Reforming society: a Husayni lesson Imam al-Husayn (a) was not one of those who turn their backs on people and feign heedlessness of the concerns and issues of society, so as to enjoy peace of mind and body and the soundness of feelings, and to devote themselves entirely to pursuing their personal interests. Such people exist in every age and land, and their remembrance and influence end as soon as death or illness removes them from view; but the remembrance of al-Husayn (a), and the remembrance of whoever has walked the path of reform in the footsteps of al-Husayn (a), remains and will remain until Allah—Glorified and Exalted is He—wills. .
Shortly before and during the movement of the Master of Martyrs (a), Islamic society was tainted by many impurities in various fields, especially the moral ones, to the point that matters reached what al-Masʿudi mentioned about the time of Yazid ibn Muʿawiya—may Allah curse him—when “singing appeared openly in Mecca and Medina, instruments of amusement were used, and people openly drank wine”(1). So al-Husayn (a) rose and announced the declaration of the revolution containing his (a) aim in this blessed movement, saying: “I did not go forth in insolence or in arrogance, nor as a corrupter or a wrongdoer; rather, I went forth to seek reform in the ‘nation’ of my grandfather.”
Yes, al-Husayn (a) went forth to seek reform, but what reform?
This is what the use of the expression “in the nation” makes clear, for comprehensive reform of the various affairs of the nation was the principal aim of al-Husayn (a). There is no doubt and no uncertainty that social reform sits at the forefront of this reform, since all other reforms rest upon it; it forms the base and the first starting point for achieving any desired reform in any other field. This point becomes clearer when we look closely at the remaining part of his (a) declaration: “I want to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and to follow the conduct of my grandfather and my father.” For enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and the conduct of the Messenger of Allah (s) and the Commander of the Faithful (a), although they encompass all aspects of life, revolved around changing the corrupt reality in society, because the corruption of society shackles or destroys the individual and paralyzes the nation, and stands between them and their attaining their goals and aspirations. Here is the Messenger of Allah (s), who fought the hateful customs of the Jahiliyya, such as burying daughters alive, oppressing slaves, and kindling wars for the most trivial of reasons, and other customs and practices; and likewise did the Commander of the Faithful (a) when he resisted discrimination and the preferring of Arabs, the rich, the influential and those close to authority over other human beings.
Our master al-Husayn (a) did not use a miracle, nor did he wait for one to descend from heaven to achieve this aim; rather, he rose and erupted like a volcano and hastened to act to change the corrupt reality in many ways—as we will mention later—because he (a) was aware that change and social reform do not come through miracles but through the active participation of the members of society and the masses of the nation, for “Indeed Allah does not change a people’s lot, unless they change what is in their souls” (Qurʾan 13:11). And when every stone and clod answered his call, and the ranks of angels came one after another, he (a) did not permit them to support him, because he wanted the human being to act, not the angel or the inanimate. Likewise did the Greatest Messenger (s), who continued the call for 13 years in Mecca until the Islamic society was formed from the Emigrants and the Muslims of Medina; and so does his son, the Awaited Imam al-Mahdi (aj), who awaits the nation's readiness for active participation in the movement of reform that completes the movements of all the prophets and the successors (a).
Our social reality today is no better than the state of affairs in the time of Imam al-Husayn (a) and the revolution of Karbala—if it is not actually worse than that time. Today we see our society, which until the recent past was known for peacefulness and lofty morals, in which thefts and armed robbery have multiplied; in which the hijab has turned from a means of chastity into a tool of temptation; in which enjoining what is right and forbidding wrongs has been abandoned; in which every person has become preoccupied with himself, turning his face away from his society and even from his closest relatives and kin; and whose many voluntary and charitable institutions lack young cadres—of both sexes—while its youth crowd into cafés and markets, burn the bloom of their lives before computer and television screens watching what is of no benefit, rush to the arenas of car and motorcycle drifting, and jostle at the doors of restaurants and in the gatherings and diwaniyyas that benefit them neither in their world nor in their hereafter, and much else besides. Does that not call on us for a swift rising to remedy this reality before matters worsen and generate bigger and bigger problems? Do the ceremonies of ʿAshura and its slogans not stir in us the spirit of rebellion against every deviation? Do they not rebuke us for every shortcoming and make us bear responsibility for its grave consequences?
Here we pose another question, so that we may be clear about our affair: Has ʿAshura taught us how to practice reform and change?
