The Ideal of Ashura; Government or Martyrdom? Exposition of Allameh Askari's Theory on Ashura)

The most important issues relating to the divine uprising of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), the lord of Martyrs, are its historical juncture, aim, philosophy, and effects, which caused the tree of Islam to blossom. There are two principal perspectives on Abu 'Abdullah Hussein's uprising. A group of thinkers believe that the aim of this uprising martyrdom-seeking on whose aim is reforming the community of the Prophet, while a second group hold that the aim of Imam Hussein's uprising is to form a government. Allameh 'Askari adopts the first perspective, relying on a theological agreement about Imam Hussein's knowledge, and reviews the evidence of those who adopt second perspective, after providing the proofs that support his view, including Imam Hussein’s sermons and writings. Furthermore, he believes that forming government by Imam Hussein under the social circumstances of that time was impossible. Having an independent glance at from theological issues, Salehi Najafabadi tries to prove the second perspective rely on historical proofs and so he believes that the aim of Imam Hussein's uprising is establishing a Islamic government. Regarding the proofs provided for by each of these two sides and evaluation of the historical conditions of the uprising, the researcher advocates the first view and considers the proofs given by those who adopt the second view have serious shortcomings.