Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Aspects of his Personality

The qualities of Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) were like the qualities of his fathers who were distinguished by them over all people. All elements of honor and dignity met together in him. He possessed all virtues and excellences. It sufficed for him that he was one of the infallible Imams of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) whom Allah had purified and kept uncleanness away from them. Here we shall talk in brief about some attributes of his honorable personality:

Imamate

Imamate is a kindness from Allah to His people which He does not give to anyone but His loyal slaves, whom He has tried by faith, and purified from all kinds of injustices and defects. In our books on the lives of the infallible Imams we have discussed “Imamate” in details in some of them and in brief in others. In this book we talk in brief about Imamate and refer to some of its aspects.

The Need for Imamate

Imamate is an affair from the affairs of the Islamic life. Without Imamate Islamic life does not function properly; not only because it controls religious life, but also because it runs the economical, political, and social life, and leads to the nation’s independency and freedom and secures safety, ease, and peace.

Perhaps, the most important reason behind the need for Imamate is to make spiritual powers dominate and to spread virtue and good between people and resist bad tendencies of selfishness, haughtiness, greed, envy and other kinds of deviation. All good powers in the world are based on the faith in Allah, because this is the only path that protects the world from destruction and disasters of wars. The faith in Allah is the strongest weapon in the earth that keeps the world safe from misfortunes.

The infallible Imams cared much for this side. They raised the banner of faith high, and struggled in the way of Allah very diligently. They left luminous works in the way of inviting to Allah. Nahjol Balagha of Amir ul-Mu’mineen (Imam ‘Ali) is full of the fragrances of true faith. It invites people to ponder on the creation of everything in the world, which inevitably leads to faith.

It also invites people to good morals and high qualities and warns of evil tendencies that lead to backwardness and deterioration. We also find spiritual nourishment in as-Sahifah as-Sajjadiyya of Imam as-Sajjad (a.s.) which is considered the Bible of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), and it is a fertile source of faith. In all supplications transmitted from the infallible Imams (a.s.) we find this spiritual nourishment that purifies the soul from the dregs of ignorance and pride.

In the books of argumentation you find irrefutable evidences which the infallible Imams offered regarding monotheism that confuted the enemies of Islam who denied the Creator. Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) praised the jihad of his fathers in the fields of faith and the invitation to Allah in his Ziyarah called “al-Jami’ah”. He said,

“Peace be on the propagandists of Allah, the guides to the contentment with Allah, the residents in the command of Allah, the absorbed in the love

of Allah, the loyal in monotheism, those who manifest of the mission of Allah…’

He added, ‘You honored His glory, exalted His standing, glorified His generosity, kept His remembrance, confirmed His covenant, confirmed His obedience, were sincere to Him secretly and openly, called unto His way with wisdom and good exhortation, sacrificed your selves to please Him, were patient with what afflicted you for Him, offered prayers, gave zakat, enjoined the good, forbade the wrong, struggled truly in the way of Allah until you announced His mission, declared His obligations, spread His laws, fixed His verdicts, and became by that in the eye of His contentment, submitted to His fate, and believed in His past prophets…’

These wonderful lines expressed the struggle that the infallible Imams undertook to raise the word of monotheism and defend the values of Islam and faith. They offered their lives as pure sacrifice to Allah looking forward just to His reward.

Infallibility of the Imams

The infallibility of the twelve Imams (a.s.) is an important element in the Shiite doctrine. Some people deny this concept claiming that it cannot be realized. In our studies on the lives of the infallible Imams (a.s.) we have confuted the deniers of this concept and proved the reality and possibility of infallibility. He who reads the lives of the infallible Imams does not doubt their infallibility at all. They never committed any kind of sin or disobedience whether intentionally or unintentionally.

None of them ever deviated from the right path or sound conduct. All of them were absolutely pious. Al-Mutawakkil, the Abbasid tyrant, tried his best with all the means available to him to deceive Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) in order to get him to walk in his own deviated ways and engage in the traditions of amusement and debauchery, but Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) abstained from all that and at last al-Mutawakkil failed in his plans to tempt him. With his great status, Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) proved his infallibility as well as his pure fathers’ that the Twelver Shi’a believe in.

The Knowledge of the Imams

The knowledge of the infallible Imams was like the knowledge of the prophets with no difference between them. As the knowledge of the prophets and messengers of Allah was inspirational such that Allah had endowed them with to be the authority on His people, so was the knowledge of the infallible Imams (a.s.).

Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) spoke about the great treasures of knowledge the infallible Imams (a.s.) had and how they obtained that knowledge when saying, ‘Our knowledge is ancient, primordial, beating in hearts, and knocking in ears. We have the red jafr, the white jafr, the book of Fatima (peace be upon her), and al-Jami’ah (compilation), in which there are all what people need…’

He was asked to explain what he had said and he replied, ‘The ancient knowledge is the knowledge of what shall happen, and the primordial knowledge is the knowledge of what had happened. The beating in hearts is inspiration and the knocking in ears is the talk of angels that we hear their

speech but we do not see their figures. As for the red jafr, it is a container having the weapon of the messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his progeny) and it shall not appear until Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.) reappears.

The white jafr is a container having the Torah of Moses, the Bible of Jesus, the Book of Psalms of David, and the first Books of Allah. The Book of Fatima (peace be upon her) has accounts of all events and names of those who rule in the world until the Day of Resurrection. As for the jami’ah, it is a book of seventy cubits long having the dictation of the messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his progeny) written down by ‘Ali bin Abu Talib (a.s.). By Allah, it has all that which people need until the Day of Resurrection even the amount of blood money of a scratch, a whip, half a whip…’1

What further proves this claim is the different kinds of knowledge and sciences transmitted from the infallible Imams of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.). As an example, Imam ‘Ali (a.s.) the gate of the Prophet’s city of knowledge, had opened many sections of knowledge and sciences, which numbered about thirty-two sciences according to al-Aqqad.2

It was he who had informed people about the technological progress and scientific development that would appear on the stage of life. He said, ‘A time will come where the people in the East can see the people of the West, and the people in the West can see the people in the East.’ He also said, ‘A time will come where the people in the East can hear the people of the West, and the people in the West can hear the people of the East.’

This saying came true by inventing the TV and the Radio. He also said, ‘A time will come to people where iron will move.’ It came true by inventing trains, cars, and other means of transportation. There are many other examples like these that Imam ‘Ali (a.s.) had informed of.3 It was he who had said, ‘Ask me about the Book of Allah! By Allah, there is no verse, unless I know whether it has been revealed in the night or day, in a plain or a mountain.’4

From the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), who had spouted springs of knowledge and wisdom in the earth, was the miracle of knowledge and intellect in the world Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.).

He foretold about the pollution in space and seas and its bad effects on man. He also told about the existence of life on some planets. It was he, who had established the bases of anatomy and peculiarities of man’s organs and the wonders in them. All that was mentioned in the book Tawhid al-Mufadhdhal. He was the first founder of physics and chemistry. He established their bases through his disciple Jabir bin Hayyan the pride of the East and the pioneer of the human development in the earth.

Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was not more than seven years old when his father Imam al-Jawad (a.s.) died. Still in his early years yet, Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) had knowledge that astonished others’ minds. Great scholars tried him by most difficult and complicated questions in jurisprudence, philosophy, and theology but he answered them all as if he was an expert jurisprudent. Therefore, ulama’ and scholars believed in his Imamate, and thus it was clear evidence that Allah had endowed the infallible Imams of the Ahlul

Bayt (a.s.) with such knowledge, wisdom, and virtue that He had never endowed others with.

Announcing his Imamate

The Shi’a paid much attention to the matter of Imamate because it is one of the bases of Islam. They often asked the present Imam about the Imam after him so that they would refer to him in their religious and worldly affairs, obey and follow him. Many reliable Muslims narrated the assigning of ‘Ali al-Hadi (a.s.) as the Imam by his father Imam Muhammad al-Jawad (a.s.). Here are some of them:

1. Isma’il bin Mihran

When Imam al-Jawad (a.s.) went to Baghdad in his first travel, Isma’il bin Mihran visited him and said to him, ‘May I die for you! I fear for you in this travel (from the Abbasids). Who is the Imam after you?’

Imam al-Jawad (a.s.) smiled at him and said, ‘It is not as you thought. It is not in this year.’

When al-Mu’tasim (the Abbasid caliph) sent for Imam al-Jawad (a.s.), Isma’il went to the Imam to know the Imam after him. He said to Imam al-Jawad (a.s.), ‘You are going. To whom will the matter (Imamate) be after you?’

Imam al-Jawad (a.s.) cried and was anxious in his travel and thought that he would not go back again to Yathrib. Therefore, he appointed his son ‘Ali al-Hadi as the Imam after him. He said, ‘Now, it is to fear for me. The matter (Imamate) after me is to my son ‘Ali…’5

What Imam al-Jawad (a.s.) predicted came true. Al-Mu’tasim, the Abbasid caliph, assassinated him while he was still in the bloom of his youth.

2. Al-Khayrani

He was one of the narrators who narrated the appointment of Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) as the Imam after his father. We shall mention that in a coming chapter.

3. As-Saqr bin Abu Dalf

As-Saqr narrated, ‘I heard Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin ‘Ali ar-Ridha (Imam al-Jawad) saying, ‘The Imam after me is my son ‘Ali. His Command is my command, his saying is my saying, and his obedience is my obedience. Imamate after him is to his son al-Hasan…’6

4. Some of the Shi’a

When Imam al-Jawad (a.s.) traveled to Baghdad, he said to some of his followers, ‘I am going7 and the matter (Imamate) will be to my son ‘Ali. He will have rights on you after me as I had on you after my father.’8

5. Ahmad bin Abu Khalid

Ahmad narrated that Abu Ja’far (Imam al-Jawad) had recommended his son, ‘Ali al-Hadi (a.s.), to be the Imam after him. We shall mention the terms of this will later on.9

These are some of the narrators who narrated that Imam al-Jawad (a.s.) had appointed his son ‘Ali al-Hadi (a.s.) as the Imam after him. The texts on

this matter were successive. The Shi’a believe that the appointing of Imams was not out of passions or tendencies, but it was according to the command of Allah Who chose and appointed them through the Prophet (S) who carried out what he was ordered by his Lord. The Prophet (S) announced that the caliphs (successors) after him would be twelve ones, whom Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was one of. The texts on this matter are successive and true.10

His Generosity

One of the prominent qualities of Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was his generosity. He was the most liberal and generous person of his time. He was like his fathers, who gave food out of love for Him to the poor, the orphan, and the captive. They gave food to others until no food remained for their families and themselves, and gave clothes to others until no clothes remained for them. Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) gave food and clothes to people until nothing remained for his family.11

Historians mentioned many examples on the generosity and charity of Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) to the poor and needy. We mention some of them here:

1. Once, Abu Amr Uthman bin Sa’eed, Ahmad bin Isaaq al-Ash’ari, and ‘Ali bin Ja'far al-Hamadani went to Imam al-Hadi (a.s.). Ahmad bin Isaaq complained of a debt of his. Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) turned to his agent Amr and said to him, ‘Give him thirty thousand dinars and to ‘Ali bin Ja’far thirty thousand dinars.’

He also gave a sum like that to his agent. Ibn Shahrashub commented on this noble trait by saying, ‘This is a miracle that no one can perform except kings. We have not heard of such a gift.’12 Doing this, Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) secured comfortable living to these notable persons and saved them from the distress of neediness.

2. Isaaq al-Jallab said, ‘On the Day of Tarwiya13 I bought many heads of sheep to Abul Hasan al-Hadi (peace be upon him) and he distributed them among his relatives.’14

3. Historians mentioned that one day Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) went from Samarra’ to a village he possessed. A nomad man came to him but did not find him in his house. His family told the nomad that Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) had gone to his garden. The nomad went and found Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) there. He said to him with faint voice, ‘O son of the messenger of Allah, I am from the nomads of Kufa who believe in the guardianship of your grandfather ‘Ali bin Abu Talib. There is a heavy debt on me and I have no one to go to except you…’

Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) had pity on him but he himself was in lack of money and did not have anything to help this nomad with. He wrote on a piece of paper with his handwriting that he was in debt to the nomad and he mentioned a certain amount. He said to the nomad, ‘Keep this paper with you. When I go to Surra Man Ra’a (Samarra’) and when some people come to my meeting, you come and ask me to pay back your debt. You are to insist upon this from me and mention that I have not paid you your debt. Do exactly as I say to you!’

When Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) went to Surra Man Ra’a and a group of people, among whom were some officials and secret policemen, attended his meeting, the nomad came, showed the piece of paper, and asked Imam al-

Hadi (a.s.) to pay back the debt mentioned in the paper. Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) apologized that he could not pay back the debt and the nomad insisted. When people left the meeting, the policemen went to al-Mutawakkil and told him about this matter. Al-Mutawakkil ordered his men to send thirty thousand dirhams to Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) and they did. When the nomad came, Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) said to him, ‘Take this money and pay back your debt and spend the rest on your family!’

The nomad found that great and said to Imam al-Hadi (a.s.), ‘My debt is less than the third of this amount…but Allah is more aware where He reveals His mission.’15 The nomad left for his family delightedly while praying Allah for Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) who had saved him from poverty and neediness.

