Page 157 - Pure Life 07

The Day of Ashura: A Microcosm of the Human Condition / 79

al-Hussain’s loyal companions burst out in
inconsolable weeping and distressfully said to him,
‘Mawla (master)! Do not thus shame us before the
Messenger of Allah, before Ali and Fatima! With
what face will we present ourselves to them on the
Day of Judgement? Were we to desert you, may the
1
wild beasts of the jungle tear us to pieces.”
The grace and freedom Imam Hussain allows for
his followers is rarely seen in a relationship
between a leader and follower. He knows that his
army is outnumbered, yet still shares the definite
and inevitable result of the battle. His followers
who remain are the ones who recognize their
potential to reach the status of angels. It is
important to consider that such followers compare
leaving Imam Hussain to the likeness of: “wild
2
beasts” “tear[ing] [them] to pieces].”
Their language foreshadows their deaths, being
killed mercilessly by the beasts of Yazid’s army.
Though they appear to be men, the members of
Yazid’s army have, in actuality, dipped below the
level of humans to the level of animals.
A wild beast kills out of instinct; thus a man who
tortures for the sake of torture must be something
worse than a beast.

1. Al-Jibouri, https://www.al-islam.org/karbala-and-beyond-yasin-
t-al-jibouri.
2. Ibid.