1

Spring of martyrdom

Influence of Husseins (a.s) uprising on contemporary reality

Goran Arsi


Gratitude and respect are foundation of life and most beautiful way of socializing,
knowing and existing.
That is why I am asking all of you present to accept my sincerest gratitude and
respect - I am, from the bottom of my heart grateful to host and organizers for inviting
me, for showing confidence and hospitality, and to you I am grateful for patience and
attention.
I dont speak as a proficient expert, I speak from my heart - as a sincere admirer, in
accordance with what is thus far given to me to learn.
It is possible to approach any given subject from many angles. It is possible to speak
with different intonations, take different views, color in different shades, understand to
different degrees - partially or in whole, completely. Why is this the case? Certainly
because reality itself, life itself arent one sided or two sided, they are multidimensional
and diverse in this wonderful richness and multitude of Gods perpetual creation and
maintaining of great secret of life, known in full only to Him.
The very title of this distinguished gathering - Spring of martyrdom - in itself and its
novelty, offers us all of the above as a possibility, with its symbolism as well as with
literal meaning of words in their authenticity. Since many people, due to general
superficiality, lightly disregard meaning of words, I would like to emphasize here the
crucial significance of primary meaning of words. Primary meaning refers to the source
of speech, understanding of it, as well as to the Source of secret of speech, knowledge,
meaning Because: And He taught Adam all the names (El-Bekare, 31) - truth of
beings and reality. This should be the starting point in learning and understanding of the
world and existence, as was trough history confirmed, and is still being confirmed by
many a wise man in their discourse and/or teachings. In more than 300 places in Quran,
contemplation, understanding and knowledge is mentioned. God constantly invites
people to this.
The great imam Hussein (a.s.) himself testifies to the significance of words, which is
by no means coincidence! When before the battle he decided to stop, he did this to ask
for the name of the place. They told him the name if Tuff. It was as if something was
missing, he felt another name of deeper, broader meaning, so he insisted further, asking
if the place had another name. Then they told him the place is also called Karbala. We
will come back to this soon.
In the light of this, lets consider the title of this gathering. Two beautiful words are
offered to us - spring and shahada. In a way, they are as one word, as if denoting the
same thing. What do they invoke in us when heard? Do they imbue us to the core, are
we completely aware of their meaning and essence they point to?
Spring - awakening, renewal, opening, emersion and gathering of new forces of all
life, blooming, spreading, beginning and new life, freshness, even intoxication with

2
scents, sights, sounds, feelings and happenings All seasons show something different,
various levels and conditions, but spring makes everything sharper, more intense,
livelier, clearer, more obvious
Shahada - testimony, view, knowledge, confidence, becoming role model or example
(shahid), acceptance, dedication, commitment
At the level of language of symbols, we could say that spring is the beginning of
shahada, that is that shahada is the beginning of spring.

* * *

As I am not adequately acquainted with other topics, I couldnt address them, so I
would like to choose the topic somehow closest to me:

I nfluence of Husseins (a.s.) uprising on contemporary reality

When I first read it, it was as if something quivered inside me, as if it churned
even, forgive me if this sounds arrogant: like many of the things this topic implies are
somehow already known to me.
Word influence denotes an act, action, activity, course, moving and uprising
denotes rising, ascending, emerging
Unfortunately, all of the words mentioned so far (spring, shahada, influence and
uprising) seem to be neutral in everyday language and their meaning is very easily
approximated or, which is even worse, turned into complete opposite of their primary
meaning, so, for example, sheitan (Devil) has his uprising, his influence and his
reversed shahada. It is very clear what kind of uprising and influence this is.
Imam Hussein (a.s.) had contemporary reality - reality of his time, his here and
now. We also have reality of our time, our here and now. Do then and now have
anything in common? If the answer is yes, what is it and what is it like? To which extent
and in what way it influences? What fruit does it bear? What was then offered as reality
and what is offered now? We have in mind here that the word reality denotes the truth,
something that is what it is, reality that is offered to us, reality that we ourselves to some
extent create and/or except and participate in it.
All times, all periods of courses of history have so much that is different, but also
something that is very similar or same. People are, after all, same in all times.
Contemplating Hussein (a.s.), his times, words, events brings forth the question
what is it that people of different languages, races, religions and nationalities saw in
him?
It is possible to talk about an uprising in different contexts - historical, political,
social

