The Hidden Truth about Karbala

The Hidden Truth about Karbala0%

The Hidden Truth about Karbala Author:
Publisher: Ansariyan Publications – Qum
Category: Imam Hussein
ISBN: 978-964-438-921-4

The Hidden Truth about Karbala

Author: A.K. Ahmed B.Sc. B.L.
Publisher: Ansariyan Publications – Qum
Category:

ISBN: 978-964-438-921-4
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The Hidden Truth about Karbala

The Hidden Truth about Karbala

Author:
Publisher: Ansariyan Publications – Qum
ISBN: 978-964-438-921-4
English

The Hidden Truth about Karbala

The Injustice against the Ahlul Bayt and their Followers Since then Until Now

The battle at Karbala is a well-known tragedy in human history. It is not fiction or legend but a historical fact. This is an excellent narrative that chronicles the injustices against the Ahlul Bayt and their followers through the ages until now.

Author(s): A.K. Ahmed B.Sc. B.L.

Miscellaneous information:

The Hidden Truth about Karbala The Injustice against the Ahlul Bayt and their Followers Since then Until Now Author: A.K. Ahmed B.Sc. B.L. Editor: Abdullah al-Shahin Publisher: Ansariyan Publications First Edition 1386-1428-2007 Quds Press Quantity: 2000 Number of Pages: 358 Size: 162 x 229 mm ISBN: 978-964-438-921-4 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED AND RECORDED FOR THE PUBLISHER Ansariyan Publications P.O. Box 187 22 Shohada St. - Qum Islamic Republic of Iran Tel: ++98 251 7741744 Fax: 7742647 Email: ansarian@noornet.net www.ansariyan.org & www.ansariyan.net

