Seyed Hashem Moosavi
Introduction
As the days of mourning in Muharram approach, hearts turn more than ever toward the school of Ashura and its timeless message. Muharram is not merely a season of grief for the suffering of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them); it is also an opportunity to revisit one of the deepest questions of human existence: What does a human being live for, and, if necessary, for what should one give one’s life? For this reason, reflecting on “the secret of self-sacrifice in the school of Ashura” at the threshold of these days is an attempt to understand the relationship between mourning and responsibility, tears and awareness, and love for Imam Ḥusayn and a life of faithful commitment.
Throughout history, human beings have always searched for meaning in life, and on the basis of that search they may be divided into three broad groups. This distinction shows that the worth of a person’s life depends on the horizon they draw for their existence: a narrow horizon confined to pleasure, or a vast and God-centred horizon that can lead a person all the way to sacrifice and martyrdom.
- The first group (pleasure-seekers): those whose entire concern is amusement and the enjoyment of fleeting pleasures. Their unspoken motto is: “Let me enjoy myself.”
- The second group (success-seekers): those who look beyond immediate pleasure and pursue achievement, social standing, fame, power, or personal advancement. Their motto is: “Let me succeed.”
- The third group (people of mission): those who move beyond personal interests and dedicate their lives to a greater truth. They breathe for an ideal, a mission, and a historical responsibility, and their motto is: “Let me fulfill my duty.”
Ashura: The Perfect Manifestation of the Mission-Driven Human Being
The epic of Ashura belongs to the third group. In this school, the human being reaches a level of growth at which the self is no longer the axis of the universe; rather, one sees oneself as part of a greater truth. One learns that a person’s value does not lie merely in the length of life, but in the purpose for which one lives and, if need be, for which one gives one’s life.
Imam Ḥusayn (peace be upon him) made it clear, time and again on the road to Karbalāʾ, that his movement was not for the sake of power, wealth, or personal gain. In his testament to Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah, he said: «إِنِّي لَمْ أَخْرُجْ أَشِراً وَ لَا بَطِراً وَ لَا مُفْسِداً وَ لَا ظَالِماً، وَ إِنَّمَا خَرَجْتُ لِطَلَبِ الْإِصْلَاحِ فِي أُمَّةِ جَدِّي» “I have not risen out of vanity, arrogance, corruption, or oppression; rather, I have risen to seek reform in the community of my grandfather” (al-Futūḥ, Ibn Aʿtham al-Kūfī, vol. 5, p. 21; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 44, p. 329).
This statement shows that, in the logic of عاشورا, human life attains its true worth when it is placed in the service of truth, justice, and the guidance of society. The same principle is rooted in the Qur’an, where God says: «قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ» “Say: Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living, and my dying are all for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds” (Qur’an 6:162). On the basis of this verse, the believer defines not only death, but every dimension of life within the orbit of servitude to God; and Ashura is the fullest social and historical manifestation of that lived monotheism.
A Human Being Always Gives Life for Something
Contrary to common assumption, almost all human beings, in practice, spend their lives for something. The only difference is what that thing is. A soldier risks life to defend the homeland because the homeland is precious to him. A firefighter enters the flames to save others because preserving human life is worth more than personal comfort. A mother sacrifices years of ease, health, and youth for her child because love for her child is greater, in her eyes, than her own convenience. Lovers of freedom throughout history have accepted prison, torture, and even death because they considered freedom more valuable than a humiliated life.
Thus, the essential question is not whether a person sacrifices something for an ideal, but how worthy that ideal truly is. In the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), a person’s value is bound to selflessness and the preference of truth over personal interest. It is narrated from Amir Al-Mu’meneen ʿAlī (peace be upon him): «مَنْ آثَرَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ اسْتَحَقَّ اسْمَ الْفَضِيلَةِ» “Whoever gives preference over his own self deserves the name of virtue” (Ghurar al-Ḥikam wa Durar al-Kalim, no. 8845). From this perspective, sacrifice in Ashura is not a passing emotion; it is the summit of a virtue born of knowledge, faith, and spiritual freedom.
