المجالس العاشورية في المآتم الحسينية

Walk barefoot, magnify seventyfold with each step. Your sleep is its fulfillment, your shirt covering it, and say to it all: your son, your son, not Ja'far or Aqeel.

He (peace be upon him and his family) said: "As for the delay in placing and raising my feet during the procession of the funeral, it was due to the large number of angels crowding. As for my seventy takbirs (saying 'Allahu Akbar'), it is because seventy rows of angels prayed upon her. Concerning my sleeping in her grave, I remembered during her life the tightness of the grave, and she said, 'Oh, my weakness!' So I slept in her grave so that I might spare her from that. As for wrapping her in my shirt, I remembered during her life the Day of Resurrection and the people gathering naked, and she said, 'Oh, my shame!' So I wrapped her in it so that she may rise on the Day of Resurrection concealed. And as for my saying to her, 'Your son, your son,' not 'Ja'far' or 'Aqeel,' when the angels came down to her and asked her about her Lord, she said, 'Allah is my Lord.' And they said, 'Who is your prophet?' She replied, 'Muhammad is my prophet.' They asked, 'Who is your guardian and leader?' She was shy to say, 'My son,' so I told her, 'Say: Your son Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him),' so her eyes became delighted with that."

Know, O followers, may God keep you and us steadfast in supporting them and disassociating from their enemies, that some noble narrations state that the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) attended the funerals of some of their devoted and sincere followers. Among them was Shatita, may God be pleased with her. It is narrated that she was a righteous woman who loved the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them). She was in Nishapur, and when the Shia of Nishapur sent funds to Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be upon him), she sent one dirham and a piece of cloth spun by her own hand, worth four dirhams. The Imam (peace be upon him) accepted what she sent and none of the other funds, and he said to the bearer of the gifts, "Convey my greetings to Shatita and give her this pouch," — it contained forty dirhams. Then he said, "And I have gifted her a piece from my shroud made from the cotton of our village, Sayyida, the village of Fatima (peace be upon her), spun by my sister Halima, may God be pleased with her."

According to the narration of Ibn Hamzah al-Tusi, may peace be upon him, in "Al-Thaqib," he said: Shatiteh stayed for nineteen days and then passed away, may God have mercy on her. The Shia crowded to pray over her. I saw Abu al-Hasan (peace be upon him) on a camel. He dismounted, took its reins, and stood to pray over her with the people. He attended her burial, scattering soil from the grave of Abu Abdullah al-Hussein (peace be upon him) into her grave.

Once he finished with her affairs, he mounted the camel and turned his head towards the desert. He said: "Inform your companions and convey to them my greetings. Tell them: Indeed, it is necessary for us, the members of the Ahl al-Bayt, to be present at your funerals, no matter in which land you are. So fear God concerning yourselves, and perform good deeds to help us ensure your salvation and free you from the fire."

Abu Ja'far said: When he departed (peace be upon him), the group recognized him, and they saw that he had gone far, with the steed carrying him quickly, and their hearts almost melted in sorrow because they could not have the chance to look upon him.

Among them is Salman the Persian, may God's blessings be upon him. The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was present with him, and it is a well-known story. It is narrated that the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustansir once went out to visit the grave of Salman the Persian, peace be upon him, accompanied by Sayyid Izz al-Din Ibn al-Aqsasi. On the way, the Caliph said to him: "Among the lies told by the extremist Shia is the claim that Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) traveled from Medina to Al-Mada'in when Salman passed away, washed his body, and returned in the same night to Medina." To this, Ibn al-Aqsasi replied spontaneously by saying:

And Al-Uzri, may peace be upon him, said:

Ibn Shahr Ashub, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated from Jabir al-Ansari who said: The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) led us in the morning prayer. Then he turned to us and said: "O people, may Allah magnify your reward for your brother Salman." They asked about that, so he wore the turban of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), his robe, took his staff and sword, and mounted on al-Adhba’. He then told Qanbar: "Count to ten." He did, and suddenly we were at Salman’s door.

