Maqtal al-Husayn
The Shari’a Survided through Al-Husayn
Al-Husayn's revolution was the concluding part of the cause of firming
the creed’s foundations. It clearly distinguished between those who
called for righteousness and those who advocated falsehood. It drew a
line between this party and that, so much so that it has been said that
Islam started by Muhammad (S) and its continuation is through al-Husayn
(‘a).
The Imams of guidance (‘a), therefore, found no means to promote their cause to reform the nation, and to get their word to resurrect the Shari’a of their most sacred grandfather (S), except by attracting the attention to this glorious revolution due to what it contains of the calamities that split the solid rocks, cause children to grow gray hair, and cause the heart to dissolve.
They, peace be upon them, kept urging the nation to support it and to bring to memory the cruelty and persecution meted to the martyr/reformer, and to familiarize the nation with what took place during those bloody scenes of oppression meted to al-Husayn (‘a) and to his family members and relatives.
They, peace of Allah be upon them, knew that demonstrating the
oppression from which he suffered would bring sympathy and soften the
hearts. The listener will naturally investigate the calamities and get
to know the status of this oppressed Imam (‘a) and the reasons why he
was mistreated.
Of course he will come to know that the Prophet's grandson was a just
Imam who did not court this world, nor did he pay attention to those who
promoted falsehood, and that his Imamate was inherited from his
grandfather (S) and from his own father the wasi, and that his
opponent had no legitimate claim to caliphate at all, nor did anyone who
followed his line.
Once the listener comes to know all this to be the truth that al-Husayn
and the Imams who succeeded him (‘a) were all on the right track, he
will have no choice except to follow their lead and to embrace their
exemplary method, thus firming the foundations of peace and harmony.
The usurping Umayyad and ‘Abbaside authorities forced Ahl al-Bayt,
peace be upon them, to keep to their homes, closing all doors before
them, prohibiting them from meeting with their followers.
The Ahl al-Bayt suffered at the Umayyad and the ‘Abbaside hands from all types of harm and annihilation, so they preferred isolation to taking to arms and fighting the promoters of falsehood despite their seeing them going to extremes in their oppression and in being unfair to the followers of the Commander of the Faithful and to his offspring (‘a), pursuing them under every rock and in every city so that they would remove the ‘Alawides from the face of earth.
They saw how al-Mansur and al-Rashid placed the offspring of Fatima,
peace be upon her, inside building columns in order to suffer a slow
death, all out of injustice and oppression.[^1]
Yet all of this did not distract them from urging the upholding of the
supreme struggle by admonishing their Shi’as to hold majalis[^2] to
commemorate the Taff incident. Disgust persisted on account of the
calamities and catastrophes, and floods of tears were shed because of
the abundance of their painful tragedies.
They went to extremes in explaining the merits of doing so because they
were convinced that that was the strong factor for maintaining the
religious link for which the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) suffered
what he suffered, and so did his son al-Hasan (‘a) as well as al-Husayn
(‘a), tragedies which shook the firm mountains.
The Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) used to explore various avenues to explain the
spiritual importance of remembering al-Husayn (‘a) because of the
perfect link between such remembering and the safeguarding of the creed
from extinction. They expressed it once in general terms and once in
specific references. Imam al-Baqir (‘a), for example, has said,
“May Allah have mercy on one who meets with another to discuss our
cause, for the third of them will be an angel seeking forgiveness for
them; so, keep such memory alive, for your meetings and discussions keep
our cause alive, and the best of people after us are those who discuss
our cause and invite others to remember us.”
Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) once asked al-Mufaddal Ibn Yasar, “Do you meet and
discuss?” He answered the Imam (‘a) in the affirmative, whereupon the
Imam (‘a) said, “I surely love such majalis; so, keep our memory alive;
whoever sits at a majlis in our memory, his heart will not die when
hearts die.”
The Imams, peace be upon them, aimed by so explaining to urge the
nation to believe in their Imamate and in what the Master, Glory to Him,
has mandated of their Infallibility and what He bestowed upon them of
the virtues and merits, and that directing people to them cannot be
separated from belief in their being the caliphs, had it not been for
those who usurped this divine post.
