Ashura Poems in English Explained and Annotated (volume 1)

A. K. Esmail : the Conqueror of Kerbala

The tremendous surge from mid-deserts Had just reached the brink On its victorious onwards march And, there for a while it stopped. For a while it was touch and go For a while it seemed Desert born desert contained. That was not to be It was not so decreed Muhammad's own blood Was there to answer the call. At Kerbala the faith was reborn And Husain's martyred blood Blossomed forth and Lo, there was universal Islam. To the last day-last minute Shall shine the immortal deeds Of Husain and his co-horts The Faithful Few Yes the Great one himself was on trial The Last Prophet's own blood His darling and his heir Husain himself had to fall Before the grand message spread. The mouths that had fed

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Bit the hands that held The ungrateful serpent's bite That was a Prophet's reward.

Bereft of gold, bereft of home Bereft of food and water itself But full of Muhammad's blood Full of pluck full of faith The Courageous led on.

Led on the last seventy-two Seventy and two of the grand host Spiritual ancestors of the like Who from ages keep the faith alive Those that do not quit.

Thrones are usurped, gold stolen But not the thorny Crown That always rests on the brows of a rare Jesus.

That was Husain's heritage That went back of Christ A heritage to stand like rock To suffer to strive and to die To die and cease to be So that Truth for ever be.

They don't die The heroes of Kerbala They who go through fiery furnaces and walk in the valley of shades For the end they emerge In shining armours radiating Light of truth for ever.

In vain, in vain did Yazid foam

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In vain, did his armies storm For the field was theirs Who had their precious lives lain The conqueror of Kerbala was Husain.

Here the unmatchable became invincible Here the price for the perfect was paid What father had conceived The brave son had fulfilled.

Ye, fields of Kerbala Stand us in need Muslims arte again on trial There is no Husain to lead.

Ya, Muhammad Mustapha Grant us thy son's spirit Let Kerbala be our beacon For we have only to repeat The original deed is done Can we not just repeat?

Yazids are yet all about Within us and also without His tribe does not die Ye, waters of old lady Furat Tell us how Husain fought

Tell us how he won For again have we to win And leave an example behind That the message of Muhammad The sacrifice of Husain Shall not be in vain Islam, Allah's noblest gift

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Has to be earned again and again.*

* Lalljee, The Martyrdom of Imam Husain, pp. 60-63.

L. 19. ?The Faithful Few? refers to Imam al-Husain's companions who were relatively much less than the number of the enemy's army, which reportedly exceeded 30,000.

L. 21. ?The Last Prophet? refers to the Prophet Muhammad.

L. 53. Yaz?d b. Mu`?w?yyah symolizes a very notorious and detestable figure. He was the cruel monarch of the Umayyad dynasty. Soon after his gaining power, he ordered his agent in Medina to gain Imam Husain's alliance by force.

As this was all in contradiction to the contents of the peace treaty signed by Mu??w?yyah and Imam Hassan, Imam al-Husain rightly refused to recognize Yaz?d as a Muslim ruler. Hence, the Imam left Medina for Mecca in defiance to the unjust force exerted.

As the people of al-Kufa had invited Imam al-Husain, he intended to go there. En route to and near Kufa, it was at Karbala where Yaz?d's agents and henchmen made Imam al- Husain stop. In fact, Yaz?d ordered his forces to surrender, fight, and slay Imam al-Husain and his companions therein.

L. 66. ?Ya, Muhammad Mustapha?. ?Ya? is an Arabic vocative or attention-getter, corresponding roughly to English O, Oh, or Lo.

Mustapha, or Mustafa, ?lit. Chosen, selected, preferred, favorite, is another laqab (designation or appellation) of the Prophet Muhammad.

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L. 72. ?Yazids? signifies those who are like Yazid in character. Although proper names are regarded as inherently definite, and non-count, in such secondary uses they quality as a set-, or category-denoting noun, hence they may take a plural marker.

L. 75. Furat, or Fur?t, [English Euphrates] is one of the two major rivers of Iraq where the city of Karbala is located on. It symbolizes the thirst Imam al-Husain and his companions endured as well as the battle occurred thereby at Karbala.

According to numerous Islamic hadiths, it is regarded as a Paradise river imbued with virtues for whoever gets consecrated with it. Also recommended is to perform ghusl [i.e., washing the whole body in a prescribed way for religious or ritual purposes] with its water prior to performing ziarat, viz. pilgrimage, to Imam al-Husain's sacred sanctuary.

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