Shafaqna English- “Reflections on the Ashura movement” is a book written by “Rasul Jafarian” in Persian, published by Ansarian Publication. Shafaqna English has translated some sections of this book.
Armed Revolt as a Duty Against Tyranny
Imam Hussain’s (AS) uprising gave religious legitimacy to the concept of armed struggle against tyranny in the form of enjoining good and forbidding evil (Amr bil-Ma‘ruf wa Nahy ‘Anal-Munkar). This idea became a fundamental tenet of Shia islam political thought, whereas in Sunni doctrine, armed revolt is generally considered illegitimate.
Historically, Murji’ites supported armed revolt, as did some Mu‘tazilites and the Kharijites. However, it was Imam Hussain’s (AS) model that defined the Shia islam understanding of legitimate resistance.
Another recurring theme in post-Hussain (AS) revolt was allegiance to the leadership of the Ahlul-Bayt (AS). This became one of the foundational principles of Shi‘a political theory — that the Imam must be from the Prophet’s (PBUH) family.
A widespread slogan during the late Umayyad period was: “Al-Ridha min Al Muhammad (PBUH)” (“[Our demand is] the satisfaction from the Family of Muhammad (PBUH)”).
For instance, in the revolt of Hussain ibn ‘Ali of Fakh (d. 169 AH), it was declared:
“We invite you to [follow] Al-Ridha from the Family of Muhammad (PBUH)— to rule among you with the Book of God, the Sunnah of Prophet (PBUH), to practice justice among the people, and to distribute wealth equally.” Even during the Tawwabun revolt, they vowed to transfer power to the Ahlul-Bayt (AS) if they succeeded.
Justice — particularly in the form of egalitarian economic policies — was another key demand. The call for “division with fairness” (Al-qisma bil-Sawiyah), rooted in the governance model of Imam Ali (AS), was a hallmark of these oaths of allegiance and revolutions that followed the legacy of Karbala.
What can be said on this subject is that the event of Karbala, among the Twelver Shia Muslims, was regarded not so much as a political event to be emulated in the political sphere, but rather as a sacred and bloody tragedy. In reality, the Zaydi Alawites and, more often, the descendants of Imam Hassan (AS) adopted the path of revolutionary uprising, which was originally inspired by Karbala and imitated the movement of Imam Hussain (AS). Its political background also goes back to the battles of Jamal and Siffin, as those movements, too, involved resistance against tyranny and oppression by internal rulers.
Nevertheless, and despite the fact that the revolutionary political aspect of Karbala was less emphasized among the Twelver Shia Muslims, the political values embedded in it were, in fact, transmitted to later generations even more significantly than among the Zaydis. The lack of imitation of that movement had specific reasons, mainly stemming from the unfavorable political conditions of society that did not permit a repetition of such an occurrence.
Therefore, if the right conditions had arisen, those same latent political values could have been revived in the best possible way. This experience was realized in the Islamic Revolution, where the political dimension of Karbala was fully utilized.
Part of the Book Reflection on the Ashura movement by Rasul Jafarian