What was the Wisdom of Hz. Husain’s Tragedy?

What was the reason for Imam ‘Ali’s lack of success in regard to the Islamic Caliphate relatively to his predecessors, despite his extraordinary capabilities, unusual intelligence, and great deservedness?

T h e  A n s w e r : That blessed person was deserving of weighty duties other than politics and rule. If he had been completely successful in politics and government, he would have been unable to acquire fully the meaningful title of Shah-i Walayat. Whereas he won a spiritual rule far surpassing the external, political Caliphate, and became a Universal Master; in fact, his spiritual rule will continue even until the end of the world.

As for his war with Hz. Mu‘awiya at Siffin, it was a war over the Caliphate and rule. That is to say, Imam ‘Ali gave priority to the injunctions of religion, the truths of Islam, and the hereafter, and sacrificed some of the laws of government and pitiless demands of politics. Whereas Hz. Mu‘awiya and his supporters, in order to strengthen Islamic society with their governmental policies, left aside resoluteness and favoured permissiveness; they supposed they were obliged to in the political realm; choosing permissiveness, they fell into error.

As for Hasan and Husain’s struggle against the Umayyads, it was a war between religion and nationalism. That is, the Umayyads founded the Islamic state on Arab nationalism and put the bonds of nationalism before those of Islam, causing harm in two respects:

The First Respect: They offended the other nations and frightened them off.

The Other: The principles of racialism and nationalism are not based on justice and right, so are unjust and wrongful. They do not proceed on justice. For a ruler of racialist leanings gives preference to people of the same race and cannot act justly. According to the clear decree of, “Islam abrogated the tribalism of Ignorance. There is no difference between an Abyssinian slave and a leader of the Quraish, once they have accepted Islam,”(1) the bonds of nationalism may not be set up in place of the bonds of religion. If they are, there will be no justice; right will disappear.

Thus, Husain accepted the bonds of religion as fundamental and struggled against those others as someone executing justice, until he attained the rank of martyrdom.

I f  i t  i s  a s k e d : If he was so right and just, why wasn’t he successful? Also, why did divine determining (qadar) and divine mercy (rahmat) permit them to meet with the tragic end they did?

T h e  A n s w e r :  It was not Husain’s close supporters that harboured feelings of revenge towards the Arab nation, but members of other nations who had joined his community, out of their wounded national pride. They caused harm to the pure, shining creeds of Husain and his supporters, and were the cause of their defeat.

The wisdom in their tragic end from the point of view of divine determining was this: Hasan and Husain and their family and descendants were destined to hold spiritual rule. It is extremely difficult to bring together worldly rule and spiritual rule. Therefore, divine determining made them feel disgust at the world; it showed them its ugly face so that they should cease to feel any attachment to it in their hearts. They lost a temporary, superficial rule, but were appointed to a splendid, permanent spiritual rule. They became the authorities of the spiritual poles among the awliya instead of commonplace governors.

YOUR THIRD QUESTION

What was the wisdom in the tragically cruel treatment those blessed persons received?

T h e  A n s w e r : As was explained above, there were three main reasons for the pitiless cruelty Husain’s opponents displayed during Umayyad rule:

One was the heartless principle of politics: “Individuals may be sacrificed for the welfare of the government and preservation of public order.”

The Second was the cruel rule of nationalism: “Everything may be sacrificed for the well-being of the nation.” For his opponents’ rule was based on racialism and nationalism.

The Third: The traditional vein of rivalry between the Umayyads and the Hashimites was present in some people like Yazid, and he displayed a merciless ability to be cruel.

A Fourth Reason: The Umayyads made Arab nationalism the basis of their rule, and they looked on the members of other nations – who were found among Husain’s supporters – as slaves. This had wounded their national pride. So, since the other nations had joined Husain’s community with mixed intentions and to take revenge, they felt excessively affronted at the Umayyad’s fanatic nationalism and were the cause of that terrible well-known tragedy.

The four reasons mentioned above are outward and apparent. When considered from the point of view of divine determining, the results pertaining to the hereafter and spiritual rule and spiritual progress that the tragedy won for Husain and his relatives were of such high worth that the distress they suffered due to it was made easy and cheap. It resembled a soldier who dies after an hour’s torture and becomes a martyr: he attains a rank so high that anyone else could reach it only if they strove for ten years. If the soldier were to be asked about it after he had died, he would reply that he had gained much for very little.

from the 15th Letter, The Letters, Risale-i Nur

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(1) See, Bukhari, Ahkam, 4; ‘Imara, 36, 37; Abu Da’ud, Sunna, 5; Tirmidhi, Jihad, 28; ‘Ilm, 16; Nasa’i, Bay’a, 26; Ibn Maja, Jihad, 39; Musnad, iv, 69, 70, 199, 204, 205; v, 381; vi, 402, 403.