4. Historians mentioned that once Abu Hashim al-Ja’fary underwent a severe state of neediness and he resorted to Imam al-Hadi (a.s.). When Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) saw his wretchedness, he wanted to comfort him. He said to him, ‘O Abu Hashim, which blessing of Allah you want to be grateful for? Allah has endowed you with faith that saves your body from fire, endowed you with soundness that helps you in obedience, and endowed you with satisfaction that keeps you away from degradation.’ Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) gave him one hundred dinars.16

His Asceticism

Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) turned his back on all pleasures of this worldly life and lived absolutely an ascetic life. He kept to worship, piety, and asceticism. He paid no attention to worldly pleasures and preferred the obedience of Allah to everything else. His house in Yathrib and his house in Surra Man Ra’a had no furniture. Once, the policemen of al-Mutawakkil broke into his house and searched it but found nothing of worldly furniture. They also searched his House in Surra Man Ra’a and found him wearing a wool garment and sitting on sand and pebbles. Nothing was between him and the ground.

As-Sibt bin al-Jawzi said, ‘‘Ali al-Hadi had no interest in this worldly life. He kept to the mosque. When they searched his house, they did not find in it save copies of the Holy Qur'an, books of du’a, and scientific books.’

He lived in the light of the noble life his fathers had lived; in asceticism and turning away from the material pleasures of this life except that which concerned the truth. His grandfather Amir’ul- Mu’minin (a.s.) was one of the most ascetic men in this life. During his rule as the caliph of Muslims his shoes were from the fibers of palm tree and he himself mended them with his hands.

His belt also was from fibers of palm tree. He suffered hunger out of asceticism and in order to comfort the poor. His wife the head of the women of the world Fatima az-Zahra’ (a.s.) also turned away from the worldly life and lived in a small house with no furniture and her hands were hardened by the quern. In this path did all the infallible Imams walk. They divorced this life and turned their backs on its pleasures. They turned to Allah devotedly and did all that which took them nearer to Allah.

Working in his Farm

Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was free of every material tendency. He was free from any kind of selfishness and he did not submit to any pleasure or fancy. Historians say that he worked in his farm to secure the living of his family. ‘Ali bin Hamza said, “Once, I saw Abul Hasan the third (Imam al-Hadi) work in a farm while his feet were soaked with sweat. I said to him, ‘May I die for you! Where are the men?’

He said, ‘O ‘Ali, one, who was better than me and my father, worked with a spade in his farm.’

I said, ‘Who was he?’

He said, ‘The messenger of Allah (SwT), Amir’ul- Mu’minin, and all my fathers worked with their hands. It was the work of prophets, apostles, and good saints…”17

Work was the sign of prophets. Every prophet worked in some field. We have quoted this holy tradition in our book “Work and the rights of workers in Islam” to prove the importance and honor of work and that it was from the conducts of the holy prophets.Work was the sign of prophets. Every prophet worked in some field. We have quoted this holy tradition in our book “Work and the rights of workers in Islam” to prove the importance and honor of work and that it was from the conducts of the holy prophets.

Guiding the Deviant

Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) cared much for guiding the deviants who digressed from the truth. From among those, whom Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) had guided, was al-Hasan al-Basri known as al-Mallah who was a waqifite.18 Once, Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) met him and said to him, ‘Until when is this slumber? Is it not yet time for you to awake?’

These words affected him deeply and so he turned back to the truth and guidance.19

Forbidding from associating with Sufis

Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) warned his companions and all Muslims from associating and mixing with Sufis because they were a source of error and deviation to people. They affected asceticism to seduce simple and naïve people.

Al-Husayn bin Abul Khattab said, ‘One day, I was with Abul Hasan al-Hadi (a.s.) in the mosque of the Prophet (S) when some of his companions, among whom was Abu Hashim al-Ja’fari, came to him. Abu Hashim was an eloquent man and had a high position near Imam al-Hadi (a.s.). While we were standing, a group of Sufis came into the mosque. They sat in a corner of the mosque and began saying “la ilaha illallah; there is no god but Allah”.

Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) turned towards his companions and said to them, ‘Do not pay attention to these deceivers for they are allies of the Devils and destroyers of the bases of religion. They become ascetic to relieve their bodies and watch to hunt cattle…they do not practice rites except to deceive people, and do not decrease food except to…cheat the foolish…their worship is but dancing and clapping, and their praises are but singing.

No one follows them except the stupid, and no one believes in them except the foolish. Whoever went to visit any of them alive or dead, it’s as if he went to visit Satan and idolaters, and whoever supported any of them, as if he supported, Mo’awiya, Yazid, and Abu Sufyan…’

One of the companions said, ‘Even if he acknowledges your rights?’

Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) scolded him and shouted, ‘Do not say that! He, who acknowledges our rights, does not disobey us. Do you not know that they are the worst group of Sufis, though all Sufis are dissentient to us and their way is contrary to ours? They are but Christians and magi of this nation. They do their best to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, and Allah will not consent save to perfect His light, though the unbelievers are averse…’

Honoring the Ulama’

Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) honored people of intellect and knowledge, welcomed and preferred them to the rest of people because they were the source of light in the earth. Once, Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was informed that one of the Shiite ulama’ had argued with an opponent of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) and confuted him. He was delighted by that.

When that scholar came to Imam al-Hadi (a.s.), he welcomed him warmly in his meeting which was full of Alawids and Abbasids. He seated him on a sofa and began talking with him eagerly and respectfully. The Hashemites in the meeting became angry and said to Imam al-Hadi (a.s.), ‘Why do you prefer him to the masters of Bani20 Hashem?’

Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) said to them ‘Beware to be from those whom Allah has said about,

Have you not considered those (Jews) who are given a portion of the Book? They are invited to the Book of Allah that it might decide between them, then a part of them turn back and they withdraw .21

Do you accept the Book of Allah as a judge?’

They all said, ‘O son of the messenger of Allah, we do.’

He began proving his opinion by saying, ‘Has Allah not said,

O you who believe! when it is said to you, Make room in (your) assemblies, then make ample room, Allah will give you ample, and when it is said: Rise up, then rise up. Allah will exalt those of you who believe, and those who are given knowledge, in high degrees; and Allah is Aware of what you do? 22

Allah does not accept for a knowledgeable believer but to be preferred to an unknowledgeable believer, just as He wants a believer to be preferred to an unbeliever. Allah has said,

Allah will exalt those of you who believe and those who are given knowledge, in high degrees.

Has He said, ‘Allah will exalt those, who are given honor of lineage, in high degrees’? Allah has said,

Are those who know and those who do not know alike? 23

Then, how do you deny my honoring him for what Allah has honored him?

His defeating that opponent of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) with the proofs that Allah has taught him is more honorable than every honor of lineage.’

The attendants kept silent after this reply, but one of the Abbasids said, ‘O son of the messenger of Allah, you have preferred this man to us and degraded us lower than one who has no lineage like ours, while since the

beginning of Islam until now those better in lineage are preferred to those lower than them.’

This is a nonsensical argument since Islam focuses only on right values which that Abbasid man did not understand. Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) replied to him saying,

‘Glory be to Allah! Had al-Abbas (the Prophet’s uncle) not paid homage to Abu Bakr who was from Taym24 while al-Abbas was a Hashemite? Did Abdullah bin Abbas not serve Umar bin al-Khattab who was from Adiy while Abdullah bin Abbas was a Hashemite and the father of the (Abbasid) caliphs?

And why did Umar appoint people far in lineage in the shura and did not appoint al-Abbas? If preferring a non-Hashemite to a Hashemite is denied, then you have to deny the homage of al-Abbas to Abu Bakr and the service of Abdullah bin Abbas to Umar. If that was permissible, this is permissible too.’

The Abbasid man was confuted.25 When he did not understand the proofs derived from the Holy Qur'an, Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) argued with him by the homage of al-Abbas to Abu Bakr and the service of Abdullah bin Abbas to Umar though these two caliphs (Abu Bakr and Umar) were not equal in lineage to al-Abbas and Abdullah bin Abbas.

His Worship

When you read the lives of the infallible Imams of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), you find that the prominent aspect of their lives was their devotedness to Allah and their spending the night in worshipping, hymning, and recitation of the Qur'an.

Abu Firas al-Hamadani, the poet, compares the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) to the Abbasids by saying,

“Recitation (of the Qur'an) is heard in their houses until dawn,and in your houses music and singing.”

At that age, people did not see a worshipper, devout and pious person like Imam al-Hadi (a.s.). He offered all recommended worships (nafila). In the third rak’a of the nafila of Maghrib (sunset) he recited the sura of al-Hamd (1) and the beginning of the sura of al-Hadid (57) until the end of the six verse, and in the fourth rak’a he recited the sura of al-Hamd and the sura of al-Hujurat (49).26 Another nafila of two rak’as was reported in which he recited in the first rak’a the sura of al-Hamd and the sura of Yasin (36), and in the second rak’a he recited the sura of al-Hamd and the sura of ar-Rahman (55).27

His Supplications in Qunut

Many supplications were transmitted from Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) which he recited in the qunut28 of his prayers, showing the extent of his devotedness and submissiveness to Allah. Here are some of them.

1. “O Allah, the founts of Your gifts are brimful, the doors of Your supplications for one who hopes in You are wide-open, and Your merciful looks on one who resorts to You are not cut. Caution is bridled, need is urgent, and people of patience are unable to wait. O Allah, You are in watch over all places, and you do not ignore but (provide) respite. Whoever takes

refuge with you will be secure, and whoever resorts to you will succeed and get to your door safe.

O Allah, overtake those who persist on oppression and continue in their ignorance to the end of disbelief. Your patience with them has made them covetous of doing as they desire. They harm your guardians with their evils, and hurt them with their vices, and take their harm to them in their habitation. O Allah, dispel torment from the believers and send it openly on the unjust!

O Allah, drive torment away from reliers and pour it on the haughty! O Allah, assist the followers of the truth, and surprise the assistants of injustice with snap! O Allah, make us delighted with gratefulness, give us victory, and keep us safe from the bad bada’,29 bad end, and danger!’30

The supplications of the infallible Imams were not limited to the spiritual side, but they included all sides of life. This supplication pictured the political life and the oppression that people suffered during the reigns of those kings who were excessive in oppressing people and forcing them to do what they were unwilling to do. I think that, in this supplication, Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) invoked Allah against al-Mutawakkil who excessively oppressed the Alawids.

2. “O You, Who are unique in deity, and alone in oneness, O You, by Whose name the day glows, and lights shine, by Whose command night darkens, and by Whose gift rain comes down, O You, Whom the distressed call upon and You respond, the frightened resort to and You rescue them, obedient worship and You thanked them, and the grateful praise and You reward them. How exalted You are! How high your authority is! How executable your commands are! You are the Creator (who creates) without effort and the Judge (who judges) without injustice.

Your excuse is irrefutable, and Your words are undeniable. To You I have resorted and sought protection from the blows on knots (magic), and the watches of the atheists who deny Your attributes, harm Your guardians, support the killing of Your prophets and chosen ones, intend to put out Your light, deny Your messengers, resist Your signs, take guardians other than You and Your guardians, and worship their idols instead of You.

But You favor Your guardians with Your great blessings, generously give them Your bounties, endow them with the best of Your reward to save them from opposing the prophets and from the ways of deviation, and respond to them when they carry out the covenants, and so the turning hearts submit to You with agreements.

O Allah, I ask You by Your name which the heavens and the earth have submitted to, and by which You enliven the dead among things, make living beings die, gather every separated thing, separate every gathered thing, perfect the words, show great signs, assist the repentant, and delay the acts of the corruptive and make their deeds vain…to have blessings on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad and make my Shi’a (followers) from those who have been charged and they believed, and been interrogated and they spoke while safe and trusted.

O Allah, I ask You for them the success of the people of guidance, the deeds of the people of certainty, the loyalty of the people of repentance, the

determination of the people of insight, the God-fearingness of the people of piety, the concealment of the truthful until they, O my Lord, fear You with fear that prevents them from Your disobediences so that they obey You to obtain Your dignity, and until they become loyal to You and for You for fear of You, and until they become sincere to You in repentance so that You give them Your love which You have necessitated for the repentant, and until they rely on You in all their affairs out of their good will towards You, and until they entrust their affairs to You out of their trust in You.

O Allah, Your obedience is not obtained except through Your reconciliation, and no degree from the degrees of goodness is obtained except by You. O Allah, the Master of the Day of Judgment, the Aware of the secrets hidden in the chests of people, purify the earth from the impurity of the people of polytheism, and silence the liars from fabricating lies against Your messenger!

O Allah, eradicate tyrants, snap slanderers, and destroy fabricators who, when the verses of the Beneficent are recited before them, say: fables of the ancients. O Allah, fulfill Your promise to me, and hasten the deliverance of every suppliant seeker; You are ever watchful! I seek Your protection from every dubiosity, and from every heart that is locked up away from knowing You, and from a soul that disbelieves if it is distressed, and from one who speaks about justice while his deeds are opposite to justice, and from one who seeks the truth while he is far away from true qualities, and from one who gains fame while he is lowered in his fame, and from a face which, in spite of successive blessings, is gloomy. I seek Your protection from all that and everything like it, You are Knowing, Wise.”

His supplication after Fajr Prayer

“O You, the greater than every great one, Who has no partner and no vizier, O You, the Creator of the sun and the lighting moon, the shelter to the resorting fearful, the Liberator of tied captives, the nourisher of young babies, the setter of broken bones, the Merciful to the old, the light of light, the Manager of affairs, the Resurrector of those in graves, the Healer of chests, the Maker of shade and heat, the Aware of all that is in breasts, the Revealer of the Book, light, the great Qur'an, and the Book of Psalms,

O You, Whom angels glorify in the morning and night,

O You, the Permanent and Eternal, the Bringer forth of plants in the early morning and afternoon, the Enlivener of the dead, the Resurrector of decayed bones, the Hearer of sounds, the Everlasting, the Dresser of bones that decay after death!

