Shafaqna English– A member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom stated, “Before being a political event, Ashura was a divine defense of human dignity. Imam Hussain (AS) defined true freedom through servitude to God. Contemporary humanity, to overcome the crisis of meaning, needs the Hussaini movement as a model.”
On the occasion of the arrival of Muharram and the commemoration of Ashura, Shafaqna News Agency conducted a detailed interview with Ayatollah Mohsen Faqihi, a member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, to explore the anthropological, theological, and civilizational dimensions of the movement of Imam Hussain ibn Ali (AS).
In this interview, Ayatollah Faqihi, through a profound and analytical perspective, describes the essence of Imam Hussain’s (AS) uprising as “the revival of humanity in the light of servitude to God” and demonstrates how Ashura, beyond being a historical event, can serve as a living and dynamic school of thought that opens new horizons of freedom, dignity, justice, and spirituality for contemporary humanity.
What follows is the full text of Shafaqna’s interview with Ayatollah Mohsen Faqihi:
Shafaqna: If we were to summarize the essence of the Hussaini movement in a single concept, what would that concept be, and what message does it hold for humanity today?
Ayatollah Faqihi: If I were to summarize the truth of the Hussaini movement in a comprehensive and fundamental concept, that concept would be “the revival of humanity in the light of sincere servitude to God.”
Imam Hussain (AS) stood against a deviation that sought to reduce human beings from the station of being God’s vicegerents on earth to creatures obedient to power—without will, identity, or freedom—and subject to tyrannical domination. In his view, the greatest tragedy in history is for human beings to forget their true nature and become enslaved to other people and worldly powers instead of God.
The Hussaini movement is a movement to restore humanity to its divine self. This uprising reminds people that freedom, dignity, awareness, responsibility, and justice all spring from the source of genuine devotion to God. Imam Hussain (AS), through his sacrifice, proclaimed that no power has the right to strip human beings of their true identity.
The message of this movement for modern humanity—humanity that often loses itself amid the noise of technology, consumerism, identity crises, media influence, and the pressures of power structures—is that the path to liberation lies in returning to one’s true self and reconnecting with the source of meaning.
Ashura tells contemporary humanity, If you wish to be free, you must first become free within.
If you seek dignity, you must return to your true self.
If you wish to stand against oppression, you must illuminate your heart with the light of faith and reason.
Shafaqna: Can Ashura be regarded, before being a political uprising or historical event, as a great defense of human dignity and freedom?
Ayatollah Faqihi: Without a doubt. Before being a political event, Ashura was an existential, anthropological, and theological stance. Imam Hussain (AS) confronted a tyrannical regime that sought to transform human beings into powerless subjects of monarchy—a government that aimed to silence reason, suppress conscience, and reduce people to instruments of power.
When Imam Hussain (AS) declared:
“Indeed, the son of an illegitimate father has placed me between two choices: the sword or humiliation. Far be it from us to accept humiliation.”
this statement was a proclamation in defense of human dignity—a dignity rooted in faith and beyond the reach of any worldly power.
Ashura is a defense of the right to conscious and informed choice. Imam Hussain (AS) even released his companions from their pledge of allegiance on the eve of Ashura, demonstrating that the value of this movement lay in the freedom of choice.
In a world where powerful forces strive, through sophisticated propaganda, to turn people into passive consumers and obedient subjects, Ashura proclaims that human beings are meant to think freely, choose freely, and stand freely.
Shafaqna: How does Imam Hussain (AS) connect servitude to God, human freedom, the pursuit of justice, and the preservation of human dignity?
Ayatollah Faqihi: In the movement of Imam Hussain (AS), these concepts are not separate from one another; rather, they are links in a single chain.
He teaches us that freedom without devotion to God is nothing more than an illusion, because if a person abandons servitude to God, he or she inevitably becomes enslaved to other people, political powers, desires, or fears.
He also teaches that the pursuit of justice is the fruit of devotion to God, because justice is the manifestation of Divine Will within society.
This is why Imam Hussain (AS) stated, “I rose only to seek reform in the community of my grandfather.”
Reform means restoring society to the path of justice, rationality, and dignity.
Shafaqna: In a world where contemporary humanity faces a crisis of meaning, war, discrimination, violence, and the collapse of values, what horizon does Ashura open before it?
Ayatollah Faqihi: Ashura opens a new horizon of spiritual, ethical, and human-centered living for contemporary humanity.
Modern people, surrounded by an overwhelming flood of information and entertainment, often lose sight of the meaning of life. Ashura reminds them that meaning is found in connection with truth, standing up for values, making conscious choices, and remaining faithful to principles.
Ashura teaches humanity that one must never remain indifferent in the face of oppression, injustice, and discrimination. Silence in the face of injustice is itself a form of injustice.
Ashura tells humanity even if the world is filled with oppression, a single conscious and free human being can change the course of history.