Tradition

لا وَاللّهِ لا أُعْطِيهِمْ بِيَدِيْ إعْطَاءَ الدَّليلِ وَ لا أَفِرُّ فِرارَ الْعَبِيْد... إنِّىْ لا أَرَىَ الْمَوْتَ إلاّ سَعادَةً و الحَياةَ مَعَ الظّالِمِينَ إلاّ بَرَما

Imam al-Husayn (‘a) is narrated to have said: “I swear by God that I will never put my hand in theirs1 like an abject person nor will I run away like a slave… I see death as nothing but felicity and life with the oppressors as nothing but the cause of misery and affliction.”2

Brief Commentary

The day of ‘Ashura’ is a day that will never be forgotten and it can be considered as a great university for all of mankind. It is a great university for all people who wish to live and die with honor and greatness. The lessons taught to us on that day can fill volumes with its wisdom. The aforementioned lines from Imam al-Husayn (‘a) are but a small indication of who he was and how he lived his life. If we study his life and the lessons of that momentous day, surely we too will be able to live and die with full honor and greatness as well.

• 1. In order to pledge allegiance to Yazid.
• 2. Maqtal al-Husayn, pgs. 246 and 256, Al-Irshad, vol. 2, p. 97, Alam Al-Wara, p. 242, Al-Manaqib, vol, 4, p, 86.