Understanding & Analyzing Karbala From A Military Perspective

'A'udhu bi-Llahi min al-Shaytan al-rajim. We seek the protection of God from Shaytan, who has been expelled from God's Kingdom of special mercy. Bismillahi, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim. We turn to God and ask for his help and guidance for three reasons: we believe He is Allah, the absolute perfect being. And therefore, if we sit here and we hope to achieve some sort of perfection, some goodness, some guidance, our first attention should be toward Him because He is the only source of all perfection.

And we also turn to Him because we believe He is Rahman. Each one of us here, moment by moment, receives the Rahma, and the mercy and the Grace from Allah, whereby we come to life, whereby we survive and we have all the necessities of life and whereby we even thrive and grow and develop. And thirdly, we should turn to Him because we accept Him to be Rahim. His mercy is not limited to the bare necessities. His mercy is continuous and promising to be all the more. There is no limit of mercy on His side, it is unlimited.

The question is, to what extent can we increase our capacity to take in more? So the more we understand Him, and the more we submit to Him, and the more we commit ourselves to live a life according to His laws, the more we increase our capacity to take in more mercy from Him.

Wa as-salat wa as-salam 'ala Sayyidina, wa Nabiyyina, Muhammad, wa alihih at-tahirin. And we send our salutations and Greetings on the Holy Prophet of Islam. We respect Him, we salute Him. We express our love and loyalty to the Prophet because we believe he is the most perfect man. Why? For two main reasons. "Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu", we believe as a servant of God, he had the maximum slave-hood and servanthood to God.

But before you can achieve slave-hood and servanthood to God, you also have to know who God is. You have to know what God's perfect qualities are. You have to know how God, moment by moment is touching your life, affecting your life, ruling your life, and controlling everything, and driving the universe slowly towards its purpose of creation. The universe is not here by chance. So the Prophet's understanding was the maximum, and therefore his submission was also the maximum, and therefore he was the highest.

And we send our salutations and Greetings on His Holy progeny, who are the next best in perfection after him, and especially so on the third Holy Imam, whose movement we are commemorating in these days. I was told that it will be a gathering for the youth, but I guess it is an open gathering. My Salams and my greetings to the elders and to my young brothers. As-salamu 'alaykum, wa rahmat Allah [wa alaykum as-salam wa rahmatu Allah].

We had a previous gathering with the youths before Muharram, and the response and the questions that came in from the organizers, the I.U.V.C from the youths were so many, I felt guilty that I took too much time talking. So this time I thought, let me reduce my time for talk and give more time for discussion, and questions and answers to the youth. The reason I chose this particular topic was because it is an approach towards Karbala. It is the same details we have been hearing all the time, but from a different perspective.

You give this event to different experts, they will analyse it from their own field of expertise. So you give it to the military experts, they will look at it from their perspective. If you look at the event of Karbala from the perspective of military planning, there are several points that can be picked up.

Number one, this reality and fact was very clear for everyone that there will be a confrontation and that in this confrontation, the Bani Umayyah are prepared to use full force and they are ready to kill. The question is, should Imam Husayn surrender or should he resist? And if he resists, what will be the outcome? These are the fundamental factors which enable the Imam then to decide how to resist and how to oppose.

Notice, his first military tactic when he is summoned suddenly in the night, not during the daytime, in Madinah, to the governor's mansion, Walid ibn 'Utbah, the military arrangement Imam does is he takes a group of bodyguards with him, and he informs them that in case if there is any development of military confrontation, then I shall summon you and you come in for protection. Normally, when you are summoned to the palace or to the presidential residence, you do not go with bodyguards, unless you know the background of these people.

Walid ibn 'Utbah, he was a pacifist governor of the Bani Umayyah, he was not very confrontational. However, he had an advisor, Marwan ibn Hakam- ohh! He was a terrorist. If we can use that label for him. In consultation, on issues which were important, he would call Marwan on this occasion, a critical moment, he invited and solicited the advice of Marwan.

Look at the advice Marwan gives. This letter has come from Yazid. Immediately, you must summon all these parties involved. 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, 'Abdullah ibn Zubayr, Abu 'Abdullah, the third Holy Imam. They were all to be summoned, they were to be imposed with bay'ah [allegiance]. Marwan advises immediately summoned them right now.

