The Event of Taff, The Earliest Historical Account of the Tragedy of Karbala’

Preamble

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Blessings and peace be on the noblest of His creation, the seal of His messengers, Muhammad, and upon his pure and distinguished household.

The narration of the lord of the martyrs, Abu ‘Abdillah, (as), is one of the greatest historical events and the everlasting recollections, which has served as a beacon for mankind. This event teaches that true honour and life lies only in confronting the tyrants, even though it may lead to sacrificing lives and being killed at the hands of the oppressors. Such was the slogan of Imam al-Husayn (as) when he said: “I consider death to be nothing but martyrdom, and living with the tyrants as disgusting.”

Therefore, it is incumbent upon the seekers of eternal felicity to keep this event before their eyes and to deal with the despotic rulers of their time in the manner Imam al-Husayn (as) dealt with them.

Because of the importance of this great event, [different] researchers have written numerous books on the martyrdom (maqtal) of the lord of the martyrs (as). The first of these researchers is Lut bin Yahya bin Sa’id, [famously known as] Abu Mikhnaf. He compiled a book in this regard, recounting the events that occurred to al-Husayn, his children, brothers and companions (as). Shaikh al-Najjashi describes him in his Rijal as “The master of the narrators in Kufah and a leading figure among them.”[^1]

The eminent scholar, Shaikh Muhammad Hadi al-Yusufi al-Gharawi has undertaken the research and editing of [Abu Mikhnaf’s] work. This institute has endevoured to publish this work for the benefit of the seekers of knowledge and virtue. We are grateful to Allah, the Glorious, for granting us success in this regard. We would also like to extend our thanks to the honourable researcher of this work for his great efforts. We pray to Allah to grant this institute and him the tawfiq in spreading the teachings of Islam, as He is, indeed, the Hearing, the Responsive.

The Institute of Islamic Publications Under
The Association of the Instructors (jami’ah al-mudarrisin)
The Holy City of Qum

[^1]: See Introduction for his biography.