A Mercy Case

“By Allah, I see myself between Heaven and the Fire.”

If you want to know the story of Hurr, you can read this basic historical background or this moving poem. I want to talk about something else: the metaphor of Hurr.

Imagine you have a moment when you are faced with a choice.

In one direction is truth and justice. In the other is falsehood and injustice.

In one direction is God, and in the other direction is anything other than God.

In one direction is eternal bliss, and in the other is never-ending punishment.

This was the decision Hurr faced on the day of ‘Ashura.

And it is decisions similar to this we encounter every day.

In the morning, when it is time to pray while we prefer to sleep, we are faced with it.

During the day, when we are called to be our best in the face of myriad challenges, we are faced with it.

In the evening, when we can sin in privacy, we are faced with it.

When the only world we can remember asks us to forget about a world we have never seen.

When another person asks us to compromise our ideals in order to earn their affection.

When we just want to give up.

But Hurr tells us that we have it in us.

That in each moment, we can choose what is true, what is right, and what is eternal.

And that these choices matter more than anything else.

I am like you. There are days when I just want to zone out in front of the TV. There are times when I just don’t know if I can take it anymore. But then I think of Hurr. I think of his flag flying in the wind over the blue sky of Karbala, lifting my soul towards Heaven. I think of the Ahl al-Bayt, upon them peace, and how they deserve my best effort.

Hurr was not a perfect human being. He probably had some good times with his friends. He probably had some romance, and some comforts. Perhaps there were things he really loved, and hoped for more of it as he grew older. But in the moment when he realized what life is really about, he knew with clarity:

“By Allah, I see myself between Heaven and the Fire.”

(Hurr’s words as related in Abu Mikhnaf)

And so he chose. He sought no fatwa, nor prayed an istikhara. There was only one choice.

Is the path back to our Creator anything but the hundreds of choices we make each day?! When we realize this, Hurr reminds us that we can always turn back. Even at the very end, on a day unlike any other day, we can turn back. Even if we find ourselves on the wrong side, we can choose the right side.

Sometimes it will be subtle, and the war will be raging within us, imperceptible to anyone other than All-Knowing. At other times, we will find ourselves in the midst of outward struggles, in search of true allies for truth and justice. But the goal is the same – choosing that which is right, even if it is difficult.

Hurr gives us the inspiration to make that choice.

Every morning.

Every daytime.

Every evening.

The masjid of Hurr in Karbala.