A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY About IMAM HUSSAIN (A.S)

Imam Hussain (A.S) is the son of Imam Ali (A.S) and Fatima (S.A) the daughter of

holy Prophet MUHAMMAD (P.B.U.H).

He was the second grandson of the prophet MUHAMMAD (P.B.U.H) and he was the holy Prophet's third caliph successor, after his father and brother HASAN (A.s) Like his father and Brother, he was the Imam (Leader) of the people [on the instructions from ALLAH Almighty, prophet MUHAMMAD (P.B.U.H) announced the twelve Imams who would succeed him in leading the Muslim nation] Imam Hussain is the father of the nine Imams who followed him in succession.

He was born in Madina on the third of the month of Sho'ban, in the third year of Hijra - 624 CE.

On the day of Ashura, while suffering from extreme thirst, he was brutally killed and his head severed by the swords of the army of Yazid-bin-mawiyah on Saturday the 10th of Muharram in the year 61 after Hijra around 681 CE - in karbala, Iraq.

His son and successor, Imam Ali ibn HUSSAIN, ZAIN UL ABIDIN (A.S) prepared his headless body, after being left in the field for three days, and buried him in the fields of Karbala, where his shrine stands today.

The Holy Prophet has said in the praise of Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain (A.S)

"My two grandsons are the delights of my eyes."

"Hassan and Hussain are the leaders of the youth in Paradise."

"Hassan and Hussain are both Imams weather they rise up or not."

He was the most Knowledgeable and the best worshiper among the people of his time. He would pray one thousands Rak'ahs every night like his father, and on many nights he would carry sacks of food to the needy, to the extent that the marks of carrying heavy sacks were clearly vsible on his back after his death. He was very kind, had a great and forbearing personality, and was hard on those who disobeyed ALLAH.

When a bedouin Arab came to Imam Hussain seeking help he recited the following poem for

the Imam:

Disappointed will not be he who makes request from you.

For you are generous trustworthy and your father was the killer of profigate and corrupt individuals.

If it was not for the former (members) of your (Family), We would still have been in hell.

Then Imam Hussain (A.s), While avoiding eye contact with the man, gave him four thousand gold coins (Dinars) and apologized to the man saying:

Take this for I apologies to you, and rest assure that you have my sympathy

For if I were in a different situation and I had more (money) to offer you, I

Would have given you far more.

Through his courageous revolution, the like of which there has been none in the world,

he revived the Islamic Law and the religion of his grandfather, and furthermore he even revived

the whole world until the Day of Judgment. He is the leader of the martyrs and the best among

people after his elder brother.

Throughout his life the Muslims used to revere and adore Imam Hussain (A.S), and used to see in him what they had seen his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H). Their adoration for Imam Hussain was not just because he was the grandson of the prophet (P.B.U.H), but also because he was the manifestation of the teachings of Islam and the conducts of the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H), no one could fail to see examples of the highest moral qualities in his behavior.

The holy Prophet has said in the praise of Imam Hussain (A.S):

"Hussain is from me and i am from Hussain."

Chroniclers and historians have individually remarked that Imam Hussain was the maifestation of the best examples of noble manners and conduct, as well as his vast knowledge, which he inherited from the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H). His actions spoke before his words.

Imam Hussain (A.S) was humbly gracious and generous to the poor and those in need. He used to support what is right and fight what was wrong.. People always noticed such attributes

in his conduct and behavior as perseverance, forbearance, and magnanimity. He was the most pious and God-Fearig of all people of his time.

In his book Master of the people of Paradise Dr Ahmad Ashur says:

"If you browse through the pages of the Sihaah books you could not fail to come across many

ten of hadith about the merit and superiority of Imam Hussain (A.S) and the love of the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H) for him."

In his book "Al-fusul al-Muhimmah" Ibn al-sabbagh al-maliki, quotes Anas ibn Malik who said "I was with al-Hussain (A.S) when a servant entered and in her hand a bouquet of basil. She

saluted al-Hussain and gave him the bouquet. Al-Hussain (A.S) said to her "you are free for

the sake of Allah" I said to al Hussain "She gives you a bouquet of basil and salute you and

you set her free?' He said "This is how Allah has taught us! Almighty he says: "If you are

saluted, salute back in a better way of return the same salute" and the better way is to

set her free."

In his Chronicles, Ibn Asaakir reports that Imam Hussain (A.S) used to receive money (Khums and Zakat) from Basra and other destinations and he used to distribute the money between the poor and the needy there and then.

