In an earlier article, the back ground of the battle of
Harrah was discussed. An effort is being made to discuss the position of the
Infallible Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn, Zain al-Abideen (a.s.) regarding this
uprising by the people of Madinah.
A historical glance
at the instance of Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) pertaining to the Uprising of
the people of Madinah reveals that the Imam (a.s.) did not have an active and
encouraging presence in Madinah as he had left Madinah for sea- port of Yanbu
in order not to witness the imminent tragedy in the city. The absence of any
statement by the Imam (a.s.) either supporting or discouraging the uprising
depicts an instance of non-interference.
The apparent reasons for such non-interference by the Imam
(a.s.) in the Uprising were:
Firstly, he had
identified various goals and motives among the people of Madinah all of which
were not religious.
Secondly, the
Imam (a.s.) did not see the condition as appropriate for confronting the Umayyad
government and considered the revolt of the people of Madinah as paving the way
for massive bloodshed and transgression upon the chastity of the Muslim women.
Thirdly, if he
prevented people from uprising honestly and out rightly, people would take Imam
(a.s.)’s words as a result of his disappointment with Yazid. He (a.s.)
practically showed the people of Madinah, and those who were obedient to him
that they should not get involved in this course of action.
Fourthly, the
method of fighting adopted by the people of Madinah against the Shamy army was
inefficient; for, although in the battle of Ahza’b, Muslims utilized a similar
method and triumphed in the early stage, the circumstances had changed over
time. In the tragedy of Harrah, the people of Madinah neither enjoyed the
empathy and coordination of the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.)’s time, nor had a
leader like him (s.a.w.a.s.).
Moreover, the presence of women and children in Madinah had
a very important impact leading to their defeat, as the combatants had to
abandon the battle front to go back to save their houses.
Imam Zain al-Abideen
(a.s.) had practically warned against this critical event and demonstrated to
the people of Madinah by having his family and relatives taken away from
Madinah and transferred them to Yanbu.
The interference or otherwise of Imam Zayn al-Abideen in the
uprising has religious perspective too, which is significant to the Shias and
the believers in the spiritual status of the Imams and the infallibility of
Ahlul Bayt (a.s.). In this the Imam is not a single decision maker who takes
action according to his personal information and experiences. He is committed to an obligation that Allah
has explicitly appointed him for and other people had to obey him, take his
words and actions as criteria for their beliefs and behavior, and do not seek
precedence over him in thought and practice.
From this perspective
Imam Zain al-Abideen (a.s.) had acted according to a superhuman obligation, and
those people of Madinah, who due to their lack of belief in Wilayat and Imamate
or any other reasons, stepped into this uprising, suffered great loss.
Source used:
Battle of Harrah by
Allama Muhammad Ali Chenarani
No comments:
Post a Comment