The Secret of the Enduring Legacy of the Companions of Ashura

Seyed Hashem Moosavi

Introduction

One of the most important discussions in the sociology of Ashura and the psychology of the decline of the Islamic community is the study of why people who outwardly claimed faith became confused and deviated, and in practice took refuge in falsehood. The people of Kufa were not a godless mass who denied Islam. Many of them prayed, recited the Qur’an, and even had a record of fighting alongside Imam Ali, peace be upon him. Yet the astonishing fact of history is that this very community, after writing thousands of letters and inviting Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, abandoned his envoy within a very short time and ultimately drew their swords against the Imam of their age.

The Qur’an shows that the collapse and downfall of societies is never caused by a single factor. Rather, a collection of moral, psychological, and social illnesses combine to shake the foundations of a community. Among these, the absence of sufficient insight emerges as the central factor in revisiting the fall of the Kufans: a missing quality that yesterday turned Kufa into a slaughterhouse of virtues, and today continues to confront human societies with deep cognitive challenges.

The tragedy of Ashura demonstrates that outward religiosity, general awareness, and even a good past record are not enough to save a person. What rescues a person from slipping at decisive moments is insight: the inner vision that gives one the power to distinguish truth from falsehood in the dust of trial and to stand beside the truth.

1. The Meaning of Insight in the Scale of Revelation and the Words of Divine Authority

The word basirat, insight, comes from the root basar, sight. In Qur’anic usage, however, it does not refer to physical eyesight, but to the vision of the heart and inner perception. Almighty Allah describes the movement of the Noble Messenger of Islam in relation to this principle and says: «قُلْ هذِهِ سَبِیلِی أَدْعُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ عَلَى بَصِیرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِی؛» “Say, ‘This is my way: I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me’” (Yusuf: 108). This explicit statement shows that a religious movement lacking clear vision is not only unable to save; it can also lead people astray or turn them into tools in the hands of false movements. Likewise, in Surah al-Hajj, the Qur’an identifies the true root of human blindness as the darkness of the heart: «فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَعْمَى الْأَبْصَارُ وَلَٰكِن تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِي فِي الصُّدُورِ؛» “Indeed, it is not the eyes that become blind, but the hearts within the breasts that become blind” (Hajj: 46). In Karbala, too, those who stood against the Imam had physical eyes; they saw him, heard his voice, and knew his relationship to the Prophet, yet they did not see the truth with the eyes of the heart.

Imam Ali, peace be upon him, explains the qualities of a person of insight as follows: «إِنَّمَا الْبَصِيرُ مَنْ سَمِعَ فَتَفَكَّرَ، وَ نَظَرَ فَأَبْصَرَ، وَ انْتَفَعَ بِالْعِبَرِ؛» “The truly insightful person is one who hears and reflects, looks and perceives, and benefits from lessons.” Accordingly, insight means intelligently moving beyond the surface of events and reaching their core and reality.

2. The Boundary Between Knowledge and Insight: From Bal‘am Ba‘ura to the Elites of Kufa

One common mistake in social analysis is to equate knowledge with insight, assuming that whoever knows more must necessarily possess deeper insight. Yet knowledge and insight are two different realities. Knowledge is the accumulation of information and learning; insight is the ability to make the right distinction at sensitive and clouded moments of divine trial. How many people carry a heavy load of knowledge, yet at decisive moments in history become immobilised because they lack insight?

The Holy Qur’an cites the fall of Bal‘am Ba‘ura as an example of scholars without insight: «وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ الَّذِي آتَيْنَاهُ آيَاتِنَا فَانْسَلَخَ مِنْهَا فَأَتْبَعَهُ الشَّيْطَانُ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ؛» “And recite to them the account of the one to whom We gave Our signs, but he detached himself from them; so Satan pursued him, and he became one of the misguided” (A‘raf: 175). He was a distinguished scholar who, out of greed for worldly glitter, wealth, and status, stood in the opposing camp against Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, and his knowledge could not prevent his downfall.

