SHAFAQNA- In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Our Master Imam Hussain (A.S) states a motive for his great movement: I rose seeking reformation for my ancestral nation. It is about reforming the Ummah. But what nation does it mean? Many revolutionaries in different countries rise up with the intention of reform, but their goal is in their own time and within their own society. But does Imam Hussain (A.S) also mean the Ummah of his time?
Let’s be careful. He says he wants to reform his ancestral nation, not his own nation! Imam Hussain (A.S) is the Imam of the whole universe, his actions are in line with the whole world. His goal must be far beyond that time and place. Therefore, we should not make the value of Imam’s work equal to the work of revolutionaries and we should not say that Imam Hussain (A.S) rose to reform his society!
Now let’s look at the matter from another angle: If Imam (A.S) wants to reform society, the method of reform is not to go to the lion’s mouth and the lion will do whatever wants to him. That is not reform. It may be said that as a result of Imam’s (A.S) uprising, the people evolved. But the question is what evolution? After Ashura, many crimes took place and for a long time, Ummayads and Abbāsids were at the head of the government and there was no Shia government.
And on the other hand, it was for this reason that great people such as Ibn Abbas and Muhammad Hanifiyah forbade him from this movement. So what did Imam Hussain (A.S) do? Imam Hussain (A.S) raised his companions and opened a place above the heavens called Ala Illiyûn (in elevated Gardens) and took his companions there.
If his goal was to reform his own society, why did he open the Ala Illiyûn? This issue can not be attributed to the reform of the Ummah! On the other hand, we must say that his move was to open the door to the issues that Amir Al-Mu’minin (A.S) had closed. Why? Because the people broke the pact after the event of Al-Ghadir. Amir Al-Mu’minin (A.S) closed the door to the use of special blessings on the people who broke the covenant. But Imam Hussain (A.S) reopened these doors on his companions and his ancestral nation.
Amir Al-Mu’minin (A.S) closed the door to the rule of truth, but Imam Hussain (A.S) opened it so that his companions and the blessed ones could return again and establish the rule of truth. Considering that the Imams after Imam Hussain (A.S) explained the rule of truth and the laws of the rule of truth, and after that, the education of Shias towards the rule of truth began, and as we read in Ziyarat Ashura: “and to bestow upon me with the chance to take my own vengeance, with a leader of true guidance who is (Divinely) sustained, and expressing the truth from among you”, so, we should consider Imam Hussain (A.S) as the Imam of the whole universe, and know the reforms he made for the whole world, not just the Ummah of his time.
M. Razz