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Tehran, March 23, IRNA - Monday, March 25, marks the day of Ashura, the day when Hazrat Husein Ibn Ali a.s, the third Imam of Prophet Mohammad's (pbuhf) infallible household, was martyred by tyrannical forces of his age. The English-language daily `Tehran Times', dated March 19, carried a feature, entitled `Impact of Ashura uprising on the Muslim Ummah', on the occasion.
The following is the full text of the article:
The value of any purposive religious or political action is estimated according to its results. Political and social actions may bear their fruit directly, still results may lag behind actions in terms of time. The aftershocks remain to interact and leave their traces long after the key events have taken place. The impact of a given political or social event may be temporary and limited in place and time. Sometimes the impact may extend over a long period and extensive area. Husein's a.s. uprising was certainly a great one, with limitless impact and divergent objectives. It was not confined purely to taking power, though political power was of extreme importance in the view of Hussein a.s. for positively changing the social conditions and reforming the community.
His mission had several short-range and long-range objectives. He viewed political power as his father did: "O Allah, you know that what we have done was not a contest to take power, or aimed at seeking to possess the remnants of worldly trivia. We wanted, indeed, to restore the lost aspects of Your faith and review Your laws that were being ignored, so that the oppressed may feel secure." Imam Hussein
had three following goals in mind when he started his uprising: 1. Changing of the political conditions, the ruling system and the way of administering civil affairs, and treating the Ummah in accordance with the divine standards set forth by Islam.
2. Awakening the political conscience of the Ummah and making a powerful oversight body out of it, lest the ruler deviate or neglect Islamic laws.
3. Emphasising the longevity of militarily opposing the unjust ruler.
4. Re-educating the Ummah in line with Islamic laws.
5. Rectifying deviation and putting into practice the Shariah.
6. Breaking the wall of fear and terror that was imposed on the Ummah and stirring the spirit of revolution and sacrifice in it. As soon as Hussein
stood against the regime, he was true that his movement would not succeed militarily, but that it would be the starting point of large-scale opposition. Accordingly, explosions and upheavals commend and the regime reached the edge of collapse. The government swayed and lost the last threads connecting it to the Ummah. It then resorted to oppression and terror as a means to silence any opposing voice and suppress liberties. The Ummah began to feel the weight of having abandoned Husein a.s. to the hands of the oppressors. A series of armed uprisings sprouted, weakening the Ummayads and ending finally in the fall of that regime. Husein's (a.s) blood was thus the key element in precipitating its downfall. His revolt smoothed the way for Abdullah bin al-Zubayr to move at Makkah, declaring war against the regime. His movement almost engulfed Makkah before it was defeated at the hand of the Ummayyads. A statement, recorded by history, vividly describes the wide - ranging effects of Husein's (a.s.) uprising. Al-Ya'qoobi mentioned that, a man said: "Once I went to see Abdul-Malik bin Marwan, I saw him with the head of Musa'b bin al-Zubayr placed in front of him." "O commander of the faithful," I said, "I have seen in this place something astonishing." "What did you see?" asked Ibn Marwan. "I saw the head of Hussein bin Ali
put in front of Ubaidullah bin Ziyad and I saw the head of Ubaidullah bin Ziyad put in front of Mukhtar bin Ubaidah and I saw the head of Mukhtar bin Ubaidah laid in front of Musa'b bin al-! Zubayr and I saw the head of Musa'b bin al-Zubayr placed in front of you!" The people of Madinah rose against the governor of Yazid in Madinah, Uthman bin Muhammad bin Abi-Sufyan. They turned him out of the city along with his entourage. As mentioned, Abdullah bin Handhalah bin Abi Amir, I `the one washed by the angles', lead the people of Madinah. But the Syrian army attacked the city (166) and this led to the shedding of blood and violation of the sanctuaries. The city of the Apostle of Allah 
was allowed for the soldiers, so much so that the virgins gave birth to babies whose fathers were unknown. The people were forced to give their pledge of allegiance as slaves to Yazid bin Mu`awiyah." (167) Those events pose how much the people understood the nature of the character of Yazid and reminds us of the statement of Abdullah bin Muti' to Imam Hussein
: "By Allah, should you be killed, we would be enslaved after you." At Kufa, there was the movement of the Tawwabeen (repentants) led by Soleyman bin Sird al-Khuza'i and Al-Musayyab bin Najbah al Fazari. Shortly after that there were the uprisings of al-Mukhar bin Ubaidah al-Thaqafi and Ibrahim bin Malik al-Ashtar in 66 A.H. They adopted the slogan `Vengeance for Husein's (a.s.) Murder'. They tracked the killers of Husein a.s. and killed all of them, including Ubaidullah bin Ziyad, Hossein bin Numayr and Umar bin Sa'd. The opposition continued its armed action till the Abbasids overthrew the Ummayyad regime. They called for propaganda reasons only, for the restoring of the rule to the household of the prophet
. Imam Husein a.s. kindled the flame of revolt against the Umayyads till their destruction. They wanted to destroy him but lost their power due to that very crime.
Imam Husein a.s. remains forever: a slogan for the revolutionaries, a lighthouse for the free and a source of struggle and liberation.
Peace be on him on the day he was born and on the day he was martyred and on the day he is raised to life.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the world.
