Reinterpreting History of Ashura (10th Muharram) As Journey of Spiritual Movement

My honorable Mr./Mrs., My beloved friends, happy audience Assalamualaikum Wr.Wb All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and may Allah shower His peace and blessings on our beloved Prophet and Master Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him), his kind relatives and companions and protect his nation from that which he feared for them. Islam is the religion of truth, it's a great religion that all the Prophets of Allah came with from Adam to the final Prophet, our Master Muhammad peace be upon them all. So especially on this moment we were all given the pleasure of physical and spiritual health to work together and listen to oration as spiritual nourishment to commemorate 10th Muharram for grandson of Prophet Muhammad SAW, Husain ibn Ali ibn Abi Thalib. My happy audience, Ashura ( )is on the tenth day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar and marks the climax of the Remembrance of Muharram but not the Islamic month. It is also called Yaumul Ashurah, or simply Ashura meaning, the tenth day. It is well-known because of historical significance and mourning for the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali at the battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH. It is a day of speeches, public processions, and great grief. Men and women chant and weep, Mourning Husayn, his family, and his followers. Speeches emphasize the importance of the values for which Husayn sacrificed himself, his family, and his followers. Many great events in the history of Islam happened on the day of Ashura'. So we thank Allah for this blessing, being a Muslim, and know that no matter how much increase there is in ignorance and ignorant people, the truth will always prevail. And from the event of Ashura, we should learn many lessons about this. Because the tenth of Muharram (Ashura') is full of blessings and lessons, and that's why Allah made fasting the day of Ashura optionally Recommended matter per the hadith narrated by Bukhary and Muslim. On the day of Ashura '(tenth of Muharram) Allah forgave Prophet Adam, Allah saved Prophet Noah enabling his arch to land peacefully and victoriously, Allah saved Prophet Ibrahim from the tyrant Nimrood, Allah united Prophet Yaqoob with his son Yussuf, Allah gave victory to Prophet Musa and split the sea for him and for the children of Israel and defeated Pharaoh (Firaun) Allah forgave Prophet Dawud and granted Prophet Sulayman great dominion And on that day Allah brought Prophet Yunus safely out of the whale On tenth of Muharram Allah cured Prophet Ayoub On that day the Battle of Dhat ar-Riqa ^ occurred My happy audience, the validity of fasting Ashura' started when Prophet Muhammad arrived at Al-Madinah. Imam Ahmad narrated in the Musnad (his book of Hadith) through the route of Abu Hurayrah that once the Prophet passed by a group of Jews in Madinah. The Prophet realized that they
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were fasting the 10th day of Muharram. The Prophet asked, Why are you fasting this day? They said this was the day when God rescued Prophet Moses and the Children of Israel from Pharaoh who drowned as well on that day. It was also the day the ark of Prophet Noah landed on Mount al-Judiyy. Noah and Moses fasted that day as an indication of their thankfulness to God. Then the Prophet said, I am the one to fast that day and told his followers to fast the 10th of Muharram as well. He justified the reason for fasting that day by saying, We associate with Moses more than others do. The Prophet said this because Moses was Muslim as all the prophets, and we are more deserving of rejoicing his victory. Dear brothers in Islam, after the death of Prophet Enoch several events occurred over time that led humans to commit blasphemy for the first time. There were five pious people whose names are mentioned in Surat Nuh, verse 23. They were Wadd, Suwa, Yaghuth, Yauq, and Nasr. After their death, Satan came to the people in the shape of a man and told them to build statues of these five men. The people responded to the whispers of the devil and built these statues to remember and honor these five good men. After a long period of time Satan reappeared. Ignorance had spread widely and many tribulations had occurred among the people. The statues had become very common among the people. When Satan came again, to a later generation, he ordered the people to worship these statues and told them falsely that their ancestors had worshipped these statues too. God sent Prophet Noah (Nuh) to these people and ordered him to warn them against a severe torture that would befall them if they do not return to Islam. The time span between Enoch and Noah is one thousand years, known as the first era of ignorance. In these years, the first blasphemy was committed and became widespread spread among humans. Noah was the first Prophet and Messenger sent to the blasphemers. Prophet Noah said to his people, O my people worships God for He