المجالس العاشورية في المآتم الحسينية

You nursed from the breast of faith, and were weaned on Islam, so you were good in life and good in death. Yet, the hearts of the believers are not at ease with your departure, nor do they doubt your life. May God's peace and blessings be upon you, and I testify that you departed as your brother John the Baptist did.

Then he cast his gaze around the grave and said: "Peace be upon you, O souls who have settled in the courtyard of Husayn (peace be upon him) and who have come to rest here. I bear witness that you established prayer, gave alms, enjoined what is right, forbade what is wrong, struggled against the disbelievers, and worshiped God until certainty came to you. By Him who sent Muhammad with the truth, we have shared with you in what you have entered."

Atiyyah said: I asked Jabir, "How can it be justified to descend into a valley, ascend a mountain, or strike with a sword when people's heads have been separated from their bodies, children orphaned, and wives widowed?" He replied, "O Atiyyah! I heard my beloved, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) say: 'Whoever loves a people will be resurrected with them, and whoever loves the deeds of a people will be associated with their deeds.' By the One who sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) with the truth, my intention and the intention of my companions align with the stance of Hussain (peace be upon him) and his companions."

Atiyaa said: While we were in that situation, suddenly a group of people appeared coming from the direction of Sham. I said, "O Jabir, a group is coming from the direction of Sham." Jabir said to his servant, "Go to that group and bring us news about them. If they are from the followers of Omar bin Saad, return to us so that we may find a refuge. But if they are with Zain al-Abidin, then you are free for the sake of Allah Almighty."

He said: The servant went, and it was not long before he returned saying: "O Jabir! Rise and greet the sanctuary of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), for Zain al-Abidin (peace be upon him) has come with his aunts and sisters." So Jabir stood up, walking barefoot, with his head uncovered, until he reached Zain al-Abidin (peace be upon him). The Imam said: "Are you Jabir?" He replied: "Yes, O son of the Messenger of Allah." Then he said: "O Jabir!"

Here, by God, they killed our men, slaughtered our children, enslaved our women, and burned our tents.

In some accounts, the narrator said: They met at the same time and began to weep, wail, and lament, and they held a mourning ceremony. The women of the surrounding area gathered with them, and Zainab emerged among the group. She reached for her collar, tearing it, and called out in a sorrowful voice that pierced the heart: "Oh my brother, oh Hussein, oh beloved of the Messenger of Allah, oh son of Mecca and of me, oh son of Fatimah al-Zahra, oh son of Ali al-Murtada. Ah, ah!" Then she fainted, and the women gathered around her, sprinkling water on her until she regained consciousness. As if she were crying out with the language of her condition.

It is as if my heart says in response to her (peace be upon her):

They stayed there for three days, dedicated to holding mourning ceremonies and shedding flowing tears. Then, after that, Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him) ordered that the departure preparations be made, so they prepared for the journey. Sakinah called upon the women to bid farewell to their father's grave. They gathered around the grave, and Sakinah embraced her father's grave, weeping intensely and lamenting. She began to recite:

Fatimah, the daughter of Al-Hussein (peace be upon him), also fell upon her father's grave, weeping intensely until she fainted.

It is narrated: It was said to Ali ibn al-Hussein (peace be upon him): "Shall the women marry from their family?" He (peace be upon him) replied, "O people, you do not see what I see. I fear that my aunt Zainab will die; she moves from one grave to another."

When Zainab (peace be upon her) was told to rise, she asked, "To where?" They said, "To the city of Medina." She replied, "And who is left for me in Medina?"

The Second Assembly in Favor of Visiting Imam Hussein (Peace be upon him)

Among the narrations regarding the merits of visiting the Master of Martyrs, Hussein bin Ali (peace be upon him), is what has been reported from the Commander of the Faithful, Ali bin Abi Talib (peace be upon him): That Moses bin Imran asked his Lord, Almighty, for permission to visit the grave of Hussein bin Ali, and he visited it with seventy thousand angels.

It has also been narrated from Imam Ali bin Musa Al-Ridha (peace be upon them), who said that Ja'far bin Muhammad (peace be upon them) was asked about the visitation of the grave of Hussein (peace be upon him). He said: "My father informed me that whoever visits the grave of Hussein (peace be upon him) while recognizing his right, Allah records him among..."

On the authority of Al-'Illiyin: He said, there are around the grave of Husayn (peace be upon him) seventy thousand angels, disheveled and dusty, who weep for him until the Day of Judgment.

Dhu'label al-Khuza'i urged visiting the grave of al-Husayn (peace be upon him).

Al-Hussam al-Dawla Abu al-Shawk, Fares bin Muhammad, may mercy be upon him, said during a visit to the grave of Hussein (peace be upon him):

Our esteemed Shaykh Al-Bahai, may mercy be upon him, stated in Al-Kashkool: It is narrated that Al-Hussein (peace be upon him) purchased the lands where his grave is situated from the people of Nineveh and Al-Ghadhiriyah for sixty thousand dirhams, and then donated them.