Table of Contents

Dedication of the first Edition 6

Dedication of The second Edition 7

Preface to the First Edition 8

Notes12

Introduction to the First Edition 13

Notes13

Preface to the Second Edition 14

Chapter 1: Preamble15

Notes20

Chapter 2: Historical Background 21

Notes25

Chapter 3: The Antagonists27

Migration 27

Notes36

Chapter 4: Nomination of Ali to the Caliphate by the Prophet (S)37

(1) The Feast of Youm ad-Dar37

(2) The Night of Emigration 39

(3) The Bond of Brotherhood 39

(4) The Sura of at-Tawba39

(5) Mubahala40

(7) Ghadir Khum 40

(8) Authenticity of the event of Ghadir Khum 42

(9) The Last Will43

(10) The Oral Will44

(11) Miscellaneous Traditions44

Conclusion 45

Notes47

Chapter 5: The Intrigue50

Notes53

Chapter 6: Attributing fallibility to the Prophet54

Disobeying the Prophet55

The Myth of Leading the Prayers56

Anguish of the Ansar before the Saqifa58

Introduction of Fatalism 60

Notes61

Chapter 7: Hadith 63

Prohibition of Narrating the Hadith 63

Coining and Propagating False traditions65

The Effect of Prohibiting the Narration of Hadith 69

Conjecture recognized as a means to interpret the Qur’an 69

Notes71

Chapter 8: Mutilation of the Concept of Jihad 72

Greed and Territorial Expansion: Motive for the Early Wars74

Notes79

Chapter 9: Mutilation of the Concept of Zakat and Khums80

Dispute about the Caliph’s Authority to Collect Zakat81

Notes83

Chapter 10: The Caliphate84

The Saqifa90

Conclusion 96

Notes97

Chapter 11: Imam Ali, The only Caliph by Public Choice99

Notes104

Chapter 12: Imamate105

Notes111

Chapter 13: The Muslim Empire112

Notes116

Chapter 14: Yazid bin Mu’awiya bin Abu Sufyan 117

Notes121

Chapter 15: Imam Husayn migrates to Mecca 122

Notes125

Chapter 16: Muslim bin Aqeel: Imam Husayn’s Ambassador to Kufa 127

Notes134

Chapter 17: Imam Husayn’s Migration from Mecca 135

Notes140

Chapter 18: Imam Husayn’s journey to Karbala 141

Notes151

Chapter 19: Yazid’s forces gather at Karbala 153

Notes156

Chapter 20: Seventh and eighth of Muharram 157

Notes160

Chapter 21: The Ninth of Muharram 162

Notes167

Chapter 22: Ashura; the Tenth of Muharram 169

The Martyrdom of al-Qasim ibn al-Hasan 175

The Martyrdom of Abbas and other sons of Imam Ali175

The Martyrdom of Ali al-Akbar177

The Martyrdom of Ali al-Asghar180

Notes187

Chapter 23: The Martyrs189

Notes193

Chapter 24: The Burial of the Martyrs194

Notes196

Chapter 25: Persecution after Karbala 197

Notes212

Chapter 26: Miracles214

Notes221

Chapter 27: Persecution of the Shia 223

Part A: Demolition of the Shrines224

Notess227

Part B: Persecution of the Shia by the Umayyads228

The period of persecution of the Shia can conveniently be divided into the following periods228

(1) Sa’d bin Ubadah 228

(2) Malik bin Nuwayra229

(3) The Tribes of Kinda and Hadhramaut231

(4) Abu Sa’eed Khalid bin Sa’eed bin al-Aas bin Umayya232

(5) Ubay bin Ka’b bin Qais al-Khazraji al-Ansari233

(6) Bilal bin Rabah al-Habashi234

(7) Al-Hurmuzan 235

(8) Abu Dharr Jundab bin Junadah al-Ghifari235

(9) Al-Miqdad bin Amr236

(10) Salman al-Farsi236

(11) The Martyrs in the Battle of al-Jamal236

(12) Uthman bin Hunaif al-Ansari238

(13) The Martyrs in the Battle of an-Nahrawan 238

(14) The Martyrs in the Battle of Siffin 238

(15) Ammar bin Yasir238

(16) Hashim bin Utba bin Abi Waqqas az-Zohri239

(17) Owais al-Qurani239

(18) Huthaifa bin al-Yaman’s sons Sagwan and Sa’eed 240

(19) Malik bin al-Harith al-Ashtari240

(20) Kinana bin Bishr240

(21) Muhammad bin Abu Bakr240

(22) A’yan bin Dhubay’ah 240

(23) Muhammad bin Abi Huthaifa240

(24) Maytham at-Tammar240

Persecution by Mu’awiya between 30-60 AH 241

Between 61 to 64 AH under Yazid bin Mu’awiya245

The Shia Martyred between 64 & 73 AH under Abdullah ibn az-Zubair’s rule246

Persecution between 64 to 85 AH, by Marwan and his son Abdul Melik 247

Notes249

Part C: Persecution of the Shia by the Abbasid kings251

[1] Abul Abbas as-Saffah (133–137 AH)252

[2] Abu Ja’far al-Mansur ad-Dawaniqi (137–159 A H)252

[3] Muhammad al-Mahdi (157-169 A H)253

[4] Abu Muhammad Musa al-Hadi (169-170 A H)254

[5] Haroon ar-Rashid (170-193 A H)254

[6] Abdullah al-Ma’mun (198- 218 AH)255

[7] Al-Mu’tasim Billah (218-227 A H)256

[8] Al-Mutawakkil `Alallah (232-247AH)256

Notes257

Part D: Persecuton of the Shia during the Period when a Multitude of Caliphs came to Rule the Muslim World 259

Notes261

Part E: Persecution under the Mongols and Recent Times262

Persecution by the Mongols262

Notes265

Appendix: The Martyrs at Karbala 266

(a) The Names of the 18 Martyrs from the Banu Hashim 266

(b) Names of the 16 Martyrs who left Yazid’s army and fought with Imam Husayn266

(c) Names of the 14 Companions of the Prophet (S) who were Martyred at Karbala266

(d) Names of the 22 Companions of Imam Ali who fought with Imam Husayn267

(e) Names of the 42 valiant soldiers who fought and sacrificed their lives for Imam Husayn267

Summary 268

Bibliography 270

A Prayer272

Dedication of the first Edition

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In The Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful

Presented at the feet of the most Noble and Immaculate Lady

Zainab bint Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.)

whose courageous eloquence,

in times of extreme suffering, while facing the tyrants,

has perpetuated the righteousness of the cause

and innocence of Imam Husayn (a.s.)

and those who were martyred with him.

Dedicated to my parents and my ancestors

who were rightly guided and who adored

the Immaculate and Infallible (Ma’soomeen) (a.s.)