3
There are, for example, several opinions about Yazid - that he is the one responsible,
that someone else and not him is responsible, that some love him, some hate him and
some neither love nor hate him.
Regardless of the way one speaks and understands, fact remains that the essence of
his uprising is in what all other dimensions and possibilities of interpreting stem from.
Hussein (a.s.) witnessed that what he learned with all his being.
That is why it is important that influence of his uprising to contemporary reality is in
connection with the whole of his being. Especially, however, his influence to reality of
young people.

Context of events

Historical testimonies of the general state of affairs in that part of the world speak of
presence of very strong ideology and propaganda. Its demonic, blasphemous,
materialistic and man centered point of view has been present since Egypt (in which a
pharaoh was considered a deity) and Hellenic culture (in which, lets not forget, Plato
had several failed attempts at Utopia and ideal state and government), in which
Aristotles premise about natural state of slavery (some people are just born slaves,
Politics, I, 1254b, 13) was very well known, then carnage, pillage and conquests of the
East by Alexander - all of this bears Hellenistic and Byzantine ideas of a monarch as an
certified bearer of authority. So, Egypt, Hellenism and Byzantine Empire (lets at least
mention here three unusual men, like John Chrysostom, pope Martin and Maximus the
Confessor, all of whom were persecuted and tortured by Byzantine authorities and the
church) with their vast experience in the matter, influenced attempts of Umayyad, that
spanned over decades, to establish a monarchy, which was at the time considered a
novelty in Islam. Yazid treated people as a pharaoh. Furthermore, conduct of a pharaoh
was better (Mesudi). Such ideology meant colossal propaganda in various forms:
dumbening poetry (like panegyrics to Alexander, roman and byzantine emperors),
spreading fatalism (Jabriya sect which believed that everything, even an unbecoming
behavior of men is according to Gods will and not to be acted against), spreading of
false hadiths
Is contemporary reality different than reality then? By no means, far from it - in its
core its the same, and seemingly different ideologies, systems, economy, so called
culture and civilization, media, movements enslave man in the name of democracy
and progress, more and more, faster and faster, perfidiously and far reaching, and planet
perishes in demonism of this madness.

Slaves of This world

Having all this in mind, Imam Hussein (a.s.) emphasizes another very important
thing - even the believers are slaves to those forces: These people are slaves to This
world. Their faith is in words only. They support and stand behind their religion as far
as they lead an easy life, but when tempted, not much of their belief is left.

4
If we take a look at todays supporters of various political parties and sport clubs,
viewers and listeners of television and radio stations, we see that this is a great number
of people.
Crowd, herd, ideologically indoctrinated mass committed one of most befuddling
and gory massacres in the history of mankind. In the name of faith and peace!
An image of events at Karbala springs in front of our eyes: on one side, or more
accurately - around, are thousands of soldiers ready to blindly follow orders and kill
Imam Hussein (a.s.) and all those around him, and on the other side - that is, in the
middle - are several dozen of people. Besides women and children, there are only
around 72 fighters.

Leader of young men in Paradise

Words of great Gods men are fitting in all times, are directed at all people, so Imam
Hussein (a.s.) speaks to people of all ages and statuses, to ulama, soldiers and so called
ordinary people, among whom he is especially concerned for blind, infirm
As leader of young men in Paradise (which is how, in accordance with hadith, his
grandfather called him), he was supposed to be presented to everyone, especially to
young people, so they would completely experience and understand everything he
stands for.
Imam Hussein (a.s.) is in himself, with all of his being: witness, invitation, sign,
warning, summon, role model!