Number two, do not give them any chance to defend, to protect, to even argue back, just present the proposal on the table. You are supposed to make allegiance to Yazid. Three, there is no choice. It is either yes, or your head will be beheaded. Number four, do not even wait till the news of the death of the Mu'awiyah arrives and spreads, and then you get different groups of people deciding how to oppose and go to different parts of the Muslim Empire.

Marwan was smart, he knew the degree of opposition that was there in Madinah and how people would then take opportunity after Mu'awiyah. Mu'awaiyah ruled with an iron hand, he suppressed, and he oppressed, and he bought people. Those he could buy their silence with money, he did that. Those who were strong enough to oppose, he suppressed them by military force. That is how Mu'awaiya ruled, and Marwan was of the same thinking and hence this advice. And Imam, alayhi as-salam, knew that beforehand and therefore he went prepared. Number one.

Number two, Imam, alayhi as-salam, he leaves Madinah and proceeds towards Makkah. Question, what is the military perspective on this? Why did he not decide to stay in Madinah and express his opposition?

If you analyse the situation in Madinah, Madinah it seems not to be an appropriate place for launching an act of resistance and opposition. True, it was the place where there were many companions of the Prophet and the Ansar. But the Ansar were people, yes, who had inclination towards the Ahl ul-Bayt, but the degree of inclination was not high enough for them to be ready to support till death.

Observe the situation which took place in Saqifah. Despite all that decisions that were made and despite them knowing who is righteous, they did not do anything to support the Ahl ul-Bayt. Number two. So Madinah had this problem. Secondly, Madinah, you must remember the people were somehow conditioned and they began to accept that, yes, if the ruling party wanted the" Sirah" of the Shaykhayn, of the first and the second Khalifah to be practiced, we accept that. Number two.

Madinah was also not appropriate because it had shown in the past, in the time of Yazid, after the massacre of Karbala in the year 63 A.H., when there was some opposition in Madinah, one of the companions of the Prophet travelled to Sham, he saw the palace of Yazid. He fully saw how Yazid is openly breaking the laws of God, openly drinking, openly engaging in illicit sexual behaviour, openly flouting the laws of God. When he came back to Madinah, he spread this message that we cannot any longer accept to live under such a khalifah, otherwise we are not safe from the punishment of God. And there was an uprising which was quashed by the military which Yazid, the army which Yazid sent there and there was massacre, widespread massacre. It came to be known as the event of Harra. If you go to Baqi', there are places where the martyrs of Harra are buried.

Madinah also saw an uprising in 149 A.H. by one of the sons of the Imams, Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah, who was known as the "Nafs az-Zakiyyah." Support was not complete they were quashed. There was another uprising in 163 A.H. by one of the other descendants of the Imams by the name of Husayn ibn 'Ali, similar to that of the third Holy Imam and he became to be known as the "Shahid of 'Fakh', Fakh is a place which is just outside Makkah. Again, inadequate support from the people of Madinah. So the people of Madinah apparently were not yet at that level where they could show full support for an uprising.

Number three, the fact that Madinah had this ruler, Walid ibn 'Utbah, who as a representative of the Bani Umayyah obviously had penetrated the people and therefore he had pacified them. And number four, Madinah had the problem that in addition to Walid ibn 'Utbah, there were people like Marwan ibn Hakam, staunch, adamant, stubborn in their hatred and opposition to the Ahl ul-Bayt. And Marwan was of a terrorist thinking mind, one who had to use force anytime necessary, no, even when not necessary, extra exaggerated use of force. And therefore Marwan kept a huge small army of his own in Madinah.

And number five, besides, the number of people staying in Madinah, compared to the number staying, let us say in the other cities in the Islamic world at that time was less. These are some of the reasons which may have factored in the mind of Imam when he planned that if I am to raise an opposition to Bani Umayyah, Madinah should not be my base. So then he proceeds to Makkah.

