How Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (a.s) saved Islam from Destruction{Part4}

Beliefs and acts of Yazid

What was the character of this so-called caliph of the Prophet?
He was such that he openly denied the messengership of the Messenger (s.a.w). He made his beliefs clear in the following couplets:
�Banu Hashim (the Prophet and his family) has played a game to obtain temporal power.
The fact is that neither an angel came to them nor any revelation descended.�
Intoxicated in this wrong belief, he considers that the tussle between Islam and disbelief to be a battle between two clans and is overjoyed that he has succeeded in taking revenge from the progeny of the Prophet on behalf of his ancestors.

�If only my ancestors who died in Badr had been alive and seen how their opponents (Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet) were suppressed, they would have screamed in joy: O Yazid! May your hands never tire! We have killed their leader and in this way took revenge of Badr. And I won�t be eligible to be called the descendant of the fighters of the Ditch (Khandaq) if I had failed to take revenge from Muhammad and his relatives.�
This much is sufficient to learn about his true beliefs. Let us now see what he says regarding other pillars of Islamic faith:
Qiyamat (Day of Judgment):
�O my beloved! (Do not be sure of reunion after death) Because whatever you have heard of life after death is mere fiction which makes one heedless of the joys of this real world.�
Wine and Worship:
Your God has not said that Hell is for those who drink. Rather He has said that it is for those who pray.�
Against the background of his misguided notions it is also necessary that we study his evil feats.
In addition to the tragedy of Kerbala he committed so many atrocities in the history of humanity that each alone is sufficient to make him forever deserving to be cursed.
Here we shall present only two examples of his evil feats in which he was not successful but his aim became very much obvious. It was at the time when he was the heir apparent of Muawiyah.
First of all he wanted to marry Ayesha, the widow of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w). At that time the age of Ayesha was more than fifty years. This desire only proves that all he wanted was to insult the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) and Holy Quran, because the Holy Quran has prohibited the Muslims to marry the wives of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w). Thus Yazid also intended to insult the Muslims who considered the wives of the Prophet as the mothers of the believers.
Yazid had to give up the desire at the behest of his father, who was a cunning diplomat, and he knew that this blatant act would cause the loss of all opportunities of Yazid of ever becoming the Caliph.
Secondly he tried to drink wine on the roof of the House of God, that is the Holy Ka�ba. On this occasion also he was restrained by his friends and advisers.
After gaining caliphate he began to openly ridicule the Islamic worship acts (as we have stated before). He dressed up dogs and monkeys in the attire of scholars and religious leaders. Chess and playing with bears was his favorite pastime. He used to spend all his time everywhere in drinking wine without any hesitation whatsoever. He had no respect for any woman. So much so that even the ladies among his blood relation, like the mother, sisters, paternal aunts, nieces and daughters were like other women for him.

Plunder of Medina

Yazid ordered attack on Medina and the holy town of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) was freely plundered. Three hundred virgins (along with other ladies) became the target of their lusts. Three hundred reciters of the Holy Quran and seven hundred companions of the Messenger were martyred mercilessly. The Holy mosque of the Prophet remained shut for many days and Yazid�s forces utilized it as a stable for their mounts, and dogs took shelter in it. Even the holy pulpit of the Messenger did not remain safe from filth. At last the commander of the forces compelled the people of Medina to pay allegiance to Yazid in the following words: �We are the slaves of Yazid. And it is upto him whether he restores our freedom or sells us in the slave market.� Those who wanted to pledge allegiance for Yazid upon the condition that he would follow the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet were put to death. Here it would not be importunate to state that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) has said:
�Whoever terrifies the people of Medina shall be under divine curse forever.�

Siege of Mecca

After this, under orders from Yazid, the army departed for Mecca and these people laid siege to the Holy City of God. This army could not enter the town so they used catapults and by this method rained stones and burning logs of wood on the Ka�ba. Kiswa, that is the cloth covering of the Ka�ba was burned down and a part of the Holy Ka�ba collapsed.
In this way we have reached such a time when everything connected to Islam, from the roots of religion to the sanctified worship acts, from family life to social system all were under attack and were being destroyed.
Through whom? Through Yazid who was supposed to be the protector and defender.
And the most important matter was that some of those innovations would indeed have been considered Islamic and made a part of Islam. Because since the last fifty years people had become accustomed to accept all that the ruler does as the true criteria of Islam. Today no sign would have remained of Islam if Imam Hasan (a.s) had not put a stop to this tendency and if Imam Husain (a.s) had not openly opposed the reigning king (that is Yazid).