People, be aware!
Husseins (a.s.) here-now

These words are mentioned in many places in Quran. Both Gods Prophet (s.a.w.a.)
and Ali (a.s.) speak to people in these words, and Imam Hussein (a.s.) also speaks them
to people before the battle.
People, be aware!
We should strive to see and understand every occurrence, every man, from as many
angled as possible. This especially goes for unusual people and Imam Hussein (a.s.)
particularly. He, for example, as an Arab, knew primary meaning of Arab words. As a
grandson of a Gods Prophet (who, according to hadith was City of Knowledge), and
son of his daughter and son-in-law (who is, according to the same hadith, Gate to the
City of Knowledge), he had understanding, knowledge and courage, and as a true
believer - personal experience of many secrets to a pious life.
So, lets be aware that he watched everything in completeness, in whole, in an all-
encompassing way.
Lets be aware that a man aware sees that materialistic understanding and view of
words and their meaning says that spring is just a season, that view is what you see with

5
eyes on your face, that hart is an organ that pumps blood, that spreading and expanding
are physical states, that conscience is elementary awareness in psychoanalytical sense,
that knowledge is a collection of information, that whole is a completeness and totality
of something, usually something material, that color is a visual perceptual property,
derived from spectrum of light
Lets be aware that a man aware sees clearly an eternal problem of justice and
injustice, truth and lie, awareness and unawareness, color and colorlessness (that is
harmful radiation of bright and loud colors that causes physical pain in the eyes)
Lets be aware that a man aware has taqwa and tawhid (awareness of unity and
oneness) against kafir and shirk (covering the truth and idolatry), awareness against
unawareness, knowledge against ignorance, dedication against egoism, tranquility
against anxiety, generosity against malevolence, wholeness against partiality, justice
against injustice, order against chaos, humane against inhumane, color against
colorlessness, light against dark
Lets be aware that if we dont learn this duality, on which our existence relies, it is
not possible for us to find and transform them.




Who and what Hussein (a.s.) had risen against

I believe I will be understood correctly when I say that I feel that to me it seems
more important against what than against whom has Hussein (a.s.) risen against. The
thing he has risen against is represented by names of many people, manifested in many
ways and different times, but the essence of this thing is what remains.
In other words, animalistic property of egoism and a soul prone to evil (Yusuf, 53)
have always existed - trough various pharaohs, monarchs, tyrants, presidents,
totalitarians, absolutists, self proclaimed gods
So what is behind or below events, as invisible level of the visible, as clear behind
unclear? What does primary and true meaning of certain key words tell us and to what
does it point to?
Taqwa or awareness of Gods truth and grace that as sign and omen permeates the
world and is inside a man, in vastness of universe and in themselves (Fussilet, 53), in
its ancient, initial pureness and originality (fitret), in wholeness (al kull), in unity, in
oneness (ahadiyya).

How is this seen trough primary meaning of words

Seeing as God sent prophets to all peoples (124.000 of them is the most quoted
number), it is natural that words or their remains are preserved in those languages. This

6
means that, in addition to the same ancient being that confirmed, accepted and
witnessed (You are, we witness this! El-Araf, 172), all men have something else in
common, something seen in deepest layers of various languages.
For example, arrogance is removal, so Quran says that Satan (Saytan) was in
mercy, but because he deceived the man, he is removed from Gods mercy and
truth. Word Ibls, for which some claim it is connected to Greek (diavolos -
defamer, separator), Arabic lexicographers see as originating in trilateral b-l-s.
According to Ibn Mansur this word, as well as the word Saytan means to be desperate,
lose hope in Gods mercy. According to so called high etymology, it is especially
interesting that words l-b-s and b-l-s have a common idea of concealing, withdrawing
inside oneself. In Quran, word Ibls is used in such context that his transformation and
desperation that befell him with fall of man, are both visible.
Similarity in meaning, as well as in sound, for word saytan in Sanskrit:
t - sharpness, cleverness, cunning, dishonesty, cheating deplorable, forlorn,
weakness, wasted.
I tana - sharpening, peaking
ta - discord, argument, tiff, falling out, incident, decline, decay, impoverishment,
extinction, withering, dry, go bad, damage, ruin
II tana - to cause a fall, falling, descending, destruction.
So, saytan (devil) means getting away, being removed from Gods truth and mercy,
running away, fear, withdrawing inside one self, desperation, concealing. From this
comes kafir: k-f-r, to cover - one that on deliberately, for one owns purpose ignores,
conceals the truth, deletes it, ingrate.
Removing oneself from the truth is sinful: f-s-q, to come out, fsiq - sinful. Hart:
qlb, from q-l-b, is the one that should change - taqallub, taqlb (change), which is then
felt in r-w-,r - wind, rha - relief, ara - liberation and oneness (aadiyya).