Zadhan said: When the time of Salman's death approached, I asked him, "Who will perform the final rituals for you?" He replied, "The one who performed them for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)." I said, "You are in al-Mada’in, and he is in Medina." He replied, "O Zadhan, when I have tightened my jaws, you will hear a loud noise." When I did that, I heard the noise and reached the door to find the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him). He said, "O Zadhan, has Abu Abdullah Salman passed away?" I said, "Yes, my master." He entered, removed the cover from his face, and Salman smiled at the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), who said to him, "Welcome, O Abu Abdullah. When you meet the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), tell him that your brother from your people has visited you." Then he began the funeral preparations.

When he prayed over him, we heard the intense glorifications from the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him). We saw with him two men; one was my brother Ja'far and the other was Khidr (peace be upon them). Each had seventy rows of angels with them, and in each row, there were a million angels.

And it is mentioned in a narration by Shazan bin Gabriel, may Allah have mercy on him, regarding the death of Salman (may Allah be pleased with him).

He said: Al-Asbagh ibn Nabatah stated: While we were in that state, a man arrived on a gray mule, his face veiled, and he greeted us. We returned his greeting, and he said, "O Asbagh, be diligent concerning Salman." So we involved ourselves in the matter. The man took with him shrouds and had a burial preparation, saying, "Come along, for I have everything necessary." We brought him water and washing supplies. He did not cease washing the body with his own hands until he was finished. He shrouded him, and we prayed over him, then he buried him, digging the grave with his own hands. When he completed the burial and was about to leave, we clung to him and asked, "Who are you?" He uncovered his face, and light emanated from his teeth like a dazzling flash of lightning. It was the Commander of the Faithful. I asked him, "O Commander of the Faithful, how did you come here? And who informed you of Salman's death?"

He said: Then he (peace be upon him) turned to me and said: "I require from you, Asbagh, the covenant and pledge from Allah that you will not speak of this to anyone as long as you are in this world." I said: "O Commander of the Faithful, will I die before you?" He (peace be upon him) replied: "No, Asbagh, your life will indeed be prolonged." I said to him: "O Commander of the Faithful, take from me a covenant and pledge—I am loyal and obedient—that I will not tell anyone about it until Allah decides your matter as He wills; indeed, He has power over all things."

He said, "O Asbagh, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) instructed me in this way. I had just finished my prayer in Kufa and was heading towards my home. When I arrived at my house, I lay down. Then a visitor came to me in my dream and said: 'O Ali, Salman has passed away.' So I rode my mule and took with me what I needed for the deceased. I started to travel, and God shortened the distance for me, so I came to you as you see now. This is what the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) informed me about. Then he buried him and covered him. I did not know whether he ascended to the heavens or descended into the ground. Then he went to Medina where the caller announced the Maghrib prayer, and Ali was present with them in the mosque."

O Commander of the Faithful! It is difficult for us, the community of lovers, to see you travel from Medina to Al-Mada'in, to wash, embalm, shroud, and bury Salman with your own hands, while your son Hussein remains wounded, left lying on the hot sands without washing or shrouding for three days. And a speaker may say: If not...

Imam Zain al-Abidin (peace be upon him), the son of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), was present but did not wash, shroud, or embalm his father, Hussain (peace be upon him). Instead, he sufficed by carrying his father's body on a mat.

And blessed be the lips of Shafihini, may God have mercy on him, when he said:

The Fifth Council from the Thirteenth Day: Characteristics of the Burial of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him)

Sheikh Ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Daylami said in the book "Irshad al-Qulub": It is narrated from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) that he said: Al-Ghari is a piece of the mountain upon which God spoke to Moses directly, sanctified Jesus upon it, took Abraham as a friend upon it, and made Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) beloved upon it, and made it a dwelling for the prophets.

It is narrated that the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) looked over the back of Kufa and said: "How beautiful is your appearance and how pleasant your surroundings! O Allah, do not make my grave near her."

It is narrated from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) that he said: Between his grave and Kufa is the Abode of Peace, the gathering place of the souls of the believers. And it is as if I see people among them on pulpits of light, enjoying themselves until the Day of Resurrection.

