 Salaamu Alaikum dear viewers, peace be upon you all. Welcome to our brand new show on Imam Hussein TV called Insight to Karbala. This brand new show we are going to seek to delve into different aspects on the story of Ashura that took place on Karbala. There are several ways the story can be broken down and every single episode we will dedicate to one aspect of the story that we can learn and talk about openly. Today's episode we're going to start from the beginning on who was Hussein before Karbala. Many of us understandably so know the Hussein on the day of Ashura and afterwards but who was this person before this tragedy took place? What was his status? What were the moments where he stood out with certain things he did in his life? To discuss this on our opening show we have some guests, we've got Sayed Ali Nawab, we've got Sayed Mohsin Shah, and we've got Ibrahim Ansari to provide some poetry as well as add to the discussion. Say that I mentioned in my intro that it's understandable that the Imam Hussein that we know is the one on the day of Ashura because this is the moment where the climax happened of his life, what he was born to do in that essence. The two questions is why is it important to know the years before this happened and secondly who was Hussein? It was a very, very big question but who was this person pre-Ashura? As you said brother it is understandable why people when they hear the name of Imam Hussein they quickly remember Karbala and Ashura. It's because the Imams of Ahlul Bayt and before them the Holy Prophet of Islam, before the Prophet of Islam Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala placed a great emphasis on the event of Ashura and they drawed people or they pulled people towards the event of Ashura and what happened on the plains of Karbala. But it's equally as important for us to come and understand who was Imam Hussein alaihi salam because when we stand in front of the shrine or the burial site of Imam Hussein and we do the the ziyarah or the salutation of Imam Hussein it is always recommendable to know who you are visiting because the hadith says Manzara al-Husaynah arifan bi haqqih. Now arifan bi haqqih doesn't come from Karbala alone or the Imam in Mashhad for example Imam al-Raza or for example other Imams when you visit Imam alaihi salam al-Najaf or Imam Musab al-Najaf al-Farin Qadami or the rest of the Imams when you stand before them you must know in what circumstances they were born when they were born what they did during their life not only that major event that they were known for. So in regards with Imam Hussein alaihi salam prior to the birth of Imam Hussein Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wasallam informed the people about the tragedy of Karbala he was known to have been seen to be weeping and crying before years before the birth of Imam Hussein alaihi salam. So Jibrail comes down informs the holy prophet that Allah swt is going to grant you a grandchild his name is going to be Hussein and this is what's going to happen to him and Rasulullah cries and weeps and the companions muhajireen and Ansar sitting around him they see they observe the prophet of Allah the messenger the infallible the greatest person on the face of this earth suddenly started crying of course when Jibrail alaihi salam sometimes speaks to the holy prophet it's sound heard only by Rasulullah the people around him they can't see Jibrail or sometimes Jibrail used to come in and enter upon the holy prophet in the in the shape and form of Dahi al kelb for example known in personality so sometimes they used to know what's happening and sometimes no the Rasulullah had to explain to them that this is what's going to happen so Imam Hussein alaihi salam specifically other than the imams of the Ahlul Bayt the rest of the imams he had a speciality why because as I said previously in other programs that Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wasallam he prepared the nation for the happening of Ashura prior to the birth of Imam Hussein on the birth of Imam Hussein alaihi salam and in the five or six years where the Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wasallam had Imam Hussein around him Imam Hussein alaihi salam was an individual that in his first years around Rasulullah Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi used to feed Imam Hussein Imam Hussein still young Fatima Tuzara alaihi salam in some narrations she fed Imam Hussein until the milk dried out Rasulullah it is observed as it is mentioned in the rewayat that he used to place his thumb or one of his fingers in the in the maqt of Imam Hussein alaihi salam and the rewayat says Imam Hussein used to take in from that action what he needs for two or three days so the flesh and blood of Imam Hussein alaihi salam was from Rasulullah and some people say when Rasulullah says Hussein and minni is that I have brought up Hussein I'm guessing this this feeding is also symbolic that he's also getting the wisdom exactly feeding is it's symbolic and also the physical feeding yes two-way yes Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi used to place his his lips or his tongue upon the lips of Hussein alaihi salam as he used to do with his father Amir al-Mu'mineen Ali ibn abiyat alim and through that he used to give the alam and the wisdom where Amir al-Mu'mineen alaihi salam says alamani rasulullah alfababin minna al-ilm yuf tahli min kulli bab alfbab similar to Imam Hussein alaihi salam Rasulullah educated Imam Hussein so if