In early spring, the ever increasing heat of the desert midday air, quickly dissipates into the cool and soothing respite of the late afternoon, and the shimmers of gold and blue take hold over the Karbala sky and landscape.

Historically, Karbala is synonymous with tragedy.

The story of Imam Hussein (as) is one that shakes to the very core not just a believer, but also any human retaining a scintilla of empathy. Edward Gibbon a British historian says about Imam Hussain (a.s.): “In a distant age and climate, the tragic scene of the death of Hussain will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.”

Therefore it is little wonder that amid the site of great tragedy and dismay, the visitor of Imam Hussein (as) in Karbala is all too often swept away with the sheer beauty and majesty of the place that witnessed one of the great calamities of human, or rather inhuman history.

Imam Hussein (as), is to millions of Muslims the very cornerstone of who they are.

A great sage of the modern era once related under great and enduring oppression, to his oppressors that, “if you are trying to starve us, then know that we are the children of Ramadan. And if you are trying to kill us then we are the children of Karbala”. In essence, meaning that the legacy of the great Imam Hussein (as) is victory while being oppressed.

This Stance inspired the likes of Ghandi, who often quoted Imam Hussein (as) even though Ghandi was a practicing and devout Hindu.

Imam Hussein (as), whether physically, enshrined, metaphysically or example, possesses a beauty that is exemplar of the finest qualities of the human condition, despite his brutal murder and oppression.