Ibrahim bin Muhammad Al-Thaqafi narrated from Abdullah bin Hazm, who said: One day we went out with Al-Rashid from Kufa while he was hunting, and we ended up in the area of Al-Ghurrayn and Al-Thawiyyah. We saw gazelles and released falcons and dogs after them. They pursued them for a while until the gazelles sought refuge on a hilltop and stood there. The falcons turned back from the direction of the hill, as did the dogs, which astonished Al-Rashid.

Then the gazelles descended from the hill, and the falcons and dogs pounced. The gazelles returned to the hill, and the dogs and falcons withdrew from them. They repeated this three times. Harun said: "Run, and whoever you encounter, bring him to me." We brought him an old man from the Banu Asad tribe. Harun al-Rashid asked him: "What...?"

This hillock? He said: If you grant me safety, I will tell you. So he gave him safety. He said: My father told me from his ancestors that this hillock is the grave of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him). God has made it a sanctuary; nothing takes refuge in it except that it finds safety.

In that regard, some poets say:

Al-Dailami, may mercy be upon him, said: Among the special attributes of his (peace be upon him) soil is the cessation of torment in the grave and the avoidance of questioning by Munkar and Nakir for those buried there, as has been narrated in authentic reports from the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them).

Sheikh Muhammad Hassan Al-Jawahiri, may he rest in peace, after conveying the aforementioned news, said: "I remember hearing from some of our teachers, who narrated from Al-Muqaddad, who said: 'The reports have mutually confirmed that burial in the various shrines of the Imams (peace be upon them) exempts one from the questioning by Munkar and Nakir.'"

Monkeir
(1)

Sheikh Al-Kulayni, may mercy be upon him, narrated on the authority of Hubba al-Arani: "I went out with the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) to Dhuhur — the desert outskirts of Kufa — where he stood in the Valley of Peace as if he were speaking to people. I stood with him until I became weary, then I sat down until I grew bored. I stood again until I felt the drowsiness as I had before, then sat again until I grew bored. I stood once more and gathered my cloak, saying: 'O Commander of the Faithful, I am concerned for you because of the length of your standing. Rest for a while.'"

Then he spread the cloak for him to sit on, and he said to me: "O Hubba, it is but a conversation or companionship of a believer." I asked, "O Commander of the Faithful, and does it truly exist?" He replied: "Yes, and if the veil were lifted, you would see them sitting in circles conversing." I asked: "Are they bodies or spirits?" He answered: "Spirits. There is no believing soul that dies in any part of the earth except that it is told: 'Join the Valley of Peace,' for it is a part of the Garden of Eden."

Ahmad ibn Umar reported that he raised it [the matter] to Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) and said: "I feel bad about being in Baghdad, and I fear dying there." He replied: "Do not worry about where you die. Indeed, there will not remain a single believer, whether in the east or the west of the earth, except that Allah will gather their soul to the Valley of Peace." I asked him: "And where is the Valley of Peace?" He said: "It is on the outskirts of Kufa. Indeed, it is as if I see them forming circles, sitting and conversing there."

Al-Barasi, may mercy be upon him, said: Al-Asbagh ibn Nabata narrated that the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) used to sit with the people in a place in Kufa. One day, he said to those around him: "Who sees what I see?" They replied: "And what do you see, O Eye of God watching over His servants?" He said: "I see a camel carrying a funeral, a man driving it, and a man leading it, and it will come to you after three days." When the third day arrived, the camel arrived with the funeral tied to it, and the two men were with it. They greeted the group, and then the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said to them.

They asked them: Who are you? Who are you, and where have you come from? Whose funeral is this, and why have you come? They replied: We are from Yemen, and as for the deceased, he is our father. Before he died, he instructed us: Once you have washed and shrouded me and prayed over me, carry me on this camel to Iraq and bury me there in Najaf, the land of the people of Kufa.

The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said to them, "Have you asked him why?" They replied, "Yes, we have asked him, and he said: 'Bury me here as a man who, if he were to intercede on the Day of Judgment for the people of the gathering, would be granted intercession.'" The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) then stood up and said, "He speaks the truth, by Allah, I am that man, by Allah, I am that man."