In the name of what he had risen

Imam Hussein (a.s.) is the witness of fitret, the wholeness, color of Allah
Since all people have the same nature, general, universal, Morteza Motahari has this
to say about the word fitret: There is no evidence of this expression before it ist used in
Quran, and in Quran it is first used about man. Its used only in one ayah Fetrat
denotes particularity in the principle of mans creation Fetr is identical to beginning
and invention it means initial, primary, without predecessor.
Ar-Rum, 30: Turn your face, as a true believer, to pure faith, to Allahs nature, after
which He created people! To Allahs nature or, as another translation says: act of
Allah.


Why arent they thinking?

7

Of importance of thinking and knowledge is spoken in more than 300 places in
Quran.
And why arent they thinking about Quran (En-Nisa, 82).
Quran uses the verb jetedebberune (think trough), whose infinitive is tadabbur,
derived from the root dubur, edbr meaning backside, reverse side, back of something,
which, when in verb form tefeale means - think trough, think about something, read
carefully and study with the goal of discovering the background of something,
conditions and causes that led to something.
If this is the case with Quran, then it should be in life in general. When people and
events are concerned, one should always think about background.


Color of Allah
In the description of the Battle of Karbala, it is said that some of Husseins (a.s.)
friends start to change color and shiver. However, Hussein (a.s.) and his closest
friends, unlike the group mentioned, as battle heated up and time of shahada
approached, became more flushed in the face and calmer. Some of them pointed to the
bright face of Hussein Ibn Ali (a.s.).
On the eighth day, the Imam says: your faces blackened because you are
arrogant, and scrape the bottom of the pit, most rotten groups that rejected Quran.
Whatever the times, and in this our time especially, when dark colors, grayness and
morbid shades or artificial bright colors that hurt the eyes domineer a great part of
architecture, literature and so called, we remind you that Gods creation is all in color,
in shades, and even more we realize what is the significance of Gods color with which
are truth, beauty, justice, knowledge life identify.
Sibgatellah, sigbat, sibgatun - color of Alah, coloring, shading, direction, disposition,
form, color, attribute
True color is the one Creator impressed in the soul of a man in the moment of
creation true fetrat is a seal (or color) which Creator impressed on us in the act of
creating the human soul. (M. Motahari)
It is said that words are joyful news (bur) and color of the face (baara) of the same
origin.
Cognition is water, and color of the water is like a color of the dish that contains it.
Water gets the color from the dish, so it can exist in the world of many colors, as
Junayd and Hamadani spoke.
God is beautiful and loves beauty. (hadith)

Insan - he who forgets or the creature of love


8
In 19. ayah of Surat Al-Hashr forgetting Allah is equaled with forgetting one self.
Even though there are five names for man in Quran, basic one is insan from verb
nassa/yansa (to forget). So, a man is a being that forgets: And to Adam we ordered in
the beginning so he forgot and was not determined. (Ta Ha, 115).
A great number of experts believe that trilateral from which word insan is derived is
u-n-s, that is being together, great love, friendliness. So, a man is a creature of
community, social being or a being dear to God. (Most dictionaries of Arabic
written lately derive the word insan from the word uns that means love, being together.)
According to Quran, basic characteristics of insan are: the most beautiful created
being, being that is weak and feeble, being that likes to argue, which forgets
Gods stake.

