Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic once said that with the appearance of the new moon, Muharram, the month of heroism, bravery, and sacrifice has commenced. It is a month wherein the blood conquered the sword; it is a month in which the power of truth defeated the wrong forever and stamped the forehead of tyrants and the satanic powers and their stigma.
The first sparks of Islamic Revolution were essentially lit in Muharram and inspired by teachings of Ashura movement. The uprising of 5 June 1963, a milestone in the history of Islamic Revolution, was occurred subsequent to Imam Khomeini’s speech on the afternoon of Ashura
Public rallies on Tasoua and Ashura of 1978 also broke the back of Pahlavi Regime. Moreover, Imam Khomeini’s epochal statement on 10 February 1979 ordering people to defy the curfew- which aimed to arrest the leaders of Revolution and supposedly bring an end to it- was practically another Ashura epic. Ordered by Imam Khomeini, people poured into the streets and delivered the final blow on the worn body of the regime.
Imam Khomeini once said through another messages as following:
The Doyen of martyr (Imam Hussein (PBUH) staged an uprising with some of his companions, family members and the ladies of his household. As it was for God, they destroyed the very foundations of that wicked person's monarchy. On the face of it, he was killed, but, in reality, he extirpated the foundations of that monarchy; one that intended to turn Islam into a tyrant form. The danger that Muawiyah and Yazid posed for Islam did not lie in their usurpation of the caliphate; this was a danger less than that of their attempting to turn Islam into the form of a monarchy. They wanted to render spiritualties into a tyrant form. By calling themselves the successors of the Messenger of God, they wanted to convert Islam into a tyrant regime. This was the important issue. The two of them wanted to do, and did, so much harm to Islam that their predecessors had not. They tried to misrepresent the basic principles of Islam to the utmost. Theirs was a monarchy. There was drinking and gambling at their parties. The successor of the Prophet attending parties where wine was being imbibed? And present at gambling sessions? And the Prophet's successor would also attend congregational prayers, such things notwithstanding! All this greatly menaced Islam. The Doyen of the Martyrs averted this danger. The issue did not concern the usurpation of the caliphate only. His uprising was against the tyrant monarchy itself; the one that wanted to show Islam in a way such that; had they succeeded, Islam would have become something else. It would have become like the 2500 year old monarchy. When Islam appeared, it wanted to put an end to the monarchies and such regimes, and to establish a divine government in the world. It aimed to destroy tyrant and replace it with" Allah". They, however, wanted to remove Allah and install tyrant instead- the same issues of paganism, the same problems of the past. The Doyen of the Martyrs being killed did not constitute a defeat as it was for God; rising for Him never ends in defeat. (Sahifeh, Vol.8, Page: 10-11 Speech, May 29, 1979)
Islam preaches and puts too much emphasis on unity of expression. Ashura and Arbaeen are Islamic events which provide motives and play crucial role in strengthening harmony.
(Sahifeh-ye-Imam, Vol. 15, page 371)
Ashura and Arbaeen are Islamic events which provide motives and play crucial role in strengthening harmony.