The truth about Al-Husayn’s Revolt

Translator’s Note

In undertaking the translation of this booklet, Haqiqatun Nahdhal Husayniya, The Truth About Al­-Husayn’s Revolt, by Martyr Ayatollah Murtadha Mutahhari, I have been keen on conveying the meaning to the English reader in standard English from the Arabic text that was translated from Farsi by Sadiq al-Baqqal. I hope I have succeeded in this task. I also hope that this translation will benefit people who are interested in acquiring knowledge about Islamic topics.

It is noteworthy, however, that the booklet is a transcript of a sermon/lecture the late author had delivered in gatherings held in Tehran for the annual commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (a.s.). Thus, the reader may come across some repetitions that are typical of the style of delivery, although I have done my best to minimize these to a level that, I think, is acceptable.

Where I thought the meaning of the text would be enhanced or rendered more intelligible, I have put the additional words, which do not constitute part of the original text, between square brackets, thus []. I did the same with other pieces of information I have provided that are, in my judgement, beneficial to the reader. On certain occasions, I felt the need to keep the Arabic word, which I enclosed between these ( ) brackets, alongside its English equivalent, so as to reinforce the meaning.

In this translation, I relied on the Arabic edition, published by the International Relations Division, Organisation for Missions (Bunyad Bi’that), Tehran, Iran.

Finally, I have thought that the reader might benefit of some other aspects of the story of Imam Husayn’s martyrdom, especially those dealing with the universal dimension of his message. Thus, I have chosen excerpts from the Introduction to “Sunshine at Midnight (The Karbala’ Epic)”, a rhymed version of the story of Karbala’ in English, by the late S.A. Mahdi, 1985. You will find these passages under the Introduction.

Najim al-Khafaji,
BA, MIL London, UK, July, 2002