Imam al-Husayn: The Manifest Light and the Beacon of Guidance

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Foreword

Peace be upon al-Husayn, and upon ʿAli ibn al-Husayn, and upon the children of al-Husayn, and upon the companions of al-Husayn.

It is my pleasure to present a brief account of the belief of the Twelver Imami Shiʿa in Imam al-Husayn ibn ʿAli (a), attempting to bring out the basic features of the pure belief, away from the theological (kalam) treatment that is marred by deficiency and defect because of its entanglement with the deficient beliefs of others that belittle the Ahl al-Bayt (a), and which scholars have long tried to present from this angle, in the context of real or hypothetical dialogues with an opposing party that tries to understand the Imamate from its own starting points and the foundations it adopts.

Even if theological studies have a valid aspect, it lies in the context of dialogues and in convincing others step by step through the foundations in which they believe. However, most regrettably, most of our presentations of our true beliefs have come to be presented only from these theological angles, emptied of their authentic content and clouded by the impurities of understandings afflicted by deficiency, shortcoming and doubt concerning the whole of our pure beliefs. So some people—among them some scholars—have thought that what is put forward in the deficient theological discussions is our complete faith; thus the one who imparts benefit has been influenced by what he intended as a starting point for the one who receives it.

I present these brief lines on the pure creed, hoping that doctrinal studies will multiply from their luminous rational and pure narrational starting point, away from the theological studies that have tainted them.

I will append to this summary another summary on belief in Imam al-Husayn (a) in Sunni consciousness, from the starting points and foundations of the Sunni school, and the necessary entailments that follow from that, leading to correct faith in Imam al-Husayn (a) as an Imam whose obedience is obligatory and who is infallibly protected from error.

I have excerpted these two brief works from our encyclopedia on the Husayni ziyarah in order to spread the benefit, and I ask Allah, the Exalted, that these lines bring benefit to the believers and guidance to the Muslims toward the true light of Imam al-Husayn (a).

Sayed Mahmoud Al-Mosawi

Bani Jamra / Bahrain

1443 AH