you ask where Imam Hussein received his education I would say he received it directly from the person that received the revelation so this is the knowledge this is the upbringing of Imam Hussein alaihi salam in other instances before the event of Karbala Imam Hussein alaihi salam with the presence of his father because he was with his grandfather for about five or six years in some narration seven years and then with his mother Fatima Tuzzahra again for a year or two after the Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wa sallam sorry a couple of months after the demise of Rasulullah with his father Amir al-Mu'mineen he was for 35 years if I'm not mistaken with his brother Hussein an extra 10 years and then his Imamate was for 10 years as well so in this process with the presence of Imam Ali with the presence of Imam Hussein it doesn't mean that he didn't do it much but he was not in the limelight as his father Amir al-Mu'mineen or in the Imamate of Imam Hussein alaihi salam and we'll get to his Imamate afterwards but I want to bring in our other two guests and let's delve into history here and I'll keep repeating myself understandably Ashura is the day we remember Imam Hussein for the most can both of you shed some light on an incident or a story even a narration that Imam said way before Ashura that stands out or that the viewers should know about say what's new you can go first I mean there's many stories you know the famous ones are like you know when Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wa sallam we used to pray he'd hit mount on him and you were able to sort of extend his soju there will be other stories of miracles of there was a famous one where how the how Imam Hassan Imam Hussein taught the old man how to do wudu so there's many many stories but an event an incident that sticks out for me is when Imam Hassan is attacked and this is when there is a this is before the treaty with Muawiyah it is about to be a war and people are you know preparing for war and they had actually the head towards Syria and during the camp Imam Hassan's camp turns on him because they don't want to fight anymore they've had enough of fighting with Imam Ali and so forth so the the attacking while he's in prayer and Imam Hussein is the only one there to defend him and in this attack in this ambush Imam Hassan's actually stabbed in the leg yes and the reason it sticks out for me is that oh it's like Imam Imam Hassan was there to protect his brother and he was there to to to fight off the enemies and then to protect his Imam but then what happens later on in Kadaballah you know there's no one there to protect him there's no one there to stop you know the sword smashing him so that event really sticks out for me Ibrahim what about you so you're asked for an event and or a narration yes in terms of the first event that really stands out is his actual birth yes as Said mentioned so I'm not going to detail that because Said mentioned it the narration that stands out for me is a very powerful narration by Imam Hussein alayhi wasaatu as-salam and he says may I be blinded that does not see you overseeing the person so the eye of a person that doesn't see you overseeing may the I be blinded as for an event that I will then mention now is before he actually left Madina when they were trying to force him to pay allegiance to Yazid his stance was unbelievable his stance was truly unbelievable he described all the bad acts of Yazid he drinks alcohol he gumbles he and then he said someone like me will never pay allegiance to someone like him absolutely powerful and before that now he would say that the Imam was you know at the time of his Imam and he was he had Bani Hashem around him and he was at a older age but Imam Hussein alayhi as-salam he was that strong in his in his actions and in his belief that even he done that when he was younger at the time of the the the second ruler when he stole Khilafa he Imam Hussein alayhi as-salam entered the Masjid of Rasulullah and he noticed that person sitting on the pulpit he's speaking and there's hundreds of people muslim sitting listening to whatever he wanted to say if he had anything to say so he Imam Hussein alayhi as-salam came came until he reached the pulpit now the muslims are observing Hussein the grandson of the holy prophet what is he going to do he came he went up the pulpit he stood in front of him in front of all the muslims and said to him now you're not talking about a normal person sitting on the pulpit talking about someone who was assumed himself as a leader of the Islamic umma and who is speaking to him regardless of them knowing this is Hussein this is a youngster standing on the pulpit come down from the pulpit of my father or my grandfather what's had a memory abig go elsewhere and sit on the pulpit that your father used to have and this guy out of stupidity he came out and said my father doesn't have a pulpit which gives another clue that what you have taken is not yours this is mine and my father's because you know at that time the sign and signal was that whoever sits on the pulpit is the ruler and the Khalifa so this is another interesting starts from the life of Imam Hussein alayhi as-salam I think we can there's so much we'll delve into more of it I mean two things take out we and I think everything links to Karbala I mean we can't help it but the relationship with the bus I think pre-karbala is also set to foundation I think a very uh one that's I don't think it's ignored actually but we forget