72






Hussain, Ali Akbar, Ali Asghar, Abdullah, Abbas, Jafar, Uthman, Muhammad, Abi Bakr, Abdullah, Qasim, Aun, Muhammad, Jafar, Abdullah, Abu Abdullah, Muhammad, Sulaiman, Qaarib, Munjeh, Muslim, Saeed, Bishr, Yazeed, Imran, Naeem, Zuhair, Amr, Habib, Hurr, Abdullah, Nafe, Anas, Qais, Abdullah, Umar, Abdul Rahman, Shabeeb, Jaun, Hujjaj, Qasit, Kursh, Kinaanah, Zaigham, Jowain, Zaid, Abdullah, Ubaidullah, Amir, Qanab, Salim, Saif, Masood, Son of Masood, Majma, Ammar, Hayyan, Jundab, Saeed, Zaahir, Jabalah, Saalim, Aslam, Hanzalah, Ammar, Aabis, Shaozab, Shabeeb, Malik, Abu Thamaamah, Yahya, Hafhaf.



Centuries ago on 10 Moharram, 61 AH, these 72 men took on the might and power of the most ruthless terrorist the world has ever seen. These men were not all young and sturdy but a mixture of old and not so young and an infant, too. Their leader was Hussain, the noble Imam, son of the noble Imam Ali and grandson of the Holy Prophet.



On one side was Yazid’s army, and on the other, Hussain’s 72. Yazid’s army was well fed. Hussain’s 72 were hungry and thirsty. Yazid’s army was well-equipped. Hussain’s 72 had only fortitude. The battle of Karbala was not fought for wealth or power or kingdom. But it was a war between Light and Darkness, between Right and Wrong, between Gentleness and Brutality, between Freedom and Suppression, between Kindness and Malice, between Good and Bad, between Justice and Injustice, between Democracy and Autocracy, between Heaven and Hell.



Imam Hussain transcends religion, culture, nation. He is not for anyone or anybody. He is for all of mankind. Humanity kisses the feet of this gentle Imam, who with 72 men fought a war that lasted only a day but has captivated the minds of millions over the centuries. In the direst circumstances, in a situation, where death was the easy way out, the Hussaini 72 showed how to live.



72 is not a number.



72 is a force. 72 is a strength. 72 is a revolution. 72 is a spark. 72 is an illumination. 72 is a way of life. 72 is the straight path. 72 is a philosophy.



72 is about not bowing to pressure. 72 is about speaking up against the Big Bully. 72 is about standing up for your rights. 72 is a direction. 72 is an education. 72 is steely determination. 72 is an idea, a concept, an ideology.



72 is character. 72 is a method. 72 is humanity’s loudspeaker. 72 is an appeal against corruption and lawlessness. 72 is the voice of civilised society. 72 is the fight against terrorism. 72 is a lotus in the muck, a rose among the thorns.



72 is a slap on Satan’s cheek. 72 is the route to godliness.  



72 is Truth.



-          NZ

9.9.2019

BN: 122



      

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