Karbala and the Lofty Revolution (Revised and Edited)

Karbala and the Lofty Revolution
by Abu Talhah

…the Truth came and the falsehood vanished... (Al-Isra 17:81)

"The revolution did not die in the grounds of Karbala". Nor did it begin in Karbala. The revolutionary spirit, or soul of Islam lays not within a historical event, or figure but rather on an absolute truth that transcends history and the material world. It is the only absolute truth whose centrality shapes Islam and according to whose dictum the universe submits. At-Tawheed, the Divine Unity of Allaah is the all-pervasive feature and core of Islam. Basing itself on an absolute reality, as opposed to a historical occurrence or figure, purely relative, as the Christians do with Jesus, or Jews with Bani Israel.

Had the story-tellers amongst the Shi'ite understood this grand truth, they would not have emphasized their keeness on revolution for their revolution is based on, as Musa Sadr said, the soil of Karbala and the death of Husayn radiyallahu 'anhu. It is no surprise that they posses such a superficial understanding of revolution considering that the emergence of Shi'ism itself is based on 'Ali and his Wilaya. Only by understanding the fine discernment between the absolute and the relative do we realize the significance of this fact. Stemming from relativity and shallow foundations, they cannot but produce only a facade of revolution, just as the Marxist tried to do by replacing the chains of capitalism with the chains of proletarian dictatorship. The all-inclusivity and comprehensiveness of the revolutionary nature of Tawheed lays in its all-inclusive, comprehensive, and universal worldview of not only man and society, but also of reality.

Muhammad Salallahu 'Alaayhe wa-Salaam began this revolutionary movement with La ilaha ila Allah, and not by recalling the plights of Yahya, Yusuf, Musa, Nuh, Ibrahim, or 'Isa. And it was La ilaha ila Allah that shook the thrones of tyranny in the east and west, not history. One should look towards what shaped and defined history - or in our case what defined reality. It marked the peak of a perpetual battle between truth and falsehood which manifests itself in innumerable ways. It was only when the likes of 'Ali Shariati understood this and gained this insight did they give way to the revolution in Iran in the name of Shi'ism, which had been before that stagnant and sterile. Tawheed, as it had done before provided the only powerful catalyst for a true revolution. Explaining this phenomenon more so, this miracle, Sayyid Qutb says;

the Law prescribed for human beings is the same Law that governs the entire universe. Accordingly, when human beings deal with each other and the universe in accordance with this one universal law, they achieve harmony and avoid conflict and division. This integration of all human power generates such an invincible force that nothing can stand before it. That is why the great accomplishments of earlier generations of Muslims now seem almost supernatural. Indeed, such things were possible because the Islamic concept generates a unified force, which integrates the energies of both people and nature, prepares them to receive the blessing of Allah, and thereby makes them responsive totally to Allah so that both forces mutually reinforce each other in a single force dedicated to His service.

History opens its pages to the caravan of youth and elders alike who revolted under the banner of Tawheed. The history books of Ahl as-Sunnah that speak of men such as Sa'id Ibn Jubayr, Mujahid, Ibrahim an-Nahki, and contemporary giants like Sayyid Qutb and Hassan al-Banna whose words still live amongst the living bodies of today. Their insight of mans inherent freedom, liberty, and signification that made them defiant to the state of subjugation and servitude today to despots cloaked in the guise of nationalism, liberty, and democracy.

Husayn radiyallahu 'anhu represents a tradition and not a beginning. Setting an example for Ahl as-Sunnah as well who have long forgotten the implications of the lofty kalimah which today is merely uttered upon tongues. Grasping its true essence is key to beginning a new era free from humiliation and subjugation and to the liberating shade of La ilaha ila Allah. Echoing once again the words of Rab'i bin 'Amir who upon being asked by Rustum - the king of Persia - "for what purpose have you come?". He boldly replied; ""Allah has sent us to bring whoever wishes from servitude to men into servitude to Allah alone, from the narrowness of this world into the vastness of this world and the Hereafter, and from the tyranny of religions into the justice of Islam."

"Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains". Fine words by Rousseau illustrating a reality which still exists today, only worse. The plight of man in the west is irrelevant when the chains we bear are heavier. Using religion, media, poverty, and deception, our rulers mentally subjugate and enslave masses. Islam is used by the rented and intellectually dysfunctional to appease, legitimize, and consolidate the power of these despots leaving the populace desensitized and oblivious to their morbid state. Intellectual liberty and the rise against this state of affairs is now the obligation of the youth.