O You, Whom nothing distracts from any other thing, Who do not change from a state to another, Who do not need to move or advance, Whom no affair prevents from any other affair, Who cancel because of the charity and supplication (of believers) what has been determined and affirmed in the Heaven of the unfavorable judgment (that is their due), Whom no place can include or encompass, Who place remedy in what You like among things, Who keep alive from serious disease with the least of nourishment, Who remove by the least of remedy the worst of diseases,

O You, Who, if promise, fulfill, if threaten, pardon,

O You, Who possess the needs of requesters, who know what is there inside the consciences of the silent,

O You, the Most Magnificent, the Generous in pardoning,

O You, Who have a face that never becomes old, Who have unlimited sovereignty, Who have inextinguishable light, Whose throne is over everything, Whose authority is over the land and the sea, Whose wrath is in the Hell, Whose mercy is in Paradise, Whose promises are true, Whose favors are uncountable, Whose mercy is wide,

O You, the Helper of the callers for help, the Responder to the call of the compelled,

O You, Who are in the high regard and Your creation is in low regard,

O You, the Lord of the mortal souls, the Lord of the worn bodies, the most perceptive of seers, the most hearing of hearers, the promptest of accounters, the wisest of judges, the Most Merciful of the merciful, the Giver of gifts, the Releaser of captives, the Lord of glory, the One of piety and forgiveness,

O You, Whose limit cannot be perceived, whose number cannot be counted, Whose aid does not cease,

I bear witness, and the witness to me is honor and supply, and from me obedience and submission, and by which I hope deliverance on the day of sigh and regret, that You are Allah; there is no god but You alone with no partner, and that Muhammad is Your slave and messenger,

Your blessing be on him and on his progeny, and that he has informed and carried out on behalf of You what was his duty to You, and that You always create, provide with livelihood, give, deny, exalt, humble, enrich, impoverish, disappoint, help, pardon, show mercy, forgive, overlook what You know, do not wrong, straiten, enlarge, omit, fix, initiate, reproduce, enliven and make die; have mercy on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad and guide me from You, give me of Your favor, spread on me of Your mercy, and send down upon me of Your blessings, for You often have accustomed me to good and favor, given me too much, and uncovered my ugly deeds.

O Allah, have blessings on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad and hasten my deliverance, forgive my slips, take pity my loneliness, take me to the best of Your worships, gift me with health from my illness, plenty of my supplies, inclusive soundness in my body, insight in my religion, and help me to ask you for forgiveness before death comes and hope ends, and help me bear death and its distress, the grave and its loneliness, the scales and their lightness, the sirat31 and its slipping, the Day of Resurrection and its terror.

I ask you for the acceptance of deeds before death, and ask You for strength in my hearing and sight for the doing of the best of that You have taught and made me understand. You are the lofty Lord and I am the humble slave, and how great a difference there is between us. O You, Compassionate, Benefactor, of Glory and Honor, have blessings on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad the good, the pure!”32

His Supplication after the Asr’ Prayer

“O You, Who have raised high and been great, overcome and been mighty, been mighty and overcome,

O You, Who have been mighty and so been great in His might,

O You, Who have spread shade over his creation, who have endowed His people with favor, I ask You, O You Mighty of retribution, Who avenges with His might on people of atheism,

I ask You by the right of Your guardian ‘Ali bin Abu Talib and I make him the means between You and my needs, to have mercy on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad and to help me satisfy my needs, perform my nafilas (supererogatory prayers) and obligations and be pious to my brothers, and (make me) perfect in Your obedience, O You, the Most Merciful of the merciful.’33

The Response to his Supplications

One of the charismata of Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was the swift response of Allah to his supplications because of the high position he and his fathers had near Allah. Historians have mentioned many examples regarding this matter.

1. Al-Mansur narrated that his father’s uncle said, “Once, I went to Imam ‘Ali al-Hadi and said to him, ‘O my master, this man (he meant al-Mutawakkil, the Abbasid caliph) has turned his back to me and stopped my salary, and this is because he knows I have kept to you.’”

He asked Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) to intercede for him with al-Mutawakkil. Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) said to him, ‘You shall be satisfied insha’Allah.’ During the night, the messengers of al-Mutawakkil came to the man and he hastened with them to the caliph. When he got to the palace, al-Fatah the doorkeeper scolded him for his delay and allowed him to go in to al-Mutawakkil.

The caliph received him with smiles saying to him, ‘O Abu Musa, what made you busy and forget about us? Do you need anything from me?’

The man asked for what he needed and for his salary that was stopped. Al-Mutawakkil ordered him to be given more than what he wanted. The man left delightedly. He saw al-Fatah at the door and said to him, ‘Did ‘Ali bin Muhammad (Imam al-Hadi) come here?’

Al-Fatah said, ‘No.’

The man said, ‘Did he send a letter?’

The doorkeeper said, ‘No.’

The man left and al-Fatah followed him saying, ‘I have no doubt that you have asked him (the Imam) to pray for you. Please, ask him to pray for me!’

The man went to Imam al-Hadi (a.s.), and when he had the honor of being before him, Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) said to him, ‘O Abu Musa, I see satisfaction on your face.’

The man said submissively, ‘It is by your blessing, my master. But, it was said to me that you neither went to him (to al-Mutawakkil) nor did you ask him for anything.’

Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) smiled and said, ‘Allah the Almighty has known from us that we do not resort in serious matters except to Him, and do not rely in misfortunes except on Him. He has accustomed us to His response

whenever we ask Him for something, and we fear that if we change, He also will change with us…’

The man understood that Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) had prayed to Allah for him in loneliness. He said to Imam al-Hadi (a.s.), ‘O my master, al-Fatah asks you to pray for him.’

Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) did not respond and said, ‘Al-Fatah believes in us outwardly and avoids us inwardly. We pray for him if he is loyal to Allah, believes in the messenger of Allah (peace be on him and on his progeny), and acknowledges our rights, we the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.).’

The infallible Imams (a.s.) prayed Allah for pure persons who believed in Allah, His messenger, and the right of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.). They did not pray for those who do not believe.

The man asked Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) to teach him a supplication (du’a) that would benefit him and Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) guided him to the following du’a:

“O You, my supply, my hope and reliance, my resort and support, O You One and Unique, O You, Who “say: He, Allah, is One”, O Allah, I ask You by those whom You have not created like them in Your creation, to have blessing on them…and then you ask for your need.”34

2. There was a man in Isfahan (in Iran) called Abdur-Rahman who had embraced Shi’ism and believed in the Imamate of Imam al-Hadi (a.s.). Abdur-Rahman was asked about the reason behind that decision, and he said, ‘I was poor, but brave and eloquent. I, with a group from the people of my town, went to al-Mutawakkil to complain.

When we arrived in Surra Man Ra’a, we went to his palace. While we were waiting at the door of al-Mutawakkil, an order was issued from the palace to bring ‘Ali bin Muhammad bin ar-Ridha (a.s.). I asked about him and it was said to me that he was an Alawid man, whom the Rafidha (the Shi’a) believed in as their Imam.

It was said that al-Mutawakkil might order him to be killed. I said to myself, ‘I will not leave my place until I see him.’ I waited not long when Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) came riding a sumpter. People stood up glorifying and honoring him. When I saw him, I loved him.

I began praying Allah to keep him safe from the plotting of al-Mutawakkil. Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) caught sight of me. He came towards me, and said, ‘Allah has responded to your prayer. He will prolong your age and increase your wealth and children.’

I trembled because he knew what was in my mind and what I intended. We came in to al-Mutawakkil, carried out our affairs and then I left for Isfahan. Allah endowed me with great wealth that I had not even dreamed of. Now I have one million dirhams in my house besides the wealth I have outside the house. I have ten sons and I am now more than seventy years old.35 All of that was a result of the blessing of the du’a of Imam al-Hadi (a.s.).

3. ‘Ali bin Ja’far was one of the deputies of Imam al-Hadi (a.s.). One day, he was betrayed near al-Mutawakkil who threw him in prison. He remained in prison for a long time and eventually he could not bear this any

longer. Therefore, he asked an agent of the Abbasid government to intercede for him to be set free and he would give him three thousand dinars for that.

The agent went to Ubaydillah, who had a good position near al-Mutawakkil, and asked him to intercede with al-Mutawakkil for ‘Ali bin Ja’far. Ubaydillah responded to him and interceded with al-Mutawakkil to set ‘Ali bin Ja’far free, but al-Mutawakkil refused and said to him, ‘If I doubted you, I would say you are a Rafidhi (Shi’a). This is a deputy of Abul Hasan al-Hadi and I am determined to kill him.’

Ubaydillah regretted his intercession and told his friend (the agent) that al-Mutawakkil was determined to kill ‘Ali bin Ja’far and there was no chance for setting him free. ‘Ali bin Ja’far became so distressed and wrote a letter to Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) saying to him, ‘O my master, please do something for me! I fear I may lose my faith.’ Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) replied to him, ‘Since the matter has reached this point with you, I will pray Allah for you.’

Al-Mutawakkil became seriously ill and his fever increased, and so he ordered his men to set free all prisoners and gave a special order to set ‘Ali bin Ja’far free. Al-Mutawakkil ordered Ubaydillah to set ‘Ali free and to beg him to forgive him (al-Mutawakkil) for what he had done to him. ‘Ali was set free and went to live in Mecca as Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) had ordered him.36

4. Ahmad bin al-Khasib hated Imam al-Hadi (a.s.). He insisted that the Imam should give him his house without paying a price. Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) became very angry and said to him, ‘I will pray to Allah that nothing of yours shall remain.’

It was not long after that when the wrath of Allah afflicted Ahmad and he perished.37

These are some examples historians have mentioned of Allah’s responding to the prayers of Imam al-Hadi (a.s.). It is definite that the response to prayers is not man’s doing but it is by the will of Allah Who responds to the prayer of whomever He likes of His people. There is no doubt that the infallible Imams of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) had a very high position near Allah because they devoted themselves to Him as far as loyalty had meaning, and obeyed Him in the full sense of obedience, and, therefore, Allah responded to their prayers immediately and made their holy shrines from among the places where prayers are responded to.

Second Sermon: 'Ashura - History and Popular Legend

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

All Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and the Maker of all creation, and may Peace and benedictions be upon His servant and messenger, His beloved and elect, our master, our prophet, and our sire, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, may Allah bless him and his pure, immaculate, and infallible Progeny.

I seek the refuge of Allah from the accursed Satan:

“So for their breaking their compact We cursed them and made their hearts hard; they would pervert the words from their meanings, and they forgot a portion of what they were reminded of.” (5:13)

We said that the event of 'Ashura' has been subject to tahrif and it has occurred both in its outward form as well as its inner content. A consequence of these distortions has been that this great historic document and this great educative source has become ineffectual or less potent, in our lives, leaving, at times, even an opposite effect.

All of us have the duty to purge it of the distortions that have polluted this sacred document. Tonight we will discuss the general factors responsible for tahrif. Thereafter our discussion will focus on tahrif in the content and significance of this event.

The Factors of Tahrif

These factors are of two kinds, one of which is of a general nature. That is, there are in general certain factors that lead to the corruption of histories and these are not limited to the event of 'Ashura' alone. For instance, the enemy's motives are themselves a factor that distort an event. In order to achieve their purposes, the enemies bring about alterations in historical texts or misinterpret them. There are many examples of it which I do not wish to mention here.

All that I would say is that this kind of tahrif did play a role in distorting the facts of Karbala', and the enemies did take resort in misrepresenting the uprising of Imam Husayn. As usually happens, the enemies accuse sacred movements of causing conflict and division and of disrupting social harmony and peace. The Umayyad regime also made much effort to give such a hue to the Husayni uprising.

Such propaganda began from the very first day. When Muslim arrived in Kufah, Yazid, while sending an order appointing Ibn Ziyad to the governership of Kufah, wrote: “Muslim, son of 'Aqil, has gone to Kufah and his aim is to disrupt peace and to create social discord and disunity in the Muslim community. Go and suppress him.”

When Muslim was captured and brought to the dar al-imarah, the governor's residency, Ibn Ziyad said to Muslim: “Son of 'Aqil! What was it that brought you to this city? The people here lived in satisfaction and peace.

You came and disrupted their peace, causing disunity and conflict amongst Muslims.” Muslim answered in a manly manner and said: “Firstly, I did not come to this city on my own account. It was the people of this city who invited us.

They wrote a great number of letters, which are in our possession. In those letters they wrote that your father, Ziyad, who ruled this city for years, had killed its virtuous men and imposed its scoundrels over the virtuous, subjecting them to various forms of tyranny and injustice. They appealed to us to help them establish justice. We have come to establish justice!”

The Umayyad regime did wage much propaganda of this kind, but their misrepresentations did not affect the history of Islam. You will not find a single competent historian in the world who might have said that Husayn ibn 'Ali, naudhubillah, made an unlawful uprising that he rose to cause conflict and disunity among the people. No.

The enemy could not bring about any misrepresentation in [the history of] the event of Karbala'. Most regrettably, whatever tahrif has occurred in the event of Karbala' has been at the hands of the friends.

The Second Factor

The second factor is the human tendency towards myth-making and for turning facts into legends. This tendency has been at work in all the world's historical traditions. There is a tendency in men for hero worship which induces the people to fabricate myths and legends about national and religious heroes.1

The best evidence of it are the legends that the people have invented around the figures of some geniuses such as Ibn Sina and Shaykh Baha'i. Ibn Sina, undoubtedly, was a genius and was gifted with extraordinary physical and intellectual powers. But these very gifts have led the people to weave out legends about him.

