How the Lessons of Muharram and Ashura Help Us in Tough Times – A Shi'a Perspective
Faith
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Sep 11, 2020
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6 MIN READ
Farhana Kassamali; image source: shaimaaphotography
Editorial note: Just before Ashura, we put a call out for Shi'a perspectives on the significance of this day and month. We received many wonderful entries and inquiries and are honored to share this essay with you.
By Farhana Kassamali
This year, 2020, hasn’t exactly been the greatest year so far. It’s been a struggle in so many ways. People have lost jobs, are struggling to make ends meet, are shut away from friends and family and this has caused so much anxiety. We go through such tests in life, and sometimes we wonder, “Where is Allah in all this?” It’s a common question so many of us have asked ourselves as we go through our individual traumas.
“What did I do to deserve this?” Or, “Why is she getting everything so easily, and I’m fighting to be on the path of Allah, and it’s a struggle at every moment of my life.” There’s no other way around it – life is so, so hard at times. It’s difficult to find the silver lining in the struggle. I’ve gone through so much myself; sometimes it felt like afflictions and difficulties came into my life with the sole purpose to destroy and push me under water. So, I can attest to having these thoughts.
I can also attest to working hard to get out of the mental quicksand that can bring you under. As a Shi’a Muslim, I tried to connect the stories I heard growing up as to why struggles come into our lives, and what we can learn from them to strengthen our bond with Allah (S).
The Islamic month of Muharram, which marks the start of the new year, will be over soon enough, and the tragic events of Ashura, which falls on the 10th of Muharram, has passed. Shi’a and Sunni Muslims alike both commemorate this day, which happened more than 1400 years ago, but the significance for Shi’as is centered more on what happened that day in Karbala, Iraq, whereas Sunnis acknowledge the day for many different religious significant events, including that of Karbala.
And so, as a Shi’a Muslim, I want to talk about why the month of Muharram and the events of Ashura are so significant to us, and especially touch upon the one thing that stays with me year after year.
Ashura marks the tragic death of Imam Hussein (as), who Shi’as regard as the third Imam (the first Imam being Imam Ali, the second Imam being his first son Imam Hasan, and then Imam Hasan’s brother Imam Hussein being the third Imam) and who was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). On this day, Imam Hussein was brutally murdered in battle at Karbala. The Imam would not pay allegiance to the opposing side, which included Yazid, the son of Muawiyah. Because of his refusal to give into injustice, not only was he murdered, but his body was brutalized.
Imam Hussein (as) refused to give his allegiance based on two points: one, that Yazid was not in the direct lineage of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) as a ruler; and two, Yazid’s reputation was not one of the highest character. There are many stories regarding his affinity for wine and keeping animals such as monkeys in his palace. Imam Hussein did not feel these were befitting attributes of the ruler of the Muslim ummah.
That a person would sacrifice himself and his family in order to stand up to injustice is one of the greatest lessons any of us can take away from this event. Some things in this world are worth fighting for, and you should stand up to people who are causing this injustice. When we see rulers or leaders lying, hurting people, causing the innocent to suffer rather than helping them, caring more about money than humanity, subjugating people and engaging in all sorts of wrongdoing – we need to stand up against these people in power.
After Imam Hussein (as) was martyred, the women of the Prophet’s family, including Umamah bint Zainab (ra), the granddaughter of the holy Prophet, were taken as prisoners. When asked how she felt about the tragedy that just befell her family, Zainab (ra) said, "I see nothing but beauty."
This quote embodies some big lessons that Shi’as take away from the horrific events of Karbala. When Allah (S) has trials for us, when life is so tough for us, and we don't know why we are being tested, that one line rings in our hearts. Allah's (S) beauty is everywhere, even in the toughest of times, He has a plan for us, even (or especially) when we can’t see it. We can overcome hardships through trusting in His faith.
There was a time in my life where I didn’t believe this. There wasn’t any beauty in my life. I was miserable, and all I saw around me was others being happy. I went through an immensely painful divorce, and all I could see were people happily married or getting married; building homes, having dinner parties, having children. The pain I endured at the time felt unbearable, and I was completely shattered. I felt like this life was not worth it. God wasn’t watching me, and if He was, it was only to see me break down crying every night.
Many years later I’ve come to appreciate my life in a way I never thought I would; not just because I must, but because my daughter, my 10-year-old light of my life, is looking up to me. It was only after I allowed myself to really feel the pain, and allow myself to heal from it, that I realized God’s plan for me is great, even in it’s difficult moments.
While I recognize the blessings God has given to me, I also see so many injustices around me. It would be too selfish and easy to say that the lesson from those few words, “I see nothing but beauty,” would amount to just being grateful for my life.
It’s so hard to see one struggle after another, to read one terrible story after another. Every day it seems we wake up, and see yet another injustice against a Black person, another life needlessly taken. Breonna Taylor’s killers are still living their lives free, not having been arrested. We’re protesting, painting the streets, enduring violence, calling out injustice in all sorts of ways – but where has it led us? It just seems like we hear about another senseless murder week after week. Jacob Blake was shot seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin because there was an authority figure above him who felt he could do that to another life.
Here’s the thing: The beauty in all this may be that we are waking up from our comfortable lives, that too many of us have been asleep far too long. We’ve been reading the Quran and praying to Allah (S) but not taking more from those actions. Perhaps the struggle IS the beauty. We’ve been in our own comfortable bubbles and not asking ourselves, “If the Prophet (saw) were here, what would he say about us?” Do we ignore injustice as long as it doesn’t happen to our community, to us? If there’s a Muslim ban, everyone needs to be at the airport protesting. Do we feel the same about the injustice that is happening in Yemen? Or to the Uighurs in China?
God has promised to test us. These trials and injustices will happen to us at some point as well as around us – but the question is, what will we do about it?
In the end, we have the capacity from Allah (S) to weather any storm, no matter how fierce, and that is what many Shi’a Muslims take from the tragic events of Karbala.
We must remember that we are one ummah. We can embrace each other, our varying beliefs, agree to disagree and still have the respect for each other. We can take lessons from each other in order to get through the toughest times in life. We are one ummah in Islam, and we must see our larger community – those who are disenfranchised, maybe homeless, suffering in some way or another, whether they are Muslim or not – as part of our ummah, too.
May God's blessing be upon every one of you.
Farhana Kassamali is a CPA living in Houston, TX with her 10-year-old daughter. She spends her time reading, baking, politics and anything having to do with planners and stationary :) Find her on Instagram @farhana127
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