" The darkest places in hell
Are reserved for those
Who maintain their neutrality
In times of moral crisis "
Now, I can't confirm whether or not the above quote from Dante Alighieri's epic 14th century poem the Divine Comedy is part of the myriad of tattoos that form Syed Ammar Nakshawani's forearms these days, but I'm sure you'll agree it's quite a powerful saying that resonates with the message of Karbala.
If there's one thing we can take away from Imam Hussain's (as) supreme sacrifice, it's to not remain neutral when we see injustice being committed in front of us.
Indeed the very essence of Imam Hussain's (as) mission is that through his death, he showed the world how to take a stand against falsehood in any shape or form, no matter how imposing the odds.
The Prophet (saaw) gives the answer to that question in a short, yet beautiful saying. He essentially outlines three courses of action we can take when we see falsehood in front of our eyes.
If there's one thing we can take away from Imam Hussain's (as) supreme sacrifice, it's to not remain neutral when we see injustice being committed in front of us.
Indeed the very essence of Imam Hussain's (as) mission is that through his death, he showed the world how to take a stand against falsehood in any shape or form, no matter how imposing the odds.
Through
his death, he showed the world how to take a stand against wrong in any
shape or form, no matter how imposing the odds. - See more at:
http://charlatan.ca/2013/11/letter-hussain-belongs-to-everyone/#sthash.L57RrlcX.dpuf
But then the question remains - how does one stand up to injustice and practice activism?
Through
his death, he showed the world how to take a stand against wrong in any
shape or form, no matter how imposing the odds. - See more at:
http://charlatan.ca/2013/11/letter-hussain-belongs-to-everyone/#sthash.L57RrlcX.dpuf
Through
his death, he showed the world how to take a stand against wrong in any
shape or form, no matter how imposing the odds. - See more at:
http://charlatan.ca/2013/11/letter-hussain-belongs-to-everyone/#sthash.L57RrlcX.dpu
The Prophet (saaw) gives the answer to that question in a short, yet beautiful saying. He essentially outlines three courses of action we can take when we see falsehood in front of our eyes.
"If you see something wrong, change it with your hands. If you are not able to, then speak out against it. If you are not able to do that, then feel bad about it in your heart - but that is the weakest form of faith."
Of course, it's not always practical to take action and 'change it with your hands,' but that second stage the Prophet (saaw) mentions is almost always a viable option. The second stage, 'speaking out,' doesn't mean standing in the middle of the street and yelling into a megaphone.
As lovers of Imam Hussain (as), we should feel a burning itch to do something the moment we hear about any kind of injustice. Paraphrasing Dante's words, there is indeed nothing worse than taking the course of inaction in times of moral crisis.
I speak to myself first when I say that more often than, we find ourselves languishing in that third category, the stage the Prophet (saaw) calls the 'weakest form of faith'. We see something wrong in front of us but instead of actually doing something about it, we make 101 excuses not to act. Instead we pacify ourselves by feeling rotten and assuring out conscience that we personally are far away from such acts.
Of course, it's not always practical to take action and 'change it with your hands,' but that second stage the Prophet (saaw) mentions is almost always a viable option. The second stage, 'speaking out,' doesn't mean standing in the middle of the street and yelling into a megaphone.
Take the example of Saudi Arabia's Sheikh Nimr and his recent death sentence. It probably wouldn't have been practical for most of us to jump onto the next flight to Saudi Arabia and pull-off a daring rescue mission. But we did Tweet, sign petitions and make noise. The absolute least we could have done was 'feel bad about it'.
The point is to strive to do the utmost that is possible under the circumstances - you be the judge and draw the line yourself.
The point is to strive to do the utmost that is possible under the circumstances - you be the judge and draw the line yourself.
As lovers of Imam Hussain (as), we should feel a burning itch to do something the moment we hear about any kind of injustice. Paraphrasing Dante's words, there is indeed nothing worse than taking the course of inaction in times of moral crisis.
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