Ashura: A Criterion for Measuring Values
Ashura asks the human being: “What in your life is so valuable that you would be willing to pay a price for it?” If a person spends his entire life in pursuit of pleasure, his worth will be no more than those pleasures. If all of life is spent in the pursuit of wealth, rank, and fame, then one’s worth will be measured by those same material achievements. But if life is devoted to truth, justice, the guidance of others, and the pleasure of God, then human worth rises accordingly. That is why Imam Ḥusayn (peace be upon him) did not regard death in the path of truth as defeat; rather, he saw it as true victory, saying: «إِنِّي لَا أَرَى الْمَوْتَ إِلَّا سَعَادَةً وَ لَا الْحَيَاةَ مَعَ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا بَرَماً» “I see death as nothing but felicity, and life with oppressors as nothing but weariness and misery” (Tuḥaf al-ʿUqūl, p. 245; also Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, vol. 5, p. 403, with some variation in wording).
For this reason, the slogan of dignity in the culture of Ḥusayn has a Qur’anic root. The Qur’an says: «مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا» “Whoever seeks honour and might, then all honour belongs entirely to Allah” (Qur’an 35:10). And it also says: «وَلَا تَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنْتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ» “Do not lose heart, nor grieve; you shall have the upper hand, if you are truly believers” (Qur’an 3:139).Ashurais the practical exegesis of these verses: a believer may be martyred outwardly, yet is never truly defeated or humiliated.
The Secret of Ashura’s Enduring Legacy
Throughout history, thousands of wars and conflicts have taken place, and today nothing remains of many of them but a name, or not even that. Yet Ashura remains alive after centuries. The secret of this endurance did not lie in the number of martyrs, military equipment, or an outward victory. Its secret lies in the fact that Imam Ḥusayn (peace be upon him) stood for something that every pure human nature can understand defending truth against distortion, justice against oppression, dignity against humiliation, and devotion to God against devotion to the world. Whenever human beings have found themselves standing between truth and falsehood, Ashura has become meaningful to them once again; for Ashura is not merely a historical event, but an abiding pattern for choosing between “a life of dignity” and “a life without purpose.”
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him and his family) also made clear the profound link between the path of Ḥusayn and the preservation of his religion through the celebrated saying: «حُسَيْنٌ مِنِّي وَأَنَا مِنْ حُسَيْنٍ»“Ḥusayn is from me, and I am from Ḥusayn” (Sunan al-Tirmidhī, no. 3775; Musnad Aḥmad, no. 17561; Ibn Mājah, no. 144). From this perspective, the endurance of Ashura is not merely due to the magnitude of a tragedy, but because the life of religion, the awakening of the community, and the preservation of divine values are bound up with this uprising.
The Qur’anic View of the Value of Life
The Noble Qur’an teaches believers that human life is a divine trust and must not be sold cheaply. God says: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَىٰ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ» “Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth in exchange for Paradise being theirs” (Qur’an 9:111).
According to this logic, the believer does not place his life on the marketplace of this world at any price. He is not willing to spend his years, talents, character, and even his life on low and transient ends. He spends the capital of his existence only on a path that possesses eternal worth.
Ashura and the Meaning of Life
The greatest crisis of the modern human being is not only economic poverty or psychological distress; it is the crisis of meaning. Many people do not know what they live for, and therefore they do not know what they should endure suffering for, or why they should remain steadfast. Ashura answers this question. The school of Ḥusayn teaches the human being that life acquires meaning when it is placed in the service of a truth greater than the self. One reaches true serenity when one knows that one is part of a great divine mission and that one has a share in reforming the world around oneself.
This is why mourning for Imam Ḥusayn (peace be upon him) carries a meaning beyond emotional grief. Tears for Ḥusayn bear fruit only when they lead to insight, responsibility, and readiness to defend the truth. Muharram is a school in which the believer learns how to choose conscious hardship in the path of truth over comfort without mission.
Conclusion
Muharram and Ashura do not ask us merely to weep over the sorrows of the past; they ask us to rethink the values by which we live. Ashura holds up a mirror before us and asks: “Is the thing for which you are living today truly valuable enough that, if necessary, you would sacrifice yourself for it?” This question is the very soul of Muharram’s message, and a sound answer to it can transform both our personal and our social lives. In the logic of Ḥusayn, the worth of every human being is measured by the ideal for which one lives and, if needed, to which one offers one’s life. That is why Ashura is the greatest school for giving meaning to life: a school that teaches the human being how to live, how to stand firm, and, if it becomes necessary, how to die with dignity.