It is narrated by Qadhi Ibn Badr Al-Hamdani Al-Kufi, who was a righteous man, that one rainy night he was at the Mosque of Kufa. A group knocked at the door of Muslim ibn Aqil (peace be upon him), so he opened it for them. Some among them mentioned that they had a body for a funeral. They brought it in and placed it in the section near where Muslim ibn Aqil (peace be upon him) was situated.

Then one of them fell asleep and saw in his dream someone saying to another: "What do you see that we do not see? Should we hold his account with us immediately, before he crosses the Rusafa, as there will be no path left for us with him?" He awoke and recounted the dream to them. They said: "Take him quickly." So they took him and promptly went with him to the revered shrine.

A group of the righteous individuals from the sacred shrine of Al-Ghrawi narrated that each one saw a cord emerging from the graves present in the sacred shrine, which was extended and connected to the honored dome. May God's blessings be upon its honoree.

And how truthful were the poets who said:

The second section:

The public gatherings for the tenth of Muharram, which are also recited throughout the days of the year, contain several sessions focusing on the tribulations of Imam Hussain and his family (peace be upon them).

In the first council, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) informed Fatimah (peace be upon her) about the martyrdom of Hasan (peace be upon him) by poison and Hussain (peace be upon him) by killing, and offered his condolences to her.

It is mentioned in the visitation of Nahiyah narrated from Imam al-Mahdi (peace be upon him) that he said: With your death, they have killed Islam, disrupted prayer and fasting, violated the traditions and laws, demolished the foundations of faith, distorted the verses of the Quran, and indulged in tyranny and aggression.

The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was left bereft, and the Book of God Almighty was abandoned, and truth was subjugated, subdued by your absence. With your loss, takbeer (proclamation of God's greatness) and tahleel (proclaiming the oneness of God) were missed.

Your mother, Al-Zahra, was aggrieved over your loss, and the ranks of the close angels differed, consoling your father, the Commander of the Faithful. Mourning ceremonies were held for you in the highest heavens, the heavenly maidens expressed their sorrow for you, the skies and their inhabitants wept, as did the gardens and their keepers, the hills and all their extents, and the earth along with its expanses.

And the seas and their whales, and Mecca and its construction, and the gardens and their youths, and the House and the Station, and the sacred site, and the sweetness of Ihram.

Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari narrated with a chain of transmission from Musa ibn Ja'far, from his father, from his grandfather (peace be upon them), from Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari. He related the story of the marriage of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and the wedding night, saying:

Ali (peace be upon him) said: "I spent a night unlike any other experienced by anyone among the Arabs. At the end of the night, during the last part before dawn, I felt the presence of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) with us, so I went to rise. He said to me: 'Stay where you are, O Ali, may God have mercy on you, I am coming to you on your bed.' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) then placed his legs with us under the cover, took a cloak that was at the head of Fatimah (peace be upon her) and she awoke. Both he and she began to cry, and I cried because of their weeping. He then asked me: 'Why do you weep, O Ali?' I replied: 'May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, I wept because you and Fatimah wept, so I cried because of your weeping.'"

He said: Yes, Gabriel (peace be upon him) came to me and gave me the glad tidings of two noble offspring you will have. Then I was consoled for one of them and I knew that he would be killed as a stranger, thirsty. Fatimah cried until her weeping became intense. She then asked: "O father, why will he be killed while you are his grandfather, Ali is his father, and I am his mother?" He replied: "O my daughter, he sought kingship. But know that the sword will rain over them and will not be sheathed except by the hands of the Mahdi from your progeny. O Ali, whoever loves you and your descendants has indeed loved me, and whoever has loved me has loved Allah. Whoever hates you and your descendants has hated me, and whoever has hated me has angered Allah, who will cast him into the fire."

Al-Saduq, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated with a chain of transmission from Ibn Abbas and recounted the hadith concerning the birth of Husayn (peace be upon him), until he said: Gabriel descended upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to congratulate him as commanded by Allah, the Almighty, and also offered condolences. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: "Will my community kill him?" Gabriel replied: "Yes." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) then said: "These are not my community, I am innocent of them, and Allah is innocent of them." Gabriel said: "I too am innocent of them, O Muhammad."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) entered upon Fatimah and congratulated and consoled her, whereupon Fatimah (peace be upon her) began to weep and said: "I wish I could have withstood the battles of Hussein in the fire." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "I bear witness to that, O Fatimah, but he will not be killed until an imam from him and guiding imams after him are established." It is said that Fatimah then calmed down from her weeping.

