Iranian FM: Imam Hossein’s Sacrifice Keeps Spirit of Resistance Alive

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif underlined that the existence of the spirit of resistance against tyrannical powers is indebted to the sacrifice that Imam Hossein (PBUH) and his friends made in 680 CE.

“Since 680 CE, millions of Muslims have commemorated the martyrdom of Imam Hussein,” Zarif wrote on his twitter page on Saturday.

“Honoring his great sacrifice has ingrained resistance to tyranny and injustice in hearts and souls of his followers for centuries,” he added.

Zarif, then, quoted a famous saying by the Infallible Imam that says, “I do not see death but bliss, and life under tyranny but misery”.

On the 10th of the month of Moharram, in the 61st year of the Islamic Calendar (680 ACE), in a barren land (which is now the city) of Karbala, some 100 kilometers Southwest of Baghdad, Imam Hossein (PBUH) – the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the third Imam of Shiite Islam – was savagely slaughtered in battle and rose to martyrdom.

The Battle of Karbala was the result of Imam Hossein (PBUH)’s attempt to liberate the people of the region from the tyrannical rule of the second caliph of the Ummayad Caliphate, Yazid I. Over the days preceding his martyrdom, Imam Hossein (PBUH) and his small caravan of friends and family (between 72 and 124 men) were surrounded by Yazid’s army of thousands (over 30,000 armed men). They were ultimately forbidden access to water for three days, and on the tenth day (Ashoura), Yazid’s army attacked in full force, killing all 72 of Imam Hossein (PBUH)’s closest companions, including his six-month old son. The final and most brutal casualty of Karbala was Imam Hossein (PBUH) himself, who sustained countless unimaginable wounds from arrows, stones and swords before his throat was cut off and he was decapitated while he was prostrating before the Lord in prayer. Thus, on that day, Imam Hossein (PBUH) rose as a martyr and has remained so for over a thousand years.