For instance, it is said that once Ibn Sina saw a man from a distance of one parasang and remarked that the man was eating bread made with oil. They asked him how he could know that the man was eating bread and that it was made with oil.

He replied that he saw flies circling the bread, which had made him conclude that there was oil in the bread. Obviously, this is a legend. Someone who can see flies from the distance of one parasang will see bread made with oil much sooner than he would see flies!

Or it is said that once during the time that Ibn Sina was studying at Isfahan he complained that when he gets up in the middle of the night to study, he was disturbed by the noise of the hammering of the coppersmiths of Kashan.

They went and made a test. One night they told the coppersmiths of Kashan not to use their hammers. That night, said Ibn Sina, he had slept peacefully and was undisturbed in his study. Obviously this is a legend.

Many such legends have been made about Shaykh Bahi'i as well. Such things are not confined to the event of 'Ashura. However, let the people say what they would about Ibn Sina. What harm does it do?

None! But in respect of individuals who are guides of mankind and whose words and deeds and whose stands and uprisings serve as a model and authority, there should not be any tahrif whatsoever in their statements, in their personality, and history.

How many legends have been fabricated by us Shi'is about Amir al Mu'minin 'Ali, many Peace be upon him! There is no doubt that 'Ali ('a) was an extraordinary man. No one has doubts about 'Ali's courage which was superior to that of any ordinary human being. 'Ali did not encounter any contestant in battle without felling him to the ground.

But does that satisfy the myth makers? Never! For instance, there is the legend about 'Ali's encounter with Marhab in the battle of Khaybar with all the curious details about the physique of Marhab. The historians have also written that 'Ali's sword cut him into two from the middle (I don't know whether the two halves were perfectly equal!).

But here they found the opportunity to weave out fables which are harmful for the faith. It is said that God commanded Gabriel to go immediately to the earth lest 'Ali's sword when it comes down on Marhab should cut the earth into two halves, reaching right down to the Cow and the Fish.

Gabriel was told to shield the blow with his wings. Gabriel went and when 'Ali struck the blow with his sword, it slashed Marhab into two halves which had they been put in a balance would have turned out to be exactly equal.

However, one of Gabriel's wings suffered injury and he could not ascend to the heaven for forty days. When at last he arrived in heaven, God asked him as to where he had been all these days. He replied, “O Lord! I was on the earth. You had given me an assignment to go there.” He was asked why he had taken so much time to return.

Gabriel said, “O God, the blow of 'Ali's sword wounded my wings and I was busy bandaging and healing them all these forty days!” According to another legend 'Ali's sword flew so swiftly and slickly through Marhab's forehead cutting all the way to the saddle that when 'Ali pulled away his sword Marhab himself did not know what had happened (he thought the blow had gone amiss).

He jeered at 'Ali, “Was that all of your swordsmanship?!” 'Ali' said to him, “Just move yourself a bit and see.” As soon as Marhab made a movement, one half of his body fell on one side of the horse and the other on the other side!

Hajji Nuri, this great man, in his book Lu'lu wa marjan, while condemning the practice of fabricating of such legends, writes about legends that some people have put into circulation concerning the valor of Hadrat Abu al-Fadl al-'Abbas.

According to one of them, in the Battle of Siffin (in which, basically, it is not known whether he had participated, and even if he did he must have been a boy of fifteen years) he threw a man into the air, then another, and so on up to eighty men, and by the time the last one was thrown up the first one had not yet reached the ground. Then when the first one came down, he cut him into two halves, then the second and so on to the last man!

A part of the interpolations in the narratives of the event of Karbala have resulted from the myth-making tendency. The Europeans assert that one finds many exaggerations in accounts pertaining to the history of the East, and there is some truth in what they say.

Mulla Darbandi writes in his book Asrar al-shahadah that the cavalry of the army of 'Umar ibn Sa'd consisted of six hundred thousand horsemen and twenty million infantrymen - in all a force of one million and six hundred thousand plus all the people of Kufah! Now how large was Kufah?

Kufah was a recently founded city and not more than thirty-five years old, as it was built during the time of 'Umar ibn Khattab. It was built at 'Umar's orders as a military outpost for Muslim warriors near the borders of Iran. It is not certain whether the entire population of Kufah during that time was even a hundred thousand.

That a force of one million and six hundred thousand could have been assembled on that day and that Husayn ibn 'Ali' should have killed three hundred thousand of them is not at all reasonable. Such figures cast a shadow on the whole event.

It is said that someone once made exaggerated claims about the largeness of the city of Herat in former days. He said, 'Herat was a very big city at one time.' 'How big? he was asked. He said, 'At one time there were in Herat twenty thousand one-eyed cooks named Ahmad selling head and totters stew. Now imagine how many men there must be in a city, and how many named Ahmad, and how many one-eyed Ahmads, to have twenty-one thousand one-eyed Ahmads selling head and totters stew!

This myth-making tendency has always been very active; but we must not leave a sacred document to the mercy of myth-makers.

There is amongst us, the Ahl al-Bayt, in every generation reformers who purge the faith of the perversions of the extremists, of the false beliefs of the falsifiers, and of the misinterpretations of the ignorant.2

We have a duty here. Now let anyone say anything he likes about Herat. But is it right that such legends as these should find way into the history of the event of Ashura', an event concerning which our duty is to keep it alive and revive its memory every year?

The Third Factor

The third factor is of a particular nature. The two factors that we have discussed above, that is, the hostile ends of the enemies and the human tendency for conjuring legends and myths, apply to all histories of the world, but there is also a factor which is specific to the event of Ashura' that has led to fabrication of stories.

The leaders of the faith, from the time of the Noble Messenger and the Pure Imams, have commanded in clear and emphatic terms that the memory of Husayn ibn 'Ali must be kept alive and that his martyrdom and ordeals should be commemorated every year. Why? What is the reason underlying this Islamic ordinance? Why is there so much encouragement for and emphasis on visiting the shrine of Husayn ibn 'Ali?

We should reflect over these questions. Some might say that it is for the sake of condoling with Hadrat Zahra' and offering her consolation! But is it not ridiculous to imagine that Hadrat Zahra' should still need consolation after fourteen hundred years, whereas, in accordance with the explicit statements of Imam Husayn and according to our creed, since his martyrdom Imam Husayn and Hadrat Zahra have been together in heaven?

What a thing to say! Is it correct to think of Hadrat Zahra as a little child that goes on weeping, even after fourteen centuries, and whom we have to go and console? Such kind of belief is destructive for religion. Imam Husayn ('a) established the practical ideology of Islam and he is the practical model for Islamic movements.

They (that is the Prophet and Imams) wanted Imam Husayn's ideology to be kept alive. They wanted Husayn should reappear every year with those sweet, sublime and heroic summons of his and declare”

Don't you see that what is right and true is not acted upon, and what is wrong and false is not forbidden? [In such conditions] the man of faith should long to meet his true Lord!3

They wanted the words:

Death is better than a life saddled with indignity,4

To be kept alive forever, and so also the words:

To me death is nothing but felicity, and life with oppressors is nothing but disgrace,5

They wanted such other saying of Imam Husayn to be kept alive:

The children of Adam carry the mark of death like necklaces that adorn the neck of damsels!6

Far from us is disgrace and indignity!7

They wanted to keep alive the memory of such scenes as that of Imam Husayn's confronting a force of thirty thousand men, in a state when he and his family are faced with a great ordeal and declaring in a manly manner - and the world has never seen such a manly personage!

Indeed, that baseborn son of a baseborn father has left me only two alternatives to choose from: the sword or disgrace. And far from us is disgrace! It is disdainful to God, His Messenger and the faithful that we should yield to anything of that kind, and those born of chaste mothers and high-minded fathers and possessing a lofty sense of honor disdain that submission to vile men should be preferred to honorable death!8

They wanted to keep alive the formative school of Imam Husayn so that the rays of the Husayni spirit may breathe life into this community. Its objective is quite clear.

Do not allow the event of 'Ashura' to be consigned to oblivion! Your life, your humanity, and your dignity depend on this event!

You can keep Islam alive only by its means! That is why they have encouraged us to keep alive the tradition of mourning Imam Husayn, and very rightly! The institution of mourning Husayn ibn 'Ali has a correct philosophy underlying it, a philosophy which is also extremely sublime.

It is fitting that we should do all that we can to endeavor for the sake of this cause, provided we understand its purpose and goal. Unfortunately some people have not understood it.

Without making the people understand the philosophy of Imam Husayn's uprising and without making them understand the station of Imam Husayn, they imagine that if they just came and sat in mourning assemblies and shed tears, without knowledge and understanding, it would atone their sins.

Marhum Hajji Nuri mentions a point in the book, Lu'lu' wa marjan. That point is the belief of some people that the reward (thawab) for mourning Imam Husayn is so great that it is justifiable to employ any means whatsoever for this end. Nowadays a group which subscribes to the views of Machiavilli in political thought says that ends justify the means. If the end is a good one, it does not matter what means are used to achieve it.

Now these people also say that we have a sacred and exalted goal, which is mourning Imam Husayn and it does not matter what means are used for this end. As the end is a sacred one, it does not matter what the means are: Is it correct to perform ta'ziyahs - even ta'ziyahs which are vulgar - for this purpose? They ask, 'Do they make the people cry?

If they do, there is so problem with such ta'ziyahs.' So also there is no problem if we blow trumpets, beat drums, commit sinful acts, make men dress as women, conjure a wedding for Qasim, or fabricate and forge episodes. Such things do not matter in the tradition of mourning Imam Husayn, which is something exclusive.

Here lying is forgiven, forgery and fabrication are forgivable, making pictures, and dressing men as women is pardonable. Here any kind of sinful conduct is forgivable as the end is most sacred! As a consequence of such thinking, some persons have resorted to such tahrif and misrepresentation that are stunning.

About ten or fifteen years ago when I was on a visit to Isfahan, I met a great man, marhum Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Najafabadi, may God elevate his station. I recounted to him a rawdah that I had heard recently somewhere. It was something which I had never heard until that time. Incidentally, this man who had delivered that rawdah, an opium addict, had made the people weep profusely with that rawdah of his.

In it he recounted the story of an old woman during the reign of Mutawakkil (the 'Abbasid caliph who persecuted the Shi'ah). The woman had set out with the purpose of making a pilgrimage to the tomb of Imam Husayn, which was forbidden at that time and they would cut off the hands of the pilgrims. He went on with the narrative until the point when the old woman is taken and thrown into the river. In that state she cries out for help, calling out, “O Abu al-Fadl al-'Abbas!”

As she is about to drown a horseman appears and tells her to catch hold of his stirrup. The woman takes hold of the stirrups but she says, “Why don't you give me your hand?' The horseman says, “I haven't any hands!” At this point the people wept a lot.

Marhum Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Hasan recounted for me the history of this legend. In a place near the bazaar, in the near abouts of Madrasah Sadr, there used to be held a majlis which was one of the major majalis of Isfahan and which even the marhum Hajj Mulla Isma'il Khwaju'i used to attend. One day there had occurred there an incident.

(It had taken place earlier and he had heard its account from reliable persons.) It involved a well-known wa'iz; who himself had recounted it in these words: “One day mine was the last turn to speak from the minbar.

Other speakers had come and each one of them had exerted his skills to make the people weep. Everyone that came would try to surpass his predecessor and having delivered his rawdah would descend from the minbar to sit among the audience and watch the art of the succeeding rawdeh-khwan. This continued until the time of noon.

I saw that everyone had tried his prowess and together they had drawn out all the tears that the people could shed. What should I do? I thought for a while, and then and there I made up this story.

When my turn came, I went up and related the story, leaving all of them behind. In the afternoon, the same day, while attending another majlis in the Char-suq locality, I saw that the one who took to the minbar before me related this same story. Gradually it came to be written in books and appeared in print.”

The false and wrong notion that the tradition of mourning Imam Husayn is an exception to all norms, that it is justified to use any means to make the people weep, has been a major factor leading to fabrication of legends and tahrif.

Marhum Hajji Nuri, that saintly man and teacher of marhum Hajj Shaykh 'Abbas Qummi, who as confessed by Hajj Shaykh 'Abbas himself as well as others was superior to his pupils, was an extraordinarily learned and pious man. In his book he makes the point that if it is a correct notion that the end justifies the means, then one may also justify the following line of reasoning.

One of the Islamic precepts is that bringing delight to the heart of a believer and to do something to make him happy is a greatly commendable act. Such being the case, according to this reasoning, it is justifiable to do backbiting in his presence, as he loves listening to backbiting. And should someone say that it is sinful to do so, the answer will be,” No! The purpose is a sacred one and the backbiting is being done to make a believer pleased and happy!”

Marhum Hajji Nuri gives another example. A man embraces a non-mahram woman, which is an unlawful act. We ask him why did you do that?He replies, “I have done it for a believer's delight.” The same reasoning can be applied to such unlawful acts as adultery, drinking wine, and sodomy. Isn't this an absurd reasoning?

Wouldn't such a notion destroy the Shari'ah? By God, to think that it is permissible to use any kind of means for making people cry in mourning Imam Husayn is a notion that contradicts everything that Imam Husayn stands for. Imam Husayn was martyred to uplift Islam, as we confess while reciting his ziyarah:

I bear witness that you established the prayer, gave zakat commanded what is right and forbade what is wrong, and did such jihad in the way of God as ought to be done.9

Imam Husayn was killed in order to revive Islamic traditions, Islamic laws and regulations, not in order to create an excuse for the violation of Islamic norms. Na'udhubillah, we have changed Imam Husayn into a destroyer of Islam: the Imam Husayn that we have conjured in our imagination is a destroyer of Islam.

