Confronting the Dual Threat of Economic Privilege and Doctrinal Distortion
Seyed Hashem Moosavi
Introduction
Muharram is not merely a page from history, nor is Ashura a passing tragedy. Ashura is an enduring school in which one can learn how to live with purpose and how to die with beauty and dignity. By examining the events of 61 AH and carefully studying the teachings of this school, we can grasp the depth of the vision of its founder, Imam Husayn (peace be upon him), and the loftiness of his ideals-crimson ideals equal in worth to his noble life and the lives of his loyal companions. Yet to understand these ideals more clearly, we must first ask how human beings throughout history have viewed life, for the essential distinction between the uprising of Ashura and other movements in history lies precisely in this: its philosophy of life.
A glance at human history shows that people’s outlook on life has generally fallen into three broad categories:
First outlook: the primacy of pleasure.
This is the worldview of those whose entire aim in life is enjoyment, greater comfort, entertainment, and material benefit. Their unwritten motto is: “Let me enjoy myself.” The Holy Qur’an acknowledges the existence of such a mindset among some people, while condemning it: «ذَرْهُمْ يَأْكُلُوا وَيَتَمَتَّعُوا وَيُلْهِهِمُ الْأَمَلُ فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ»- “Leave them to eat, enjoy themselves, and be distracted by vain hopes; soon they will know.”
Islam is certainly not opposed to joy or to the lawful enjoyment of God’s blessings. The real danger arises when fleeting pleasures become the ultimate purpose of life.
Second outlook: the primacy of success.
This view belongs to those who go beyond superficial pleasures and pursue major achievements such as fame, power, social status, and wealth. Their motto is: “Let me succeed.” Although such people are more dynamic than the first group, the central axis of their lives remains the self, and they see everything through the lens of personal interest.
Third outlook: the primacy of mission and ideals.
The third group consists of mission-driven people who move beyond personal interests and selfishness, living for a greater truth: a divine and human calling. Their heroic motto is: “Let me fulfil my duty, even if it costs me my life.”
The epic of Ashura belongs precisely to this third group. Imam Husayn (peace be upon him), one of the greatest religious and political figures in Islamic history, sacrificed his blessed life for such a pure and sacred ideal. The value and greatness of his movement are proportionate to the greatness of that ideal-an ideal that forms the essence of Shi‘a thought about Ashura and can be summarized in one sentence: preserving Islam from the danger of deviation and destruction.
The Gravest Danger Threatening the Young Islamic Community
When we describe Imam Husayn’s highest ideal as “preserving Islam from the danger of destruction,” the first question any serious researcher will ask is this: what were the most serious threats facing Islam at that time?
The best answer lies in Imam Husayn’s own words and his description of the conditions of his age. On the road to Karbala, in a meeting with Farazdaq, the renowned poet, he portrayed the corruption and dangers of the ruling establishment in these words:
«یا فَرَزْدَقُ انَّ هؤُلاءِ قَوْمٌ لَزِمُوا طاعَةَ الشَّیْطانِ، وَ تَرَکُوا طاعَةَ الرَّحْمانِ، وَ أَظْهَرُوا الْفَسادَ فِی الْأَرْضِ، وَ ابْطَلُوا الْحُدُودَ، وَ شَرِبُوا الْخُمُورَ، وَ اسْتَأْثَرُوا فِی أَمْوالِ الْفُقَراءِ وَ الْمَساکینَ، وَ أَنَا أَوْلی مَنْ قامَ بِنُصْرَةِ دینِ اللَّهِ[1]»- “
O Farazdaq! These people have committed themselves to obeying Satan and have abandoned obedience to the All-Merciful. They have made corruption manifest on earth, suspended the divine limits, drunk wine, and monopolized the wealth of the poor and the needy. In such circumstances, I am more entitled than anyone to rise in support of the religion of God.”
This statement is the clearest explanation offered by the Master of Martyrs (peace be upon him) of the state of society. For the same reason, in Medina, he regarded accepting the authority of a corrupt ruler like Yazid as equivalent to the death of religion, saying: «وَعَلَى الإِسْلَامِ السَّلَامُ إِذْ قَدْ بُلِيَتِ الأُمَّةُ بِرَاعٍ مِثْلِ يَزِيد»- “If the community is afflicted with a ruler like Yazid, then farewell to Islam.”
Thus, contrary to a superficial reading, the gravest threats to Islam did not arise from the masses, but from the rulers of the Islamic society. Their main features were obedience to Satan, abandonment of obedience to the All-Merciful God, the spread and public display of corruption, the suspension of divine rulings and limits, and domination over public wealth for private gain.
The Clearest Manifestation of Suspending Divine Law
Among all the dangers just mentioned, the suspension of public accountability and the silencing of society’s elites were the clearest signs that the community had been cut off from divine law. This fundamental deviation compelled Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) to take a stand-and to sacrifice his noble life in that cause.
The suspension of public accountability was, in reality, the isolation of the vital and progressive principle of enjoining good and forbidding evil. So great is the value of this obligation that Imam Ali (peace be upon him), comparing it with all other righteous deeds, said: «و ما اعمال البر کلها و الجهاد فی سبیلالله عندالامر بالمعروف و النهی عن المنکر الا کنفثه فی بحر لجی»-“All righteous deeds, even jihad in the path of God, are no more in comparison with enjoining good and forbidding evil than a mouthful of water in a vast ocean.”
The Holy Qur’an also identifies the abandonment of this duty as a root cause of the decline and fall of the Children of Israel: «لُعِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ… كَانُوا لَا يَتَنَاهَوْنَ عَنْ مُنْكَرٍ فَعَلُوه»- “Those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel were cursed… because they did not forbid one another from the evil they committed.”