Reason very simple, Makkah was the centre where on an annual basis all the Muslims gathered. Two things he would enjoy there, number one, protection, because we Muslims are educated to consider Makkah as a Holy sanctuary, it is a precinct where there is peace and there is protection. The Shari'ah says you are not allowed to enter Makkah unless you are in the state of a Ihram. Ihram means I am making Haram on me, anything which will attract me towards sex, for example, I can not touch, I can not look, I can not kiss, I can not go on with all those relationships with my even legal spouse, in the state of Ihram.

In the state of the Ihram, I have to remove all those reminders of my pride and my selfishness. In the state of the Ihram, I have to control my aggression. I am not supposed to harm plants, I am not supposed to harm animals, I am not supposed to harm the tiniest insects. I am not supposed to harm other human beings. Even if a criminal were to walk into the precinct of Makkah, a criminal who has committed a crime for which the court of law has passed a sentence, the Shari'ah court, that he has to be sentenced or even executed. Once inside the Haram, you are not allowed to arrest him. It is that sacred. No, the riwayah [narration] even teaches the Ahl ul-Bayt that you are not even, not only allowed to physically arrest, you are not even allowed to emotionally hurt the feelings of somebody else.

There's a riwayah which says that a person gave a loan to someone and then the person disappeared, they never met. And on one occasion in the time of Hajj, he saw him around the Ka'abah and then he wanted to approach him to ask back for his money. So he asked the 6th Holy Imam "afa ataqadhahu?", can I make my "taqadha and my demand for my loan?" And Imam said, No! "La tu sallim 'alayh wa la turawwi'uhu."-"No, do not hurt his feelings, do not even greet him, because the moment you greet him, he will remember that, yes, he is obliged to you." That is how sacred and peaceful a place that is.

So the choice of Makkah at this time was very clear for Imam, number one: protection. Number two: propagation. Because the number of people coming there will be so large, he will then be able to educate them and explain to them what are the conditions of the Muslim Ummah right now. How different is Yazid from Mu'awiyah? How we could not tolerate Mu'awiyah but Mu'awiyah was smart enough to wear a mask where he hid his true identity. He showed himself to be a Muslim successfully but Yazid has even removed that mask and therefore we cannot tolerate his presence.

Number three: So Madinah could not be a base, and Imam planned the visit, he came to Makkah. Once in Makkah just before the beginning of Hajj, Imam departs. There is a question and debate whether the Imam did perform the Umrah of Tamattu' or is it just Umra mufrada. It is a basic mas'alah of fiqh. It is not necessary that the Imam should have performed Umrah e Tamattu' when he went to Makkah and therefore he was not bound and obliged to continue with Hajj Tamattu'. You have an option once you go to Makkah and you are planning to stay for long there for several months, you are allowed to do one Umrah every month. So if Imam proceeded there in the month of Rajab, it is not necessary that he made the niyyah [intention] of Umrah at-Tamattu [as-salamu aleykum wa rahmatu Allah].

It is not necessary that he would have made the niyyah of Hajj at-Tamattu. In remember, Umrah of Tamattu he arrived in Rajab. Usually the journey takes about a week. The Prophet left Madinah from Masjid e Shajarah towards 26th, 27th of Dhil qa'dah, around the third of Dhil-Hijjah he arrived in Makkah.

Likewise, Imam Husayn, alayhi as-salam, left on the 26th, 27th of Rajab, on about third Sha'ban, he arrived in Makkah definitely, he must have performed Umrah Mufradah with that niyyah he entered. He would have come out again in the month of Sha'ban or Ramadan and entered again with the niyyah of Umrah. He could have come out again in the month of Shawwal. Now he had the option of re-entering Makkah either with the niyyah of Umrah Mufradah or Umrah at-Tamattu'.

But in all likelihood, he did come back with the niyyah of Umrah Mufradah, that this is what the subsequent Imams have reported to us. If you are not there with the niyyah of Umrah at-Tamattu, therefore you are not planning to do Hajj, you are not bound and obliged to stay on the 8th, therefore, proceed to Mina or to 'Arafah. So on the 8th, he leaves Makkah.

What is the military tactic here? In the conversations that he had with 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas and with Muhammad Ibn Hanafiyyah, we come to learn that Imam was already informed and he began to receive information that, yes, there is a plan to assassinate him.

