Battle of Karbala as Perceived by an ArtistBy Dr.Mazhar Naqvi
Narrow
thinking leads to grave injustice. Dr.Muhammad Iqbal, spiritual father
of Pakistan, is a victim of such injustice. Had people given due
attention to his poetic analysis about the tragedy of Karbala, Indian
sub-continent would have never witnessed Muharram related violence.
While his immortal famous song “Sare Jehan se Accha Hindustan Hamara” (Our India is the best in the entire world) has
been arousing a sense of patriotism in India, his brain-child Pakistan
and her people have forgotten his liberal approach by resorting to
violence during every year in Muharram.
It
is unfortunate that despite witnessing the most horrifying killings
during Muharram for the past two decades in Pakistan, sincere efforts
are still awaited to create awareness about Dr. Iqbal’s novel
interpretation that the emotional appeal of Karbala can be used self-
development and societal reforms. Prior to him, Karbala has been
somewhat restricted to lamentation poetry such as Marsiya, Nauha or
Sozkhwani or mystical interpretation of Sufis to perceive Imam Husain as
a perfect model for reaching the stage of union with God.
It
was Iqbal who gave another dimension to the philosophy behind the
martyrdom of Imam Husain. He devoted a long chapter to Imam Husain in
his pioneering work Ramz-E-Bekhudi. Dr. Iqbal used Karbala to highlight
his favorite topic the constant clash between the positive and negative
forces in the world. He explained as how ‘Khilafat’ deviated from the
true Islamic tenets, injunctions of holy Quran-E-Kareem to become a
worldly kingdom after the emergence of Umayyad dynasty. Dr. Iqbal
described Prophet, his progeny and saints as positive forces and
oppressors like Yazid and unbelievers as the negative elements not
believing at all in the creation of a society based on justice, equity,
human and democratic values.
The
great poet who is also endearingly called as Allama Iqbal has praised
Imam Husain as in the mystical vocabulary. To him, Husain is the Imam of
lovers, son of the virgin and the most attractive constituent of
Prophet’s garden. Allama has also not forgotten to eulogize Imam
Husain’s father Maula Ali-the chief patron of almost all Sufi orders.
The poet, in his mystical interpretation, has described Maula as ‘Be’ of
‘Bismillah’. Then, he goes on to connect the ‘Zibah-E-Azeem’ (Greatest
Sacrifice) of Hazrat Imam Husain on the arid plains of Karbala as a
beautiful and judicious mixture of Quaranic Inunctions and principles of
mysticism. Allama did not hesitate in equating the position of Imam
Husain in Islam with Sura-E-Ikhlas in the holy book.
Using
all his skills in poetry, Dr. Iqbal touches upon the topic of erosion
in Islamic values and emergence of falsehood, barbarism and corruption
and then brings Imam Husain as a raincloud as a blessing. His philosophy
here is in contrast with the commonly associated terms with Karbala
such as hunger, thirst and dryness. Allama has talked about rains as a
blessing for the humanity, saying “It was Husain’s blood that rained
upon the desert of Karbala' and left the red tulips there.” One can only
marvel at the use of red tulips. In his thought, tulip is the flower of
the manifestation of the divine fire- the symbol of the Burning Bush on
Mount Sinai, a flower that symbolizes the independent growth of man's khudi (=self)
under the most difficult circumstances. Taking into consideration the
characteristics of tulip(lala) together, the poet has shown Imam Husain
as planting tulips on the arid plains of Karbala". Another reason for
the use of tulip with sacrifice of Husain could be the similarity of the
sound of la ilah and lala (=tulip).Further, Lala has the same numerical value as the word Allah,
i.e. 66. The poet being a great thinker propelled him to apply
beautifully his imagination for Imam Husain whose pious blood, according
to him, 'created the meadow', and reestablished forever the essence of Kalma - 'there is no deity but God.'
Allama
also presented a different view from the Sufis who mainly revolved
around the thought that Imam Husain through self-sacrifice won ‘Marzi-E-Elahi’(
Willingness of God).He however emphasized upon the climax of Karbala-
Jehad of Imam Husain after raising the call “Is there anyone to help
me”. Dr. Iqbal stresses “ To lift the sword is the work of those who
fight for the glory of religion, and to preserve the God-given order.'
'Husain’s blood awakened a community facing oppression as mute
spectators. The sword of Husain was not an ordinary one. It was sword of
Allah. Husain used it to shed the blood of those interested in
materialistic things other than God. Graphically, the word la, the beginning of ‘Kalma-E-Shahadat’ resembles the form of a two-edged sword, like Zulfiqar.
This blessed sword always does away with everything that is an object
of worship besides God. It is the prophetic 'No' to anything that might
be seen beside the Lord. By using the sword of 'Inkar’(No)', Husain offered his sacrifice to write ‘Illa Allah’ ( 'but God') at Karbala to pave way for ‘Ahle Imaan’ ( Blessed with faith) to find salvation.
Husain,
says Iqbal, reveals the mysteries of the Qur'an, and when the glory of
Syria, Baghdad and the marvels of Granada may be forgotten, the strings of the instrument of the Muslims will resound
with Husain’s melody, and keep refreshing the faithful followers of
Islam. Syedush-Shohda( Husain) thus in the word’s of Iqbal incorporates all the ideals that a true Muslim should possess like bravery
and manliness, the dedication to the acknowledgement of God's absolute
Unity; not in the sense of becoming united with Him in ‘fana’ ( Annihilation) as the Sufi poets had sung, but, rather, as the herald who by his martyrdom,
is not only a martyr but also bears as a witness, to the unity of God
to emerge as a role model for all generations to come.
After
Ramz-E-Bekhudi, Allama also perceived ‘Kaba’ the focal point of Islamic
history with two sacrifices i.e. Ismail at the beginning and Husain in
the end in his later literary pursuits. His perception is once again
first of its kind. But his exemplary love and reverence for Imam Husain
is exhibited in the last verse ‘Ramz-E-Bekhudi ‘ when he calls in an emotional manner :
“O Zephir, O Messenger of those who are far away
Bring our tears to his pure dust.
(References available on request)
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