Ziyarat Arbaeen part 3
The goals of Imam al-Husayn, peace be upon him, in his uprising
فَأَعْذَرَ فىِ الدُّعَاءِ وَمَنَحَ النُّصْحَ، وَبَذَلَ مُهْجَتَهُ فِيكَ لِيَسْتَنْقِذَ عِبَادَكَ مِنَ الْجَهَالَةِ وَحَيْرَةِ الضَّلاَلَةِ،
He met with deadly dangers, acted justly and fairly, made use of everything belonging to him to pay full attention to give sincere advice; took pains, made every effort, and put his heart, mind, soul and life at the disposal of Thy mission to liberate the people from the yoke of ignorance and the evil of bewilderment.
Explanation
Before leaving for Mecca, Imam al-Husayn, peace be upon him, addressed his half-brother, Muhammad al-Hanafiyah and gave him a will and testament which listed the reasons for his going to Mecca and what he hoped to achieve by his movement – this can be summarized as being, “I am seeking to bring about reformation in the nation of my grandfather, the Messenger of Allah and to enjoin the good and to forbid the evil…”
Through a cursory study of the time of Imam al-Husayn, peace be upon him, we understand that in the 50 short years following the death of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his family, so many changes had taken place in the religion and untold innovations had entered the pristine teachings that the spirit and face of Islam had been altered immensely.
In order to restore the true visage of the religion of the Noble Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family, and to carry the religion forward to future generations, Imam al-Husayn, peace be upon him, saw no other alternative but to take a stand in order to safeguard the religious teachings of Allah.
Through this, the Imam was making a clear proclamation that the current religion, rulers and state of affairs were not in line with the Islamic teachings of the Prophet, and that there was corruption present at all levels. Thus, his movement was to ensure that the original teachings of the religion would be resurrected and reach all parts of the world.