For the sake of Allah, Imām Ḥusayn (ʿa) strived
Indeed falsehood withered and the truth survived
He fought against the corruption of Islam, so imperative
He sacrificed his life, and won the historic narrative
Imām Ḥusayn (ʿa) was brutally killed but he did not die
In the hearts of thousands he remains forever alive
His story strikes a chord as we listen to it crying
His love in the heart saves our souls from dying
Helping to heal us and purify our intention
To gain obedience to the One and rise in ascension
Every time our desires have free reign
Imām Ḥusayn’s (ʿa) death becomes in vain
We must ask ourselves a question and answer it with care
Which camp are we really in, during this Karbala affair?
Are we in the camp of Imām Ḥusayn (ʿa)
With those whose love for him fill their veins?
His truly noble and courageous friends
Their souls from selfish desires, fully cleansed
Obedient to Allah and the Imām of their time
They have conquered their selves, sublime
Those that light up the darkness like stars in the sky
They shine bright for those in heaven so high
They are the true Shīʿah of Imām Ḥusayn (ʿa)
The likes of them not seen on earth again
Or are we on the side of Yazīd?
The slaves of selfishness and greed
Those who sold a life that’s lasting for the fleeting
Love of dunyā (this world) distracting them from Allah’s meeting
They are happy to kill Imām Ḥusayn (ʿa)
Playing and laughing with no shame
Living a heedless life with no goal
Unwittingly killing their own soul
Or are we of those who ran away on their own
And left Imām Ḥusayn (ʿa) behind to die alone
Too cowardly to face the enemies they praised
Too weak of heart to fight the desires they raised
And so they live their lives avoiding responsibility
Immersed in various types of games and futility
Trying to avoid the guilt eating them away
As he dies within their hearts every day
Imām Ḥusayn (ʿa) is the fiṭrah (innate nature of God-consciousness) that keeps our hearts alive
Our conscience without Ḥusayn (ʿa) cannot survive
We must see where we really stand and be true
Make a decision in the war that rages inside of you
An Imām cannot serve and gain victory on his own
He needs loyal supporters who follow him alone
He could not even find 313 loyal followers to succeed
Our Imām (ʿaj) can’t find that number either, do we not heed?
يا ليتَنا كنّا مَعكم
We call “we wish we were with you”
When our Imām (ʿaj) comes, will our words be true?
We must preserve Imām Ḥusayn (ʿa) inside our souls
By living like him and his followers as our goal
To be Zaynab (ʿa) in the words we say
And as-Sajjād (ʿa) in the way we pray
Be ʿAbbās (ʿa) in our service to all others
And ʿAlī al-Akbar (ʿa) with our fathers and our mothers
Be Qāsim in his self respect
and Hurr in his introspect
Let’s join the camp of Ḥusayn (ʿa) this Muharram, and be brave
Tell our selve’s desires, “we’re no longer your slave!”
The plains of Karbala represent the recesses of our heart
And we must take up arms so that the struggle can start
Fight the battle inside us and be reformed
So that Muḥarram next year sees us, transformed
Let’s work hard to improve every year with Ḥusayn’s (ʿa) love
So that he would smile on us from heaven above
The one who fights his inner self is the most courageous one
To win the smaller struggle we first need to win the greater one
Our chance to serve with our Imām (ʿaj) is coming near
Let’s get ready and become a believer sincere