Yesterday, when the War Began
Most religions that exist today have undergone a historic, defining moment which has shaped the future of its teachings and beliefs. The Battle of Karbala may be exactly that for the religion of Islam (Esposito, 2005). This battle was amongst the most significant moments for the spreading, development and segregation of Sunni and Shi’a Muslims, taking place in the year 61 CE in Karbala – present day Iraq (Kermani, 2002). These two categories of Islam have struggled to meet eye-to-eye (Bohol, 2008), as literature published by Shi’a or Sunni authors always seem to encapsulate a certain degree of bias towards their own faith. Additionally, the story of the Battle of Karbala is often published in a light that favours either Shi’a or Sunni Islam, resulting in Muslims believing that their belief is the correct one, when in fact neither may be right. In this essay, I will discuss the division in Islam between Shi’a and Sunni Muslims, focusing on the Battle of Karbala. More specifically, I will be discussing the events leading up to, during, and after the battle of Karbala and its significance on the segregations in both historical and contemporary Islam.
The Beginning of a History-making Battle
Hussein ibn Ali was the grandson of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) and also the third Imam of the Shi’ites. The events leading up to his death involved a strong army comprising of several thousand of the Umayyad Caliph Yazid (Thorne, 2003). At the time of the battle, the official segregation of the Muslims into Sunnis and Shi’ites had not yet taken place, but little did they know that the growing conflict between Hussein and Yazid, i.e. the Imam and the Caliph, was set to cement the division between the Muslims. Since then, the cement has not cracked – not even in the 21st century, as today a Muslim will still specify whether they are Shi’a or Sunni when stating their faith. The Umayyad army reportedly tracked down Hussein and his companions and blocked their access to the river. Shi’a literature reports that right before his decease Hussein was painfully thirsty (Thorne, 2003) which weakened his strength as he finally fought his way to the Euphrates in order to drink when Shimr roared “Don’t let him drink… if he drinks he will revive” (Bohol, 2008). Just as he was about to quench his undying, torturous thirst an arrow pierced through the roof of his mouth which was only the beginning of his unmerciful, agonizing death in 680AD. Another important aspect of Hussein’s death is that according to Holt (2005) he attempted to persuade his 72 remaining companions not to die a martyr but instead abandon him and flee, however they loyally refused to leave Hussein with the enemy. Before his own death, he reportedly exclaimed “if the religion of Mohammad was not going to live on except with me dead, let the swords tear me to pieces” (Aghaie, 2005). Thus, during the month of Muharram in the morning of the tenth day, they entered the battle of Karbala – a battle in which they would all perish, and be honoured today.
The Contemporary Honouring of Hussein
The Battle of Karbala has since been acknowledged, especially by Shi’a Muslims during an annual ten-day period held every Muharram, also known as ‘Day of Ashura’ and this day is considered to be so significant that in places such as Afghanistan and Iran it is declared a national public holiday as Shi’ites commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali. Muslims are also known to fast on this day and no other historical event is said to have moved the Shi’ites as deeply as this battle and even modern Shi’ites have been known to become violently passionate and weep at the very mention of the death of Hussein. Iranian cities are also known for having huge, ice-cold vessels during the summer and local people offer others water as a mark of respect for the thirst suffered by Hussein before his death. Hussein died at Karbala and his grave became a shrine (Cahen, 2010) where his followers would visit and even asked to be buried next to him.
Furthermore, the symbol of the Shi’ites worn as a ‘charm’ is the hand of Abulfazi, Hussein’s half-brother which was chopped off when he tried to offer his companion some water. Another more subtle mark of the Shi’a (especially Iranian) devotion to Hussein’s martyrdom is that when they sign off on letters they don’t conclude with ‘best wishes’ or ‘with love’ – instead they write ‘self sacrificingly yours’.
The way Muslims mourn the death of Hussein varies between ethnic groups. Sunni Muslims don’t act out as passionately as Shi’ites do on the tenth day of Muharram. However, within the Shi’ites, the intensity at which they commemorate Hussein does vary greatly. To an outsider looking in, another more controversial way in which Shi’ites (especially in Iran) are known to honour the martyrdom of Hussein is that they will beat their chest to a rhythmic, coordinated drumming sound and even in more extreme cases will hit themselves to such an extent that they begin to draw blood.