is the only One who deserves to be worshipped. He said, if you do not repent and leave out blasphemy, then await for a day in which a severe torture will come upon you. He constantly reminded them of the great rewards of being Muslims. Unfortunately, most people did not respond to his call and consequently did not come back to Islam. Prophet Noah spent 950 years calling the people to come back to Islam. Only about 80 believed in Prophet Noah. The people were extremely harsh to Prophet Noah, and inflicted a lot of harm on him. They were so nasty that they once tried to strangle him, until he fainted. Each century exercised more enmity to Prophet Noah and his followers than the previous one. Prophet Noah told his people, My role is to convey, but God is the only One Who creates the guidance in the hearts to the people. Prophet Noah did not get despaired even though only a few people responded to his call. But when God revealed to Prophet Noah that no one else of his people would believe he supplicated to God to destroy all those who did not believe, a supplication which was fulfilled by Allah. God ordered Prophet Noah to build an ark. Prophet Noah gathered the wood, tar, and iron for that ark. The people mocked Prophet Noah for building an ark on a dry land and away from water. God ordered Noah that when he sees a sign to start loading the ark. The sign was seeing water flowing out
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of an oven made of stones that belonged to Lady Eve. God sent the rain from the sky and as a result the beasts gathered near the ark. Prophet Noah took a pair of male and female of each kind of animal. The believers also went on the ark. Water sprang out of Earth in large quantities causing the Ark to rise. The rain fell in great masses like mountains as described in the Quran. After six months the rain stopped and the Earth started swallowing the water after which the Ark rested on Mount al-Judiyy in Iraq. God protected Prophet Noah and his believing followers, and inflicted the punishment on the blasphemers. All the blasphemers drowned including the son of Noah, Kanan. It was narrated that when Prophet Noah was about to die, he was asked the following question by the angels, How did you feel your stay on earth for so many years? Prophet Noah replied, I saw this life on Earth like a house with two doors. I entered through one door and I left through the other. He meant that it went so quickly. My beloved audience, in another event, Imam al-Hussein was killed by an unjust group. He died as a martyr at the age 56 years old. He is the one whom our Prophet praised him along with his brother saying: Husayn is from me and Im from Husayn. This means that: My love to him is full and so is his love to me and my affection towards him is full and so is his affection towards me. Dear brothers and sisters we remind you that fasting the tenth of the month of Muharram is Sunnah as reported that our Prophet peace be upon him did fast that day and said: "If I lived until next year, I shall fast the 9th (as well as the tenth of Muharram). Imam Hussain stands as an eternal icon for those pursuing a moral and ethical code to live by no matter how great or desperate the challenges may be. He proved that achievement is not found in a band of warriors or sophisticated artillery, instead one life can be a catalyst for success. His sacrifice is an everlasting example of justice and peace irrespective of national borders, ethnicity, religion, gender, and socio-economic and educational levels. For such reasons his soul rules the hearts of people and his way lights the example of the path of righteousness. My beloved audience, For the Youth, Imam Hussain is a maverick model; he is the beacon that ignites the flame of renaissance and revolution against tyranny, terrorism, disease, poverty and all vices. His legacy is applicable to every generation and era. Within a few nights, Muslim communities all over the world will be commemorating Ashura, the life and legacy of Imam Hussain, his family, and his faithful companions. Alongside the memorial remembrance of the tragic events that took place on the Day of Ashura, Muslims will have yet another opportunity to revive their spiritually consciousness of truth, justice, and sacrifice by the life of Imam Hussain. It is the season to share and spread the universal message of Ashura amongst friends, colleagues, classmates, neighbors, and any people. There is no greater story of heroism and sacrifice than that of Imam Hussain. Show your gratitude and appreciation, participate in the Ashura sessions by dedicating your time or sources to serve a noble cause toward the remembrance and life of a genuine servant of righteousness. In the last, May Allah SWT opens the gates of mercy, love, and protection to all. May all can inspiring ourselves to be better on intellectual aspect, moral aspect, and spiritual aspect. Light never stop to raise enlightment. Billahi taufiq wal hidayah, wassalamualaikum Wr.Wb.
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