The very same tragedy was repeated on the plain of Karbala. Many commanders in the army of Umar ibn Sa‘d were memorizers of the Qur’an, prominent reciters, and transmitters of hadith. Among them were:

• Shabath ibn Rib‘i: a companion of the Prophet and one of those who wrote letters inviting the Imam, yet in Karbala he commanded part of the Umayyad army.
• Umar ibn Sa‘d: the son of a famous companion and a transmitter of hadith, who committed his crime out of desire for the governorship of Rayy.
• Hajjar ibn Abjar al-‘Ijli and Amr ibn Hajjaj al-Zubaydi: among the reciters, notables, and narrators of Kufa, who blocked the Euphrates from the family of the Prophet, peace be upon them.
• Shimr ibn Dhi al-Jawshan: a veteran of the Battle of Siffin in the ranks of Imam Ali, peace be upon him, and a memorizer of the Qur’an, who ultimately became the direct killer of the Imam with utmost cruelty.

These elites without insight, at the decisive moment of choice, preferred fleeting worldly interests over their own hereafter and stood against the grandson of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, in the confrontation between truth and falsehood. By contrast, the complete manifestation of insight appeared in the person of the Moon of the Hashimites, Hazrat Abbas, peace be upon him, where insight was joined with courage. Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, praised him in these words: «كانَ عَمُّنَا الْعَبَّاسُ نافِذَ الْبَصيرَةِ؛» “Our uncle Abbas possessed penetrating insight.” This expression is profoundly meaningful. The greatness of Abbas, peace be upon him, was not only in his sword and courage, but in his clear vision, correct discernment, and conscious loyalty. He did not know the Imam merely as his brother; he recognised him as the Proof of Allah and stood beside him with knowledge and understanding.

Habib ibn Muzahir, the great martyr of Ashura, was the same. Old age, a long record of service, social status, and the danger of death did not prevent him from supporting the truth. Hurr ibn Yazid al-Riyahi is another example of insight: someone who was first on the wrong path, but when he recognised the truth, had the courage to return. Therefore, insight is not merely knowing the truth; it is knowing the truth together with the courage to pay the price for it. The companions of Ashura became everlasting because they both recognised the truth and stood firm upon it.

3. The Two-Sided Nature of Insight: Between the Servant’s Striving and God’s Gift

Islamic teachings show that insight is a two-sided reality. On the one hand, it is a gift bestowed by the Lord; on the other hand, it is acquired through human striving. In other words, insight is a divine light which, as Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said, Allah places in the heart of whomever He wills: «العِلمُ نُورٌ یَقذِفُهُ اللّهُ فی قَلبِ مَن یَشاءُ» “Knowledge is a light that Allah casts into the heart of whomever He wills.” Yet this divine willing is not without wisdom. A heart polluted by sin, worldliness, prejudice, and arrogance is not a suitable vessel for receiving the light of insight. This rain of mercy descends upon the land of the heart when the servant removes the obstacles and prepares the soul to receive this gift through the following means:

• Piety and purity of soul: the greatest key to clearing the dust from the inner eye. Allah says: «یَا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا إِنْ تَتَّقُوا اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ فُرْقَانًا؛» “O you who believe, if you are mindful of Allah, He will grant you a criterion to distinguish truth from falsehood” (Anfal: 29).
• Reflection and remembrance: according to verse 201 of Surah al-A‘raf, when the God-conscious are touched by a whisper from Satan, they remember and regain their sight: «إِنَّ الَّذِینَ اتَّقَوْا إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ طَائِفٌ مِنَ الشَّیْطَانِ تَذَكَّرُوا فَإِذَا هُمْ مُبْصِرُونَ؛» “Indeed, when those who are mindful of Allah are touched by a visitation from Satan, they remember, and suddenly they see clearly.”
• Sincerity and striving: practical effort on the path of truth breaks through deadlocks in understanding: «وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا؛» “As for those who strive in Our cause, We shall surely guide them to Our ways” (Ankabut: 69).
• Opposing the lower desires: in the words of Imam Ali, peace be upon him, desire is the greatest barrier to seeing the outcome of actions, and distancing oneself from it strengthens the vision of the heart: «إِذَا أَبْصَرَتِ الْعَیْنُ الشَّهْوَةَ عَمِیَ الْقَلْبُ عَنِ الْعَاقِبَةِ؛» “When the eye sees desire, the heart becomes blind to the outcome.”