Calamities of Imam Husain (a.s)

Neither anyone possessed such courage nor anyone had such love for Islam and neither did so much responsibility rest on anyone regarding Islam as it rested on Imam Husain (a.s). Husain was the son of the daughter of the Prophet. He was the beloved son of Ali and Fatima and the younger brother of Imam Hasan (a.s). He was the heir and successor to all of them. Islam was the religion that his grandfather had brought and established. Since the beginning this family was a staunch defender of Islam. The members of this family could offer any sacrifice for Islam. And many a times they sacrificed everything they possessed for Islam and even gave up their life and lives of their beloved ones. Imam Husain (a.s) was used to sacrificing everything for the sake of Islam. He found Islam in peril and he rose up for its defense. He also saw that it was the best opportunity to present an effective and final sacrifice for Islam. So that it maybe forever safe from danger. Therefore he came to Kerbala along with some of his selected relatives and companions who did not exceed 150 persons including women and children. The whole world knows what happened at Kerbala. And how Imam Husain (a.s) and his companions and relatives (including a six-month infant) tasted the cup of martyrdom on the 10th of Muharram 61 AH. How they bore the torture of thirst and hunger from the seventh to the tenth of Muharram. How their tents were burned down and how their household possessions plundered. How their ladies and ailing son and little children were made captives. And how they were presented in the courts of Ibn Ziyad and Yazid in Kufa and Damascus. How they underwent the tortures of imprisonment for a full year. How they were released after that. All know these facts and therefore I need not go into the details here.

Imam Husain (A.S) Gave The Final Shape To The Separation Of Imamate And Rulership

Imam Husain (a.s) was martyred and Yazid apparently seemed victorious; but only apparently. Actually it was Husain (a.s) who emerged a victor and he wrote the story of his success on the sands of Kerbala with his blood. There were many aspects of this success of his. However, I intend to discuss only one aspect over here. As we have seen before, Yazid was the absolute ruler of the Islamic kingdom. And according to the principles established by the previous three caliphs, each of his action was supposed to have been considered as the standard and criteria of religion.
Imam Husain (a.s) had no such political certificate. But he was the only one who could confront Yazid (the reigning king) and not be called a rebel, because he possessed every certificate from God and the Prophet that his elder brother Imam Hasan (a.s) had received. And the tradition of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) that: �Husain is from me and I am from Husain,� had clarified that every action of Husain was same as that of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w).
Therefore when people learnt about the tragedy of Kerbala they could not in any way believe that Husain (a.s) would have been in the wrong. Because to say that Husain was on the wrong was same as saying that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) was on the wrong (God forbid), that is why Yazid (l.a.) became the target of cursing in the whole Islamic world.
In this way the task of separating religion and politics that was started during the time of Imam Hasan (a.s) reached completion at the martyrdom of Imam Husain (a.s) and it was the link of the same chain. The peace treaty of Imam Hasan (a.s) and the battle of Imam Husain (a.s) are complimentary to each other and it is not possible to understand them in isolation from each other.
It is mentioned in traditions that the upper portion of Imam Hasan�s (a.s) body and the lower portion of Imam Husain�s (a.s) resembled that of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w). Perhaps the Almighty Allah wanted to make it a sign that in order to understand the true and correct religion of the Prophet, it is necessary to study the life of both the grandsons together. The two brothers together saved Islam from the willful deeds of the rulers.
Imam Husain (a.s) turned the stream of the opinion of the people in the right direction. After the martyrdom of Imam Husain (a.s) political power did not denote religious authority. After Kerbala the status of ruling kings did not remain such that their act should become a law of Islam. Anyone could become a king through nomination or consensus. Anyone could occupy the throne by force and compulsion. However becoming the ruler of people was something else and being a religious leader is different. The former is appointed by the people and the latter by Almighty God. Imam Husain (a.s) at last opened the eyes of the Islamic world forever.
Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (a.s) saved Islam from the slavery of rulers and in this way saved it from decadence and destruction. And the names of Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (a.s) shall also remain attached to Islam forever.

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