Ashura Poems in English Explained and Annotated (volume 1)

Syed Ahmed Ali Mohani : the Hero of Kerbala

Many, many years ago, On bloody field of Kerbala, A noble hero faced his foe, As champion of God's Faith and Law. Ov'erhead there was a scorching sun, There were no shady trees, Beneath a burning sandy plain, With no refreshing breeze. A scion of Hashim's noble line; Of Heroism a model, Son of Ali, the Lion of God, Grandson of God's Apostle. His comrades few but loyal and brave, Some young and some advanced in age, The record of whose actions gave, To history its brightest page. Of worldly comforts they had none, No couch nor rosy bed, To comfort their afflicted hearts, The Holy Word of God they read. Three days they every distress bore, Deprived of drink and food, The world does still wonder at, Their unexampled fortitude. They fell around him one by one,

Firm in their righteous ways, And for their loyalty have won, From friend and foe a world of praise. His friends with loving grief he eyed, Lying dead in sun's scorching rays, To justify his aim he tried, To deal with foes in peaceful ways. He brought in arms his baby son, Asked them to give him water, Said he, ?The babe no harm has done, To die of thirst or slaughter.? Stones they threw and arrows shot, Obedient to Yazid's behest, And in their fury spared not, Ev'n life of baby at the breast! A little before his enemies were, For water sorely passed, Relief he gave them then and there, And could not see even foes distressed. He humbly prayed and praised the Lord, The Giver of Spiritual beauty, And though midst danger never failed, To do his sacred duty. Wickedness can no further go, Cruelty needs no greater proofs, His sacred body, after death, Was trampled under horses' hoofs! Victory, though mean, they gained, but still, No bounds knew their ire. Orphans and widows they captives made,

And set their tents on fire. The captives saw with choking grief, And eyes dimmed with tears, The tragic sight of Martyrs' heads, Uplifted on spears!*

* Lalljee, The Martyrdom of Imam Husain, pp. 63-65.

L. 2. ?Kerbala? is a variant spelling of ?Karbala? or ?Karbela?, correct Arabic pronunciation ?Karbal?'?, English spelling ?Karbala?.

L. 9. Hashim, or H?shim b. ?Abd Man?f, was the great- grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad.

L. 11. ?The Lion of God? is an honorific title for Imam Ali signifying his bravery. Its Arabic original is Asad Allah with a Persian equivalent as Shir-e Khoda.

Anonymous : A Journey

It was peak of the mischief and virtues in chains; Just laws were sacked with rules insane; As the tyrants on the rise, and mass confused, offered lust with lies, and faith abused. Thus the signs indicated, and time dictated. Some souls elevated as al-Husain (A.S.) navigated; a seed of the Prophet (P) and the sight of his Parents(A.S.) that time in deluge, he was ark so apparent. In the Name of God, for the sake of Islam; for the freedom of life and soul of Islam; gave greatest sacrifice, but not his hands, with the members of his kin and many of his friends. Hur, Muslim and the friends those hearts so pure; they offered their lives as shield and cure; thus tyrants came forth from the curtain way old; then peace was bought and lives were sold.

And daring in the manners were the two young brothers;

in the boldness of their moves were the teachings of a mother

Shone Aun and Muhammad with the valor known as Haider (A.S.);

Those children were slain not the feeling of the mother.20 With a message from his father was Qasim bin Hassan (A.S.);

a radiant jewel of Islam was this glowing young son; but Qasim into pieces with a bride day old; on the sand in heat it was savage and cold. Then the pride of the Hashims rode back from the river; And the tyrants made sure that he did not deliver; they cut off his arms, but spirit was set; till an arrow hit the bag, only eyes got wet.

Fell Abbas (A.S.) from the horse, with no hands for resort;

then al-Husain (A.S.) rushed to shore for a brother's end resort;30

those children who waited with the patience were told; and thirst in the camp was three days old. Soon Akbar cam down with spear in his chest;

which a father had to pull so severe was the test;

He was image of the Prophet (P), and the life of al-Husain (A.S.);

He was vision of a mother and the eyes of al-Husain (A.S.)

Now the Leader was alone as he called for the help, then a baby fell down; a response from the crib! This thirsty, pure, infant was a son of Imam, Who, acknowledged his father and the call of Imam. 40 Thus al-Husain (A.S.) brought him for some water in the field,

and showed them baby's dried lips and appealed; but the six months old got an arrow so thick, that turned him over and tore his neck. Ali Asghar went to sleep, with his father and no fear; 45 with the cradle on the fire, and their head on spear; and the mother's empty hand, with the tear dried eyes, who looked for the baby to sing lullabies. And a sister by the camp saw the horror of this trip; as a knife tore the neck, where the Prophet (P) put his lips;50 Earth in grief, roared heavens and mourned, Sand turned red when al-Husain (A.S.) was torn. And a child full of tears with her tiny bleeding ears, bruises on her face and her thirst so severe; She ran for her father who laid beheaded, and cried for the uncle for help she needed; Syeda Zainab (A.S.) looked for her in the sadness of that night;

did inquire every soul in the land of the plight; but Sakina was sleeping on the chest of a body;

with the love of the father, from the fragrance of his boy.

