, became angry with him and called him a shameless and despicable person.

 

According to Rahimi, Shammar's offer of a peace treaty was made to Abbas while Abbas knew everything accurately and distinguished between right and wrong, and at the same time, he would not abandon his Imam, whom he considered to be obligatory to obey, under any circumstances; and that too at a time when the enemy's army line was getting longer and longer. It must be said that this was due to Shammar's superficiality, who saw everyone through his own lens, unaware that the companions of Imam Hussein (AS) were at the highest level of faith and heartfelt belief.

 

Based on Rahimi's statements, Shammar's offer of a peace treaty to Abbas was in fact a repetition of the same policy of surrender by Ibn Ziyad and Omar Sa'd that had been proposed to Imam Hussein (AS) many times, and the Imam had also refused.

 

He continued by saying that the policy of money, force and deceit, which have been and are winning tactics for tyrannical and corrupt rulers throughout history, was used against Imam Hussein (AS) many times and also worked in Kufa and turned thousands of Kufians against the Imam; however, this Machiavellian policy had no effect on the ranks of the Imam's true companions and all the enemy's plans and conspiracies, including the offer of a letter of protection from Shammar to Hazrat Abbas, were ultimately neutralized and thwarted.

 

The sounding of the war drum on the ninth day of Muharram by Omar Sa'd

Mr. Rahimi also continued by saying: Other events that have been narrated in historical and narrative sources on the ninth day of Muharram are that on this day, the war drum was officially sounded by Omar Sa'd. Although the Imam could have organized the ranks and prepared quickly against Omar Sa'd's army, he still waited and told his brother Hazrat Abbas: Go and see what they want. Hazrat Abbas also delivered the message The Imam informed him that they intended to fight. Finally, the Imam, through Hazrat Abis, asked for a respite for the ninth day and the tenth night and said: Tomorrow we will settle accounts with you.

 

According to Mr. Rahimi, the question that is most on people's minds today is why the opposing side of Imam Hussein (AS) was in such a hurry to fight? The answer is very clear: Ibn Ziyad, who knew very well the truthfulness of Hussein (AS) and also knew that he had deceived most of the people and turned them against the Imam, was afraid that with the prolonged presence of the Imam in Iraq, the situation might turn around and Hussein, with his eloquent logic, would awaken the sleeping Kufans. The possibility of this turning point was also very high.

 

On the other hand, according to him, Shammar entered Karbala on the ninth day with a new order and warned Umar Saad, who had trampled on all humanity for the love of Malik Ray, that either you carry out the emir's order or you hand over the command of the entire army to me and give up Malik Ray. Umar Saad was precisely under pressure and in order to prove his sincerity to Ubaydullah, he declared war on Hussein (AS) on the ninth day of Muharram.