Imam Hussain (A.S) is best known for his revolt against the status quo. By that time the socio-political situation had deteriorated to an extreme and intolerable state, fundamental measures needed to be taken.

The main aim and objectives of Imam Hussain's revolt, which are in fact the aim and objectives of Islam at any time and in any place, may be summarized as follows:

* To bring about a responsible community in order to implement and convey the message and teaching of Islam.

* To build an Islamic society which takes Islam as its sole source of reference.

* To rescue the Islamic civilisation from deviation.

This is because the Islamic Ummah (Community) suffered from various diseases in different domains:

* In the social domain it suffered widely from corruption bribery, cheating, oppression, favoritism and nepotism.

* From the law and order point of view, the criminal was not being prosecuted, and therefore crime was ripe.

* From the ethical viewpoint, they had turned the moral values upside down.

* From the economic viewpoint, the ruling elite and their cronies monopolized the wealth of the nation.

For such reasons, and for the fact that the Muslims had remained indifferent to these issues to the extent that these had become the norm, that Imam Hussain (A.S) rose against the injustice and corruption that was being conducted in the name of Islam.

In the course of his jihad in the cause of ALLAH, Imam Hussain was brutally beheaded and his body mutilated, alongside his sons, relatives, and some seventy of his followers. Furthermore the women and children, who were subsequently captured, including Imam Hussain's sisters Zainab alayhas-salam and Umm-e- Kolsoom alayhas-salam as well as Imam Zainul abidin (A.S), were taken as prisoners and paraded in towns and villages as villains.

And since then movement of Imam Hussain (A.S) inspired the reform movements against despot rulers all over the world and the Muslims continue to reap the fruit of the event of Karbala and every year during the month of Muharram the memory of Ashura is commemorated with vigour by hundreds of millions of Muslims all over the world.

As it was mentioned earlier, Imam Hussain (A.S) was the third of twelve Imam who succeeded the holy prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). On instructions from Allah Almighty, prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) announced the twelve Imam who would succeed him in leading

the Muslim Ommah (Nation). Although at the time of the prophet Muhammad, only the first three Imams were alive, however, the prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) named all twelve Imams who have been appointed as the Ma'soom Imam or Leaders. The first caliph (Successor) of the prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) whom he appointed to lead the Ommah after him was Imam Ali (A.S). The prophet appointed Imam Ali (A.S) immediately after his last pilgrimage, in Ghadir Khum, and instructed the Muslims to pay homage of allegiance (Bay'ah) to Imam Ali (A.S) as the Imam and the leader of the Muslims, and commander of the faithful, Amir-ul-Mu'minin, which they dutifully did. Given the number of people present at the time, some reports put the figure at more than one-hundred-and- twenty-thousands, it took more than three days for them to pay the homage of allegiance of Imam Ali (A.S).

The names and title of the twelve Ma'soom Imams are as follows (year of birth given in brackets):

1. Imam Ali, Amir-ul-Mu'minin (A.S), (10 BH, 600 CE)

2. Imam Hassan al-Mujtaba (A.S), (2 H, 623 CE)

3 Imam Hussain Al-Shahid (A.S), (3H, 624 CE)

4. Imam Ali Ibn Hussain, Al-Sajjad / Zain ul Abidin (A.S), (28 H, 649 CE)

5. Imam Muhammad Ibn Ali Al-Baqir (A.S), (57 H, 676 CE)

6. Imam Ja'far Ibn Muhammad Al-Sadiq (A.S) (83 H, 702 CE)

7. Imam Mosa Ibn Ja'far Al-Khadim (A.S) (128H, 745 CE)

8. Imam Ali Ibn Mosa Al-RAZA (A.S) (148 H, 765 CE)

9. Imam Muhammad Ibn Ali Al-Jawad (A.S) (195 H, 810 CE)

10. Imam Ali Ibn Muhammad Al-Hadi (A.S) (212 H, 827 CE)

11. Imam Hasan ibn Ali Al-Askari (A.S) (232 H, 846 CE)

12. Imam Muhammad Ibn Hasan Al-Mahdi / Al-Hujjah / Sahib Al Zaman (A.S) and may Allah hasten his reappearance

The Twelfth Imam, Imam Mahdi (A.S) is alive but "Hidden" from the views of general public, and by the will of Allah he will reappear to fill the world with justice, after it has been overwhelmed by tyranny and injustice. Imam Mahdi was born in 255 Hijra, 868 CE, and he went in to occultation when his father Imam Hassan Al-Askari was killed by the abbasi ruler in 260 Hijra, 873 CE.

Note:- Article taken from the book Al-HUSSAIN written by imam shirazi.