It is claimed that it was on an Ashoura that the Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) and his companions alighted from the Ark after the Great Deluge. It was also on this sacred day that the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and his followers crossed the Nile on foot whereas the Pharaoh and his army all perished under the raging waves of the same. Some also claim that out of a total number of one lakh and twenty-four thousand Prophets at least two thousand were born on this red letter day.

The success of Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) against the tyranny and evil designs of Pharaoh was indeed a glorious example of the ultimate triumph of truth over falsehood. Hadith testifies eloquently to the fact that the holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who had every respect and confidence in all the prophets who were sent before him, himself considered Ashoura to be an auspicious day of divine excellence.

Fasting on Ashoura is indeed beneficial for the mankind. According to the Mishkat, the fasting in the month of Muharram comes next only to the Sawm in the month of Ramadhan in order of beneficence. Ibn Abbas (RA) reported that the holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself ordained: "You should fast on the 9th and 10th day of Muharram to differentiate between the practice of the Muslims and that of the Jews.

It was on this auspicious day in the year 679 AD (61 AH) that Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) embraced Shahadat on the battle-field of Karbala and with him perished all the male members of his family, old and young -- with the solitary exception of a sickly child, whom Imam Hussain's sister, Zainab (RA), saved from the inhuman and cruel massacre. In the words of Allama Iqbal: "Although all deaths are sweet for the Momen, the death of Ali's son is unique, indeed, for it passed beyond the death that is content with the grave."

The Great Martyrdom at Karbala in Hegira 61 inspired by the highest love -- love for Allah -- indeed showed superhuman courage and endurance, enabling Hussain (RA) to overcome so easily the well-nigh insuperable forces of contemporary evil and untruth. It is this dying nobly in the cause of truth and justice that confers immortality on man, the immortality which the great son of Hazrat Ali (RA) won on the banks of the Euphrates. The Holy Quran very clearly declares: "And say not of those who are slain in the Way of God: 'They are dead'. Nay, they are living though ye perceive it not". (2:154).

The heroic episode of Imam Hussain, the apple of the holy Prophet's eye and the pride of his heart, has passed into a legend. The deeds of this "Prince of Martyrs" are sung by minstrels throughout the length and breadth of the Islamic world. He reigns supreme in the hearts of thousands and millions of persons, both Muslims and non-Muslims. He has indeed passed into history, he has become a name!

Imam Hussain was truly the salt of the earth. He had inherited the chivalric nature and all the virtues of his great and illustrious father. He united in his person the right of descent from the Sher-e-Khuda Ali (RA) with the holy character of the grandson of the last and the greatest Prophet. Great as a devout Muslim, great as an idealist, great as a patriot, great as a valiant warrior, great as a man of action, a dreamer of dreams, he was a man daring and adventurous, reckless of consequences and yet intensely practical, one who embodied the highest qualities that giants among men might desire.

When the stories of the great battle on the banks of the Furat reached his country, people realised how great were his human qualities, how deeply he loved his comrades, how passionately he loved truth and justice, how ready he was to sacrifice everything in the cause of Islam.

The fall of the great Hussain at Karbala was no defeat; it was on the other hand an extraordinary and epoch-making success of truth and justice and righteousness. Many a less tenaciously sincere man, many a real hero would have shrunk from an ordeal so terrific, a contest so supremely titanic. But Hussain (RA) was made of sterner stuff. Failure was a word that he did not recognise. Naturally, therefore, he fought to the last and smilingly embraced the eternal sleep through the fragrance of Shahadat, knowing it fully well that the flower that withers through martyrdom has the sweetest smell in the eyes of Islam.

The unsurpassable and inimitable martyrdom at Karbala has indeed a deep significance in the annals of civilisation. It convinces the non-believers all over the world of the sincerity and resolution of the devout Muslims and proves their readiness to undergo any loss and any hardship rather than abjure the Faith of Muhammad, the Most Perfect Deen of Allah. A bright and glorious example of supreme sacrifice is exhibited to the believers all around who are led to regard peril and exile and martyrdom in the cause of Allah as a privilege and distinction. The Great Shahadat at Karbala indeed teaches us not to love life over much, seeing that we must one day part with it. It teaches us to face death with resignation.

Ashoura is back once again. To many of us the painful memory of the great but tragic martyrdom at Karbala overshadows the triumph of Moses and Noah (peace be upon them). And we very well appreciate the frenzy of sorrow and indignation to which the Muslims give vent on the recurrence of the anniversary of Imam Hussain's unparalleled martyrdom. But must we not forget the essence of this glorious day. Let al of us celebrate this auspicious occasion in a befitting manner, not merely through Taziyas and Dulduls, not merely through Marthias and Musadduses, not through mere lamentations and Zanjira Matams, but through fasting and sacrifice, prayers and penance, charity and benevolence. In the memorable words of Nazrul:

"Phirey Elo Aaj Shei Muharram Mahina,
Tyag Chai, Marthia Krandon Chahina."

Syed Ashraf Ali is Former Director General Islamic Foundation, Bangladesh