In his book Hajji Nuri mentions a story that was related to him by one of the students in Najaf, who originally came from Yazd. “One day,” he said, “in my youth I made a journey on foot to Khorasan, going by the road that passes through the desert (kawr). In one of the villages of Nayshabur I went to a mosque, as I did not have any place to stay.

The imam of the mosque came and led the prayers. Afterwards he went on the minbar to make a rawdah I was amazed to see the mosque attendant bring a pile of stones which he handed over to the imam. When the rawdah started, he ordered the lamps to be put out. When the lamps had been put out, he pelted the stones at the audience and there arose cries from the people. When the lamps were lighted, I saw bleeding heads.

Their eyes were tearful as they walked out of the mosque. I approached the imam and asked him why he had done such a thing. He said, 'I have tested these people. There is no rawdah in the world that will make them weep. As weeping for the sake of Imam Husayn has a great reward and thawab, I have found that the only way to make them cry is to throw stones on their heads.

This is how I make them weep.' “ He believed that the end justifies the means. The end was to mourn Imam Husayn though it should involve emptying a pile of stones on the people's heads.

Accordingly, this is a particular factor which is specific to this historic event and it has led to much fabrication and tahrif.

When one studies history one finds what they have done to this event. By God, Hajji Nuri is right when he says that if we were to weep for Imam Husayn today, we should mourn for him on account of these falsehoods, fabrications and tahrif!

There is a well-known book called Rawdat al-shuhada'. whose author was Mulla Husayn Kashifi. According to Hajji Nuri, he was the first to write in his book the stories of Za'far the Jinn and the one about Qasim's wedding. I have read this book.

I used to imagine that it contained only one or two of such cases. But afterwards when I read it I saw that the matter was very much different. This book, which is in Persian, was compiled about five-hundred years ago.

Mulla Husayn Kashifi was a scholar and learned man. He has authored several books including the Anwar suhayli. His biographical accounts do not indicate whether he was a Shi'i or a Sunni. Basically he was a Chameleon: among the Shi'ah he would pose as an outright Shi'i, while amongst the Sunnis he would pass as a Hanafi.

He was a native of Sabzawar, a Shi'i centre whose people were staunch Shi'is. In Sabzawar he would act as an out and out Shi'i, and at times when he would go to Herat ('Abd al-Rahman Jami was the husband of his sister or sister-in-law) he would give sermons for the Sunnis in the Sunni style. But in Sabzawar he narrated the tragedies of Karbala'.

His death occurred around 910/1504, that is, either at the end of the 9th or the beginning of the 10th century. This was the first book, compiled about five hundred years ago, to be written as an elegiac narrative (marthiyah).

Earlier the people used to refer to the primary sources. Shaykh Mufid, may God be pleased with him, wrote the Irshad and how sound is his narration! If we were to refer to the Irshad of Shaykh Mufid we would not stand in need of any other source.

Tabari, among Sunni authors, has also written about it. Ya'qubi, Ibn 'Asakir and Khwarazmi have also written. I don't know what this unjust man has done! When I read this book I saw that even the names are spurious. He mentions names among Imam Husayn's companions that never existed. He mentions names of the enemy's men which are also spurious. He has turned the factual accounts of the event into fables.

As this was the first book to be written in Persian, the orators in mourning assemblies, who were mostly illiterate and could not use the Arabic texts, would take this book and read from it in the mourning sessions.

That is why the gatherings that are held nowadays to mourn Imam Husayn are called rawdeh-khwani. Rawdeh-khwani was not in vogue during the time of Imam Sadiq or Imam Hasan 'Askari, nor it was prevalent during the times of Sayyid Murtada [d 436/1044] or even Khwajah Nasir al-Din al-Tusi [d. 672/1273].

Rawdeh-khwani came into vogue since the last five hundred years and it came to be called as such. Rawdeh-khwani meant reading from the book Rawdat al-shuhada', a pack of lies. From the time that this book fell into the hands of the people, no one has bothered to study the actual history of Imam Husayn.

Then, about sixty or seventy years ago, there appeared another man, the marhum Mulla Darbandi. He took all the contents of the Rawdat al-shahuda' and compiled them together with other material, collecting it all in a book called Asrar al-shahadah. The contents of this book make one lament for the fate of Islam.

Hajji Nuri writes, “We used to attend the lectures of Hajj Shaykh 'Abd al-Husayn Tehrani (who was a very saintly man) and benefited from his teaching. A sayyid from Hillah, who was a rawdeh-khwan, came to meet him and he showed him a book written about the events of Imam Husayn's martyrdom (maqtal, plural: maqatil) to see whether its contents were reliable.

This book did not have any beginning or end. Only at one place in it was mentioned the name of a certain mulla of Jabl al-'Amil who was among the pupils of the author of the Ma'alim al-usul. Marhum Hajj Shaykh 'Abd al-Husayn took the book to examine it.

First he studied the biographical accounts of that scholar and found that such a book had not been attributed to him. Then he read the book itself and found it to be full of falsehoods. He said to that sayyid, 'This book is a pack of lies.

Don't circulate this book and don't quote anything from it, for it is unlawful to do so. Basically this book has not been written by that scholar and its contents are spurious.' “ Hajji Nuri says that the same book fell into the hands of the author of Asrar al-shahadah and he copied all its contents into his book, from the beginning to the end!”

Hajji Nuri relates another episode, which is rather touching. Once a man came to author of the Maqami'10 and said to him, “Last night I saw a horrible dream.” “What was it?” he asked him. He said, “I saw that I am biting away flesh from the body of Imam Husayn.” The scholar trembled on hearing these words.

He lowered his head and thought for a while. Then he said, “Perhaps you are a marthiyeh-khwan?”. “Yes, I am,” he replied. He said, “Hereafter, either abandon marthiyeh-khwani altogether or draw your material from reliable books. You are tearing away the flesh Imam Husayn, with these lies of yours. It was God's grace that He showed this to you in a dream.”

If one studies the history of 'Ashura' one will find that it is the most vivid and well-documented of histories with plenty of sources. The marhum Akhund Khurasani used to say, “Those who are ever after 'new' rawdahs should go and read the true accounts, for no one has ever heard them”

One should study the addresses of Imam Husayn ('a) delivered in Makkah - in the Hijaz as a whole - at Karbala', during his journey, as well as the sermons addressed to his companions, the questions and answers that took place between him and others, the letters that were exchanged between him and other people, the letters that were exchanged between the enemies themselves, in addition to the accounts of those (from among the friends as well the enemies) who were present on the occasion of 'Ashura'.

There were three or four persons from among Imam Husayn's companions who survived, including a slave named 'Uqbah ibn Sam'an, who had accompanied the Imam from Makkah and lived to write the accounts pertaining to the Imam's troops.

He was captured on the day of 'Ashura' but was released when he told them that he was a slave. Humayd ibn Muslim was another chronicler who accompanied the army of 'Umar ibn Sa'd. Of those present on the occasion was Imam Zayn al-'Abidin ('a) himself who has recounted all the events. There is no blind spot in the history of Imam Husayn ('a).

Hajji Nuri refers to a spurious story that relates to Imam Zayn al-'Abidin ('a). According to it when there remained no companion with Hadrat Abu 'Abd Allah ('a), the Hadrat went into the tent of Imam Zayn al- 'Abidin ('a) to bid him good-bye. Imam Zayn al-'Abidin ('a) asked him, “Father! How did things come about between you and these people? (that is, Imam Zayn al-'Abidin was unaware of what was happening until that time).

The Imam said to him, “Son, this matter has ultimately led to a battle.” 'What happened to Habib ibn Mazahir?, asked Imam Zayn al-'Abidin. “He was killed,” replied the Imam. “How about Zuhayr ibn Qayn?”

“He was also killed,” replied the Imam. “What happened to Burayr ibn Hudayr?” “He was killed,” said Imam Husayn ('a). Imam Zayn al-'Abidin continued naming each of his father's companions one after another and the Imam's reply was the same.

Then he asked concerning the men of Banu Hashim. “What happened to Qasim ibn Hasan?” What happened to my brother 'Ali Akbar?” “What happened to my uncle Abu al-Fadl The answer was the same: “He has been killed.” This is a fabrication and a lie. Imam Zayn al-'Abidin, na'udhubillah, was not so sick and unconscious as not to know what was going on.

Historians have written that even in that state of illness he rose from his bed and said to Zaynab, “Aunt, bring me my staff and give me a sword.” In any case, Imam Zayn al-'Abidin ('a) was one of those who were present on the scene and related the accounts of events.

Truly, we should be penitent for these crimes and treacheries that we are guilty of in respect of Abu 'Abd Allah al-Husayn ('a), his companions, comrades and members of his family, and for effacing all their achievements. He should do penance and then make effort to derive benefit from this most educative source.

Is there any inadequacy in the life of 'Abbas ibn 'Ali as recounted in the reliable maqatil (accounts of martyrdom)? The single point that there was no danger to his own life is enough to be a matter of pride for him. Imam Husayn had also told him, “They are only after me, and if they kill me, they will not have anything again anyone else.”

At Kufah, when Shimr ibn Dhi al-Jawshan was departing for Karbala', one of those who were present said to Ibn Ziyad that some of his relatives on the mother's side were with Husayn ibn 'Ali. He requested Ibn Ziyad to write a letter granting them amnesty, and Ibn Ziyad wrote it. Shimr belonged to a clan that had remote ties with the tribe of Umm al-Banin (the mother of Abu al-Fadl). Shimr personally brought this letter of amnesty on the night following the ninth day of Muharram.

This wretch approached the camp of Husayn ibn 'Ali and shouted, “Where are my nephews!” (ayna banu ukhtina?!).11 Abu al-Fadl, along with his full brothers, was sitting with Hadrat Abu 'Abd Allah ('a). He remained silent and did not reply, until the Imam said to him, “Answer him, though he be an evil man (ajibuhu in kana fasiqa). At the Imam's leave, he answered Shimr, saying, “What do you want?” (Ma taqul?). Shimr said, “I have come with some good news for you.

I have brought a letter of amnesty for you from the emir, 'Ubayd Allah. You are now free, and you will be safe if you leave now.” Abu al-Fadl said to him, “May God damn you and your emir, as well as the letter that you bring. Do you think we will abandon our Imam and brother for the sake of our own safety?”

On the night of 'Ashura', the first person to declare his loyalty towards Abu 'Abd Allah was his brother Abu al-Fadl. Aside from the foolish exaggerations that are often made, that which is confirmed by history is that Abu al-Fadl was a very wise person, valiant and courageous, tall and most handsome. He had been nicknamed 'The Moon of the Hashimis.'12 These things are true. To be sure, he had inherited Ali's courage.

The story is also true regarding his mother, that Ali' had asked 'Aqil, his brother, to propose a woman born of a heroic descent (waladatha al-fuhulah)13 who might give birth to son who would be a warrior and man of valour (li-talidani farisan shuja'ah).14 'Aqil had suggested Umm al-Banin. So much of it is true. 'Ali's wish was fulfilled in Abu al-Fadl.

According to one of two reports, on the day of 'Ashura' Abu al-Fadl came to the Imam and said, “Dear brother, now give me the permission. This breast of mine is suffocated and I can bear it no more. I want to sacrifice my life for your sake.”

I don't know the reason why Imam responded to Hadrat Abu al-Fadl's request in the manner that he did. Abu 'Abd Allah himself knows better. He said, “Brother, now that you want to leave, try to get some water for these children.”

Hadrat Abu al-Fadl had already come to receive the nickname Saqqa (water carrier), as earlier, on one or two occasions, at nights he had been able to pass through the enemy's ranks to fetch water for the children in Abu 'Abd Allah's camp. It was not the case that they had not drunk any water for three days and nights.

Access to water had been closed for three days and nights, but during this time they had been able to get some water on one or two occasions, including the night of 'Ashura', when they had taken bath and washed their bodies. Abu al-Fadl consented.

Now note this majestic scene! What greatness! What valour! What a spirit of understanding and self-sacrifice! A lone warrior, alone by himself, advances against a host. The number of men who guarded the river bank was four thousand. He descends along the river bank and leads his horse into the water (all historians have written this).

First, he fills the waterskin that he has brought and lays it on his shoulder. He is thirsty. The air is hot and has been fighting. But as he sits on the back of his horse and the horse stands in water reaching up to its belly, he lowers his hands into water, takes water into them and raises them somewhat towards his sacred lips.

Those who were watching from a distance report that he hesitated for a while. Then they saw that he threw the water back and came out of the river without drinking any. No one knew why Abu Al-Fadl did not drink water there. But when he came out he recited rajaz verses which were addressed to himself. Now from these verses they understood why he had not drunk water:

O soul of Abu al-Fadl!

My wish is that you live not after Husayn!

Will you have a drink of cold water,

While there stands Husayn, thirsty, near the tents,

And about to drink the cup of death!?

Such is not the way of my faith,

Nor that of one who abides in conviction and truth!15

What would become of manliness? Of honour? Of caring love? And of sharing in the hardship of one's dear ones? Isn't Husayn your Imam, and you his follower?

While Husayn is about to drink the cup of death,

Will you have a drink of cold water?

Never! My faith does not permit me to do that! My loyalty does not allow me to do such a thing! Abu al-Fadl changed his route while returning and now he came through the palm groves. Earlier, he had come by the direct way, but he knew that he now carried a precious trust with him.