Look at the conversation for example, he has with 'Abdullah ibn Zubayr. 'Abdullah ibn Zubayr is the son of Asma' who was married to...[She is] the daughter of Abu Bakr, the sister of A'ishah. So he was the nephew of A'ishah. 'Abdullah ibn Zubayr; the father was Zubayr ibn Awan , a prominent 'Sahabi'[companion]. Abdullah ibn Zubayr suggests to Imam, do not leave Makkah, stay here and continue for Hajj let us form a base of resistance here. And Imam says, "you know I have heard from my grandfather that in Makkah there will be an animal which will be slaughtered." "Inna laha kabshan bihi tustahallu hurmatuha" "The hurmah and the sanctity of Makkah shall be broken by the shedding of the blood of one animal which will be slaughtered." Metaphorical reference, there will be someone who will be killed there. In actual terms, it turned out to be 'Abdullah ibn Zubayr himself later on. [The Imam continues].. 'and I do not want to be that slaughtered animal here.' Definitely he was afraid of assassination there. Amr ibn Sa'eed Ashdaq was the assassin who was sent with a posse to go and kill Imam.

Incidentally notice, I said the Imam got information. This is another military tactic, the use of informants, the use of spies. Have you ever wondered why the half brother of Imam, alayhi as-salam, Muhammad Hanafiyyah, never participated in Karbala?

Ibn Hanafiyyah, his mother was Khawla ibnt Ja'far ibn Qays, they came from the Hanafiyyah family, tribe. Ibn Hanafiyyah was a strong commander in the battle of Jamal. Imam 'Ali, alayhi as-salam, gave him the standard, he was the standard bearer. And one of the most important soldiers in any army is the standard bearer in the old strategies of military confrontation. He was a brave man yet he did not come to Karbala. No, in fact, he advised him not to have an uprising against Bani Umayyah. He was not a coward, he was very courageous. But if he did not participate in Karbala, there must have been a very good reason and Imam does not condemn him. There is no record of a condemnation. Most probably he was bodily now disabled or defective. There is no clear record, there is some indication that maybe he may have been turning blind maybe, or rather, or he had some other disability.

Ibn Hanafiyyah was instructed by the Imam to remain behind in Madinah. [Imam said to him]-"an takuna li 'aynan la 'alayka an takuna li 'aynan"- "you become my eyes in Madinah." I am leaving but you inform me everything of the new developments that are occurring here. Have your spies all over. Yet another military tactic: not only have spies in Madinah, but make sure you have a network of informants. He sent messengers to intercept travelers who are traveling.

So once he [Imam Husayn] left Makka and he is now proceeding towards Kufa Incidentally, he selected the destination to be Kufa and not any other place in the Muslim world at that time. Look at the Muslim world at that time, the main centers, Medina- we said that could not be a base. Makkah - he was already under threat. Sham- out of the question. That leaves Yemen and Kufa and Basra. These were the main centers. Why did he not choose to go to Yemen? Why did he decide to proceed towards Kufa?

Yemen, First of all, geographically it was quite far from the main body of the Muslim world. Secondly, true, they were followers of the Ahl ul-Bayt, but the numbers were not as big. Thirdly, true, those few numbers that were there, their inclination was not strong enough and the evidence for that is they never sent letters of invitation to Imam to come over, like the people of Kufa and Basra did.

And the evidence for that is when there was use of force by Mu'awiyah who sent his vicious military commander Busr ibn Artat and Imam 'Ali, alayhi as-salam, had sent 'Ubayd Allah ibn 'Abbas. In that confrontation, the people of Yemen failed to support strongly enough the commander sent by Imam 'Ali and there was a massacre committed by Busr ibn Artat. And Fourthly, the people of Yemen had a negative stigma attached to them. You know those people who oppose the Muslim government in Madinah, the so called Murtad - the Apostates, they came from Yemen. Easily Bani Umayyah could use the propaganda machinery to say, there you are, there is another movement of Murtad, and apostates who are making an uprising against Bani Umayyah.

