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THE
STORY OF KARBALA - PART
11
Shaam-e-Ghareeban, the Imam
was being introduced as tents burnt
During the time of Madinah, Sura Ahzab (chapter 33 was revealed). There
are many different topics discussed in this Sura of the Qur'an. One of
those topics is the requirement of Hijab for Muslim women. The specific
verse we want to quote here is as follows:
[Shakir 33:59] O Prophet! say to your wives and your daughters and the
women of the believers that they let down upon them their over-garments(jalaabeeb-i-hinna);
this will be more proper, that they may be known, and thus they will not
be given trouble; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
So, we can see that this JILBAAB, over-garment in English (Chadar in
Farsi and Urdu) was a sign of respect and honour for the women of the
family of the Prophet and other Muslim women.
After all the men were killed at Karbala including Imam Husayn, the
soldiers of Yazeed's army attacked the surviving women. With the points
of their lances they picked up those chadars away from the women's
heads.
Why was this done? Were the soldiers doing it on their own?
When we look at the way the army of Umar Sa'd was managed, we have to
conclude that everything was well-planned. No soldier would move without
orders from the superiors. Taking away of women's chadars was a part of
the plan at Karbala.
The murder of Husayn and his companions was done for one reason and one
reason alone - Husayn had to accept Yazeed as the legitimate Khaleefa of
the Muslim Kingdom. When Husayn refused to do that, he was first,
driven out of his home, he was then surrounded and brutally butchered.
That should have been sufficient action in case of a worldly contest
between two parties for power and throne. The very fact that Yazeed's
armies were ordered to take away women's chadars away from them, tells
us that the roots of this conflict went farther and deeper.
Allah had appointed man His Khaleefa on earth, as the verses of Sura
Baqara tell us. The second stage of that Divine Leadership (Imamat) is
completed when Allah promises Ibraheem for Imamat. Ibraheem asks Allah
about his progeny. Allah replies that His covenant does not cover the
Zalimeen.
The story of the first fifty years after the Prophet of Islam is witness
to the fact that Divine Leadership appointed by Allah was being
challenged. Every Imam that came was either forced politically,
militarily or economically away from that position. Then came Husayn,
who exposed the entire conspiracy, and proved to the world as to who was
Zalim and who was Mazloom.
Both Yazeed and Husayn were Quraysh who were among the progeny of
Ibraheem through Isma'eel. But, one was Zalim and the other was Mazloom.
During Mu'awiyyah's times the world was full of the propafanda that the
real heirs of the Prophet were the Banu Umayya, everybody who opposed
them, incluidng the family of the Prophet, were rebels.
However, Yazeed had, by becoming a Zalim, identified himself as totally
un-deserving of the Divine promise.
The Zalim was so drunk in his stupor of WINNING that he wanted to
complete his victory by taking away the honour that was given to women
of the Prophet's family by taking depriving them of the cahadrs. But,
that was the great folly of the Zalim.
The chadar was identified in the holy Qur'an in verse 33:33, as follows:
[Shakir 33:33] And stay in your houses and do not display your finery
like the displaying of the ignorance of yore; and keep up prayer, and
pay the poor-rate, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah only desires
to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House! and to
purify you a (thorough) purifying.
The high point of this verse is the concept of cleansing (TATHEER), the
object of chadar is not mentioned in it. That is because, the chadar is
a material object while cleansing is an abstract concept, it is
spiritual in its form as the honour bestowed upon the ladies by Allah,
if they followed His commands. The object of chadar is mentioned in the
ahdeeth when explaining this verse. It was the chadar belonging to
Fatima Zahra that the Prophet had used to express this concept of
special honour for the Ahlul-Bayt. This Hadeeth is known as
HADEETH-E-KISA, and it is reported by such respected authors as Muslim
and Tirmizi.
While a physical object can be taken away by a tyrant, the HONOUR
BESTOWED BY ALLAH cannot be taken away. The tyrant thought that by
taking away the chadar he would be able to dis-honour the ladies, very
much like he thought that by killing Husayn he would take away the
Divinely Bestowed Imamat away from him and his family.
At this point, we would quote two lines of poetry:
Tha-hro sar-e-Zaynab se rida cheen-ne walo,
Lipti hui tatheer ki ayat hai kisa main,
Translation:
Stop, O you who take the chadar away from Zaynab's head,
There is the verse of TAKHEER wrapped in this chadar(kisa).
Shaam-e-Ghareeban (the evening for the lost and looted) was falling upon
the plain of Karbala. Ladies had already been deprived of their chadars.
The tents were now burning. Ladies had two choices - either to run out
of the tents without their chadars, or to stay inside and get burnt to
death with their children. Zaynab, who had now taken charge of the
looted caravan of Huasayn, approached the ailing Zayn-al-Abideen. She
asked him:
"Nephew, you are now our Imam, what is your command, shall we get burnt
to death or go out without chadars and save our lives?"
Zayn-al-Abidee replied: "Saving your life is wajib, Phuphee, leave the
tents."
The ladies and the children had to come out in the open. Zaynab helped
Zayn-al-Abideen to get out of the burning tents.
That one action of Zaynab where she had asked Zayna-al-Adideen for the
ruling on hijab has told the world for all time to come - even in that
hour of misery, plight and confusion, Zaynab was intent on introducing
the Imam of the Time. Zaynab did not need to ask anything. She had grown
up with Islam. There was nothing hidden from her as far as the law was
concerned. Zaynab, by asking that question of Imam Zayn-al-Abideen, was
educating the world.
LET THE TYRANT EAT HIS HEART OUT - HE COULD NOT, AFTER ALL, TAKE AWAY
THE HONOUR OF THE GOD-BESTOWED IMAMAT AWAY FROM THOSE GLORIOUS PEIOPLE.
We shall see how the same Zaynab, the daughter of Ali and Fatima, will
re-introduce the God bestowed honour of the CHADAR in the court of
Yazeed - the tyrant himself.
Thank you for reading.
Sincerely,
Syed-Mohsin Naquvi |