· Means of social reform in the light of the Husayni uprising
First: reinforcing and encouraging good and praiseworthy manifestations and behaviors, so that they become the candles that help dispel the darkness around them; for many people criticize negative manifestations but neglect to highlight and encourage positive ones. The least that can be offered in this field is moral support and a good word toward these manifestations and behaviors, and staying away from discouragement and destructive criticism.
Imam al-Husayn (a) highlighted every positive behavior he came across, encouraged it, and made of it a historical symbol that does not fade with the length of time and the passage of ages. He appreciated the stance of his helpers on the night of ʿAshura when they refused to leave Karbala and leave him alone, and he (a) said: “I know of no companions more worthy or better than my companions, and no household more dutiful or more attentive to kinship than my household.” He granted the title of trust to Muslim ibn ʿAqil, and he (a) said of him: “My trusted one from my household.” He prayed for Abu Thumama al-Saydawi when he remembered the matter of the prayer at its earliest time amid the atmosphere of battle on the day of ʿAshura. And he invested Habib ibn Mazahir al-Asadi with medals of honor, among which were: “the man learned in jurisprudence”.. possessed of noble character and zeal.. the virtuous one who would complete the Qurʾan in a single night—and many, many other examples.
Second: exposing corruption, so that people realize the scale of the tragedy, and so that matters are not confused for them and some of them do not hesitate to pay the price of reform. Whoever contemplates the speeches and movements of al-Husayn (a) finds them full of this kind of awareness-raising, beginning with clarifying the moral deviations of Yazid—and he did not suffice with him, but exposed other rulers as well, describing them (a) as having “made corruption manifest, suspended the prescribed punishments, and appropriated the fayʾ for themselves”—passing through the corrupt behaviors of the Umayyad army, such as lying, consuming what is forbidden, blind obedience or servitude to leaders and wealth, breaking covenants and pledges, cowardice, the absence of principles and logic, and failing to adopt the ethics of dialogue—and it suffices you that he (a) described them as “slaves of the nation, stragglers of the factions, discarders of the Book, distorters of words, a band of sins, the spittle of Satan, and extinguishers of the Sunnas.. the vilest fruit, a choking for the onlooker and a morsel for the usurper”—and ending with exposing those who abandoned him (a) and clarifying some general manifestations in the nation, such as his (a) saying: “People are the slaves of this world, and religion is a lick on their tongues; they keep it around as long as their livelihoods flow, but when they are sifted by trial, those who practice religion become few.”
Third: practical action in reform. He (a) acted until he gave his pure lifeblood in this way, which caused a great shock that fell upon the nation like a thunderbolt, shaking Islamic society and pushing it toward action to remove the foundations of corruption.
Fourth: providing the alternative, because—mostly—it is not possible for society to reject deviation unless a competent and suitable positive alternative exists. During his blessed uprising we observe that al-Husayn (a) presented himself and his line as the first, best and most ideal choice for the nation, and compared himself with other persons and orientations, so that it would become clear to people that there is—in principle—no comparison between him (a) and others. We find some of these examples in his (a) saying at his first refusal of the pledge of allegiance to Yazid: “We are the Household of Prophethood, the mine of the Message and the place where the angels come and go; through us Allah opened and through us He will seal. And Yazid is a dissolute man, a drinker of wine, a killer of the inviolable soul, open in his dissoluteness; and one like me does not pledge allegiance to one like him,” and in his (a) saying: “And I am the most entitled of those who would bring change,” which he followed in the same sermon with his (a) saying to everyone whom his words reach throughout all ages: “And you have in me an exemplar.”
So will we follow the example of al-Husayn (a) in the effort and struggle he exerted to remove corruption and the paths of correction he took, and strive to reform our bitter social reality and correct our deviations and bad behaviors? Or will we remain lamenting al-Husayn (a) and weeping for him with cold tears that do not arouse in us those values scattered in every corner of this immortal epic?
Will we come out of ʿAshura with the spirit of change that al-Husayn (a) breathed having crept into us, or will we be like dry logs set reclining, which are not aware of what is around them?
Whoever enters the maʾtams (mourning halls) of the Master of Martyrs (a) and calls to mind his great aims, it is incumbent upon him not to leave them except having resolved upon righteousness, reform and change for the better.
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(1) Muruj al-Dhahab, vol. 3, p. 77
