American Professor Explains How Mourning for Imam Hussein Cultivates Human Virtues
In a recent conversation with IQNA, Vernon Schubel, professor of religious studies and author of the Ashura and Azadari entry in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Religion, offered a reflection on the enduring relevance of the teachings of Imam Hussein (AS) and the tragedy of Karbala.
Drawing on years of academic research and fieldwork, Schubel discussed how the annual rituals of mourning function as more than commemorative acts. For many Muslims, he explained, these practices serve as an ethical framework rooted in love, sacrifice, and moral reflection.
“The behavior of Imam Hussein and his compatriots, as encountered and reflected upon in rituals of azadari, provides exemplary models of humanity that challenge those participating in them to find ways to themselves manifest similar virtues of courage, kindness, forbearance, and patience in their own lives,” he noted.
Imam Hussein (AS), he noted, continues to inspire values such as courage, compassion, and spiritual resistance in both individual and communal contexts.
The following is the full text of the interview.
IQNA: You mention that Azadari rituals provide a “discursive transmission of ethical teachings.” How do you see the narratives of Karbala contributing to moral and spiritual education in Shia communities across generations?
Schubel: Karbala has served as a focus for the teaching of ethics and virtue for generations of Muslims. As the first revealed surah of the Quran, Surah al-Alaq, states, the purpose of revelation is to “teach humanity.” The intention of Islam as a religion is the perfection of humanity. The annual retelling of the story of Karbala has allowed successive generations of Muslims to encounter examples of paradigmatic human behavior both emotionally and intellectually.
The behavior of Imam Hussein and his compatriots, as encountered and reflected upon in rituals of azadari, provides exemplary models of humanity that challenge those participating in them to find ways to themselves manifest similar virtues of courage, kindness, forbearance, and patience in their own lives.
Crucially, the encounter with Karbala that takes place in azadari is rooted in a context of love. As someone once explained it to me, if we would love God, we must also love those whom God loves best. Muhammad is the Beloved of God (Habib Allah). His light (nur) was the first thing that God created; surely, if we are to love God, we must love Muhammad. And similarly, if we are to love Muhammad, we must also love those who he loved best: his daughter, Fatima, his son- in-law and cousin Imam Ali and his grandsons, Hassan and Hussein, who as children used to playfully climb on the Prophet’s back when he was saying his prayers.
If we are lovers of God and the Prophet, how can we hear of the suffering of the Prophet’s beloved family and not feel grief? That grief is a sign of love. And if we truly love them, should we not also strive to become like them. Imam Hussein, who is the son of Imam Ali and the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, provides a model of human virtue that we should all follow. And nowhere are his virtues more evident than at Karbala.
IQNA: Your article discusses the adaptation of Azadari rituals in North America. What have you observed about how these mourning practices have helped maintain religious identity and communal cohesion among immigrant Shia Muslims in a diasporic setting?
Schubel: Azadari connects its participants both with the history of Islam as a religion and with the traditions of the various regions from which members of the diaspora have come. South Asians, Iranians, and Arabs have their own unique traditions for sharing their grief over the sufferings of the ahl al-bayt. Coming together to remember Karbala allows participants in these mourning rituals the opportunity to feel bonds not only with the larger community of Muslims, and especially those of Islam’s formative period, but more specifically with the diverse and beautiful traditions of their ancestral homelands.
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IQNA: You highlight the role of vernacular languages in Azadari among immigrant communities. How does this linguistic diversity enhance the accessibility and emotional connection of these rituals?
Schubel: The shared rituals of ‘ibadat, such as namaz, are largely performed in Arabic. This creates a sense of performative unity within Islam regardless of one’s ethnicity or language. But one’s identity as a Muslim is tied to more than only ‘ibadat. Throughout the Islamic world Muslims learn the values of their religion through narratives, songs, and poetry performed in their own vernacular languages. Telling and hearing stories of the prophet or the ahl al-bayt or the awliya in one’s own language allows a personal and deep connection with one’s tradition.
