Editorial
Message of Ashura
There is a lot to learn from the tragedy
Few episodes in history had such a profound impact on the events that followed as the tragedy of Karbala in which Imam Hossain (RA), the beloved grandson of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), embraced martyrdom in defence of truth and justice. He refused to bow down before the evil forces and finally laid down his life, setting an example of great courage of conviction for the principles he held dear. The deaths of Imam Hossain(RA) and the members of his immediate family are being mourned with the same intensity and grief over 1300 years after the tragic episode took place. The believers have learnt from the tragedy that faith is more valuable than life. The tyrant Yazid's army committed one of the cruelest acts in the history of mankind for the sake of mundane gains, but the glory of the day belonged to those who died for a cause. Ritualistic mourning on the occasion has become the order of the day, so to speak. Yet, a deeper look into the tragedy would surely reveal that the martyrs were only following the dictates of Islam which teaches its adherents not to capitulate before what is wrong and unjust but to fight these to the last. The moral of Karbala tragedy is that Yazid retained power temporarily, but Imam Hossain (RA) and his family are the eternal moral victors. The observance of the day is specially significant in today's world. We watch many excesses being committed in the name of religion that affect social equanimity and undermine the good name of the country. We should learn to fight the evil in all its manifestations and under all its guises, so that the true image of Islam cannot be tarnished by the machinations of a few.
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