What Is the Rank and Role of Imam Hussain ؑ?

■ What Is the Rank and Role of Imam Hussain ؑ?

Beloved Readers, the 10th of Muharram doesn’t just come and go like any other day. It knocks on the door of every heart that still has even a spark of Emaan (faith). It brings with it two characters. One is the character of truth, of dignity, of light — the Husayni character. And the other character is so dark, so poisonous, that history still spits upon it — the Yazidi character.

One is about standing with the oppressed, even if you’re left alone under the blazing sun with dry lips and bleeding feet…

And the other is about silencing the truth with swords, buying loyalty with coins, and hiding your cowardice behind a throne.

Imam Hussain ؑ is a fragrance of love, a heartbeat of Islam, a weeping memory that refuses to die.

This is that Hussain who used to play on the sacred back of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

فجعل یتوثب علی ظھر النبی
(ابن حبان، الصحیح، 15: 142، رقم: 6742)

Yes, Faj’ala Yatowaththibu ‘ala Zahri Nabi ﷺ —
He used to ride the back of the Prophet ﷺ like a child in play, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wouldn’t stop him… he’d smile.

And when Hussain ؑ  would come running to the Prophet ﷺ, the Beloved of Allah would bend down, kiss his lips, kiss his cheeks, hold his face and say nothing — just kiss… because sometimes, love speaks better in silence.

This is not just any child, beloved. This is the child whose face was kissed by Prophethood, whose breath was scented by Revelation.

And yet — listen closely — the angels wept, even when he was young.

Jibreel came down and told the Prophet ﷺ:

لقد أتاني جبرائيل يخبرني أن ابني حسين يقتل.
(سُنن الترمذی،باب فی مناقب الحسين، حديث نمبر 3773)

❝Your son Hussain will be martyred.❞

— Sunan Tirmidhi, Hadith 3773

Allahu Akbar! Can you imagine that? The boy who plays in the lap of the Prophet ﷺ is destined to fall on the burning sands of Karbala… thirsty, wounded, but undefeated.

O my dear readers, cry now if you can… for that child didn’t just grow into a man. He became the proof of Islam. He became the very living ayah of sacrifice, of integrity, of what it means to love Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ more than your own breath.

In Karbala, he didn’t just give his life.

He gave his sons… his nephews… his entire family.

And when he left Madinah — that radiant city where every alley smelled of the Prophet ﷺ — he left not in joy, but in grief.

He turned to his grandfather’s grave… and bid farewell in tears, saying:

This world is pulling me away from your feet, O Grandfather ﷺ… And it’s forcing me to bow to a man who has no shame.

Allah Allah! Can you imagine the pain?

Yet, he stood. He stood when his sons were slaughtered before him. He stood when the tents were burning. He stood, not with a sword of vengeance, but with the banner of La ilaha illAllah in his heart.

And when his time came, he didn’t run, he didn’t hide.

He went into sajdah — prostration.

Yes… a sajdah so beautiful, so sincere, so heart-shattering, that even the angels must have gasped.

That sajdah still echoes in the skies… still pierces hearts today.

Who is this Hussain ؑ?

He is the rider of the Prophet’s shoulders…
The beloved of Lady Fatima’s lap…
The apple of Ali’s eye…
The living Noor of Islam.

And then he said — with no fear in his voice, no tremble in his tongue:

I will never give up my faith just to save my life.
I will give my life — but I will not sell my Islam.

O lovers of light, O seekers of truth…

The Prophet ﷺ said:

❝Hussain is from me, and I am from Hussain.❞

Why?

Because after Karbala, if you want to see the Prophet’s message… you’ll find it flowing in the blood of Hussain ؑ.

If you want to see how Islam stands in front of tyranny… look at how Hussain ؑ stood in front of Yazid.

Hussain is not a memory — he is a mirror of your own heart.

What you see in Karbala reflects what you carry inside.

Today, don’t just cry for Hussain ؑ…

Become his follower. Become his echo. Become the voice that says even if the world threatens you with swords:

❝I will never trade my Emaan for comfort.❞

❝I will die with my head high, but never bow down to falsehood.❞

Ya Hussain… Ya Aba Abdillah…

Even the skies cried for you, and we still cry — because you didn’t die.

You live…

In every heart that refuses to kneel before injustice.

In every soul that chooses pain over compromise.

In every tear that falls in love for the truth.

Labbaik Ya Hussain!
Labbaik Ya Zinda Shaheed!