What is Kerbala! In the eye of Leaders of the World.

Charles Dickens said the following about Imam Hussain (AS):

"If Hussain fought to quench his worldly desires, then I do not understand why his sisters, wives and children accompanied him. It stands to reason therefore that he sacrificed purely for Islam."

Sir Muhammad Iqbal says:

Imam Husayn uprooted despotism forever till the Day of Resurrection. He watered the dry garden of freedom with the surging wave of his blood, and indeed he awakened the sleeping Muslim nation. If Imam Husayn had aimed at acquiring a worldly empire, he would not have traveled the way he did (from Medina to Karbala). Husayn weltered in blood and dust for the sake of truth. Verily he, therefore, became the bed-rock (foundation) of the Muslim creed; la ilaha illa Allah (There is no god but Allah). Ronay wala hoon Shaheed-e-Kerbala key gham men main, Kya durey maqsad na dengey Saqiye Kausar mujhey I am one who weeps at the plight of the Martyr of Kerbala Won't the reward be given to me by the Keeper of Kauser Allama Iqbal in his Baqiyat (in Urdu)

Thomas Carlyle has relayed this about the Tragedy of Karbala:

"The best lesson which we get from the tragedy of Karbala is that Hussain and his companions were the rigid believers of God. They illustrated that numerical superiority does not count when it comes to truth and falsehood.The victory of Hussain despite his minority marvels me!"

Dr. K. Sheldrake on Imam Hussain (AS) said this:

"Hussain marched with his little company not to glory, not to power or wealth, but to a supreme sacrifice and every member of that gallant band, male and female, knew that the foes were implacable, were not only readyto fight but to kill. Denied even water for the children, they remained parched under a burning sun, amid scorching sands yet no one faltered for a moment and bravely faced the greatest odds without flinching."

BrownBrown in his `A Literary History of Persia' writes:

As a reminder, the blood-stained field of Karbala' where the grandson of the Apostle of God fell at length, tortured by thirst and surrounded by the bodies of his murdered kinsmen, has been at any time since then sufficient to evoke, even in the most lukewarm and heedless, the deepest emotion, the most frantic grief and the exaltation of spirit before which pain, danger, and death shrink to unconsidered trifles. Yearly, on the tenth day of Muharram, the tragedy is rehearsed in Persia, in India, in Turkey, in Egypt, wherever a Shiite community or colony exists; ... As I write it all comes back; the wailing chant, the sobbing multitudes, the white raiment red with blood from self-inflicted wounds, the intoxication of grief and sympathy.

World famous Arab historian al-Fakhri has said this about Imam Hussain's sacrifice:

"This is a catastrophe whereof I care not to speak at length, deeming it alike too grievous and too horrible. For verily, it was a catastrophe than that which naught more shameful has happened in Islam...There happened therein such a foul slaughter as to cause man's flesh to creep with horror. And again I have dispersed with my long description because ofit's notoriety, for it is the most lamented of catastrophes."

KHWAJA MOINUDDIN CHISTI (RA)says

Shah ast Hussain, Badshah ast Hussain,

Deen ast Hussain, Deen Panah ast Hussain,

Sar dad, na dad dast, dar dast-e-yazeed,

Haqaa key binaey La ila ast Hussain

Hussain is the Master, Hussain is the King,

Hussain is Faith, Hussain is Refuge for the Faith,

He gave his head but not his hand in Yazeed's hand

Hussain is the foundation of La'Illah.