The ransom theory of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (pbuh) is briefly based on the idea that the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (pbuh) was the requirement of a covenant, made prior to the creation of the sensible world between God and him, on the basis of which the sins of the shias will ultimately be expiated. This interpretation that was elaborated in detail for the first time in the Qajar era by some of the Shi’i clergies, recently has emerged again in the Iranian discursive sphere after the Islamic revolution of 1979. In past ages, specifically during the Constitutional revolution (Enghelab-e Mashruteh) and Islamic revolution, this interpretation had been criticized strongly by the political discourse of the Karbala event, however at least just such criticisms witnessed to the partial popularity of ransom interpretation among the shi’i mass. It seems that the unprecedented transformations which has occurred in form of popular religiosity during past two decades as well as modifications in hegemonic political discourse in I.R. Iran corroborate the correlation between these changes and the reemergence of the ransom theory of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (pbuh).
This article claims that the second generation of ransom theories in Iran usually tends to depoliticize the shiah understanding of the Karbala event along with neglecting the social reality of the sacred symbols and ideas. Moreover such theories were grounded on a strongly individualistic apperception of religion and religious life. Therefore, this article supports the claim that the aforementioned tendency in ransom theories, is related to the growing “religious individualism” and the other modifications that lead the traditional forms of religiosity in Iran to a kind of “religious neo-pragmatism”. On the other hand, the alterations which has occurred in political discourse of I.R. Iran parallel to the consolidation of its political sovereignty and the beginning of the post-revolutionary era, paved the way for some scholars and intellectuals to distance from political-revolutionary interpretation of Karbala event.