that Dua al-Arafa came from Imam al-Hussein um one of the most beautiful pieces of piece of theology um in any walk of life uh to fall in love with the person himself um this is if you want to learn about God you look at Dua al-Arafa and there's something Imam Hussein did independent of Karbala itself um and we're going to have as per usual uh on the format of the show what we're going to do in this show is halfway through the show we usually have a poetry and we end with a eulogy so it's time for the poetry and we're going to ask brother ibrahim to recite some poetry so I'm going to take you to another event before Karbala which is his departure which is usually recited about um and as Imam Hussein is leaving his ill daughter Fatima at night a caravan was leaving in pain prophets prophets family followed the lead Hussein. Imam Hussein bid his hometown farewell forced to leave his beloved daughter unwell as a lover submitted to Allah's will renewing his grandfather's campaign. Hussein was devoted yet Hussein was devoted and full of charisma declared refusal to Yazid schema humiliation far from the son of Fatima he does not submit to any tyrant's reign Fatima was like her grandmother alone she felt ill faithful and out of tone losing her day ones with whom she has grown proved to be worse than any physical pain city of the prophet was deep in darkness Hussein's departure has turned it so heartless its noble family was shuttered faultless for years Medina did not see peace nor gain the princess kept waiting for their return patients made her tender heart slowly burn she knew her father to death had to adjourn because Hussein acted in strength not to wait because Hussein acted in strength not to wait thank you very much to move the discussion forwards saying a reminder of a narration by the prophet peace be upon him and his family where he says Hussein and Hussein are imams whether they are standing or sitting I want to ask an interesting question how does it work when you have two imams who are alive at the same time so when Imam Hussein and Imam Hussein were alive at the same time was Imam Hussein the Imam of Imam Hussein or were they both imam at the same time how does the imam it work there just to add a small point to the narration he just narrated because Rasulullah at the time that he was alive and Imam Hussein and Imam Hussein were alive they were youngsters yes and at many times Rasulullah used to look for specific movements or specific times to attract the muslims towards Imam Hussein and also to say a saying for example when Imam Hussein or Imam Hussein was seen to be playing with the rest of the kids in the streets of Medina Rasulullah used to come and hug Imam Hussein alaihi salam take Imam Hussein sitting on his lap and say Hussein on minni wa anamin Hussein that narration has been narrated whilst Rasulullah was walking in the streets of Medina and Imam Hussein was busy playing and the Prophet said that Hussein on minni wa anamin Hussein I love Allah man I love Hussein whoever loves me has to love Hussein and whoever loves me is automatically loved by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so here you ask me about what happens or how does it work when there are two Imams at the same time of course in the level of hierarchy with the Imams alaihi salam Imam Hussein out of his position and the place that he has is better than the rest of the Imams after him but what happens when there are Imams before him yes of course Rasulullah is better than Amir al-Mu'minin Amir al-Mu'minin is better than Hassan alaihi salam Hassan Imam Hassan is better than Imam Hussein because not only he is his older brother but he is an Imam before him so at the time of the Imam of Imam Hassan alaihi salam it is the duty of Imam Hussein alaihi salam to follow the Imam before him which is Imam Hassan alaihi salam obviously there's no um we have to add that they'll never conflict anyway no they never conflicted they are all the same from the beginning until the end from Rasulullah from Amir al-Mu'minin until Imam al-Mahdi alaihi salam isn't there a narration I think I read once that I don't know who narrates it the first is Muhammad the last is Muhammad and those in between are Muhammad so here in knowledge wise they are all the same in level wise they are all the same but there is a point of hierarchy that one should observe as I said Imam Hassan alaihi salam when he was the Imam Imam his opinion is the opinion of Imam Hussein Imam Hussein's action would have been the same as the decision at that time of Imam Hassan when he done this agreement or treaty between Muawiyah and between himself so but the times give us different responsibilities of different actions by the Imam themselves and Imam while sitting or standing yes Imam if they are in peace or if they are in war they are the same so if we swap positions Imam Hassan would have gone to Karibullah and Imam Hussein would have been the same yes according to the time according to the situation they would have dealt with the same situation the same way as Imam Hassan or Muhammad thank you and one of the final points when I look at is when we go to actually to Ashura and when Imam Hussein died obviously a very sorrowful moment and understandably Imam Hussein is very very thirsty very weak at the time um he's took all the bodies and it's his turn and sometimes the literature and the way we portray Imam is at that moment in time and I say that specifically he was a very he was very weak um physically speaking I