Is there anything new to offer people in the renewal of the tragedy of Karbala?

A foundational preface is needed to answer this question, namely:

Necessity, in light of the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), requires rooting the centrality of Karbala in the Shiʿi mind—indeed, in the Islamic mind—through knowing the dimensions it has left in the Umma. This great event was not merely a war that broke out between two groups; rather, it was an uprising that arose to restore Islam anew after an opposing project sought to finish off the authentic Muhammadan religion. So the Husayni uprising carried out the act of correction and reform, and therefore we point to two dimensions that Karbala and ʿAshura achieved:

The real-world dimension: the restoration of the spirit of religion and the shattering of the project of religious distortion by bringing into being the voice of refusal and the voice of correction throughout history. Among the manifestations of that: the authority that led the project of distortion collapsed, and movements of refusal emerged that created ripples in the Islamic body, so that no oppressor enjoyed settled rest; and this ember will continue until the rising of al-Qaʾim (aj).

The religious dimension: a divine dimension and a lordly project through which the movement of Imam al-Husayn (a) laid a solid intellectual foundation in the culture of reform and of carrying the banner of responsibility.

To preserve that and commit to it came the rites that have preserved that heat which is in the hearts of the believers; the ziyarah and the Husayni rites are such as to make the event ever renewed in a person's life.

So speaking of “the new,” with all of this in view, is an important matter, because even if the commemoration of ʿAshura had nothing but these real-world and religious dimensions, that would be worthy of its continuing in this way; its endurance is what keeps alive the ember of religion and religiosity in the Islamic world, and these two dimensions suffice in importance. The state of continuity and steadfastness is the challenge faced by all religions and calls, and Karbala is the most important of the factors of steadfastness and constancy upon values—and indeed of producing them.

At the same time, we should not be content with that, for the light of Imam al-Husayn (a) can illuminate the entire world. It is therefore necessary that we strive for intellectual digging and excavation in the Husayni biography in order to discover more knowledge; this calls on the scholars to turn to producing more research and studies on the Husayni path, and to giving full answers to the investigative and civilizational questions that contemporary reality needs.

It is worth mentioning that recently, whoever follows the cultural and scholarly scene will see an increasing proportion of diverse Husayni publications, among them encyclopedias and analytical and epistemic studies, which shows that the new in the intellectual dimension exists. However, before the light of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), a person will always fall short, because of the loftiness of their standing and the sublimity of their knowledge.

This matter calls on the general public to take an interest in reading and in scholarly learning, so that the season of ʿAshura may be a season of mourning and a season of knowledge; just as the pulpit gives its bounty, so too the book gives its bounty. Finally, we mention this important narration, which shows the necessity of a person's being either a scholar or a learner, so as to draw from the light of Imam al-Husayn (a); and the more aware he is, the farther he is from the places of strife and discord.

From Abu ʿAbdillah (a), that he said: I do not like to see the young man among you except setting out in [one of] two states: either a scholar or a learner. If he does not do so, he has neglected; if he neglects, he has squandered; if he squanders, he has sinned; and if he sins, he will dwell in the Fire—by the One who sent Muhammad (s) with the truth.

So one should reflect on this narration at length, so that a person does not slacken in turning towards knowledge and make himself feel that he has no need of it.

Sayed Mahmoud Al-Mosawi