Husayn ibn Ali

Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib (Arabic: الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب‎‎; 10 October 625 – 10 October 680) (3 Sha'aban AH 4 (in the ancient (intercalated) Arabic calendar) – 10 Muharram AH 61), also spelled as Husain, Hussain or Hussein, was the son of Ali ibn Abi Ṭalib (fourth Rashidun caliph of Sunni Islam, and first Imam of Shia Islam) and Fatimah Zahra (daughter of Muhammad) and the younger brother of Hasan ibn Ali. Husayn is an important figure in Islam, as he is a member of the Ahl al-Bayt (the household of Muhammad) and Ahl al-Kisa, as well as being the third Shia Imam.

Hussain became the head of Shia Islam and the head of Banu Hashim after the death of his older brother, Hasan ibn Ali, in 670 (AH 50). His father's supporters (Shi'a Ali) in Kufa gave their allegiance to him. However, he told them he was still bound to the peace treaty between Hasan and Muawiyah I and they should wait until Muawiyah was dead. Later, Hussain did not accept the request of Muawiyah for the succession of his son, Yazid I, and considered this action a breach of the Hasan–Muawiya treaty. When Muawiyah I died in 680, Husayn refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid I, who had just been appointed as Umayyad caliph by Muawiyah, because he considered the Umayyads an oppressive and religiously misguided regime. He insisted on his legitimacy based on his own special position as a direct descendant of Muhammad and his legitimate legatees. As a consequence, he left Medina, his home town, to take refuge in Mecca in AH 60. There, the people of Kufa sent letters to him, asking his help and pledging their allegiance to him. So he travelled towards Kufa. At a place near Kufa, known as Karbala, his caravan was intercepted by Yazid I's army. He was killed and beheaded in the Battle of Karbala on 10 October 680 (10 Muḥarram 61) by Shimr Ibn Thil-Jawshan, along with most of his family and companions.

Karbala

Karbala (Arabic: كربلاء‎; Karbalā’; also referred to as Karbalā' al-Muqaddasah) is a city in Iraq, located about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Baghdad. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 572,300 people (2003).

The city, best known as the location of the Battle of Karbala (680), is the holiest city for Shia Muslims after Mecca, Medina and the noble sanctuary in Jerusalem. It is home to the Imam Hussein Shrine. Karbala is famous as the site of the martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali (Imam Husayn), and commemorations are held by millions of Shias annually to remember it. Karbala is considered sacred by Shias and rivals Mecca as a place of pilgrimage.

Etymology

Several theories address the origin of the name Karbala. The geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi expressed the traditional hypothesis: that the name is an alternate Arabic feminine version of karbalah "soft earth". Alternatively, it has been said to be derived from the Aramaic word Kora, meaning place for making bricks, for the nearby ancient city of Babil, hence Karbabil, which became Karbala by contraction. According to Shia belief, the archangel Gabriel narrated the true meaning of the name Karbalā to Muhammad: the land which will cause many agonies (karb) and afflictions (balā)."

Tariq Jameel

Tariq Jameel (born 1 January 1953), commonly referred to as Maulana Tariq Jameel, is a Pakistani religious and Islamic scholar, preacher, and public speaker from Tulamba near Mian Channu in Khanewal, Punjab He is a member of Tablighi Jamaat and a Deobandi scholar who runs a Madrasa in Faisalabad, Pakistan. He is listed as a popular speaker in the 2013/2014 edition of the book The Muslim 500.

Education and career

Tariq Jameel received his Islamic education from Jamia Arabia, Raiwind. He frequently visits places to deliver Islamic speeches at rallies in which he preaches peace and harmony, tolerance and respect for everyone. He promotes ethnic and sectarian harmony.

Tariq Jameel's lectures incorporate a wide range of issues of Islam and social concern. He especially emphasizes on self-rectification, self-accountability, honesty in social life, avoidance of violent ways, observance of God's commands, and the following of the teachings and the model of life as suggested by Islamic prophet Muhammad. In May 2014, the International Human Rights Commission Chief Ambassador met Tariq Jameel along with Asad Bashir and Veena Malik at Dubai and thanked him for promoting the true picture of Islam.

Imam

An imam (/ɪˈmɑːm/; Arabic: إمام‎ imām, plural: أئمة aʼimmah; Persian: امام‎‎) is an Islamic leadership position. It is most commonly in the context of a worship leader of a mosque and Muslim community by Sunni Muslims. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance. For Shi'a Muslims, the imam has a more central meaning and role in Islam through the concept of Imamah; the term is only applicable to those members of the house of the prophet ahl al-Bayt, designated as infallibles.

Sunni Imams

The Sunni branch of Islam does not have imams in the same sense as the Shi'a, an important distinction often overlooked by those outside of the Islamic faith. In everyday terms, the imam for Sunni Muslims is the one who leads Islamic formal (Fard) prayers, even in locations besides the mosque, whenever prayers are done in a group of two or more with one person leading (imam) and the others following by copying his ritual actions of worship. Friday sermon is most often given by an appointed imam. All mosques have an imam to lead the (congregational) prayers, even though it may sometimes just be a member from the gathered congregation rather than an officially appointed salaried person. Women imams may only lead amongst female-only congregations. The person that should be chosen according to Hadith is one who has most knowledge of the Qu'ran, and Sunnah (prophetic tradition) and is of good character; the age being irrelevant.