The Lispective

1400 years ago, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said he was the city and one particular man was the gate. To get to the city, you'd have to go through that man. After his death, that gate was left untouched for 25 years. 3 caliphs came and went and it took the death of the 3rd caliph at the hands of the Muslims for that gate to be opened. That gate was known as Imam Ali (PBUH) and the consequences of...

Imam Hussain (PBUH) stood up to injustice 1400 years ago and paid for it with his life and the lives of his family. So what? Join me and a few of my friends in this final episode, where we seek to wrap up our discussion and attempt to answer the question above, the most difficult question of all when it comes to discussing this story. This episode attempts to look into how the story of Imam Hussai...

Every community mourns in different ways. For Muslims, most specifically Shia Muslims, there is no bigger tragedy than the tragedy of Ashura. For Shia Muslims, the 10th of Muharram each year represents the saddest period of the calendar year and one Shias mourn for; not just with their tears, but through practices that have existed for centuries, if not over a millenia. Shia Islam is often marred...

One could be forgiven for thinking, after Ashura, that would be the end of the trials for the family of Imam Hussain (PBUH). Rather, their tribulations were just beginning. Chained and shackled, prodded and abused, for days they were taken across the Muslim world, ending up in Damascus. Lady Zainab (PBUH), however, was the sister of 2 Imam’s, a daughter of an Imam and a granddaughter of a Prophet....

Imam Hussain's (pbuh) body lies on the grounds of Karbala, his mission to defend the principles of Islam until his death seemingly complete. The trials and tribulations for his women and children, however, begin, from the very moment of his death. The night after Ashura is too important to tag along to the previous episode or the start of the next. It provides context to the bridging between...

The time has come for Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) to face his enemy head on. The last 50 years had led up to this crossing in the annuls of history - truth and justice on one side, falsehood and injustice on the other. This episode looks to detail what exactly happened on that fateful day. Sound credit: Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com Science fiction cold howling blizzard...

Imam Hussain and his followers have arrived at their final resting place. Surrounded by the enemy, cut off from the water and left with no options, Hussain (peace be upon him and his family) lets his principles and ideology lead him forwards. But what events transpired between the 2nd of Muharram, when they reached Karbala, and the 10th of Muharram, when they met their fate? Tune in to find out.

Imam Hussain departs from Makkah with visions of support for him in Kufa. He would never reach that city, however: his final destination was to be Karbala. What did he know of his situation beforehand? What happened on that journey of his? With whom was he with and why was that so integral for both the tale and for him? Episode 4 seeks to answer these questions.

Muawiyah is dead. Yazid has ascended the throne. He sends his threats to Imam Hussain regarding paying allegiance to him or facing death but the Imam knows that with allegiance comes the acceptance and advocation of tyranny in the name of religion. This episode find us following the journey of Imam Hussain from his house when he hears the news of Muawiyah's death to the city that promised him...

The two main characters involved in the story of Karbala are often spoken about confined to the tale. What this doesn't allow for is a wider inspection of how they came to be. Episode 2 looks at Hussain and Yazid from the early days: how they grew up, how they saw the world around them, what characteristics they embodied and how all of these things, and more, shaped them to become the persona...

1400 years ago, a man and his family found themselves on the plains of mesopotamia confronted by an army. 100 or so men, women and children against 3-30,000 soldiers sent on behalf of the ruling Caliph. Suffice to say, it was a bloodbath.  1400 years later, almost no city across the world does not mourn the death of that man and his family. 1.8 billion revere his stand and 300 million of those peo...