The things that remind people of al-Husayn (‘a), in their various
methods, such as commemorative majalis, mournings,[^3] beating the
cheeks[^4] at homes and in the streets..., help promote the sect. The
role of the re-enactment of the tragedy, accompanied by the recitation
of poetry and the narration of the epic, best demonstrates the cruelty
which the Umayyahds and their followers inflicted upon al-Husayn (‘a).
It thus clearly reaches the minds of children and the commoners who do
not comprehend what is contained in the books, or in poetry, of the
particulars of the incident. It is the most effective means in
influencing people and in strengthening their determination to safeguard
the religious links between us and the Imams (‘a) and those who paid
tribute to them, and it plays a major role in firming the creed.
Other people, such as the Indians, in addition to other Islamic sects,
have emulated the Shi’as in the re-enactment of the Taff tragedy. This
is more prevalent in India than in any other Islamic heartland.[^5]
Attracting attention to such reminders and promoting them is needed
primarily to keep the memory of the Infallible Ones alive with those who
love them, those who love to discuss them and to remember them. Probably
a host of the benefits of doing so are not appreciated by the nation.
The most they get out of them is that their doing so brings them rewards
in the hereafter; that is all.
But one who is acquainted with the mysteries of Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) and who digs deep in order to digest the implications of their statements and actions will clearly see what they have referred to with regard to such meetings and with their urging their Shi’as to do due to their munificence and vast knowledge.
[^1]: as-Saduq, ‘Uyun Akhbar al-Riďa, p. 62.
[^2]: Holding commemorative gatherings (majalis) to bring that tragedy to memory is not confined to homes, for such an understanding contradicts the spirit of the narration. In his Amali (or Majalis), as-Saduq cites Imam al-Riďa (‘a) saying, “One who is reminded of our tragedy and who consequently weeps, his eyes shall not weep on the Day when eyes will be blinded [with tears of remorse].” On p. 26 of Qurb al-Isnad, Abu ‘Abdullah (‘a) is quoted as saying, “Anyone who mentions us or to whom we are mentioned and who sheds a tear as small as the wing of a fly, Allah will forgive his sins.” On p. 100 of Kamil al-Ziyarat, Abu Harun quotes Abu ‘Abdullah (‘a) saying that one to whom al-Husayn (‘a) is mentioned, so he sheds a tear as small as a fly's wing, will be rewarded by Allah Who will not accept anything for him less than Paradise. There are many such statements which urge the employment of any means whereby al-Husayn's tragedy or the tragedies that befell Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) are brought to memory, such as holding commemorative majalis, spending money on them, composing poetry or writing about such tragedies, the citation of already composed poems in their honour, or re-enacting the tragedy before people in all its aspects. All of these are implied in his following statement: “Whoever reminds others of our tragedy..., etc.”
[^3]: Ibn Qawlawayh, Kamil al-Ziyarat, p. 174, where Malik al-Juhni quotes Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon him saying, “On ‘Ashura, let everyone mourn al-Husayn, weep, and demonstrate his grief for him. They should meet one another at their homes weeping over him, and let them pay condolences to one another on the anniversary of al-Husayn's tragedy, for I guarantee for them, if they do so, that Allah will grant them the rewards of two million pilgrimages and ‘umra and campaigns with the Messenger of Allah and the guided Imams, peace be upon them.”
[^4]: On p. 283, Vol. 2, of Al-Tahthib, Shaikh al-Tusi quotes Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (‘a), at the end of a chapter dealing with atonements saying, “The daughters of Fatima (‘a) rent their pockets and beat their cheeks as they mourned al-Husayn Ibn ‘Ali, and it is on such tragedy that the cheeks should be beaten and the pockets rent.” The same is indicated by al-Shahid in his book Al-Thikra in a chapter dealing with Ahkam (injunctions) relevant to the dead.
[^5]: In an article published in issue No. 28 (17th year), of the Persian newspaper Al-Habl al-Matin, Dr. Joseph, a French intellectual, is quoted as saying that such a re-enactment has been employed by Shi’as since the time of the Safawides (Safavids) who acquired their authority through the power of their creed assisted by their theologians and scholars.