So he changed his route and all his concern now was to get the water safely to the camp, for it was possible that a single arrow may pierce the waterskin and fail his task of bringing the water to its destination. In the mean while they heard that Abu al-Fadl had changed his rajaz. It appeared that something had happened. Now he cried out:

By God!

Even if you sever my right arm,

I will persist in defending my faith,

And the Imam, who is the true one, for certain,

the Prophet's grandson, pure and trustworthy!16

That is, by God even if you cut my right arm I will not flinch from defending Husayn. Not much time passed when his rajaz changed again:

O my soul, fear not the faithless,

And receive the good news of Almighty's mercy,

In the company of the Prophet, the Master and the Elect,

Though, insolently, they should slash my left arm!17

These rajaz verses signaled that his left arm too had been severed. They write that with characteristic dexterity he somehow turned the water-skin and bent himself over it. I will not say what happened thereafter as it is most heart rending.

It is a custom to recount the account of the ordeals of this great human being on the night of Tasu'ah (9th Muharram). Let me add that Umm al-Banin, the mother of Hadrat Abu al-Fadl was alive at the time of the event of Karbala', though she was in Madinah at the time. She was given the news that all her four sons were martyred at Karbala'.

This saintly woman would go to the Baqi' cemetery and mourn over her sons. They write that her elegies were so full of pathos that they brought tears to everyone who heard them, even Marwan ibn Hakam, who was the staunchest of the enemies of the Prophet's family.

Sometimes she would remember all her sons and, at times, especially Abu al-Fadl, the eldest of them, who was senior most of the brothers, both in respect of age as well as in respect of spiritual and bodily merits.

I remember one of her two elegies and I will recite them for you. These are the elegiac verses that this grieved mother recited in mourning for her sons (in general, the Arabs recite elegiac verses in a very touching style):

You, who have seen 'Abbas make repeated forays against the base hosts,

And following him were the Lion's sons, each a mighty lion!

I have been told, my son's head was struck when his arms were cut,

Alas for my Lion's cub! Did a club fall on his head?

O 'Abbas! None would have dared to approach it,

Were your sword in your hand!18

That is, 'O observant eye, tell me, you who have been in Karbala' and watched its scenes and observed the moment when Abu al-Fadl, my son of a lion, with my other lion's cubs following him, attacked that cowardly crowd - tell me is it true what I have been told?

They say that when they had cut my son's arms an iron club fell on my dear one's head. Is that true?' Then she says, “Abu al-Fadl! My dear! I know that if you had arms there wasn't a man in the whole world to have the guts to face you! They had the temerity to do that because your arms had been severed from your body.

Notes

1. During the nights of the 'id of Ghadir, Dr. Shari'ati delivered an excellent lecture on this general human tendency for hero-worship and making of myths and legends, turning historic figures into legendary heroes with extraordinary and superhuman characteristics.

2. Al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi, “kitab fadl al-'ilm”, p. 32; al-Saffar, Basa'ir al-darajat, p.10

3. Bihar al-anwar, vol. 44, p. 381; Tuhaf al-'uqul, p. 176; al-Luhuf, 33; al-Khwarazmi's Maqtal al-Husayn, ii, p. 5.

4. Ibn Shahr Ashub, al-Manaqib, iv, p. 110; al-Luhuf, p. 50, Bihar al-anwar, vol. 45, p. 50; al-Irbili, Kashf al-ghummah, ii, p. 32.

5. Bihar al-anwar, vol. 44, p. 381; Tuhaf al-'uqul, p. 176; al-Luhuf, 33.

6. Bihar al-anwar, vol. 44, p. 366; al-Luhuf, p. 25.

7. Al-Luhuf, p. 41; Khwarazmi's Maqtal al-Husayn, ii, p. 7; Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'rikh al-Sham, iv, p. 333; al-Muqarrim's Maqtal al-Husayn, p. 287; al-Harrani, Tuhaf al-'uqul, p. 176; Shaykh 'Abbas al-Qummi, Nafs al-mahmum, p. 149, Mulhaqat Ihqaq al-haqq, xi, pp. 624-625.

8. Ibid.

9. Mafatih al-janan, the ziyarah of Imam Husayn ('a) for the nights of 'Id al-Fitr and 'Id al-Adha.

10. Marhum Aqa Muhammad Ali was the son of marhum Wahid Behbahani and both of them were great men. Marhum Aqa Muhammad Ali migrated to Kirmanshah where he wielded great influence.

11. al-Muqarrim's Maqtal al Husayn, p. 252, Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 44, p. 391, al-Luhuf, p. 37

12. al-Muqarrim's al-Abbas, p. 81; Ibn Shahr Ashub, al-Manaqib, iv, p. 108

13. al-Muqarrim's al-Abbas, p. 69

14. Ibsar al-ayn fi ansar al-Husayn alayh al-salam, p. 26

15. Yanabi al-mawaddah, ii, p. 165; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 45, p. 41

16. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 45, p. 40

17. Ibid.

18. Muntaha al-amal, I, p. 386.

'Ashura - Misrepresentations and Distortions part 2

Authors(s): Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahhari

Translator(s): Ali Quli Qara'i

Publisher(s): al-Tawhid Islamic Journal

Journal: Vol.13, No.4

Second Sermon: 'Ashura - History and Popular Legend

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

All Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and the Maker of all creation, and may Peace and benedictions be upon His servant and messenger, His beloved and elect, our master, our prophet, and our sire, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, may Allah bless him and his pure, immaculate, and infallible Progeny.

I seek the refuge of Allah from the accursed Satan:

“So for their breaking their compact We cursed them and made their hearts hard; they would pervert the words from their meanings, and they forgot a portion of what they were reminded of.” (5:13)

We said that the event of 'Ashura' has been subject to tahrif and it has occurred both in its outward form as well as its inner content. A consequence of these distortions has been that this great historic document and this great educative source has become ineffectual or less potent, in our lives, leaving, at times, even an opposite effect.

All of us have the duty to purge it of the distortions that have polluted this sacred document. Tonight we will discuss the general factors responsible for tahrif. Thereafter our discussion will focus on tahrif in the content and significance of this event.

The Factors of Tahrif

These factors are of two kinds, one of which is of a general nature. That is, there are in general certain factors that lead to the corruption of histories and these are not limited to the event of 'Ashura' alone. For instance, the enemy's motives are themselves a factor that distort an event. In order to achieve their purposes, the enemies bring about alterations in historical texts or misinterpret them. There are many examples of it which I do not wish to mention here.

All that I would say is that this kind of tahrif did play a role in distorting the facts of Karbala', and the enemies did take resort in misrepresenting the uprising of Imam Husayn. As usually happens, the enemies accuse sacred movements of causing conflict and division and of disrupting social harmony and peace. The Umayyad regime also made much effort to give such a hue to the Husayni uprising.

Such propaganda began from the very first day. When Muslim arrived in Kufah, Yazid, while sending an order appointing Ibn Ziyad to the governership of Kufah, wrote: “Muslim, son of 'Aqil, has gone to Kufah and his aim is to disrupt peace and to create social discord and disunity in the Muslim community. Go and suppress him.”

When Muslim was captured and brought to the dar al-imarah, the governor's residency, Ibn Ziyad said to Muslim: “Son of 'Aqil! What was it that brought you to this city? The people here lived in satisfaction and peace.

You came and disrupted their peace, causing disunity and conflict amongst Muslims.” Muslim answered in a manly manner and said: “Firstly, I did not come to this city on my own account. It was the people of this city who invited us.

They wrote a great number of letters, which are in our possession. In those letters they wrote that your father, Ziyad, who ruled this city for years, had killed its virtuous men and imposed its scoundrels over the virtuous, subjecting them to various forms of tyranny and injustice. They appealed to us to help them establish justice. We have come to establish justice!”

The Umayyad regime did wage much propaganda of this kind, but their misrepresentations did not affect the history of Islam. You will not find a single competent historian in the world who might have said that Husayn ibn 'Ali, naudhubillah, made an unlawful uprising that he rose to cause conflict and disunity among the people. No.

The enemy could not bring about any misrepresentation in [the history of] the event of Karbala'. Most regrettably, whatever tahrif has occurred in the event of Karbala' has been at the hands of the friends.

The Second Factor

The second factor is the human tendency towards myth-making and for turning facts into legends. This tendency has been at work in all the world's historical traditions. There is a tendency in men for hero worship which induces the people to fabricate myths and legends about national and religious heroes.1

The best evidence of it are the legends that the people have invented around the figures of some geniuses such as Ibn Sina and Shaykh Baha'i. Ibn Sina, undoubtedly, was a genius and was gifted with extraordinary physical and intellectual powers. But these very gifts have led the people to weave out legends about him.

For instance, it is said that once Ibn Sina saw a man from a distance of one parasang and remarked that the man was eating bread made with oil. They asked him how he could know that the man was eating bread and that it was made with oil.

He replied that he saw flies circling the bread, which had made him conclude that there was oil in the bread. Obviously, this is a legend. Someone who can see flies from the distance of one parasang will see bread made with oil much sooner than he would see flies!

Or it is said that once during the time that Ibn Sina was studying at Isfahan he complained that when he gets up in the middle of the night to study, he was disturbed by the noise of the hammering of the coppersmiths of Kashan.

They went and made a test. One night they told the coppersmiths of Kashan not to use their hammers. That night, said Ibn Sina, he had slept peacefully and was undisturbed in his study. Obviously this is a legend.

Many such legends have been made about Shaykh Bahi'i as well. Such things are not confined to the event of 'Ashura. However, let the people say what they would about Ibn Sina. What harm does it do?

None! But in respect of individuals who are guides of mankind and whose words and deeds and whose stands and uprisings serve as a model and authority, there should not be any tahrif whatsoever in their statements, in their personality, and history.

How many legends have been fabricated by us Shi'is about Amir al Mu'minin 'Ali, many Peace be upon him! There is no doubt that 'Ali ('a) was an extraordinary man. No one has doubts about 'Ali's courage which was superior to that of any ordinary human being. 'Ali did not encounter any contestant in battle without felling him to the ground.

But does that satisfy the myth makers? Never! For instance, there is the legend about 'Ali's encounter with Marhab in the battle of Khaybar with all the curious details about the physique of Marhab. The historians have also written that 'Ali's sword cut him into two from the middle (I don't know whether the two halves were perfectly equal!).

But here they found the opportunity to weave out fables which are harmful for the faith. It is said that God commanded Gabriel to go immediately to the earth lest 'Ali's sword when it comes down on Marhab should cut the earth into two halves, reaching right down to the Cow and the Fish.

Gabriel was told to shield the blow with his wings. Gabriel went and when 'Ali struck the blow with his sword, it slashed Marhab into two halves which had they been put in a balance would have turned out to be exactly equal.

However, one of Gabriel's wings suffered injury and he could not ascend to the heaven for forty days. When at last he arrived in heaven, God asked him as to where he had been all these days. He replied, “O Lord! I was on the earth. You had given me an assignment to go there.” He was asked why he had taken so much time to return.

Gabriel said, “O God, the blow of 'Ali's sword wounded my wings and I was busy bandaging and healing them all these forty days!” According to another legend 'Ali's sword flew so swiftly and slickly through Marhab's forehead cutting all the way to the saddle that when 'Ali pulled away his sword Marhab himself did not know what had happened (he thought the blow had gone amiss).

He jeered at 'Ali, “Was that all of your swordsmanship?!” 'Ali' said to him, “Just move yourself a bit and see.” As soon as Marhab made a movement, one half of his body fell on one side of the horse and the other on the other side!

Hajji Nuri, this great man, in his book Lu'lu wa marjan, while condemning the practice of fabricating of such legends, writes about legends that some people have put into circulation concerning the valor of Hadrat Abu al-Fadl al-'Abbas.

According to one of them, in the Battle of Siffin (in which, basically, it is not known whether he had participated, and even if he did he must have been a boy of fifteen years) he threw a man into the air, then another, and so on up to eighty men, and by the time the last one was thrown up the first one had not yet reached the ground. Then when the first one came down, he cut him into two halves, then the second and so on to the last man!

A part of the interpolations in the narratives of the event of Karbala have resulted from the myth-making tendency. The Europeans assert that one finds many exaggerations in accounts pertaining to the history of the East, and there is some truth in what they say.

Mulla Darbandi writes in his book Asrar al-shahadah that the cavalry of the army of 'Umar ibn Sa'd consisted of six hundred thousand horsemen and twenty million infantrymen - in all a force of one million and six hundred thousand plus all the people of Kufah! Now how large was Kufah?

Kufah was a recently founded city and not more than thirty-five years old, as it was built during the time of 'Umar ibn Khattab. It was built at 'Umar's orders as a military outpost for Muslim warriors near the borders of Iran. It is not certain whether the entire population of Kufah during that time was even a hundred thousand.

That a force of one million and six hundred thousand could have been assembled on that day and that Husayn ibn 'Ali' should have killed three hundred thousand of them is not at all reasonable. Such figures cast a shadow on the whole event.

It is said that someone once made exaggerated claims about the largeness of the city of Herat in former days. He said, 'Herat was a very big city at one time.' 'How big? he was asked. He said, 'At one time there were in Herat twenty thousand one-eyed cooks named Ahmad selling head and totters stew. Now imagine how many men there must be in a city, and how many named Ahmad, and how many one-eyed Ahmads, to have twenty-one thousand one-eyed Ahmads selling head and totters stew!

This myth-making tendency has always been very active; but we must not leave a sacred document to the mercy of myth-makers.

