The Lispective

Imam Hussain and his followers have arrived at their final resting place. Surrounded by the enemy, cut off from the water and left with no options, Hussain (peace be upon him and his family) lets his principles and ideology lead him forwards. But what events transpired between the 2nd of Muharram, when they reached Karbala, and the 10th of Muharram, when they met their fate? Tune in to find out.

Imam Hussain departs from Makkah with visions of support for him in Kufa. He would never reach that city, however: his final destination was to be Karbala.
What did he know of his situation beforehand? What happened on that journey of his? With whom was he with and why was that so integral for both the tale and for him? Episode 4 seeks to answer these questions.

1400 years ago, a man and his family found themselves on the plains of mesopotamia confronted by an army. 100 or so men, women and children against 3-30,000 soldiers sent on behalf of the ruling Caliph. Suffice to say, it was a bloodbath.
1400 years later, almost no city across the world does not mourn the death of that man and his family. 1.8 billion revere his stand and 300 million of those people go a step further, basing their actions and principles around that man and his family. On the 20th of Safar of the Islamic calendar, 20-30 million people flock to his grave in order to pay remembrance, consistently the largest peaceful gathering year on year. The caliph who ordered his death? Nowhere to be heard of or seen.
This is the tale of Hussain: son of Ali and grandson of the Prophet. A tale known by heart in Shia circles but often underappreciated amongst the wider Muslim community and unknown to many across the world. This is a tale of a man and his stand against injustice, against oppression, against hate. This is a tale which goes beyond time, person and space: his message was universal, for persons of all faiths and none and for all corners of this earth.
Over the next few weeks, I hope to tell this story piece by piece. Many of you may already be aware of his journey, many of you may not. I am no expert, but I hope I can do it some justice and bring some small light into the magnanimity of this man: the Living Martyr.

Imam Hussain (PBUH) stood up to injustice 1400 years ago and paid for it with his life and the lives of his family. So what?

Join me and a few of my friends in this final episode, where we seek to wrap up our discussion and attempt to answer the question above, the most difficult question of all when it comes to discussing this story.

This episode attempts to look into how the story of Imam Hussain (PBUH) and his message is used today, on both a macro and micro scale, and how his story has the power to influence real change for good. Join me for one last episode and see whether you find yourself at the end asking the question – so what?

Every community mourns in different ways. For Muslims, most specifically Shia Muslims, there is no bigger tragedy than the tragedy of Ashura. For Shia Muslims, the 10th of Muharram each year represents the saddest period of the calendar year and one Shias mourn for; not just with their tears, but through practices that have existed for centuries, if not over a millenia.

Shia Islam is often marred through images of some of these practices. Many non-Muslims, and even some Muslims, cannot wrap their heads around it. Join my friend and I once more into a deep dive of what these practices are, how different communities do different things and the importance of it in commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (PBUH).