By Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi
More than thirteen centuries have passed since the tragedy of Karbala, yet the sacrifice of Imam Husain ibn Ali, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, continues to inspire hearts and consciences across nations, cultures, and faiths.
Ashura is the remembrance of a choice. It is the story of a man who stood before overwhelming power and refused to surrender his principles.
The man who chose dignity over submission, truth over expediency, and justice over fear. For this reason, Karbala has never belonged exclusively to a single community. Its message transcends geography, ethnicity, and religion. Wherever people struggle against oppression, seek justice, or defend their dignity, the spirit of Karbala finds renewed expression.
Power can compel obedience, but it cannot command legitimacy.
Weapons can kill, but they cannot extinguish principles and ideas. Political authority may dominate for a while, but moral authority endures across generations. This is why Imam Husain’s stand continues to resonate in every age.
The modern world, despite its technological progress and unprecedented inter-dependence, continues to confront many of the same moral challenges that existed centuries ago. People endure occupation and aggression, as we keep seeing in the news every other day.
International relations are too often governed by calculations of hard power rather than commitments to justice. In such circumstances, the message of Ashura becomes extremely relevant.
This year’s commemoration comes in the aftermath of an unprovoked US-Israeli attack on Iran. Resistance, as taught by Imam Husain, is not a pursuit of conflict.
It is not an ideology of war. It is the determination to remain steadfast when circumstances encourage submission.
For this reason, language of resistance should not be misunderstood. It is, at its heart, a moral concept before it is a political one.
The purpose of resistance is not endless confrontation. Its purpose is to preserve justice, safeguard dignity, and create conditions in which peace can be based upon mutual respect rather than domination.
Sustainable peace cannot be imposed through force alone. Lasting peace emerges when justice becomes the foundation of international relations.
For the past year, i have extensively travelled across the length and breadth of India and realised that the remembrance of Muharram occupies a unique place in India’s civilisational landscape. The story of Karbala has inspired Muslims and non Muslims alike.
It has been commemorated in villages and cities, among people of diverse traditions who recognised in Imam Husain auniversal symbol of courage and sacrifice.
MK Gandhi drew inspiration from Imam Husain’s example. Gandhi understood that moral courage possesses a power greater than violence and that enduring change is achieved through steadfastness to truth.
Although their historical contexts differed, both Gandhi and Imam Husain demonstrated that the force of conscience ultimately outlives the force of coercion.
In every generation, there are new forms of oppression and new tests of conscience. Circumstances change, but the moral choice remains the same: whether to submit to injustice or stand for principle. That is why Ashura continues to inspire millions.
The writer is representative of supreme leader of Iran in India
Ashurais on June 26
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