Dedication of The second Edition

This Second Edition is Dedicated to the memory of

the stillborn child of the Noble and Blessed Lady Fatima (a.s.)

and those Martyrs whose names are lost in History

and who readily sacrificed their lives

for perpetuating the faith in the Vicegerency of Imam Ali (a.s.) and the Eleven Imams (a.s.) from his progeny

Preface to the First Edition

All praise belongs to Allah, the Sublime, the Merciful, Who provides guidance through His Chosen Ones (a.s.), who are Immaculate1 and therefore Infallible. As the Vicegerents of Allah on earth, they wished, said or did only that which Allah pleased,2 and in turn in His Majesty, Allah declared their words, deeds and wishes to be His Will.

When the question of succession to the Holy Prophet (S) arose, the Divine Will was forsaken, as if Allah and His Prophet (S) had left the matter of guidance in the hands of those who were themselves in need of guidance.

The word Khalifa (caliph) was sought to be interpreted in several ways only to accommodate those who occupied that seat. At-Tabari, ibn Khaldun and a majority of the Sunni Ulema interpreted the word ‘Khalifa’ as ‘one who came after’ or ‘those who succeeded one another after the predecessor’s death’. In this sense, the Qur’anic verse3 was sought to be explained by saying that Adam was the Khalifa [successor] of his predecessors, the Jinn or the Angels.4 The implication of such an interpretation is that, to be the immediate successor, the Khalifa need not be of the same kind or class as his predecessor, the Holy Prophet (S). In other words, the Khalifa need not be Immaculate and Infallible and can be anyone from the Umma (nation). To bolster this argument, the famous Hadith that states: “There shall be no prophet after me”, is pressed into service.

The above line of thought led Abu Bakr to declare, immediately on his ascension to the Caliphate, in his opening speech from on the pulpit, “O People, I may fall into grievous error or I may not make any mistake. If you see me deviating from the right path, prevail upon me to return to it. The Holy Prophet (S) was infallible, but I am not. There is a Satan riding over me, ever drawing me towards error.”5

One of the earliest arguments put forth was that one could only be a vicegerent of an absentee and not of one who is present. The question of vicegerancy or succession, it was said, arises only after the demise of the predecessor. In this sense of the matter, it is argued, there can be no Vicegerancy of God who is Omnipresent. Subscribing to the above view, Abu Bakr declared that he was not the divinely appointed Khalifa. Instead, he claimed to be the Khalifa of the Prophet (S).6 But, the absurdity of the matter becomes evident when we consider on the same analogy Umar to be the Caliph of Abu Bakr, Uthman the Caliph of Umar and so on and so forth. The absurdity becomes patent when we notice that the institution of Khilafah ordained by God in the Empyrean was abolished by Mustafa Kamal Pasha of Turkey, in the year 1924!

A distinction is made between spiritual leadership (Imamate) and temporal leadership (Khilafah). The qualifications required to be an Imam are exempted for the Caliph. Thus, we find that the History of Islam is full of Caliphs who practiced what was prohibited and they prohibited what was permitted, for they considered themselves lawmakers. It is a common premise between the Shia and the Sunni that even the Prophet (S) himself did not have the power to legislate or amend the Shariah.7

After the Prophet (S), from Abu Bakr, the first caliph, to the last one - Mustafa Kamal Pasha, none, barring the single instance of Imam Ali (a.s.), claimed both Spiritual and temporal leadership together in one person. All the Sunni and Shia Ulema are in perfect agreement that Imam Ali (a.s.) was one among the five people declared Immaculate in the Qur’an.8

The dispute was and is always between the Divinely appointed Vicegerents such as Abraham, Moses…etc., and the self-proclaimed despots like Nimrod, Pharaoh…etc. There abound in the Qur’an efforts of the Prophets, Apostles and Saints to invite men to worship only One Unique God. In the Qur’an abound also the persecution of the Divinely appointed ones by tyrannical despots. These are not fables but part of history. The Holy Prophet (S) had forewarned his Umma that, on account of their faith and adherence to Islam, Muslims will be persecuted and slain. To such of those who are slain in the cause of Allah, the special title of Shahid [martyr] is given and they are promised everlasting life and abundant rewards. The tyrant is assured the maximum eternal chastisement.

Of late, a queer tendency has developed among Muslims, to forsake history altogether and invent justification for the tyrannical rule of a majority of the Caliphs, particularly the Umayyads, by saying that the atrocities they committed were invented by later historians under the rule of the Abbasid Caliphs.