There is amongst us, the Ahl al-Bayt, in every generation reformers who purge the faith of the perversions of the extremists, of the false beliefs of the falsifiers, and of the misinterpretations of the ignorant.2

We have a duty here. Now let anyone say anything he likes about Herat. But is it right that such legends as these should find way into the history of the event of Ashura', an event concerning which our duty is to keep it alive and revive its memory every year?

The Third Factor

The third factor is of a particular nature. The two factors that we have discussed above, that is, the hostile ends of the enemies and the human tendency for conjuring legends and myths, apply to all histories of the world, but there is also a factor which is specific to the event of Ashura' that has led to fabrication of stories.

The leaders of the faith, from the time of the Noble Messenger and the Pure Imams, have commanded in clear and emphatic terms that the memory of Husayn ibn 'Ali must be kept alive and that his martyrdom and ordeals should be commemorated every year. Why? What is the reason underlying this Islamic ordinance? Why is there so much encouragement for and emphasis on visiting the shrine of Husayn ibn 'Ali?

We should reflect over these questions. Some might say that it is for the sake of condoling with Hadrat Zahra' and offering her consolation! But is it not ridiculous to imagine that Hadrat Zahra' should still need consolation after fourteen hundred years, whereas, in accordance with the explicit statements of Imam Husayn and according to our creed, since his martyrdom Imam Husayn and Hadrat Zahra have been together in heaven?

What a thing to say! Is it correct to think of Hadrat Zahra as a little child that goes on weeping, even after fourteen centuries, and whom we have to go and console? Such kind of belief is destructive for religion. Imam Husayn ('a) established the practical ideology of Islam and he is the practical model for Islamic movements.

They (that is the Prophet and Imams) wanted Imam Husayn's ideology to be kept alive. They wanted Husayn should reappear every year with those sweet, sublime and heroic summons of his and declare”

Don't you see that what is right and true is not acted upon, and what is wrong and false is not forbidden? [In such conditions] the man of faith should long to meet his true Lord!3

They wanted the words:

Death is better than a life saddled with indignity,4

To be kept alive forever, and so also the words:

To me death is nothing but felicity, and life with oppressors is nothing but disgrace,5

They wanted such other saying of Imam Husayn to be kept alive:

The children of Adam carry the mark of death like necklaces that adorn the neck of damsels!6

Far from us is disgrace and indignity!7

They wanted to keep alive the memory of such scenes as that of Imam Husayn's confronting a force of thirty thousand men, in a state when he and his family are faced with a great ordeal and declaring in a manly manner - and the world has never seen such a manly personage!

Indeed, that baseborn son of a baseborn father has left me only two alternatives to choose from: the sword or disgrace. And far from us is disgrace! It is disdainful to God, His Messenger and the faithful that we should yield to anything of that kind, and those born of chaste mothers and high-minded fathers and possessing a lofty sense of honor disdain that submission to vile men should be preferred to honorable death!8

They wanted to keep alive the formative school of Imam Husayn so that the rays of the Husayni spirit may breathe life into this community. Its objective is quite clear.

Do not allow the event of 'Ashura' to be consigned to oblivion! Your life, your humanity, and your dignity depend on this event!

You can keep Islam alive only by its means! That is why they have encouraged us to keep alive the tradition of mourning Imam Husayn, and very rightly! The institution of mourning Husayn ibn 'Ali has a correct philosophy underlying it, a philosophy which is also extremely sublime.

It is fitting that we should do all that we can to endeavor for the sake of this cause, provided we understand its purpose and goal. Unfortunately some people have not understood it.

Without making the people understand the philosophy of Imam Husayn's uprising and without making them understand the station of Imam Husayn, they imagine that if they just came and sat in mourning assemblies and shed tears, without knowledge and understanding, it would atone their sins.

Marhum Hajji Nuri mentions a point in the book, Lu'lu' wa marjan. That point is the belief of some people that the reward (thawab) for mourning Imam Husayn is so great that it is justifiable to employ any means whatsoever for this end. Nowadays a group which subscribes to the views of Machiavilli in political thought says that ends justify the means. If the end is a good one, it does not matter what means are used to achieve it.

Now these people also say that we have a sacred and exalted goal, which is mourning Imam Husayn and it does not matter what means are used for this end. As the end is a sacred one, it does not matter what the means are: Is it correct to perform ta'ziyahs - even ta'ziyahs which are vulgar - for this purpose? They ask, 'Do they make the people cry?

If they do, there is so problem with such ta'ziyahs.' So also there is no problem if we blow trumpets, beat drums, commit sinful acts, make men dress as women, conjure a wedding for Qasim, or fabricate and forge episodes. Such things do not matter in the tradition of mourning Imam Husayn, which is something exclusive.

Here lying is forgiven, forgery and fabrication are forgivable, making pictures, and dressing men as women is pardonable. Here any kind of sinful conduct is forgivable as the end is most sacred! As a consequence of such thinking, some persons have resorted to such tahrif and misrepresentation that are stunning.

About ten or fifteen years ago when I was on a visit to Isfahan, I met a great man, marhum Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Najafabadi, may God elevate his station. I recounted to him a rawdah that I had heard recently somewhere. It was something which I had never heard until that time. Incidentally, this man who had delivered that rawdah, an opium addict, had made the people weep profusely with that rawdah of his.

In it he recounted the story of an old woman during the reign of Mutawakkil (the 'Abbasid caliph who persecuted the Shi'ah). The woman had set out with the purpose of making a pilgrimage to the tomb of Imam Husayn, which was forbidden at that time and they would cut off the hands of the pilgrims. He went on with the narrative until the point when the old woman is taken and thrown into the river. In that state she cries out for help, calling out, “O Abu al-Fadl al-'Abbas!”

As she is about to drown a horseman appears and tells her to catch hold of his stirrup. The woman takes hold of the stirrups but she says, “Why don't you give me your hand?' The horseman says, “I haven't any hands!” At this point the people wept a lot.

Marhum Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Hasan recounted for me the history of this legend. In a place near the bazaar, in the near abouts of Madrasah Sadr, there used to be held a majlis which was one of the major majalis of Isfahan and which even the marhum Hajj Mulla Isma'il Khwaju'i used to attend. One day there had occurred there an incident.

(It had taken place earlier and he had heard its account from reliable persons.) It involved a well-known wa'iz; who himself had recounted it in these words: “One day mine was the last turn to speak from the minbar.

Other speakers had come and each one of them had exerted his skills to make the people weep. Everyone that came would try to surpass his predecessor and having delivered his rawdah would descend from the minbar to sit among the audience and watch the art of the succeeding rawdeh-khwan. This continued until the time of noon.

I saw that everyone had tried his prowess and together they had drawn out all the tears that the people could shed. What should I do? I thought for a while, and then and there I made up this story.

When my turn came, I went up and related the story, leaving all of them behind. In the afternoon, the same day, while attending another majlis in the Char-suq locality, I saw that the one who took to the minbar before me related this same story. Gradually it came to be written in books and appeared in print.”

The false and wrong notion that the tradition of mourning Imam Husayn is an exception to all norms, that it is justified to use any means to make the people weep, has been a major factor leading to fabrication of legends and tahrif.

Marhum Hajji Nuri, that saintly man and teacher of marhum Hajj Shaykh 'Abbas Qummi, who as confessed by Hajj Shaykh 'Abbas himself as well as others was superior to his pupils, was an extraordinarily learned and pious man. In his book he makes the point that if it is a correct notion that the end justifies the means, then one may also justify the following line of reasoning.

One of the Islamic precepts is that bringing delight to the heart of a believer and to do something to make him happy is a greatly commendable act. Such being the case, according to this reasoning, it is justifiable to do backbiting in his presence, as he loves listening to backbiting. And should someone say that it is sinful to do so, the answer will be,” No! The purpose is a sacred one and the backbiting is being done to make a believer pleased and happy!”

Marhum Hajji Nuri gives another example. A man embraces a non-mahram woman, which is an unlawful act. We ask him why did you do that?He replies, “I have done it for a believer's delight.” The same reasoning can be applied to such unlawful acts as adultery, drinking wine, and sodomy. Isn't this an absurd reasoning?

Wouldn't such a notion destroy the Shari'ah? By God, to think that it is permissible to use any kind of means for making people cry in mourning Imam Husayn is a notion that contradicts everything that Imam Husayn stands for. Imam Husayn was martyred to uplift Islam, as we confess while reciting his ziyarah:

I bear witness that you established the prayer, gave zakat commanded what is right and forbade what is wrong, and did such jihad in the way of God as ought to be done.9

Imam Husayn was killed in order to revive Islamic traditions, Islamic laws and regulations, not in order to create an excuse for the violation of Islamic norms. Na'udhubillah, we have changed Imam Husayn into a destroyer of Islam: the Imam Husayn that we have conjured in our imagination is a destroyer of Islam.

In his book Hajji Nuri mentions a story that was related to him by one of the students in Najaf, who originally came from Yazd. “One day,” he said, “in my youth I made a journey on foot to Khorasan, going by the road that passes through the desert (kawr). In one of the villages of Nayshabur I went to a mosque, as I did not have any place to stay.

The imam of the mosque came and led the prayers. Afterwards he went on the minbar to make a rawdah I was amazed to see the mosque attendant bring a pile of stones which he handed over to the imam. When the rawdah started, he ordered the lamps to be put out. When the lamps had been put out, he pelted the stones at the audience and there arose cries from the people. When the lamps were lighted, I saw bleeding heads.

Their eyes were tearful as they walked out of the mosque. I approached the imam and asked him why he had done such a thing. He said, 'I have tested these people. There is no rawdah in the world that will make them weep. As weeping for the sake of Imam Husayn has a great reward and thawab, I have found that the only way to make them cry is to throw stones on their heads.

This is how I make them weep.' “ He believed that the end justifies the means. The end was to mourn Imam Husayn though it should involve emptying a pile of stones on the people's heads.

Accordingly, this is a particular factor which is specific to this historic event and it has led to much fabrication and tahrif.

When one studies history one finds what they have done to this event. By God, Hajji Nuri is right when he says that if we were to weep for Imam Husayn today, we should mourn for him on account of these falsehoods, fabrications and tahrif!

There is a well-known book called Rawdat al-shuhada'. whose author was Mulla Husayn Kashifi. According to Hajji Nuri, he was the first to write in his book the stories of Za'far the Jinn and the one about Qasim's wedding. I have read this book.

I used to imagine that it contained only one or two of such cases. But afterwards when I read it I saw that the matter was very much different. This book, which is in Persian, was compiled about five-hundred years ago.

Mulla Husayn Kashifi was a scholar and learned man. He has authored several books including the Anwar suhayli. His biographical accounts do not indicate whether he was a Shi'i or a Sunni. Basically he was a Chameleon: among the Shi'ah he would pose as an outright Shi'i, while amongst the Sunnis he would pass as a Hanafi.

He was a native of Sabzawar, a Shi'i centre whose people were staunch Shi'is. In Sabzawar he would act as an out and out Shi'i, and at times when he would go to Herat ('Abd al-Rahman Jami was the husband of his sister or sister-in-law) he would give sermons for the Sunnis in the Sunni style. But in Sabzawar he narrated the tragedies of Karbala'.

His death occurred around 910/1504, that is, either at the end of the 9th or the beginning of the 10th century. This was the first book, compiled about five hundred years ago, to be written as an elegiac narrative (marthiyah).

Earlier the people used to refer to the primary sources. Shaykh Mufid, may God be pleased with him, wrote the Irshad and how sound is his narration! If we were to refer to the Irshad of Shaykh Mufid we would not stand in need of any other source.

Tabari, among Sunni authors, has also written about it. Ya'qubi, Ibn 'Asakir and Khwarazmi have also written. I don't know what this unjust man has done! When I read this book I saw that even the names are spurious. He mentions names among Imam Husayn's companions that never existed. He mentions names of the enemy's men which are also spurious. He has turned the factual accounts of the event into fables.

As this was the first book to be written in Persian, the orators in mourning assemblies, who were mostly illiterate and could not use the Arabic texts, would take this book and read from it in the mourning sessions.

That is why the gatherings that are held nowadays to mourn Imam Husayn are called rawdeh-khwani. Rawdeh-khwani was not in vogue during the time of Imam Sadiq or Imam Hasan 'Askari, nor it was prevalent during the times of Sayyid Murtada [d 436/1044] or even Khwajah Nasir al-Din al-Tusi [d. 672/1273].

Rawdeh-khwani came into vogue since the last five hundred years and it came to be called as such. Rawdeh-khwani meant reading from the book Rawdat al-shuhada', a pack of lies. From the time that this book fell into the hands of the people, no one has bothered to study the actual history of Imam Husayn.

Then, about sixty or seventy years ago, there appeared another man, the marhum Mulla Darbandi. He took all the contents of the Rawdat al-shahuda' and compiled them together with other material, collecting it all in a book called Asrar al-shahadah. The contents of this book make one lament for the fate of Islam.

Hajji Nuri writes, “We used to attend the lectures of Hajj Shaykh 'Abd al-Husayn Tehrani (who was a very saintly man) and benefited from his teaching. A sayyid from Hillah, who was a rawdeh-khwan, came to meet him and he showed him a book written about the events of Imam Husayn's martyrdom (maqtal, plural: maqatil) to see whether its contents were reliable.

This book did not have any beginning or end. Only at one place in it was mentioned the name of a certain mulla of Jabl al-'Amil who was among the pupils of the author of the Ma'alim al-usul. Marhum Hajj Shaykh 'Abd al-Husayn took the book to examine it.

First he studied the biographical accounts of that scholar and found that such a book had not been attributed to him. Then he read the book itself and found it to be full of falsehoods. He said to that sayyid, 'This book is a pack of lies.

