اٰمِیْن بِجَاہِ النَّبِیِّ الْاَمِیْن صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم 

صَلُّوۡا عَلَى الۡحَبِيۡب                 صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

3. What Karbala teaches us: recognizing our obligations

Dear Islamic brothers, we have just had the honour of listening to the khutbah of Imam Husayn رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ, which he delivered when the Yazidi army obstructed his path. In this khutbah, the great Imam precisely described the evil of the Yazidis and ended with اَنَا اَحَقُّ مِنْ غَیْرِیْ , meaning, “I am more rightful than anyone else to stop Yazid from enacting his tyranny.”

It is as though the noble Imam is saying, “I am the grandson of the Messenger, and my status demands that I be the first to stop Yazid from his oppression. I will come forward to defend the religion of my grandfather, as well as save the ummah from Yazid and protect it from impurity.”

This one statement of Imam Husayn رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ sums up the essence of the incident of Karbala. Why did Imam Husayn make all these sacrifices? Why did he withstand hunger and thirst? This is because Imam Husayn was cognisant of his obligations. He was well aware of his position, and he understood his personal responsibilities. He knew about the importance of his duties and the obligations that came with being so auspiciously ranked.

To carry out his weightily, important responsibilities, he even left Madinah al-Munawwarah, the city of his grandfather, and then Makkah al-Mukarramah. Recognizing the importance of his obligations and setting out to fulfil them, Imam Husayn رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ headed towards Kufa, eventually leading to him being surrounded by the Yazidi army at Karbala. Despite this, he did not take a step back from his obligations.