‘Ashura is not a time only of sadness.  It is not a time in which Muslims should remember defeat.  It is not a time in which Muslims should be divided.  Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) was the imam of Islam for all Muslims of his time.  No one, even the enemies of Islam, would dispute his piety, his service in the cause of Allah, his knowledge of the religion of Allah, his devotion and loyalty to the leadership and vision of Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and that of the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (peace be upon him).

It is neither a time of pure sadness nor a time to remember defeat, because from it sprang a movement, one that rescued Islam from the clutches of tyranny and strengthened the message of the Messenger of Allah that morality and justice must always prevail over avarice, oppression, and miserliness.  For this, the Muslim Ummah should experience the ultimate joy, knowing that, as Allah has promised, the believers will be victorious.

It is not a time in which Muslims should be divided because all of us owe our debt to the struggle of the Imam and his companions on that day (the 10th of Muharram) in that desert (in Karbala, Iraq).  The movement that emerged after the tragedy, under the guidance of the Imam’s surviving son, Ali Zain-ul-’Abideen (peace be upon him) and with the tenacity, loyalty, perseverance, wisdom, and honor demonstrated by his sister, Zaynab bint Ali (peace be upon her), the message of Islam not only survived, it championed righteousness over treachery and lewdness.  It summoned the people of knowledge to their feet and challenged them to deny the truth.

For this reason, there is essentially only one version of this event.  For most other events, there is a Sunni version and a Shi’i version, but for Karbala, for the struggle of Imam Husayn, the Muslim Ummah stands in unity.  The account in At-Tabari’s Tarikh is essentially identical to the account given in al-Mufid’s Irshad. 

So on this day and on all days, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the sweet basil flower of the Messenger of Allah, the grandson of the Last Prophet, the son of the Commander of the Faithful and the Leader of all believing women, one of the two leaders of the youths in Paradise, the chief of martyrs and nephew of the chief of martyrs, the standard bearer of justice and freedom, the pillar of excellence, the one for whom Allah is forever pleased, the love of our hearts, Imam al-Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib.  As-salaamu ‘alayka Yabna Muhammad-al-Mustafa!  As-salaamu ‘alayka yabna Ali-al-Murtadha.  As-salaamu ‘alayka yabna Fatimat-az-Zahra`!  As-salaamu ‘alayka ya Aba Abdallah!

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