I f only you understood!

As you know, in Islam a man stands alone in front of God, truth, life, reality, without
intermediaries. In accordance with his conciseness and awareness he answers to the
secret of life and challenges that arise in front of him.
What was it about Imam Hussein (a.s.) that inspired awe, with Muslims but also
many non-Muslims like, for example, Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, British historian
and philosopher Thomas Charlie, British orientalist Edward Brown, Czech leader in
fight for independence Tomas Masarik, orientalist Nicholson and many others?
From the speech Imam Hussein Ibn Ali (a.s.) gave in Mina, during hajj:
O, distinguished! You are a crowd known for your knowledge, goodness and
kindness And I give you advantage before God because your past and because of
your faith! Still, Im afraid Gods punishment will befall you because you, who reached
a certain position others werent given to get, dont respect the good and the pure, and
on account of God have respect of people.
You watch with your own eyes vows being broken and Gods rules disrespected, but
this doesnt worry you and doesnt scare you You left the blind, the mute and
paralyzed without care in Islamic land and you have no mercy for them. You dont act
in accordance with your status or your reputation nor you help to those who are trying to
do something, rushing into failure by condescending to oppressors. God ordered you to
prevent evil and discourage people to do it, but you are careless towards that. Sin of you
taught in ummah is greater than sin of others, and status and reputation of those taught
in faith is exposed to attack. If only you understood!... You went separate ways where
truth is concerned in the face of evidence You let people with power cast a shadow
on your reputation and to them you gave authority of God, and so they mixed what is
allowed with what is not and drowned in their passions. And your fleeing from death
and attachment to this life is the only thing that enabled them to come to their
position Fleeing from your commitment, you let the weak get into their hands
In the time of idolatry, fascism, putting chips into people, destroying the planet and
nature, dark of Freudian psychoanalysis, devastating films and commercials,
psychological novels, literature that thrives on tragedy and hopelessness, in time of

9
great injustice and wars Imam Hussein (a.s.) with his being and action, not agreeing
to evil and oppressing is a sign and a beacon, example and light, call and evidence to all,
but first and foremost to the young.
Words of Allah: Do people think they will be left alone if they say We Believe! and
that they will not be led into temptation? (Al-Ankabut, 2) clearly point to the fact that
in this life, temptation comes in various forms, especially trough anxiety (kerb) and
trouble (bela), trough Karbala which, in their own way, every believer has.
Speaking of Imam and leader of Muslims, Imam Hussein (a.s.) says in simple words
who he is truly: Imam and leader of Muslims is the one who acts in accordance with
Book of God, holds on to justice and follows the truth, and obeys all Gods
commandments with all his being.


Bibliography:

Prijevod Kurana, Enes Kari (translator), FF Biha, 2006.
Fetrat, Morteza Motahhari, Kulturni centar Islamske Republike Iran, Beograd 1999.
Shaikh Hajj Abbas Qummi, Kerbela - zemlja tuge i bola, UG Hastahana - tekija
Mesudija, Kauni
Akbar Ejdi, Pitanja i odgovori I i II, Mula Sadra, Sarajevo
Enes Kari, Hermenutika Kurana.
Ibn Arabi, Dragulji mudrosti, drugo izdanje, Jovan Kuzminac, Prosveta, Beograd,
2007.
Tekstovi sa sajta Batina Objave (www.bastinaobjave.com):
Imam Husein Ibn Ali,
Kerbela,
ehadet hazreti imama Husejna - Pouke i poruke Aure i Kerbele, mr. Aldin ef.
Mustafi
Tekstovi sa sajta Mulla Sadra (http:/www.mullasadra.ba):
Pouka Aure, Sejjida Tahira Berberac
Aura u oima drugih,
M. M. Wiliams, Sanskrit-english dictionary
Nihad amdi, '?!(http://www.bozijiposlanik.com)