Muharram: The Beginning of a New Year
By Sayyid M. B. Kashmiri
When commemorating Muharram, we are not just marking the passage of time, rather we are remembering the beginning of an era in history that is filled with lessons and teachings from unique people who embodied all the ideals of humanity, giving, and sacrifice for the sake of preserving values and morality. For if we wish to be successful and noted in history, we must study the great figures throughout time and understand how they lived, learned, and leveraged their capabilities, potential and environment. From this viewpoint, we will focus on a number of factors about commemorating Muharram, the start of the Islamic year.
When we talk about a new year, we are implicitly talking about a time factor, one that continues to be subject for many researchers due to its intangibility. The existence of units of time measurement is but a scale that has been put in place by human beings based on external global manifestations such as the movement of the sun, moon, and earth in relation to each other. However, by looking at religious texts, we conclude that there is a reality more important than the units of time measurement, and that is: the value of time itself regardless of its mathematical measurement specifying it as units of minutes, hours, days, months, or years. Indeed, the Qur'an invites humans to ponder this subject and may have been the first to swear by it. Furthermore, the Qur’an dedicates a whole chapter known as “The Epoch” to this topic.
The Qur’an’s intent is to alert humans to the time span of one’s life that will surely be lost if not invested properly. In addition, there have been many detailed traditions narrated from the Prophet and his household explaining that: "Time is only a defined period, so use it for submission,” with the latter representing the various actions that please God such as seeking knowledge, serving people and worshipping. And while this narration is very brief, it holds rather broad meanings related to worship and adherence to God’s commands, both on the individual and the social levels.
From the above, we can deduce that the terms "time" and "age" are holistic terms which encompass the entire human life, from birth until death. From this viewpoint, the mathematical division for the unit of time – including that of "year" – defines a factor of awareness for the human regarding his lifetime which passes by very quickly towards its end. This viewpoint invites the person to watch over and study how he is investing his lifetime, stressing that every moment that passes will never return. Prophet Mohammad said: "Take advantage of opportunities for they pass by as quickly as the clouds."1 Therefore, taking advantage of time and avoiding wasting it should be the highest priority in a person’s daily life. In doing so, a person will organize every day in his life from the first waking moment of the day and until falling asleep at night and use that organization as a measurement of his success. It has been narrated that Imam Ali said: "Whoever has two identical days has been wronged."2 A person should also review his monthly actions and if he finds himself at year’s end successful and giving, he becomes a gauge of success for others.
Prophet Mohammad is one such individual whose life became a gauge of success from which others can benefit. This claim is not based only on our religious beliefs and Qur'anic texts, but rather it is one accepted by most human beings. Ample data on the internet indicates that this person outdid others by being accountable to his responsibilities and being superior to all mankind. History describes to us this unique version of a human.
From his early days, Prophet Mohammad spent a lot of time in meditation and reflection for planning and studying for the future were his first priority. Since he was a child, he was known for his truthfulness and sincerity. These two qualities are essential to every successful society and their absence is indispensable. Therefore, his planning and studying were accompanied by truth, honesty, and legitimate ways for investing his time and becoming a perfect example for others.
He was also very hard working and diligent without any interruption to where his sacrificing wife Khadija suggested to him that he reconsider his sleeping and resting hours. The Prophet answered her: "The time for sleeping has passed O Khadija!" Therefore, planning to invest his time was accompanied by great energy and determination in order to reap the benefits as fast as possible and at the lowest costs.
Stated very briefly, this exceptional man, despite opposing factors and in the short span of thirteen years, was able to change the entire Arabian Peninsula from a community of ignorance built on warfare, piracy, murder, and the burying of live girls from fear of poverty and shame, to a safe community that owes its honor and pride to this Prophet till this day. The women, who are generally weaker and more sensitive, achieved a higher stature over all women and gained rights and dignities that all other human systems fail to provide. This is but an illustrative example of many.
Another rare individual among the great figures in history is the grandson of the Prophet, Imam Hussein, who was raised by the Prophet himself, and who also endured the greatest sacrifices and embodied the noblest principles ever recorded in history, just as his grandfather had before him. He had also invested his time and sent through it the spirit of life to give another meaning to time and its value when human dignity and noble principles had vanished. He carried in himself the spirit of Mohammad, in his planning the principles of the Holy Qur'an, in his aspirations the hopes of a nation, and in his behavior the integrity of prophets.
Imam Hussein was tremendously oppressed to the extent that he was prevented from delivering the voice of truth to the public in any way or form. He did not find any solution that could change and destroy the entity that shattered and spoiled the lives of the people other than the price of his sacred life, peace be upon him. And when he was certain that this is the only way, he declared: "If Mohammad's religion cannot be put on the right path except through my death, then O swords come and take me!"3 He then went thirsty unto the battlefield where he was certain that the only outcome is the shedding of his blood on the grounds of Karbala. But he was also certain that his own bloodshed will restore the values of time and life to a nation that his grandfather, the Prophet of God, wanted to be the greatest of all nations. He sacrificed his life and time for this purpose, and indeed, the outcome was fruitful for without these sacrifices, there would not be something known as “Islam” today.
From this example, we understand the meaning of striving to gain closeness to God. For the more a person detaches himself from the finite materialistic life and dedicates his thoughts, heart, and life towards enhancing the right principles, the closer he becomes to his infinite spiritual and optimal existence. This is the truth that can be neither separated nor multiplied, where the Qur’an states: "They are varying degrees with God… "4 and after: "These are the believers in truth; they shall have from their Lord exalted grades and forgiveness and an honorable sustenance."5
Muharram is the beginning of the Islamic year, the anniversary of the Prophet's sacrifice as well as the sacrifice of his grandson, Imam Hussein bin Ali. The Prophet’s sacrifice was in emigrating from Mecca to Medina for the sake of certain values and Imam Hussein’s sacrifice was in emigrating from Medina to Mecca for the sake of the same values. These values were to guide the people from the darkness and into the light. These were migrations for the sake of the same goal and the same outcome, despite their differences.
The Prophet emigrated after he gave the nation a unique model for investing time into meaningful values and wound up with righteousness and in that he is everlasting. Imam Hussein also emigrated after giving and sacrificing his life for the nation, culminating time into one crucial moment where he is slaughtered from vein to vein while thirsty, all for the sake of values and morals, making him also everlasting. In these sacrifices lies the meaning of the narration: "Time is only a defined period, so use it for submission," thus giving us a new dimension in the understanding of Muharram and that is the meaning of time.
Endnotes
1. Nahjul Balaghah, Chapter/Book # 4, page 6.
2. Al-Alamah Al-Majlisi, Bihar Al-Anwar, Chapter/Book # 75, page 277.
3. Murtada Al-Askari, Ma-alim Al-Madrasatain, Chapter/Book # 3, page 304.
4. Qur’an 3:163.
5. Qur’an 8:4.