Karbala — The Living Fable

Syed Naqi Ali Abedi
Sep 2, 2018 · 2 min read

Preface

Stories are often a great way of reflection and communication. One connects to them better, sometimes to the lengths of empathy, where the listener puts oneself into the character, and feels oneself in the book. Stories have various grounds— some are fiction, some narrate an event, some might be myths, some are intended to glorify someone, while others might be a portrayal of a writer’s perspective.

Stories have their impact. People recollect the tales of the old heroes, sometimes personifying it to levels of gods to instil valour, some times to instil moral values in the young, while at other times to relate a person or event of the present to a previously occurred event. Stories have their lifetimes, some cease soon, some exists but with so much variations that many a times it might contradict the original, and some stories, tend to fade away with time and change of opinion of the masses.

Story is a history reliving, and many a times, history is written by those who have killed heroes. The public machinery for such cases is at work to blend a narrative gradually that may glorify and misconstrue a despot as a hero. Some are intended for the time, others for a situation, and eventually the stories are forgotten, debunked and taken over by other, those that better connect with the current time and age. Yet there are some that cease to die.

The story of Karbala is one such phenomenon. Karbala, a city in the southern part of Iraq, has apparently seen a lot of events worth recording on the scriptures of history. There have been instances of highly revered prophets having their anecdotes, while in the recent past, the country as a whole has been on particular interest to the global community. Yet, there is one particular event that occurred for which this piece of earth reserves a special significance for anyone aware of this past of Karbala, irrespective of his social, political or religious affiliations.

In this book, we shall take you through this event, and show why it never ceases to subside and always finds its relevance on any land and in any age.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade