THE TALE OF TWO SACRIFICES - THE SACRFIFICES OF PROPHET ABRAHAM AND IMAM HUSAYN (AS)
PART 1
A: Abraham
H: Hajrah
IS: Ismail
V: Voice
SCENE 1
SCENERY: ARABIAN DESERT WITH IBRAHIM IN PRAYER
Narrator: The tale of two sacrifices: One is that of Abraham, know in the holy Quran as Prophet Ibrahim and the other that of our third leader, Hussein, the grandson of our last Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). They both sacrificed for our Lord and obeyed every command that came from the Almighty. Ibrahim, a Prophet of God, lived at a time when people worshipped the stars. Trying to spread the word of God, Prophet Ibrahim became a victim of violence by the unbelievers. The despot of the time, Nimrod tried to burn him in a blazing furnace. But by the will of Allah, he was saved. This situation forced Prophet Ibrahim to migrate to Syria.
Today, we will concentrate on one phase of this Prophet's eventful life, an aspect that most of us hold very dear to our lives, that which inculcates love for our children.
Prophet Ibrahim had a wife called Sara, who was unable to bear children for a long number of years. Lady Sara gave her slave girl, Lady Hagar, known in the Islamic scriptures as Lady Hajrah, as a gift to Prophet Ibrahim in marriage. After this marriage, Ibrahim prays to Allah for a child...
A: [enters, kneels down and raises his hands] O Allah! You are the Merciful! You are One Who gives to those who ask. You are One Who provides without any reckoning. O Allah! You know I do not have children, O my Master, 'O my Lord, grant me a righteous son'
V: O Ibrahim! We have granted your wish. We give you glad tidings of a forbearing son.
[Ibrahim falls into Sajdah]
[Munajat]
SCENE 2
SCENERY: ARABIAN DESERT WITH IBRAHIM, HAJRAH AND ISMAIL
Narrator: A boy was thus born to Ibrahim, who was named Ishmael, also known as Ismail Not long after the birth of his son Ibrahim received an inspiration from God to take Hajrah and baby Ismail to a distant uninhabited land. Ibrahim did not falter in his obedience to the Almighty.
[Hajrah and baby Ismail come on stage]
A: [holds Ismail in his arms, kisses him] O Hajrah, prepare yourself and my son for a long journey.
H: O prophet of Allah, where are we going on this journey?
A: I have been commanded to take you and Baby Ismail to a barren and unoccupied land in the Arabian Desert. I am to leave you there and return back to my homeland.
H: [crying] O prophet are you going to leave us in this desert where there is no food or water or any one to keep us company?
A: Hajrah, yes I will be leaving you and our baby there in this dry and arid land, all alone. But I will be leaving you in the care of the one who has ordered me to do so.
H: O prophet of Allah we will rely upon the Almighty Lord. He will be the one who looks after us. He is sufficient for me and my child.
A: That is right Hajrah, 'rely on The Almighty and He is sufficient a Protector'. (33:3) We must not delay any longer let us leave for our journey.
[Helps Hajrah off the stage]
[Munajat]
SCENE 3
SCENERY: FLOURISHED ARABIA WITH IBRAHIM + ISMAIL
Narrator: And thus Ibrahim accompanied Hajrah and his baby Ismail to the barren Arabian Desert as commanded by the Almighty, and then continued his journey onwards to return to his homeland. Some years later as per the command of God Almighty, Prophet Ibrahim returned to land, Mecca where he had left his wife and baby.
[Ibrahim on stage]
He found that his family settled and flourishing. The whole valley had become alive. Hajrah welcomed him and Ismail had grown and was in his teenage years. It was a joyous moment for father and son, but the Almighty wanted to put them to test and it was a tough test indeed. During some nights prophet Ibrahim has a dream. Let us see what happens next
[Ibrahim on stage sitting, head in hand and very worried, Ismail comes onto stage]
Is: O father what is the matter, something seems to be bothering you? O my father what is it that worries you so?
A: [Worry in his voice] O Ismail, my son! You are here. Come, come and sit next to me my dear son.
Is: My father, why are you so worried?
A: Ismail, for two nights now I have seen a dream
Is: My dear father what was this dream about? What is it that you saw in the dream?
A: I saw..... [Hesitant to tell him] My son, in my dream I saw that I was sacrificing you.
Is: Sacrificing me?
A: Yes my son
Is: O my father do what you are commanded; if Allah pleases you will find me of the patient ones (37:102)
[Abraham hugs his son, and makes him kneel]
Narrator: Then, when they had both surrendered themselves to the will of Allah SWT, and Ibrahim had laid his son down prostrating on his forehead, a voice is heard..
