Page 161 - Pure Life 07

The Day of Ashura: A Microcosm of the Human Condition / 75

I advise you to enter into the agreement which
the people entered into and to be patient as you
1
were patient before.”
His advice, on the surface, is seen as a concern
2
for the well-being of the ummah .
He does not want to see the ummah separated
and be led into fighting against the Imam.
Shaykh Amili eloquently analyzes the choices of
such men who tried to lead Imam Hussain away
from confronting the army of Yazid. He states, “In
outward appearance at least, they were not
supporters of the regime. They were only looking
[...] at the revolution [...] with a basic attitude [...]
which was the maintenance and acceptance of the
status quo [...] not because it was just, but only [...]
because any change would not agree with their
3
temperaments and interests.”
Shaykh Amili explains how the political climate
during this time was not black and white. It was not
simply those who believed in upholding principles
versus those who did not. There were those whose
choices did not rely on the benefit of society, but
rather on their personal interests.
Such men covered their ulterior motives with a
mask of genuine concern, but their attempts did not

1. Shams Ad-Din Al-Amili, https://www.al-islam.org/revolution-
imam-al-Hussain-shaykh-muhammad-mahdi-shams-ad-din-al-amili.
2. Community of Muslims, the Muslim world.
3. Shams Ad-Din Al-Amili, Ibid.