Then the camp pushed down, while flames went up; little children rushed out, as their dresses lit up; it was night full of cries and the innocent quests; shattered were the dreams and broken were the nests. 60 All defenses laid to rest, after trials and the tests;65 left to face, one Imam, even history would detest, who fainted with the illness faced torture and torment; a Master of the pious and devotees' ornament. Lashes on his back heavy chains on Imam; but ladies were the prisoners, was the wound of Imam; 70 No chador for them but their rope tied arms;

and grief soared high from Kufa to Shaam.

But, the daughter of Ali (A.S.) challenged, miseries with the messages;

with the families in bazaars, and deadly courts of savages; With the depth of the patience and the Zenith of Braver Bravery;

Islam was rescued for ever from the slavery.*

L. 6. ?A.S.? is the abbreviated form of an originally Arabic honorific and prayer-like sentence. ??Alayhi al-Sal?m? for males, or ??Alayha al-Sal?m? for females are basic forms used to express one's reverence and high respect for the dignitaries mentioned. Although widely-used in Islamic, particularly Shiite, devotional and religious texts produced in English, the abbreviation ?A.S.? has not been recorded in English dictionaries.

L. 13. For Hurr, see note to L. 181 above.

L. 19. Aun and Muhammad are two sons of Lady Zaynab who was martyred in Karbala.

L. 19. ?Haider? is a title of Imam ?Al?.

L. 21. Q?sim was son of Imam al-Hasan, Imam al-Husain's elder brother. Q?sim fought the enemy and was martyred in defense of his uncle, viz. Imam al-Husain.

L. 25. ?[T]he Hashims? refers to the H?shimids present at Karbala, viz. Imam al-Husain and those of the H?shimid dynasty.

L. 29. ?Abb?s (var. Abbas) b. ?Al? was Imam al-Husain's step- brother. He typifies and symbolizes bravery, religious zeal, politeness, and entire obedience toward Imam al-Husain.

L. 33. ?Akbar?, lit. ?elder?, is a title of ?Al? b. al-Husain, the elder brother of the fourth Infallible Imam. Akbar is used here as a shortened form. On Ashura, he was the first of the H?shimids who went to the battlefield, fought the enemy, and was martyred.

L. 45. Ali Asghar, Arabic title ?Al? al-Asghar, is ?Al? b. al- Husain. [Asghar means the youngest.] When Imam al-Husain lost all his companions, he got back to the tents and found him suffering from intense thirst. To prevent his baby from dying of thirst, Imam al-Husain brought him to the enemy so as to get him some water.

Imam al-Husain requested some water from the enemy soldiers to save him from certain death, but a wicked and cruel soldier shot an arrow and slew the baby in the Imam's arms.

L. 57. Syeda Zainab. ?Syeda? (lit. Lady, Miss, or Mrs.) is the feminine form of ?Syed?, itself the Indian-Subcontinent English variant form of ?sayyid? which means Mr. or Sir.

Regarding Zainab, or Zaynab bint ?Al?, she was Imam al- Husain's younger sister who accompanied Imam al-Husain from Medina to Karbala. (Bint means ?daughter of?.) She married her cousin ?Abd Allah b. Ja?far and had four sons and a daughter.

Two of her sons, ?Awn (var. Aun) and Muhammad, were martyred in Karbala on Ashura. She bravely acted as the leader of the survivors of the Karbala incident and eloquently acted as the disclosing voice of the Karbala revolt to disclose the real face and unjust character of Yazid.

L. 59. Sakina (Sak?na bint al-Husain), was Imam al-Husain's daughter.

L.71. The word ?chador? symbolizes formal and religious covering for women and girls when they get out. Already a loan word in English, it in signifies worrenls high social status in Middle Eatern Muslim communities.

L. 72. Kufa to Shaam. Kufa, or al-Kufa (Arabic al-K?fa), is a town on the western bank of the Euphrates. It is now quite close to al-Najaf. Al-Kufa served as a seat of Imam ?Al?'s government, hence a refuge and center for the Shiites. Just prior to the Karbala incident, several of its inhabitants wrote letters, inviting Imam al-Husain to move there; however, most of them betrayed him and participated in the unbalanced war against him in Karbala.

L. 72. ?Shaam?, or ?al-Sh?m? refers to the Levant that is a region presently comprising Syria, and the neighboring parts of Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan. It specifically refers to Damascus, the capital and seat of the Umayyad dynasty.

In Shiite culture, it implies the hardest and most unbearable phase of captivity for the survivors of the Karbala incident.