Page 160 - Pure Life 07

76 PURE LIFE, Vol.3.No.7, (Safar Al-Muzaffar 1438. Azar 1395. November 2016)
/

(

dissuade the Imam, whose choice was planted into
the solid rock of choosing death over humiliation.
The choices of the men around him reflected the
temporary world, while the choice of Imam Hussain
reflected preserving Islam. For anyone who is
concerned with the material safety of one’s life, to
silently surrender seems like the smart option. But
Imam Hussain knew that this was not the meaning
of sacrifice. To give one’s life, to fight until the very
end, is the true and “best opportunity to present an
1
effective and final sacrifice for Islam.”
Imam Hussain’s decision to leave Mecca to
preserve the sanctity of its land and travel towards
Karbala was a journey towards sacrifice, through his
desire to preserve the Islam of his grandfather. Many
speculate that it was the invitation of the Kufan
people that jump-started Imam Hussain’s mission,
knowing that there were many who backed him.
Ayatullah Mutahhari refutes that if this was
indeed true, then after learning of the Kufan’s
insincerity, he “could have resigned to the fact
there was no point in carrying on with his plans
[and could have] [contemplated] swearing
2
allegiance to Yazid.”
Evidently, his revolution was not dependent on the people.

1. Rizvi, https://www.al-islam.org/understanding-karbala-allamah-
sayyid-saeed-akhtar-rizvi.
2. Mutahhari, https://www.al-islam.org/truth-about-al-Hussain-s-
revolt-ayatullah-murtadha-mutahhari.