Recently in 2009, the Day of Ashura fell in December with the regular marches and demonstrations however there was a class between Shi’ites and Sunnis and also bombings in Iraq and Pakistan. A vast number of police officers were required to hold back the violence, leading to the controversial barring of Shi’ite Ashura activities in the Middle East. It is believed by some that after this recent disorder during the month of Muharram, the Sunni opposition, Shi’ites protectors and police all contradicted the sacredness of Ashura by their wrongful violent actions towards each other. Middle Eastern governments have a history of barring Shi’ite Ashura activities because of the immense passion displayed by the emotionally-charged Ashura crowds (Thorne, 2003) and their inclination to relate injustice in today’s world with Imam Hussein’s martyrdom and political injustice.
Sunni vs. Shi’a, Will it ever End?
Similar to Christianity, Muslims are divided into sects but unlike Christianity there are only two – Sunnis and Shias i.e. followers of Ali and the traditionalists. They are united by their common beliefs especially in Allah, the one and only God; however they are divided by certain details. Shi’as believe that Muhammed wanted Ali to be Caliph, but Sunnis believe they are mistaken about what happened since they stand by the statement ‘How could Muhammed, the last of all the prophets, have a divine successor?’
The battle of Karbala bears immense significance as it was the event that sealed the schism between Shi’a and Sunni Muslims. Even today, the segregation between these two sects of Islam still exists and the death of Prophet Muhammed’s (PBUH) martyred grandson and cousin results in Shi’as feeling immense passion and sadness. Literature published about the Battle of Karbala and the death of Hussein often contradict each other, as one source may claim that Hussein’s head was cut off and kicked around, while other sources report a somewhat less gruesome killing. Centuries after the death of Hussein, Sunni and Shi’as are still unable to meet eye to eye, even though it seems that the lines that separate these two sects of Islam are slightly faint. It leads one to wonder whether this is in fact a self fulfilling prophecy and maybe the only reason they have trouble getting along is because they are divided into two different categories and have been for centuries. Perhaps one day, Sunnis and Shi’as will accurately refine the story of the death of Hussein and when a Muslim tells someone their faith is in Islam, no extra detail will be required as Muslims will be recognised as one religion – not one religion, with two divisions.
http://www.princeton.edu/~batke/itl/denise/umayyads.htm
http://www.opendemocracy.net/faith-europe_islam/article_88.jsp
http://religiousfreaks.com/2008/01/19/happy-ashura/
References
Aghaie, K. S., (2004). The martyrs of Karbala: Shi’i symbols and rituals in modern Iran Journal of Law and Religion P. 46 – 67. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.au/books?id=tUhhurxISRcC&lpg=PP1&ots=eZRXDFwFP4&dq=The%20martyrs%20of%20Karbala%20%3A%20Shi’i%20symbols%20and%20rituals
Aghaie, K. S., (2005). The women of Karbala: ritual performance and symbolic discourses in modern Shiʻi Islam
Bohol, P (2008). Battle of Karbala. The Journal of Contemporary Religion P. 234 – 254
Cahen, Cl. “Ḳabāla.” (2010) Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online. University of Queensland. Retrieved from http://www.brillonline.nl.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_SIM-3736
Esposito, JL. (2005). Islam: The Straight Path. New York, USA: Oxford University Press.
Holt, P. M., & Ann K. S., (2005). Umayyads: The First Muslim Dynasty. Cambridge History of Islam http://www.princeton.edu/~bat/itl/denise/umayyads.htm
Kermani, N. (2002) Roots of Terror, Suicide and Martyrdom. Journal of Religion and Health
Sabir, R. (2002). Karbala: Chain of Events. World Policy Journal Retrieved from http://www.al-islam.org/short/karbala.htm
Thorne, M. (2003) Shi’a vs Sunnism. Journal for the Scientific Study of Islam P.381 – 399
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