4. Cognitive Challenges in the Age of Media and Dusty Trials

The Umayyad government, relying on the propaganda tools of its time, organised a complex psychological war against Imam Husayn, peace be upon him. Slogans such as “Husayn is a source of division,” “he has disrupted public security,” and “he has risen against the legitimate government” darkened the atmosphere to such an extent that Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, in his letter to Umar ibn Sa‘d, referred to Yazid as “Commander of the Faithful” and reduced the conflict to a dispute between a “legal government” and “rebels.”

Against this distortion of truth, Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, throughout his journey, sought through his enlightening sermons and cries such as «أَلَا تَرَوْنَ أَنَّ الْحَقَّ لَا يُعْمَلُ بِهِ؛» “Do you not see that the truth is not acted upon?” to break this media siege, move beyond the slogans of the ruling power, and establish the truth that the essential criterion is preserving truth, not preserving the power of an unjust ruler.

If Kufa were recreated today, perhaps the army of Umar ibn Sa‘d would not gather people only with swords. It would bring them into the field through media, rumours, image-making, labelling, and psychological operations. Today, too, many truths are hidden amid a flood of news, analyses, clips, and biased narratives.

The problem of modern human beings is not a lack of information; sometimes it is the abundance of information. Contemporary people are exposed to a flood of data, yet such data does not necessarily bring them closer to the truth. A person may read more news every day while their power of discernment grows weaker.

In such an atmosphere, the words of Imam Ali, peace be upon him, are highly illuminating: «لَا تَعْرِفِ الْحَقَّ بِالرِّجَالِ، اِعْرِفِ الْحَقَّ تَعْرِفْ أَهْلَهُ؛» “Do not recognise truth through people; recognise the truth, and you will recognise its people.”

One of the great harms of the media age is that people make personalities and movements the measure of truth. If a beloved personality says something, they regard it as true; if an opponent says something, they regard it as false. But the insightful person first recognises the criteria of truth and then measures individuals and movements against those criteria.

5. Four Nahj al-Balagha Strategies for Passing Through Trials

Nahj al-Balagha is a complete mirror of a society caught in complex social trials: trials which, according to Imam Ali, peace be upon him, appear at first with the face of truth and reveal their false nature only at the end. To avoid becoming lost in such an atmosphere, the Imam offers four practical strategies:

1. The principle of depersonalising truth and making truth itself the criterion: in the midst of the Battle of Jamal, the Imam gave this historic answer: «إِنَّ الْحَقَّ وَ الْبَاطِلَ لَا يُعْرَفَانِ بِأَقْدَارِ الرِّجَالِ؛ اعْرِفِ الْحَقَّ تَعْرِفْ أَهْلَهُ» “Truth and falsehood are not recognised by the status of men; recognise the truth, and you will recognise its people.” The criteria for judging events are principles, justice, and the Book of Allah, not the past records or positions of individuals.
2. Wise positioning and not serving the people of fitna: in the first short saying of Nahj al-Balagha, the Imam says: «كُنْ فِي الْفِتْنَةِ كَابْنِ اللَّبُونِ؛ لَا ظَهْرٌ فَيُرْكَبَ، وَ لَا ضَرعٌ فَيُحْلَبَ؛» “In times of fitna, be like a young camel: it has no back to be ridden and no udder to be milked.” In an ambiguous atmosphere, one must not become a tool or a provider of media or financial benefit for the forces of falsehood.
3. Holding fast to the anchors of guidance: analytical return to the Holy Qur’an as an inextinguishable lamp, and listening to the guidance of a just and God-centred leader, save society from the chaos of conflicting opinions.
4. Enlightening others and avoiding haste in judgement: the person of insight does not follow fleeting emotional waves, does not prejudge, and through worship and reflection in solitude waits for the dimensions of the matter to become clear.

Conclusion

The epic of Ashura, before being a manifestation of bodily courage, was a field for testing the insight of the heart. The difference between the destiny of the seventy-two proud martyrs of Karbala and the thousands of covenant-breakers of Kufa lay in the ability to see the truth with the inner eye. The Kufans drowned in the noise of Ibn Ziyad’s rumours and failed to hear the voice of truth. Today, too, the most vital need of the Islamic community is not necessarily the accumulation of more information, but the education and cultivation of people of insight: people who, amid the uproar of media and the pressure of public opinion, recognise the authenticity of truth and courageously stand beside the Abbases and Habibs of their own time.