Every year the victims of the holocaust are remembered in memorial services. The Jewish community never lets the world forget the atrocities suffered by their people. Museums that serve as shrines to the victims are built in every corner of the world to honour them. All due respect and even encouragement is given to their cause.

The question here is, why is not the same respect and encouragement that is widely seen amongst the whole Jewish community as a whole, also given by Muslims to the memorial services held in honour of Imam Husain and his family members and companions who were massacred senselessly.

Instead the majority of the Muslim ummah dismisses these commemoration services as innovations by fanatical Shiites living in the past. One can only come to the conclusion that these false and unfounded allegations stem from both ignorance and extreme hatred.

Imam Husain was the Grandson of Prophet Mohammad, who said, “Husain is from me and I am from Husain. May God love whoever loves Husain”.

Imam Husain in 60ad set out on a mission. That mission was the revivalism of Islam and the message of his grandfather, which was being quickly devoured by Yazid.

Yazid was the grandson of abu Sufyan, a chief Qurashian from the Ummayad clan, who tirelessly worked at sabotaging the Prophets mission. But by the will of Allah abu Sufyan’s schemes were failures, and the light of Islam shone even brighter in spite of him.

This left the Ummayad clan always on the path of revenge. Their mission was the annihilation of Islam. This was slowly being realized, and their dreams were slowly becoming reality. Due to the usurpation of the caliphate from the holy progeny, Muawiyah was able to reach the position of ‘Caliph’ of the Muslim nation. With an Ummayad seated as Leader, their dream was now even closer to reality. Muawiyah subtly did what he did; plundered the treasury, murdered the faithful companions such as Abu Dhar al-Ghafari, and Hijr bin Oday, amongst others, then shortly before his demise appointed his son Yazid, a pleasure seeking drunkard, to the position of Caliph.

Whereas Muawiya was subtle in his infidelities, Yazid on the other hand was open and without shame carried out his lewdness. His behaviour was known to all Muslims and thus to safely secure his appointment he needed allegiance from Imam Husain.

There was not even the remotest of possibilities that this would happen. When Yazid’s governor asked Imam Husain to pay allegiance to Yazid, the Imam replied, “We are the household of the prophethood, the source of messengership, the descending place of angels. Through us Allah began (showering his favours), whereas Yazid is a sinful person, a drunkard, the killer of innocent people and one who openly indulges in sinful acts. A person like me can never pledge allegiance to a person like him”.

The evil situation which the ummah was in demanded that a great leader and personality like Imam Husain stand in the way of a despot like Yazid, who was causing this deviation and evil. When Imam Husain refused to pay allegiance and thus declared his mission he said, “I am not rising as an insolent or arrogant person, or a mischief-monger or tyrant. I have risen as I seek to reform the ummah of my grandfather. I wish to enjoin good and forbid evil”.

The people had succumbed to the deviation of Yazid and the regression towards pre-Islamic days was increasing at a rapid pace day by day. Inhibition by Imam Husain in this situation would have meant the eradication of Islam. Thus the responsibility, which the whole ummah was bound by, but failed to deliver, fell upon the shoulders of Imam Husain.

The responsibilities and the first stage of the mission undertaken by Imam Husain ended when he was savagely butchered on the plains of Karbala on the 10^th Muharrum 60ad. His head along with the heads of his family members and companions were then severed from their bodies and carried on spears and paraded throughout the villages and towns on their way to Damascus to be presented to Yazid.

This form of sacrifice was unprecedented in history and for this reason the martyrdom is commemorated annually by the Shiite Muslims.

The first form of commemoration and lamentation began as soon as the Yazidi soldiers left Karbala. People living on the outskirts of the city came and witnessed the horrific remain; bodies without heads, lying on the hot desert sand. Amongst those bodies was the grandson of the Prophet. One who was given the title ‘chief of the Youths of paradise’ by the prophet. Looking at the horrific sight, the people were moved emotionally and began to uncontrollably weep and wail.

The first ‘majlis’ which means open session or gathering took place in Kufa. Sitting on an unsaddled camel, filled with controlled emotion because she too had a mission, Husains’s sister Zaynab addressed the multitude rejoicing the victory of Yazid. Looking straight at them she said, “Woe upon you O’people of Kufa. Do you realise which piece of Mohammad’s heart you have severed! Which pledge you have broken? Whose blood you have shed! Whose honour you have desecrated! It is not just Husain whose headless body lies unburied on the sands of Karbala. It is the heart of the Holy Prophet. It is the very soul of Islam!”

Sayyeda Zaynab’s duty was to take over and continue with the second and final stage of Husain’s mission. Her ‘majlis’ moved and touched the people so much so that it gave rise to new revolutionary movements.

‘majalis’ also commenced as news of the martyrdom of Husain reached Madina, the city of the Prophet. When the public announcement was made, there was much weeping and wailing. The daughter of Aqeel declared, “What will you say when the prophet asks you: ‘what have you, the last ummah, done with my offspring and my family after I left them? Some of them are prisoners and some of them lie massacred, stained with blood. What sort of reward for the message I have delivered have you given me? Is the reward that you disobey me by oppressing my children?’”

The people were further moved, when they listened to Bishr bin Hathlam who said in his ‘majlis’, “O’people of Yathrib, there is no place for you to stand here, for Husain has been murdered. My tears flow heavily. His body is still bloody at Karbala, while his head is carried on a long spear”.

The tradition of ‘majalis’ continued even until the 40^th day after the martyrdom where upon Imam Sajjad’s return to Karbala, a grieving crowd met him led by Jabir al-Ansari.

The imams of Ahlul Bayt also encouraged ‘Majalis’. They encouraged the poets of the time to compose poetry commemorating the event. When Imam al-Sadiq was visited by Fidhayl, a companion and poet, he asked him, “Do you ever organize ‘majalis’ in commemoration of Imam Husain?” Al-Fudhayl with tearful eyes responded, “Yes we do O’son of the holy prophet”. The Imam then said, “May Allah bless you, I highly approve of such ‘majalis’”.

On another occasion, Jafar ibn Iffan recited some verses about Karbala to Imam al-Sadiq. The imam wept uncontrollably and addressed him, “O’Iffan, do not think that it is only those whom you can see here are listening to your poetry. In fact Allah’s closest angels are present here at this ‘majlis’, they are all listening to your recitation, and they too lament and weep. May Allah bless you for what you have recited. He will inshallah reward you with paradise for your efforts on our behalf”.

These ‘majalis’ are a continuation of Imam Husain’s mission, which had an objective, and we must not lose sight of the real objective behind these majalis and turn them into the shedding of empty tears.

The purpose of Imam Husain’s uprising was the revitalization of Islam, and the renewal of all its ideals and principles. Thus these ‘majalis’ should renew in us individually and at a community level the spirit of brotherhood as demonstrated by imam Husain when he cried and held the Negro slave john, after he was martyred, in exactly the same manner he held his own son Ali Akbar.

On a personal level these ‘majalis’ should serve to instill in us Islamic values, and help to rid us of abhorrent characteristics like deceit and arrogance which is what Yazid symbolized. They should instill in us a merciful spirit of forgiveness and charity. Most importantly they should continuously revive in every individual the spirit to rise against oppression and oppressor like Yazid.

If we fail each year to grasp something beneficial from the exhortations of these ‘majalis’ then we have failed to do service to Husain’s mission. In fact we would have failed Husain. Our tears would amount to hypocrisy if after the 10^th of Muharrum we revert back and continue in the same unislamic lifestyle that imam Husain fought against.