want to go backwards to Imam's role as actually a very skilled fighter because yes in Karibullah he was killed but if we go to the battle of Saffeen for example another moments before Ashura when Imam Ali was alive for example Imam Hussein was actually a very very good skilled warrior as well because of who his father was so it wasn't do we need to remember that Imam wasn't just someone that was just killed and you know wasn't a good swordsman he actually he was a very very skilled fighter as well I mean when it comes to fighting um you know it is mustahab that you know one a male should learn how to horse ride yes archery uh Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi was really encouraged wrestling and swimming so physical fitness and the you know combat uh is is I mean we we are a piece of religion but you know we have to defend ourselves now when it comes to Imam Hussein do you know how many of the of the opposition Imam Hussein killed in in Karibullah now some say there was 30 000 of them 20 70 000 of them 80 000 Imam Hussein and his camp managed to kill 11 000 now let me ask you this how can 72 men take on an army of 30 000 minimum and kill 11 000 and it wasn't just his because of his bravery and the way he fought it was also because of his um tactics because of of his his you know his strategy yeah towards war um that the people were thinking how could he do that one of the main strategies he used was stampede so they'll come to attack him and then he would leash out uh you know with his attack and he'll get scared and he'll turn around and then so many are coming to attack so many are turning around it will cause a stampede and that's how he killed so many of them and furthermore when they were fighting only one on one uh armed combat they they were they were they were threatened they were scared because he resembled his father so much even in combat and Imam Ali is what they call the champion warrior yeah of of Arabia where people used to write his name on their swords in honor of him yeah so let's not forget that yes Imam Hussein was killed and um you know there is you know destiny and there is you know uh also that he had to return to his lord but one thing to add to what Sayed was saying is that uh Amir al-Mu'mineen alaihi salam he used to of course take Imam Hussein with him to all the battles uh Jamal Safin Nahrwan and he used to give them roles he used to say Imam Hussein you are in charge of the the horse riders on the right alayl maiman al-hasen alaihi salam alayl maisara for example Muhammad ibn Hanafiyah uh he was known to be uh participating Muhammad ibn Abi Baqir also participating in the battle so Imam used to give them responsibility because they were uh individuals that the Imam relied upon because they were good army and skilled individuals and also Imam Hussein alaihi salam and specifically Abul Fattul al-Abbas and the day of ashura they used to strike once and kill the opponent so they used to ride their horse in the middle of the army like Amir al-Mu'mineen alaihi salam with one strike left and right they used to kill a couple of individuals so many of the enemies used to be killed in that manner so Imam Hussein alaihi salam and the children of Amir al-Mu'mineen they were brought up in a manner where they were very skilled in the battlefield like their father Amir al-Mu'mineen but at the same time Imam Hussein alaihi salam was an individual to be known to be uh worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when he was uh in the masjid or at home i think to end there was that there's a one narration that sticks out again the irony of it as well is that i think it was after Safin where one of the prisoners who was tied with a rope um asked Imam Hussein to undo the rope and uh he asked permission of his father and he did it and who did it end up being who shimmered himself and Imam untied his ropes his compassion his compassion was there yeah salam used to help feed or give water to and the certain individuals and then uh next you know they're in kabbalah and they're participating in the looting of the tents thank you very much uh thank you to our dear viewers we've reached the end of our show thank you for watching at home uh on our first episode of this brand new series we do encourage you to please watch the rest of the episodes that are coming we have several topics to discuss and several more episodes to uh uh show you um the format of the show dictates that at the end of the show we end with a eulogy uh as that is common tradition of the culture of mourning this tragedy so we're going to ask brother ibrahim to end and close the show with a eulogy um a poem written by Nouri Sardar welcoming the president of Muharram the shroud of a family a month on you beckons and the new moon's crescent with my bloody darkens i see a flame in the heart it away comes at the sound of wailing children these hot weekends as approaches the horizon of my 10 days the pangs of grief on hearing my name on you praise between your eye and your eyelid my body lays and hear the angel of death on my body prays if by my tragedy your heart it worked for her oh she I remember me when you see for her for I was murdered thirsty alone a stranger indeed my children would refuse water later for what reason oh my love do your eyes weep is it that so it's cold my name whilst my soldier sleep oh that's my flag bearer with no hands lies asleep whilst fire and men upon my women's dance seep whilst fire and men upon my women's dance seep thank you