A modern day writer Dr. Ghulam Nabi, at page 59 of his book “Khilafah in theory and Practice”9 writes:“Historical reports are generally anti-Umayyad because they were narrated, collected, and preserved during the Abbasid Khilafah by prejudiced reporters. Naturally, there are so many charges against them. Some prominent (charges) are that they made the Khilafah hereditary within the Umayyad family; that they were oppressors; that they attacked the holy cities of Mecca and Medina; that they prevented non-Muslims to accept Islam by charging the Jizya [Taxes] to them; that they ruled by force and tyranny and that they usurped public treasury converting it into a private property.”10 He continues, “On the basis of these charges leveled against the Umayyads, a distinction between al-Khilafah ar-Rashida (the rightly-guided caliphate)11 and al-Khilafah al-Umawiyyah (the Umayyad caliphate), is vehemently made so much so that many scholars are not ready to call the Umayyad rulers as Khulafa (caliphs) and their rule as the Khilafah. They call them rulers [Muluk; kings] and their system of governance as the monarchy [Mulukiyah].12 A pertinent question arises here whether the charges of these scholars or the populist theories about the Umayyad rule are correct leading to the main question with regard to the Islamic Khilafah.13

If Mr. Ghulam Nabi is to be taken to be correct in his elucidation, then most of the Sunni Islamic literature will become suspect and unreliable. This raises another pertinent question as to why it should not similarly be assumed that the historical reports were indeed narrated, collected, and preserved by prejudiced reporters during the Umayyad khilafah. In effect, these assumptions will discredit all the reports collected during the Umayyad as well as the Abbasid periods. Once this happens, no record of the Prophet’s time, the Sunna would be available to the Sunnis, while the only Islamic literature to survive would be Shiite literature which traces its authority from the Immaculate and Infallible Masumin (a.s.), to the Prophet (S).

The present day tendency of people like Mr. Ghulam Nabi is probably due to the fact that, from times past, the Shias often relied on Sunni Islamic literature to support the Shiite Creed. Now these Sunni sources are sought to be wiped out by editing or at least rendering their suspect, only to withdraw the support they brazenly provided to Shiite theology. In this process, they attempt to conceal the atrocities committed by Yazid and accuse Imam Husayn (a.s.) of brewing a revolt.

Mr. Ghulam Nabi writes, “Changes and charges apart, basic objective of the Umayyads was to maintain the unity of the Islamic Ummah and Muslim State. They were living in a time when uprising and insurrection started to shake off the unity of the Muslim world to eradicate or to expunge the civil wars the Umayyads maintained their rule within their own family by making their sons and brothers as their heir apparent.”14

By saying this, Mr. Ghulam Nabi attempts to maintain the proposition that the Caliph, be he virtuous or vicious, once seated in power by whatever means, should be obeyed implicitly.15 Anyone opposing such a Caliph should be considered to have bred discord in Islam and therefore liable to be eliminated for the sake and unity of Islam. If this position is correct, then in the entire history of Islam Mu’awiya was the first person to take up arms against a rightly guided and duly elected Caliph. Instead of condemning, Mr. Ghulam Nabi, justifies family rule and atrocities initiated by Mu’awiya and perpetuated by his Umayyad successor. Mu’awiya was the first to divide Islam in the first instance to grab power, by opposing the person in authority. Yet, Mr. Ghulam Nabi attributes an honest intention to the Umayyads of trying to maintain unity in Islam.

The writer appears to be willfully ignorant of historical occasions when objections were taken by such highly respected person of the day, such as Aa’isha, Abdullah ibn Umar, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn az-Zubair and a host of others when Mu’awiya sought to nominate his son Yazid, sowing the seed for family rule over Muslims.

For the Shias their faith is simple. They rely only on the designated twelve Khulafa who are attested by the Qur’an as being Immaculate. Imam Husayn (a.s.) is the third of the twelve Immaculate and infallible Imams. His martyrdom was not a secret affair. It was witnessed by thousands of people of all faiths. Once again, the Umayyads are spreading their net. The result is that Muslims are sought to be lured into the Satanic trap of accusing Imam Husayn (a.s.) of attempting to revolt and justifying his massacre as a necessity to protect Islam.