Don't circulate this book and don't quote anything from it, for it is unlawful to do so. Basically this book has not been written by that scholar and its contents are spurious.' “ Hajji Nuri says that the same book fell into the hands of the author of Asrar al-shahadah and he copied all its contents into his book, from the beginning to the end!”

Hajji Nuri relates another episode, which is rather touching. Once a man came to author of the Maqami'10 and said to him, “Last night I saw a horrible dream.” “What was it?” he asked him. He said, “I saw that I am biting away flesh from the body of Imam Husayn.” The scholar trembled on hearing these words.

He lowered his head and thought for a while. Then he said, “Perhaps you are a marthiyeh-khwan?”. “Yes, I am,” he replied. He said, “Hereafter, either abandon marthiyeh-khwani altogether or draw your material from reliable books. You are tearing away the flesh Imam Husayn, with these lies of yours. It was God's grace that He showed this to you in a dream.”

If one studies the history of 'Ashura' one will find that it is the most vivid and well-documented of histories with plenty of sources. The marhum Akhund Khurasani used to say, “Those who are ever after 'new' rawdahs should go and read the true accounts, for no one has ever heard them”

One should study the addresses of Imam Husayn ('a) delivered in Makkah - in the Hijaz as a whole - at Karbala', during his journey, as well as the sermons addressed to his companions, the questions and answers that took place between him and others, the letters that were exchanged between him and other people, the letters that were exchanged between the enemies themselves, in addition to the accounts of those (from among the friends as well the enemies) who were present on the occasion of 'Ashura'.

There were three or four persons from among Imam Husayn's companions who survived, including a slave named 'Uqbah ibn Sam'an, who had accompanied the Imam from Makkah and lived to write the accounts pertaining to the Imam's troops.

He was captured on the day of 'Ashura' but was released when he told them that he was a slave. Humayd ibn Muslim was another chronicler who accompanied the army of 'Umar ibn Sa'd. Of those present on the occasion was Imam Zayn al-'Abidin ('a) himself who has recounted all the events. There is no blind spot in the history of Imam Husayn ('a).

Hajji Nuri refers to a spurious story that relates to Imam Zayn al-'Abidin ('a). According to it when there remained no companion with Hadrat Abu 'Abd Allah ('a), the Hadrat went into the tent of Imam Zayn al- 'Abidin ('a) to bid him good-bye. Imam Zayn al-'Abidin ('a) asked him, “Father! How did things come about between you and these people? (that is, Imam Zayn al-'Abidin was unaware of what was happening until that time).

The Imam said to him, “Son, this matter has ultimately led to a battle.” 'What happened to Habib ibn Mazahir?, asked Imam Zayn al-'Abidin. “He was killed,” replied the Imam. “How about Zuhayr ibn Qayn?”

“He was also killed,” replied the Imam. “What happened to Burayr ibn Hudayr?” “He was killed,” said Imam Husayn ('a). Imam Zayn al-'Abidin continued naming each of his father's companions one after another and the Imam's reply was the same.

Then he asked concerning the men of Banu Hashim. “What happened to Qasim ibn Hasan?” What happened to my brother 'Ali Akbar?” “What happened to my uncle Abu al-Fadl The answer was the same: “He has been killed.” This is a fabrication and a lie. Imam Zayn al-'Abidin, na'udhubillah, was not so sick and unconscious as not to know what was going on.

Historians have written that even in that state of illness he rose from his bed and said to Zaynab, “Aunt, bring me my staff and give me a sword.” In any case, Imam Zayn al-'Abidin ('a) was one of those who were present on the scene and related the accounts of events.

Truly, we should be penitent for these crimes and treacheries that we are guilty of in respect of Abu 'Abd Allah al-Husayn ('a), his companions, comrades and members of his family, and for effacing all their achievements. He should do penance and then make effort to derive benefit from this most educative source.

Is there any inadequacy in the life of 'Abbas ibn 'Ali as recounted in the reliable maqatil (accounts of martyrdom)? The single point that there was no danger to his own life is enough to be a matter of pride for him. Imam Husayn had also told him, “They are only after me, and if they kill me, they will not have anything again anyone else.”

At Kufah, when Shimr ibn Dhi al-Jawshan was departing for Karbala', one of those who were present said to Ibn Ziyad that some of his relatives on the mother's side were with Husayn ibn 'Ali. He requested Ibn Ziyad to write a letter granting them amnesty, and Ibn Ziyad wrote it. Shimr belonged to a clan that had remote ties with the tribe of Umm al-Banin (the mother of Abu al-Fadl). Shimr personally brought this letter of amnesty on the night following the ninth day of Muharram.

This wretch approached the camp of Husayn ibn 'Ali and shouted, “Where are my nephews!” (ayna banu ukhtina?!).11 Abu al-Fadl, along with his full brothers, was sitting with Hadrat Abu 'Abd Allah ('a). He remained silent and did not reply, until the Imam said to him, “Answer him, though he be an evil man (ajibuhu in kana fasiqa). At the Imam's leave, he answered Shimr, saying, “What do you want?” (Ma taqul?). Shimr said, “I have come with some good news for you.

I have brought a letter of amnesty for you from the emir, 'Ubayd Allah. You are now free, and you will be safe if you leave now.” Abu al-Fadl said to him, “May God damn you and your emir, as well as the letter that you bring. Do you think we will abandon our Imam and brother for the sake of our own safety?”

On the night of 'Ashura', the first person to declare his loyalty towards Abu 'Abd Allah was his brother Abu al-Fadl. Aside from the foolish exaggerations that are often made, that which is confirmed by history is that Abu al-Fadl was a very wise person, valiant and courageous, tall and most handsome. He had been nicknamed 'The Moon of the Hashimis.'12 These things are true. To be sure, he had inherited Ali's courage.

The story is also true regarding his mother, that Ali' had asked 'Aqil, his brother, to propose a woman born of a heroic descent (waladatha al-fuhulah)13 who might give birth to son who would be a warrior and man of valour (li-talidani farisan shuja'ah).14 'Aqil had suggested Umm al-Banin. So much of it is true. 'Ali's wish was fulfilled in Abu al-Fadl.

According to one of two reports, on the day of 'Ashura' Abu al-Fadl came to the Imam and said, “Dear brother, now give me the permission. This breast of mine is suffocated and I can bear it no more. I want to sacrifice my life for your sake.”

I don't know the reason why Imam responded to Hadrat Abu al-Fadl's request in the manner that he did. Abu 'Abd Allah himself knows better. He said, “Brother, now that you want to leave, try to get some water for these children.”

Hadrat Abu al-Fadl had already come to receive the nickname Saqqa (water carrier), as earlier, on one or two occasions, at nights he had been able to pass through the enemy's ranks to fetch water for the children in Abu 'Abd Allah's camp. It was not the case that they had not drunk any water for three days and nights.

Access to water had been closed for three days and nights, but during this time they had been able to get some water on one or two occasions, including the night of 'Ashura', when they had taken bath and washed their bodies. Abu al-Fadl consented.

Now note this majestic scene! What greatness! What valour! What a spirit of understanding and self-sacrifice! A lone warrior, alone by himself, advances against a host. The number of men who guarded the river bank was four thousand. He descends along the river bank and leads his horse into the water (all historians have written this).

First, he fills the waterskin that he has brought and lays it on his shoulder. He is thirsty. The air is hot and has been fighting. But as he sits on the back of his horse and the horse stands in water reaching up to its belly, he lowers his hands into water, takes water into them and raises them somewhat towards his sacred lips.

Those who were watching from a distance report that he hesitated for a while. Then they saw that he threw the water back and came out of the river without drinking any. No one knew why Abu Al-Fadl did not drink water there. But when he came out he recited rajaz verses which were addressed to himself. Now from these verses they understood why he had not drunk water:

O soul of Abu al-Fadl!

My wish is that you live not after Husayn!

Will you have a drink of cold water,

While there stands Husayn, thirsty, near the tents,

And about to drink the cup of death!?

Such is not the way of my faith,

Nor that of one who abides in conviction and truth!15

What would become of manliness? Of honour? Of caring love? And of sharing in the hardship of one's dear ones? Isn't Husayn your Imam, and you his follower?

While Husayn is about to drink the cup of death,

Will you have a drink of cold water?

Never! My faith does not permit me to do that! My loyalty does not allow me to do such a thing! Abu al-Fadl changed his route while returning and now he came through the palm groves. Earlier, he had come by the direct way, but he knew that he now carried a precious trust with him.

So he changed his route and all his concern now was to get the water safely to the camp, for it was possible that a single arrow may pierce the waterskin and fail his task of bringing the water to its destination. In the mean while they heard that Abu al-Fadl had changed his rajaz. It appeared that something had happened. Now he cried out:

By God!

Even if you sever my right arm,

I will persist in defending my faith,

And the Imam, who is the true one, for certain,

the Prophet's grandson, pure and trustworthy!16

That is, by God even if you cut my right arm I will not flinch from defending Husayn. Not much time passed when his rajaz changed again:

O my soul, fear not the faithless,

And receive the good news of Almighty's mercy,

In the company of the Prophet, the Master and the Elect,

Though, insolently, they should slash my left arm!17

These rajaz verses signaled that his left arm too had been severed. They write that with characteristic dexterity he somehow turned the water-skin and bent himself over it. I will not say what happened thereafter as it is most heart rending.

It is a custom to recount the account of the ordeals of this great human being on the night of Tasu'ah (9th Muharram). Let me add that Umm al-Banin, the mother of Hadrat Abu al-Fadl was alive at the time of the event of Karbala', though she was in Madinah at the time. She was given the news that all her four sons were martyred at Karbala'.

This saintly woman would go to the Baqi' cemetery and mourn over her sons. They write that her elegies were so full of pathos that they brought tears to everyone who heard them, even Marwan ibn Hakam, who was the staunchest of the enemies of the Prophet's family.

Sometimes she would remember all her sons and, at times, especially Abu al-Fadl, the eldest of them, who was senior most of the brothers, both in respect of age as well as in respect of spiritual and bodily merits.

I remember one of her two elegies and I will recite them for you. These are the elegiac verses that this grieved mother recited in mourning for her sons (in general, the Arabs recite elegiac verses in a very touching style):

You, who have seen 'Abbas make repeated forays against the base hosts,

And following him were the Lion's sons, each a mighty lion!

I have been told, my son's head was struck when his arms were cut,

Alas for my Lion's cub! Did a club fall on his head?

O 'Abbas! None would have dared to approach it,

Were your sword in your hand!18

That is, 'O observant eye, tell me, you who have been in Karbala' and watched its scenes and observed the moment when Abu al-Fadl, my son of a lion, with my other lion's cubs following him, attacked that cowardly crowd - tell me is it true what I have been told?

They say that when they had cut my son's arms an iron club fell on my dear one's head. Is that true?' Then she says, “Abu al-Fadl! My dear! I know that if you had arms there wasn't a man in the whole world to have the guts to face you! They had the temerity to do that because your arms had been severed from your body.

Notes

1. During the nights of the 'id of Ghadir, Dr. Shari'ati delivered an excellent lecture on this general human tendency for hero-worship and making of myths and legends, turning historic figures into legendary heroes with extraordinary and superhuman characteristics.

2. Al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi, “kitab fadl al-'ilm”, p. 32; al-Saffar, Basa'ir al-darajat, p.10

3. Bihar al-anwar, vol. 44, p. 381; Tuhaf al-'uqul, p. 176; al-Luhuf, 33; al-Khwarazmi's Maqtal al-Husayn, ii, p. 5.

4. Ibn Shahr Ashub, al-Manaqib, iv, p. 110; al-Luhuf, p. 50, Bihar al-anwar, vol. 45, p. 50; al-Irbili, Kashf al-ghummah, ii, p. 32.

5. Bihar al-anwar, vol. 44, p. 381; Tuhaf al-'uqul, p. 176; al-Luhuf, 33.

6. Bihar al-anwar, vol. 44, p. 366; al-Luhuf, p. 25.

7. Al-Luhuf, p. 41; Khwarazmi's Maqtal al-Husayn, ii, p. 7; Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'rikh al-Sham, iv, p. 333; al-Muqarrim's Maqtal al-Husayn, p. 287; al-Harrani, Tuhaf al-'uqul, p. 176; Shaykh 'Abbas al-Qummi, Nafs al-mahmum, p. 149, Mulhaqat Ihqaq al-haqq, xi, pp. 624-625.

8. Ibid.

9. Mafatih al-janan, the ziyarah of Imam Husayn ('a) for the nights of 'Id al-Fitr and 'Id al-Adha.

10. Marhum Aqa Muhammad Ali was the son of marhum Wahid Behbahani and both of them were great men. Marhum Aqa Muhammad Ali migrated to Kirmanshah where he wielded great influence.

11. al-Muqarrim's Maqtal al Husayn, p. 252, Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 44, p. 391, al-Luhuf, p. 37

12. al-Muqarrim's al-Abbas, p. 81; Ibn Shahr Ashub, al-Manaqib, iv, p. 108

13. al-Muqarrim's al-Abbas, p. 69

14. Ibsar al-ayn fi ansar al-Husayn alayh al-salam, p. 26

15. Yanabi al-mawaddah, ii, p. 165; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 45, p. 41

16. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 45, p. 40

17. Ibid.

18. Muntaha al-amal, I, p. 386.

'Ashura - Misrepresentations and Distortions part 2

Authors(s): Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahhari

Translator(s): Ali Quli Qara'i

Publisher(s): al-Tawhid Islamic Journal

Journal: Vol.13, No.4