So these could be some of the possible reasons why the Imam may not have selected Yemen as his destination. Rather, he took Kufa. Kufa was already the center where Imam 'Ali had established his government. Kufa was the place where already they were staunch supporters of Imam 'Ali. Kufa was already the place where they expressed their willingness to help Imam, alayhi as-salam. Notice all those tens of thousands of letters. Kufa was also the place where tens of thousands were arrested and incarcerated. They were in jails at the time Karbala was taking place, and it was the other people who managed to come out, express. The whole sentiment in Kufa is now to support Imam Husayn.

And then you have those people who are neutral, who see that everything is going to change now, and Imam Husayn is going to come and rule over Kufa and we will be left out, so they also start sending letters. And then when the tide changed and the circumstances changed, they changed sides and they came to Karbala against Imam. But definitely Kufa was going to be a stronghold, a potential stronghold for the support of Imam Husayn. So it is not surprising why Imam Husayn chose to proceed towards Kufa and nowhere else. Given the circumstances, it was one of the best places for basing his resistance.

On the way at different places, he meets travelers who come from Kufa. He sends messengers to Kufa. 'Abdullah ibn Yaqtur, a companion of the Prophet, but supporting Imam he was sent as a messenger to go and help Muslim ibn 'Aqeel. Qays ibn Musahhar Saydawi, another messenger sent by Imam to Kufa. The letters used to come back from Kufa.

Travelers who came out from Kufa like Farazdaq, he would intercept him, he would talk with him, find out what is the situation. And Farazdaq would say, the hearts of the people of Kufa are with you, but their hands are on their swords and they are ready to fight against you. They have been bought over, they have been silenced, they have been terrorized. Or he met another traveler who came from Kufa, Bishr ibn Ghalib, What is the situation in Kufa? Same report, people of Kufa are for you as far as their hearts and inclinations are concerned, but they are ready or they have been forced to fight against you.

Yet another military tactic that the Imam used was once the interception took place and they ended up in Karbala. The selection of the spot and the site where Imam would camp, he makes the decision.

Notice, for example, the Holy Prophet, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa alih, in the battle of Uhud. One of the secrets of success in a battle is to select a site in a position where you can get protection from the natural geography of the place. In the battle of Uhud, the Prophet selected that site because it gave him protection from the back, the mountain range of Uhud. And then on the left side there was the hillock where he placed his archers. And then on the front side was Madinah. There was just a small area from which the enemy could possibly confront him. You select the site, and you force the enemy to come in from the point where you know you can easily win over him.

Same thing Imam Husayn did in Karbala. He studied the place and found out where the area allowed him natural geographical protection and he camped there. Militarily, he shaped his camps in such a way that they were horse-shoe shaped. In such a way that the whole direction would be towards facing the enemy. Behind himself, he made sure the enemy would not be able to attack. There were the Rivers on the two sides, he built a moat, Khandaq, which was filled with fire, so the enemy could not attack from behind. The only one place they could attack was right from the front.

From one side, there was a possibility of attack. And 'Umar ibn Sa'd, did give that command. And finally, when the camps were built and they were all intertwined, so there was no gap from between where the enemy could penetrate from any side. And on one occasion, 'Umar Ibn Sa'd, does give the command and some of these camps are attacked but then they had already been evacuated from the Ashab [companions] and so they were already empty. And Imam said, 'Let them burn, because burning here will give us protection from this side.'

And the fact that Imam arranged his army in a particular way, you know, this diamond shaped arrangement. There is a muqaddama [fore flank] and there is a muakh-khara' [rear flank] and there is a maymana [right flank] and there is a maysarah [left flank] and then there is a qalb [heart/centre]. There is a right flank, and a left flank, and there is a front flank, and there is a rear flank. The front flank was the one that was killed in the first wave, massive wave of attack. The right flank was under Zuhayr ibn Qayn. The left flank was under Habib ibn Madhahir. The Qalb and the heart was under the standard bearer, 'Abbas ibn 'Ali. And the rear, of course, was Imam, alayhi as-salam, himself. The army was arranged the same way the Prophet did in the battle of Uhud. "Wa idh ghadawta min ahlika" (3:121). In Surah Aali Imran, ayah 121. "Wa idh ghadawta min ahlika tubawwi'u li 'l-mu'mineena maqa'ida li 'l-qital"'(3:121)- "And you[Muhammad] are the one who went out early in the morning on the day of the battle of Uhud and you arranged your army in such a way as to enable them to be strategically placed so that you can engage in your battle successfully".