Much is sought to be made out of the silence of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) and other nobles of Mecca and Medina during the black days of the Harra incident. The insinuation is that the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) acquiesced in or at least did not object either the Harra incident or the perpetrator of the incident.16

The argument is silly because in the present day context, future historians would be justified in writing that all the Muslim countries approved the activities of Israel against its Muslim neighbors. In a fallacious conclusion, such thinking would lend credence to assume that God, by his silence, approves the acts of every tyrant and therefore the tyrant would not be punished. The oppressed were advised to bear the atrocities with patience. Such fatalism was imbibed into the Muslim mind only to absolve the rulers of the time from the atrocities they perpetrated. This again undermines the very concept of Divine Justice and the reward or punishment so repeatedly promised in the Qur’an.

We should understand, in the correct perspective, without prejudice and with reliance upon historical facts, the circumstances in and the cause for which Imam Husayn (a.s.) sacrificed his life along with his infant son and other martyrs. There can be no justification to kill the infant with arrows. There cannot be argument as to why the infant’s body was exhumed, its head severed and mounted on a lance to be paraded from Karbala to Damascus. We should also realize that the cruelty with which the noble ladies and children from the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) were treated after Ashura, had great silencing effect on the Muslims. Every despot rules by the extent of the cruelty he and his cronies practice and the terror they generate. Yazid heads the list of all tyrants and despots. To justify him is to abet him.

It is high time that we refresh our memories with the Facts and Philosophy behind the battle at Karbala, in which Imam Husayn (a.s.) was forced to fight against a huge army with the support of only a handful of his relatives and followers. The infant Ali al-Asghar’s martyrdom is an eloquent proof of the barbarity and injustice of the enemy, which people are now trying to render suspect as a prelude to obliterating history.

My ancestors bore the brunt of Aurangzeb’s tyranny at Bijapur, when they were impaled in walls merely because they adored the Masumin (a.s.). They had to resort to dissimulation [Taqia]. Only since 1958, my family declared its Shiite origin and practice. Even in these enlightened times in several countries like Iraq, the murder of Shias is considered a religious duty. The Shias do not seek retribution. They only protest against the mutilation or suppression of truth.

I was fortunate to have the guidance of my brother Sayyid Muhammad Musavi, retired Professor of English. Any amount of thanks will not relieve me of my obligation to him. I am obliged and thankful to Sayyid Zameer Ahmed Abedi alias Husayn, Editor / Proprietor of Alawiyat, [an excellent monthly magazine] for his assistance in taking out references and for his valuable suggestions in improving the form and substance of this humble effort.

A.K. Ahmed

August 2006

1st Sha’ban, 1427 AH

Notes

1. Qur’an, 33:33.

2. Qur’an, 76:30, 81:29.

3. Qur’an, 2:30.

4. Dr. Ghulam Nabi, ‘Khilafah – In Theory and Practice’, p.21 quoting at-Tabari’s Jami’ul Bayan, vol. 1 p. 449-451.

5. At-Tabaris’ Tarikh, vol. 2 p .460, Ibn Hisham’s Seerah, vol. 4 P. 34, ibn Kathir’s al- Bidaya, vol. 6 p. 303, ibn al-Athir’s al Kamil, vol 2, page 129.

6. Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol 1 p.10, Muqaddimah of ibn Khaldun, Tr. Rosenthal, vol. 1 p.388-89.

7. Qur’an, 10:15.

8. See commentaries of the Shia as well as the Sunni on the verse 33 of Sura 33 al-Ahzaab.

9. Adam Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi. [2005].

10. Mawdudi, Khilafato Mulukiat, Delhi, 1974, pp. 145-175.

11. The first four caliphs after the Prophet (S).

12. Mawdudi, Khilafato Mulukiat, Delhi, 1974.

13. ‘Khilafa in theory and Practice’ by Ghulam Nabi, page 59, Adam Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi [2005].

