OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY DISTINGUISHED NON-MUSLIMS ON
THE MARTYRDOM OF HUSAYN IBN ALI (A.S)
"A reminder
of the blood-stained field of Karbala, where the grandson of the Apostle
of God fell at length tortured by thirst and surrounded by the bodies of
his murdered kinsmen, has been at anytime since then sufficient to evoke,
even in the most lukewarm and heedless, the deepest emotions, the most frantic
grief and an exaltation of spirit before which pain, danger and death shrink
to unconsidered trifles."
- E.G. Browne (A Literary History of
Persia)
"In a distant age and clime the tragic scene of
the death of Husain will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader." "In
the history of Islam, especially the life of Imam Husain stand unique,
unapproached and unapproachable by anyone. Without his martyrdom, Islam would
have extinguished long ago. He was the saviour of Islam and it was due to
his martyrdom that Islam took such a deep root, which it is neither possible
nor even imaginable to destroy now."
- Edward Gibbon (Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire)
"The best lesson which we get from the tragedy of
Karbala is that Husain and his followers were the rigid believers of God,
they illustrated that numerical superiority does not count when it comes
to truth and falsehood. The victory of Husain despite his minority marvels
me."
- Thomas Carlyle (Hero and
Hero-worship)
"If Husain fought to quench his worldly desires,
(as alleged by certain Christian critics) then I do not understand why his
sisters, wives and children accompanied him. It stands to reason therefore
that he sacrificed purely for Islam."
- Charles Dickens
"It was possible for Husain to save his life by
submitting himself to the will of Yazid. But his responsibility as a reformer
did not allow him to accept Yazid's Caliphate. He therefore prepared to embrace
all sorts of discomfort and inconvenience in order to deliver Islam from
the hands of the Omayyads. Under the blazing sun, on the parched land and
against the stifling heat of Arabia, stood the immortal Husain."
- Washington Irving