Who is Imam Husayn ('A)?

The topic that is been announced and has been floating around in flyers is Imam Husayn is the embodiment of resistance, what is called muqawamat in Islam. And to understand this topic of resistance and resilience in Islam, I want to make sure that today we establish things through the Qur'an and the Sirah of the Ahl al-Bayt to understand the importance of the concept of resistance.

Because we will attempt to prove the fact that in Islam, resistance equals victory. The more you resist, the more of a victor you are. Whether that means you have lost your family, whether that means that your home is in shambles, whether it means that they have destroyed your country. If you have resisted that movement and you are standing after that attack, then you are victorious.

Equally, inside of us, when we resist Shaytan inside of us, now Shaytan will attack, Shaytan will bruise us, he will scar us, he will remove us from where we are, he will cause us to trip and stumble. We will have bad moments, bad months, bad weeks and all of this is there. But at the end of the day, when we are entering into our grave, if we have resisted the force of Shaytan, we would be victorious.

Organizations across the world. And before I enter this conversation, it is not a popular one and we are not here to make friends. Let me also make one point clear to you from my standpoint, from this point to all of you. This mimbar, the word 'mimbar' itself comes from 'nabara' in Arabic. Nabara means 'boolandhi', elevation. The mimbar becomes a 'wasila' of that elevation, a tool of that elevation. And so the job - quote unquote - of the individual who is sitting on this mimbar is not always to say things that the people want to hear. It is important to give them what they need to hear.

Sometimes, wants and needs are great, that is when the 'alim is very happy. Sometimes, the wants and needs are complete polar opposites. And that is when we have to make a choice. People who sit on this member, either we are here to please you, or we are here to please our Creator. Either we can do both at the same time, al-hamdu li-Llah, or we make a very difficult decision.

And, I choose to please my Creator, knowing so well that nobody really here will be upset with me. However, if there are a 100 people in this hall and you are spending three hours a day coming here, that is 300 hours every single night across 10 nights is 3,000 hours, if the amount is correct. Those 3,000 hours you will be asked about, I will be asked about.

And so it is not a popularity contest. There are organizations out there today that spend millions and millions of dollars trying to introduce the world to Imam Husayn. Please understand me very carefully. And this whole obsession, it is a great obsession, that we have had for centuries and understanding the Falsafah [philosophy] of Karbala, for example, the philosophy of Karbala. What is this mission? Why did he do what he did? And now who is this Imam Husayn?

And then this door, in this area of social media, whenever there is a small event on this very philosophy, you can see it in this corner, in that corner, in this corner, in that corner. And it is great. That is fantastic. Work is being done. Volunteers are coming forward. But the thing that I fear personally, is that in all of this, the true definition of 'who is Husayn?' is getting lost.

In an attempt sometimes to soften the approach of Karbala, in an attempt sometimes to please individuals who may not be pleased with us. In an attempt sometimes, like I said, to assimilate in societies, we sacrifice the true essence of Imam Husayn's mission. We reduce him to teddy bears, to roses, to hot chocolate on a cold winter day.

In the process, what we end up doing is, that we take such a brilliant mission like Imam Husayn's, and we equal it or equate it to that of the likes of Ghandi, and Dr. King, and the Pope, and Mother Theresa, and Malcolm X. And while all these are great revolutionaries, there is no comparison to Imam Husayn.

If the tragedy in the land of Karbala is the only piece of earth on this planet that is equal to Heaven, and I do not think there is anybody in this room who doubts that. 'Ulama' [scholars] have said time and time again, "if there is Heaven on earth, then Heaven resides in Karbala". If there is "no day like that of Imam Husayn", and these are not my words.

When he was sitting there beside his brother, Imam al-Mujtaba, alayhi as-salat wa as-salam [Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad], during the final days of Imam Mujtaba's life, and all of you are very unaware of what halatun, in what state our second Imam was in. The poison was so bad, he was throwing up his own liver. Naturally, a brother sees another brother, he begins to cry. Imam Husayn begins to cry.

Imam Mujtaba stops his tears and says, "Husayn, la yawma ka yawmak ya aba Abdillah". Today is very hard for you - no doubt - but there is no day like your day, Imam Husayn."