The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) had also warned that when this principle is abandoned, the wicked will dominate society and even the prayers of the righteous will no longer be answered.
Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) entered the field in order to reconnect this severed lifeline to the heart of society. That is why, in the declaration of his movement, he openly stated: «أُرِيدُ أَنْ آمُرَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَ أَنْهَى عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ»- “I seek to enjoin good and forbid evil.”
The Umayyad Methods for Disabling Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil
The Umayyads did not abolish this vital principle through public decrees or official government orders. A formal administrative removal of a religious obligation could have provoked a strong defensive reaction among the people. Instead, they pursued this sinister objective through complex policies tailored to the weaknesses and strengths of different social classes. In this process, the Umayyad current relied on two major strategies.
- Economic Privilege and the Spread of Illicit Gain among the Elite
The Umayyads silenced the influential and active economic class, as well as the wealthy, through vast privileges and material saturation. The elites understood that preserving their financial interests and accumulating wealth depended on turning a blind eye to government corruption, the plundering of public property, and the removal of the reforming rulings of religion.
This bitter reality is reflected exactly in Imam Husayn’s words on the Day of Ashura. When the army of Umar ibn Sa‘d prepared to fight and surrounded him, the Imam stepped forward to call them to silence and to listen to the truth. But the Kufan forces drowned out his voice with noise and commotion. At that moment, he exposed the root of their hard-heartedness and refusal to accept the truth, saying: «فَقَدْ مُلِئَتْ بُطُونُكُمْ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ، وَ طُبِعَ عَلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ»- “Your bellies have been filled with the unlawful, and your hearts have been sealed.”
This analysis completed what he had earlier said to Farazdaq: «وَاسْتَأْثَرُوا فِي أَمْوَالِ الْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ»- “They appropriated the wealth of the poor and the needy for themselves.”
The Umayyads did not even hesitate to reveal this usurping attitude. It is reported that Mu‘awiyah said: «الأرض لله وأنا خليفة الله، فما أخذتُ فلي وما تركتُ للناس فبفضلي[2]»- “
The earth belongs to God, and I am God’s caliph; whatever I take is mine, and whatever I leave for the people is by my grace.” This monarchical outlook transformed the public treasury from a public trust into the private vault of the ruling power.
Historical sources report that vast estates in the Hijaz, Syria, and Iraq came under the control of the Umayyad household, while governors acquired astonishing fortunes in a short time. This deep class divide kept the Muslim masses in poverty. It was precisely the danger about which Imam Ali (peace be upon him) had warned years earlier:
«إِذَا بَلَغَ بَنُو أَبِي الْعَاصِ ثَلَاثِينَ رَجُلًا جَعَلُوا مَالَ اللَّهِ دُوَلًا بَيْنَهُمْ[3]»- “
When the descendants of Abu al- ‘As reach power, they will circulate God’s wealth among themselves.”
Thus, a segment of the elite whose livelihood depended on the table of government remained silent-not out of ignorance, but because of intense economic dependence. Reviving enjoining good and forbidding evil would have meant cutting off their illicit income.
- Distortion and Instrumental Use of Religious Teachings
To control the intellectual, religious, and elite segments of society, the Umayyads adopted another strategy: fabricating religious meanings and inverting Islamic standards. This structural distortion amounted to destroying the very scale by which people could distinguish truth from falsehood. The Umayyads knew well that rule could not endure by the sword alone; they also had to occupy people’s minds. For this reason, they gave their oppression and corruption a religious appearance.
One of the most decisive distortions was the abuse of the concept of divine decree and destiny, along with the excessive promotion of fatalism. The ruling apparatus suggested that the Umayyad government was God’s inevitable will and decree; that the rulers’ wealth was a sign of divine approval and favour; that people’s poverty was a predetermined reality of creation; and that any objection to the ruler was therefore an objection to the will of God.
Yet the Holy Qur’an presents human responsibility and will as foundational principles: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ[4]» and «وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَى[5]».
In other words, oppression and social backwardness are the product of human choices and actions, not a coercive decree imposed by the Lord.
A clear example of this doctrinal distortion appears in the exchange between Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad and Lady Zaynab (peace be upon her) in Kufa. Ibn Ziyad arrogantly asked: «كيف رأيتِ صنعَ الله بأخيك؟»- “How did you see what God did to your brother?” He was cunningly trying to attribute his own crime to God.
But the wise lady of Banu Hashim shattered his scheme with a decisive answer: «ما رأيتُ إلا جميلاً»- “I saw nothing but beauty.” She then made clear that the event was the crime of oppressors, who would soon be held accountable before the court of divine justice. Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah behaved in a similar way, attempting to connect the martyrdom of the Imam to divine decree in order to conceal his own personal responsibility.
Conclusion
To consolidate its rule, the Umayyad government advanced a two-pronged project: on the one hand, by spreading illicit gain and economic privilege, it sought to dry up the voice of criticism and reform among the elites; on the other, by distorting authentic religious concepts, it sought to deprive the masses of the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood. The inevitable result of these two currents was the complete suspension of public accountability-enjoining good and forbidding evil.
The epic of Ashura was a full-scale uprising against these two destructive projects. By reviving the value of enjoining good and forbidding evil, Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) restored the intellectual and guiding authority of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) and brought the authentic Prophetic standards out from beneath the heavy dust of distortion. For this reason, Ashura was never merely a military confrontation; it was the greatest and most enduring reformist movement in history, undertaken to preserve and protect the true essence of Islam.
[1] . Tadhkirat al-Khawass, pp. 217–218.
[2] . Ansab al-Ashraf by al-Baladhuri, no. 1109.
[3]. Al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn, p. 870.
[4] . Surah al-Ra‘d 13:11.
[5] . Surah al-Najm 53:39.