And finally, the motivation of the army. Notice definitely the companions had been tested. I am not going to detail the process of the testing, they are good comparisons in the Qur'an. There is a mention of the battle between Talut and Jalut in Surah al-Baqarah, chapter two, and how Talut tests his followers and then he filters them out. And only those who are highly disciplined, and obedient to the commander, and those who are dedicated to the cause and those who are devoted to God these are the ones who remain.

So number one, the recruitment. At the recruitment stage the Imam takes everyone and anyone who is interested. So right from Tan'een, Imam, alayhi as-salam, begins the recruiting process. There is a caravan coming from Yemen, it is going to Sham to deliver some goods to Yazid. Imam intercepts, confiscates that caravan. He tells those people you have got two options, either you join me and we continue in our opposition and you have everything provided for you. You will be given weapons and you will be given your lodging and boarding so to speak or no, If you decide at this stage not to continue and join me, I will pay you all the costs of all the trouble that you have taken so far from Yemen till Tan'een and Makkah. So he recruited some of them from that stage.

In all the stages where he stopped from Makkah onwards to Kufa and Karbala, he would invite people join me. For example, the famous person who changed sides according to one narration. According to another narration, he did not change sides, he was waiting to join the Imam, was Zuhayr ibn Qayn, according to some reports it said was not an 'Alawi, he was an 'Uthmani, he belonged to the opposite side. But Imam convinced him and he changed sides and came over. Just like Hurr changed sides. So recruitment process throughout.

After recruitment, Imam started filtering. When they came to Zubala, one stage before Karbala, and Imam receives a report from Kufa. Muslim Ibn Aqeel has been killed, Hani ibn Urwah has been killed in Kufa, 'Abdullah ibn Yaqtur has been killed in Kufa. Prominent messengers and commanders which Imam sent have been killed. That Kufa phase is dead now. Now things are getting serious. How many of you are ready to remain? Some withdraw, and the final filtering takes place on the night of 'Ashura. At that time nobody runs away the way, they did in Tan'een and the way they did in Zubala. So the process of filtering.

And finally the process of motivation. I do not know, if you have watched this program, the documentary 'Fahrenheit 911'. How do you rev up and motivate a soldier to go and kill? Does anybody recall? What do they do? It is music. Right? Music with messages of violence. You move the soldier to be ready to kill, to become a killing machine. Do you know what the Companions of the Imam, 'alayhi as-salam, did to motivate themselves? 'Umar ibn Sa'd was ready to launch the attack on the 'Asr [eve] of the 9th.

Imam, alayhi as-salam, asked for respite of one night. What? To sharpen his weapons? No! To engage in 'ibadah - in Salah, in Du'a, in the recitation of the Qur'an. One of the most powerful motivators for a person to resist against all evil, and to use the last ounce of energy that you have to give it up for the sake of God. How to link yourself up with God. Powerful motivators.

And of course on the day of 'Ashura, finally, the battle cries and the fact that Imam, alayhi as-salam, himself right till the last moment, he would use all precautions. Look at the place where I did not know this, but when I was reading a report and analysis by someone who was analyzing Karbala from a military perspective, he said when he read the narration of Karbala he found that Imam, alayhi as-salam, till the last moments was using military precaution, in the sense that he would look at a place where the enemy is slightly off guard, and then attack. He would use all protection against the enemy's attacks. They were attacking all out, but of course he was using protection as much as is possible not to get hurt by the swords.

There were some Companions who were very bold. Abis ibn Shabeeb Shakiri takes off his armour, and then he goes to the battlefield. A brave soldier, Kufans were afraid of him. You are afraid of me? I will take off my armour, come face me like a man. That was a different situation. But otherwise Imam, alayhi as-salam, took all military precautions .These are some of the points that some people have tried to analyze and extract from the event.

Like I said the purpose of this program was I would talk less and I will give you more time to ask questions. Wa as-salamu aleykum, wa rahmat Ullah.