14. Ibid., p.65-6.

15. Ibid., p.112, quoting Muhammad Fu’ad Abdul Baqi, p.79.

16. Dr. Ghulam Nabi’s Khilafa in Theory & Practice, p.69, quoting Ibn Kathir, vol. 8, p.232-233.

Introduction to the First Edition

Imam Husayn ibn Ali (a.s.) had to quit Medina because the Yazidite army wanted to kill him. Yazid demanded a complete submission to his tyrannical regime. The Imam (a.s.), as the personification of Haq (Righteousness), the lofty similitude of the Almighty – the Noor (Light), refused to accept the supremacy of the Apolyon. According to the Qur’an,1 if Haq bows down to earthly demands, there will be utter corruption and chaos in heaven and earth and their inhabitants. Therefore, God’s ambassador, the personification of Haq, the very essence and symbol of Truth, never submit to the evil powers. Thus it is that Imam Husayn (a.s.), like his father Imam Ali (a.s.) and other prophets of yore and the Imams who succeeded him, never submitted to the tyrannical regimes of their times. Noah, Abraham, Moses, Zechariah and Jesus all suffered at the hands of the tyrants, but never submitted to their demand to abandon their mission of propagating the faith in One Unique God who will raise the dead and hold everyone to account.

While leaving Medina, Imam Husayn (a.s.) explained:“I leave Medina to bid the good and to forbid the wrong [al-Amr bil Ma’roof, wen-Nahi anil Munkar].2 This in fact is the entire corpus of religion and the quintessence of Truth and the fundamental philosophy of faith. Imam Ali (a.s.) said that every worship is like a droplet in the abysmal ocean when compared to al-Amr bil Ma’roof and an-Nahi anil Munkar.

Karbala is an eternal Truth where Haq could not be coerced into submission, even at the cost of sacrificing lives. When shown a preview of the events that were to take place at Karbala, from Adam (a.s.) down to every succeeding Prophet (S), it was to admit the greatness of Husayn’s sacrifice.3

The afflictions that Imam Husayn (a.s.) had to face and which were echoed in the voice of Lady Zainab in her mission [as attempted to be portrayed by Mr. A.K. Ahmed] were, in fact already prophesied. Karbala is an ocean. No single book or in fact any number of books can fully do justice to the subject. Mr. A.K. Ahmed deserves to be complimented for his effort. He has been working on the subject for over three years. As a friend, he has an interesting personality. Being a close relative of my brother Mr. Asghar Sa’eed, I have had great moments when I could bridge up the aesthetic distance’.

25th Rajab, 1427 AH

Sayyid Muhammad Ali Musavi

Notes

1. Qur’an, 23:17.

2. Haeri’s Balaghatul Husayn, Tr. In Urdu by Baquer Naqvi, P.108-118, Lucknow, 1.

3. Qur’an, 57:22, Bihar, vol. 2 p. 34- 35, Nawasikhut Tawarikh, vol. 6, p.470-471.

Preface to the Second Edition

All praise belongs to Allah, the Sublime, the Merciful, Who provides guidance through His Chosen Ones (S), who are Immaculate and therefore Infallible. As the Vicegerents of Allah on the earth, they wished, said, or did only that which Allah pleased, and in turn in His Majesty, Allah declared their words, deeds and wishes to be His Will.

I did not expect the first edition to go out of stock so soon. We are thankful to the Masumin (a.s.) for their blessings.

Fallible as I am, there were several mistakes, though not in content, that needed to be rectified. I have carried out the correction to the extent of my limitations. I have added two important Chapters in this edition. Chapter 25 deals with the incidents relating to the burial after Ashura, 61 AH. Chapter 27 deals with the Persecution of the Shia through the centuries. The last mentioned chapter is relevant in the context of the present liberal atmosphere in several countries, which tend to obliterate the torture and suffering the Shia were put to, throughout history, even as lately as the last decade when Saddam carried out wholesale annihilation of thousands of Shias.

Through the ages, our ancestors had preserved and passed on the Shiite traditions at the risk of their lives, by word of mouth, from one generation to another, fearing at every step, as to which relative, which friend would betray them to the government of the time. I have heard the Moulvis at Madras, at the end of the day of the procession on the seventh of Muharram, thanking the Government for allowing us to openly mourn Imam Husayn (a.s.). We tend to forget that during our ancestor’s times it was a crime to mourn for Imam Husayn (a.s.) and people were executed for it. The sacrifices made by our ancestors should not be forgotten, for they are the very foundation on which our faith has been preserved.

I heartily welcome any suggestions, corrections etc. that will be certainly incorporated to bring out a more comprehensive edition.

I thank the Almighty and the Masumin (a.s.) and pray that in their Benevolence and Grace, they may forgive my lapses and accept this humble effort.

A.K. Ahmed

20th March 2007

9th Rabee’ul Awwal, 1428 AH