When Imam Hussain (a) resolved to depart for Iraq, he wrote to the Banu Hashim a letter brief in words but profound in effect. It is narrated: "Imam Hussain (a) wrote to the Banu Hashim, saying:

(In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. From Hussain ibn ʻAli to the Banu Hashim. As for what follows: whoever among you joins me will be martyred, and whoever stays behind from me will not attain the victory. And peace.)

These words are a charter of immortality, defining the meaning of true victory — which none can perceive except he who joins the caravan of Hussain (a), even if only through martyrdom.

What Does "Victory" Mean in the Language of the Imam?

The one who reflects upon the Imam's letter finds that the apparent meaning may suggest a contradiction: martyrdom and killing do not ordinarily go together with victory and triumph. But the infallible Imam does not speak from desire. He (a) has made clear that "joining" him means being martyred, and that "staying behind" from him leads to being deprived of victory. So what is this victory that comes together with death?

In the Arabic language, "al-fath" (victory/opening) is the opposite of closure — one says "he opened the door and it opened." In the Holy Quran, the word fath appears in many places, among them the words of Allah (swt): ❬When the victory of Allah and the opening come❭ [al-Nasr: 1], and His words: ❬Indeed, We have granted you a clear victory❭ [al-Fath: 1]. Sayed Muhammad Husayn al-Tabataba'i indicated in Tafsir al-Mizan that what is meant by the fath in Surah al-Nasr is the conquest of Mecca — the mother of all conquests, and the great victory by which Allah blessed His Messenger and the believers, through which the power of the polytheists was broken and their structure demolished.

But the scholars of exegesis and gnosis divide the meaning of fath into two categories:

• A material fath (or near fath): that which is perceived by the bodily senses, such as the opening of doors or victory in battles like Badr and Khaybar.
• A spiritual fath (or clear fath): this belongs to the special stations of the prophets and the awliya — it is realized through inner sight and the attainment of divine truths.

As for the absolute fath, it belongs to the sealing stations exclusive to the Seal of the Prophets (s), and none other than him can attain it except by way of followership and intercession.

How Did the Imam Bring Together Martyrdom and Victory?

Imam Hussain (a) granted martyrdom a new dimension by crowning it with the crown of "the clear victory." He was not merely killed — rather, he transformed his pure blood into a key for rousing the nation across the ages. In his letter to the Banu Hashim, he makes clear that whoever joins him attains martyrdom, but that martyr is the one who reaches the true victory — namely, the spiritual fath that illuminates hearts and demolishes the thrones of tyrants.

The Imam gave martyrdom yet another dimension that surpasses being killed in the cause of Allah — he honored martyrdom with the crown of the clear victory, and he himself (a) attained the crown of the martyrdom of the absolute victory, a station attained by none before him save Prophet Muhammad (s), and which none shall reach after him. This means that the victory the Imam referred to is the combination of military triumph (in its spiritual sense) and martyrdom at one and the same time — something no one else has attained.

Two Approaches in the Imam's Movement: The Outward for the Commonality and the Inward for the Elite

To understand this truth, it is necessary to pause at an important reality: Imam Hussain (a) proceeded along two parallel tracks.

• The first track: the outward movement approach by which he engaged with the generality of Muslims — proceeding according to natural and rational causes and effects, without recourse to creative guardianship or manifest miracles.
• The second track: the inward gnostic approach by which he engaged with the elect among his companions and his household — connected to the unseen and divine secrets, perceivable only by those who have ascended in the stations of gnosis. Allah (swt) says: ❬And with Him are the keys of the unseen — none knows them but He❭ [al-An'am: 59].

And from Imam al-Sadiq (a): "The earth is never without an Imam — so that if the believers add anything he may return them, and if they fall short of anything he may complete it for them." This second approach is what unveils the truth of "the clear victory" that awaits whoever joins the caravan of Hussain (a) spiritually, even if he was unable to join it bodily in his time.

The Testimony of Umm Salama (r) and Its Significance

The text narrates from Umm Salama (r) that she said to Imam Hussain (a): I heard Prophet Muhammad (s) say: "My son Hussain will be killed in Iraq." She said: And I have with me, my son, your soil in a sealed vial that Prophet Muhammad (s) gave to me. The Imam said: "O mother, by Allah, I am to be killed, and I do not flee from fate and destiny, nor from the inescapable decree and the obligation from Allah (swt)." When she expressed astonishment, she said: Will you go when you are to be killed? He said: "O mother, if I do not go today I will go tomorrow, and if I do not go tomorrow I will go the day after — and from death, by Allah, O mother, there is no escape. And I know the day and the place in which I will be killed, and the hour in which I will be killed, and the pit in which I will be buried, just as I know you, and I look upon it as I look upon you." Then he showed her his resting place, and she mixed that soil with the soil that was already with her. Then Hussain (a) departed, having said to her: "I will be killed on the Day of Ashura."

This scene reveals that the Imam was fully aware of his fate, and that he was not ignorant of the fact that his path would end in martyrdom. And yet he proceeded — because he understood that the true "victory" could only be realized through his blood, which would water the tree of religion and inspire the generations.

How Does the Revolution of Hussain (a) Continue to Inspire Liberation Movements Across Time?

The Imam's call "let him journey with us" did not stop at his time — rather, it continued to resound across the centuries. Every just liberation movement, every revolution against oppression and tyranny, draws its strength from Ashura. The echo of his call (a) to support him and join him continues to resound and be heard to this very day, and the waves of those joining his blessed caravan go on in succession — uprooting the cursed tree and toppling the thrones of tyrants wherever they may be: a victory we enjoy at every moment, a victory without which neither law nor religion would have survived.

And just as the Imam made his martyrdom a clear victory, so too does every martyr who walks his path attain a share of that victory. For all those who are killed at the hands of the oppressors are, in truth, joining the caravan of Hussain (a) and attaining the victory he promised. It is a victory not measured by control over land or spoils, but by the liberation of hearts from servitude to other than Allah, and the awakening of dormant consciences.

The Imam said: "Whoever among you joins me will be martyred, and whoever stays behind from me will not attain the victory." And whoever reflects upon history finds that those who stayed behind from supporting Hussain (a) in his time — such as the people of Kufa — attained no victory or triumph, but lived in humiliation and abandonment. As for those who joined him — they attain the honor of the clear victory.