In the case of azadari, telling the story of Karbala in one’s own vernacular allows for a deep and intimate emotional connection. Urdu speakers tell it in Urdu. Farsi speakers in Farsi. The poetic possibilities of the diverse mother tongues of Muslims around the world add to the repertoire of ways in which the story of Karbala has been conveyed from generation to generation. Thus, in North America in recent decades there has been a move towards perform the majlis in English, allowing, as one zakir put it to me several years ago, for English to become an Islamic language just as Urdu and Persian did in the distant past.
IQNA: In your research, how have you found the figure of Imam Hussein (AS) being received outside the Shia community—for example, among non-Muslims or Sunni Muslims in North America? Does his stand at Karbala serve as a bridge for interfaith or intra-faith understanding?
Schubel: Imam Hussein is not only beloved by Shia Muslims. Love for the ahl al-bayt has always been a crucial aspect of the Islamic tradition for most Muslims, especially those who have been touched in some way by the Sufi tradition. For most Muslims, Imam Hussein is insan al-kamil, a perfected human being, who appears in the silsila of numerous Sufi orders. He is celebrated in the poetry of Sunni and Shia poets alike.
Furthermore, the virtues he represents are shared by believers of other faith communities. Thus, he is not only a martyr in the cause of Islam. He is also known as Shahid-i Insaniyya, the martyr of humanity. In India, there are Brahmins who participate in Muharram processions. Imam Hussein manifests universal human values. He provides a model to all human beings who believe in the virtues of empathy, courage, self-sacrifice, and kindness.
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IQNA: Given the prominence of the values of justice, sacrifice, and resistance in Ashura narratives, how do you think these themes resonate with broader social movements or civil rights discussions in Western societies today?
Schubel: The values of Islam—the values of Karbala—are clearly not solely Islamic values. They are universal human values. Every year in my introduction to Islam class, I take the time to tell the story of Karbala—the courage of Imam Hussein, the valor of Abbas, the defiance of Zaynab, and the decency of Hur. My students, mostly non-Muslims who have never heard the story of Karbala before, are invariably moved by his heroic resistance to tyranny and oppression.
Hussein stands for justice. He is a voice for the oppressed and the downtrodden. For Americans and others in the West concerned about issues of racial inequity, authoritarianism, oppression, and inequality, not only Imam Hussein’s sacrifice at Karbala but also the way in which he lived his life provide models that speak to anyone who seeks to strive for a better world and a brighter tomorrow.
IQNA: Finally, as someone who has engaged deeply with the devotional practices of Shia Islam, what do you believe is the enduring global significance of Ashura, not only for Shia Muslims but for the broader human conscience?
Schubel: As Imam Jafar As-Sadiq has said, “Every day is Ashura, every place is Karbala.” We human beings, as we try to perfect our humanity, are constantly tempted by our nafs. We seek power and wealth. We are tempted to strive for our own personal gain at the expense of others. We are all confronted by our own Yazids and Ibn Ziyads. We are told by the rich and the powerful that winning is the ultimate goal. From the standpoint of the world (dunya), Imam Hussein and his companions did not win at Karbala. But from the standpoint of human and spiritual virtue, they were the true victors. They maintained their humanity in the face of overwhelming odds. They have shown us how to live as human beings in a world where so many have given up their humanity for promises of power or convenience.
Remembering Karbala, we must first of all feel and acknowledge the suffering of Hussein and his companions and experience that sadness and grief that is the inevitable result of such remembrance. Then, we must strive in our own lives to emulate their courage and tenacity. Karbala speaks to the heart of our humanity in an unjust world. That is why the memory of Karbala has endured for 1400 years and will no doubt do so as long as human beings are alive.
The views and opinions expressed in this interview are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of International Quran News Agency.
Interview by Mohammad Ali Haqshenas