Abu al-‘Arab Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Tamimi narrated with his chain of transmission from Al-Haytham al-Bakaa, who said: Gabriel descended upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) while Fatimah was in the room. Alternatively, Fatimah left the room with Husayn that day and went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), as Husayn's crying was distressing to him. She comforted him until he walked or crawled to the door of the house, fearing he might enter, so she went to him and took him back, and he stopped crying. She returned him to his place, but he cried again. She comforted him until he reached the door, went to him, and took him back, and he stopped crying. She repeated this several times.

Then, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) took him and seated him in his lap. Gabriel said to him, "Do you love your son, O Muhammad?" He replied, "Yes, my community will kill him." Gabriel then spread his wings over the land of Karbala and said, "This is the land where his soil is."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) went out of the house carrying Husayn on his neck, and he held some soil in his hand while he was crying. Fatimah asked: "What makes you cry, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied: "My son will be killed by my community in the land of this soil, as Gabriel has informed me."

It was narrated by Muhammad bin Suleiman Al-Kufi: with the chain of narration from Anas bin Malik in a hadith about the vision of Fatimah (peace be upon her) in a dream where she saw that Hasan and Hussein had died. Fatimah (peace be upon her) informed her father, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), about this. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) turned to Fatimah (peace be upon her) and said: "Do you grieve when you see their death? What would you do if you saw the elder being poisoned and the younger drenched in his blood in the plain?"

Why do you call our land terrestrial and refer to it as a jungle?

He said: Fatimah wept, and Ali, Hasan, and Husayn also wept. Then Fatimah, peace be upon her, said: "O my father, will the unbelievers do this, or hypocrites from our nation?" He replied: "Rather, they are hypocrites from this nation, and they claim to be believers!" She said: "O my father, shall we invoke Allah against them?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: "Yes."

He stood in the direction of the Qibla, and Ali, Hassan, and Hussein stood with him, and Fatima stood behind them. Then he led them in prayer and said in his supplication: "O Allah, defeat the oppressors, the unjust, the renegades, and the dissenters. Then gather them all in Your painful torment." Then Allah revealed: "And your Lord is going to give you, and you will be satisfied."

In the account narrated by Sa'ad bin Abdullah regarding Al-Qaim (peace be upon him), it is mentioned that Zakariya said: "Whenever I remember Al-Hussain (peace be upon him), my eyes well up with tears, and a sob rises from my chest." God Almighty then informed him about the story of Al-Hussain (peace be upon him) and his calamity. Upon learning this, he did not leave his place of worship for three days and barred people from entering to see him. He devoted himself to weeping and lamentation, reciting: "My God, do You cause the greatest of Your creation to suffer the loss of his son? My God, will You extend this grievous affliction to his household? My God, will You dress Ali and Fatima in the garments of this tragedy? My God, will this deep affliction befall their presence?"

Sheikh Abdul Hussein Al-Aasmar, may Allah have mercy on him, speaks about the tragedy of Hussein (peace be upon him):

The second assembly is for the revival of the matters of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), holding mourning ceremonies for them, and weeping for Hussein (peace be upon him).

In some of the visitations of the Imams (peace be upon them), it is mentioned: "O my masters, if only the Prophet (peace be upon him) witnessed, with the arrows of the nation embedded in your chests, spears pointed at your throats, and swords drawn in your blood, satisfying the insatiable thirst of the immoral sons of impiety for your piety, and the spite of disbelief towards your faith. You were between the martyred in the niche with his skull cleaved by the sword, the martyred above the bier with his shroud pierced by arrows, the slain in the open with his head raised on a spear, the shackled in prison with limbs crushed by iron, and the poisoned who had his intestines severed by poison. Indeed, to God we belong, and to Him we shall return, and there is no power or might except in God, the Most High, the Great."

Some poets elegize Hussein (peace be upon him):