V: Verily you have made good you dream; and thus do we reward those who do good; surely that was an open trial; We have ransomed him with a great sacrifice; and We perpetuated to him among the later generations. (37: 105 – 108)
[MUNAJAT – all characters off stage]
PART 2
"And for you I shall be an Example...." (Imam Hussein)
Q: Questioner (can be more than one - on stage together)
N: Narrator
POWER POINT: LINEAGE FROM ABRAHAM TO HUSAYN
Q: Salamun Alaikum
N: Alaikum Salaam
Q: My sister, I have a question for you. I understand that Ibrahim along with Ismael were obedient in following the command of the Almighty, as we have just seen, and they exhibited patience in their test, but please explain to me what Allah refers to in the Holy Quran when He says in Chapter 37:
"We ransomed him with a great sacrifice; And we perpetuated to him among the later generations" (Surah Al-Saffat: 107-108)
N: Sure, would you like to have a seat. The 'great sacrifice' mentioned in this Quran'ic verse which you just quoted refers to Imam Husain's sacrifice in Kerbala. Before I throw light on this verse – let me first explain to you the relationship between Prophet Ibrahim (as.) and Imam Husain (as)
POWER POINT - POINTING TO THE CHART
Imam Husain (as) the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) who is a direct descendant of Prophet Ibrahim. I hope you can now see a link between these two great personalities!
PROJECTION: KERBALA BACKGROUND WITH VERSE IN THE FOREFRONT
Q: Yes, thank you. So the 'great sacrifice'... was that given in Karbala?
N: Yes, going back to the verse from the Quran: We ransomed him with a great sacrifice, the life of Ismael was spared and from his progeny came a man who was the ultimate sacrifice that the Quran refers to. That sacrifice was the one given by Imam Husain which was at the pinnacle of truth, righteousness, patience, courage and perseverance. Not only did he sacrifice his own life on the day of Ashura (which is the 10th day of the month of Muharram,) but that of his family and companions as well who accompanied him to Karbala.
PROJECTION: KERBALA BACKGROUND WITH COMPARISON BETWEEN YAZID AND IMAM HUSSEIN
Q: So then, why did Imam Hussein have to go through this 'ultimate' sacrifice?
N: To understand this we have to look at the situation prevailing at that time in Arabia. On one hand, we have Husain who is a pious, truthful, and noble man of impeccable character, the grandson of the Prophet and the rightful leader of the Muslims.
On the other hand, we have the despot Yazid, son of Muawiya who is unlawfully occupying the seat of Caliphate and who is sabotaging the mission of the Holy Prophet. Yazid is a drunkard, the killer of innocent people and one who is openly indulging in sinful acts, tyrannizing his people, plundering the wealth of the people and has no regard for the teachings of Islam.
Can you see the difference here?
PROJECTION: KERBALA BACKGROUND WITH COMPARISON BETWEEN YAZID AND IMAM HUSSEIN
Q: Yes, Imam Hussein readily stood for the truth against oppression and falsehood from the illicit ruler of the time.
N: Exactly! When Yazid asks Husain to pay allegiance to him, Imam Husain's immediate response was, "A person like me can never pledge allegiance to a person like him ..."the magnanimous Husain could never condone the ways of Yazid by giving allegiance to him. He recited a verse of the Quran: My Lord deliver me from the unjust people.
PROJECTION: NEED A SAD SLIDE
Q: So, the question arises, who was victorious in this conflict?
N: Yes, you have now asked the question I was awaiting ...
Imam Husain stood up against Yazid with his family and friends, the most beloved thing for a person are his family and children. The fact that Husain took his family proves that he didn't go to wage a war; instead, he stood up for the truth.
Husain rose to the task, not only himself becoming Ibrahim and Ismael, but completing the great sacrifice, by allowing his own beloved son Ali Akbar, to give his life to defend the eternal values of freedom and justice.
PROJECTION: PICTURES OF ASHURA ROUND THE WORLD
Q: And it seems amazing, that this is still remembered all over the world today?
N: Yes, it is a true miracle that millions of people commemorate I.Husain (a.s) martyrdom all over the world on the 10th of Muharram. This is a victory in itself and God Almighty has promised to keep his message till the end of time.
Husain's sacrifice teaches us to stand up against oppression and to uphold the truth, whatever it takes.
The impact of martydom is that a martyr does not die in vain. His memory is perpetuated in the same way as the memory of other great men who made their contributions to history and civilization.
Q: Thank you very much. We have truly been able to see a message from this verse and has inspired us to read further on Imam Hussein (a.s).
N: You're most welcome. The enduring message for all humanity from Husain is that we uphold the truth and stand against tyranny and oppression whenever and wherever we encounter it. Imam Husain (AS)'s divine sacrifice was a turning point in history of the revival and establishment of sustained truth. Commemorating his martyrdom awakens our conscience, for us Husain is truly an example.