...on the condition that they guide to his grave and host whoever visits it for three days.

Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Dawood Al-Qummi narrated from our master Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: "The sanctuary of Al-Husayn (peace be upon him), which he purchased for four miles by four miles, is lawful for his children and his followers, but forbidden to others who oppose them. It is blessed." The distinguished Sayyid Ridha Al-Din Ibn Tawus mentioned: "It became lawful only after charity because they did not fulfill the condition." He said: "Muhammad bin Dawood narrated their failure to fulfill the condition in the chapter on exceptional visits."

Harun ibn Khurajah narrated, saying: I heard Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) say: "Allah has appointed four thousand angels at the grave of Husayn (peace be upon him), disheveled and covered in dust, weeping for him until the Day of Judgment. Whoever visits him acknowledging his right will be escorted by them until they reach their safe return. If they fall ill, the angels will visit them morning and evening, and if they die, the angels will attend their funeral and seek forgiveness for them until the Day of Judgment."

Among the narrations highlighting the virtue of visiting Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), Ibn Quluwayh reported, may Allah have mercy upon him, through Al-Husayn ibn Thuwair ibn Abi Fakhta, who said: Abu Abdillah (peace be upon him) said: "O Husayn! Whoever sets out from his home intending to visit the grave of Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him), if he is walking, with each step he takes, a good deed will be written for him, and a sin will be erased. When he reaches the haram, Allah will record him among the successful ones. When he completes his rituals, Allah will write him among the triumphant ones. When he intends to leave, an angel will come to him and say: Verily, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) sends you greetings and says: Commence anew in your deeds, for indeed what has passed has been forgiven."

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Al-Tumhan, from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), that he said: I heard him saying: No one will be present on the Day of Resurrection without wishing they had been among the visitors of Hussein bin Ali (peace be upon him) because of the...

The dignity of the visitors of Hussein is made evident by their honor given by God.

And the poet rightly said:

Narrated Ibn Qulawayh, may mercy be upon him, from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: One day, Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon them both) was sitting on the lap of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), playing and laughing with him. Aisha said: O Messenger of Allah, how extremely amazed you are by this child! He replied to her: Woe to you! How can I not love him and not be amazed by him, when he is the fruit of my heart and the light of my eyes?! Indeed, my community will kill him, and whoever visits him after his death, Allah will write for him the equivalent of one of my pilgrimages. She asked: O Messenger of Allah, one of your pilgrimages?! He said: Yes, and two of my pilgrimages. She asked: O Messenger of Allah, two of your pilgrimages?! He said: Yes, and four. He continued to increase and double until it reached ninety pilgrimages of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), with their lifetime.

Zayd al-Shahham reported that he said to Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him): What is it like for someone who visits the grave of Hussain (peace be upon him)? He said: It is as if he has visited God on His throne. I said: And what about someone who visits one of you? He said: It is as if he has visited the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).

Muhammad ibn Muslim reported from Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him): Instruct our followers to visit the grave of Hussain (peace be upon him), for visiting it increases sustenance, prolongs life, repels undesirable events, and visiting them pacifies every believer who acknowledges Hussain as the divinely appointed leader.

From Mansour bin Hazm, he said: We heard him say: Whoever goes a year without visiting the grave of Hussein (peace be upon him), God will reduce his lifespan by a year, and I would even say that one of you may die before his appointed time.

If you visit Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), it will add thirty years to your life, because leaving his visitation means that God might not extend your lifespan and increase your provisions. Therefore, do not neglect visiting him, as this act will decrease your lifetime and provisions. Compete with one another in visiting him, and do not abandon it, for Hussein (peace be upon him) will bear witness for you in this regard before God, His Messenger, the Commander of the Faithful, and Fatimah (peace be upon them).

Among the narrations regarding the virtue of visiting Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), it is also reported by Ibn Qulawayh (may he be granted mercy) from Mu'awiyah ibn Wahb. He said: I sought permission to enter upon Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) and was told, “Enter.” So I entered and found him in his private prayer area at his home. I sat down until he finished his prayer, and I heard him confiding in his Lord, saying:

"O Allah, O You who has honored us with dignity, promised us intercession, granted us the legacy, and bestowed upon us knowledge of what has passed and what remains, and inclined the hearts of people towards us, forgive me and my brothers, and the visitors to the grave of my father, Abu Abdullah Al-Hussein. Those who spent their wealth and exerted their bodies out of desire for our loyalty, and in hope of what You have in store for them in connecting with us, and as joy they bring to Your Prophet, and in response to our command, and as an antagonism they inflict upon our enemy, seeking Your pleasure with that. So reward them on our behalf with Your satisfaction, watch over them by night and day, and guard their families and children whom they have left behind with the best guardianship. Accompany them and protect them from every tyrannical oppressor, every weak and strong creation, and the evil of human and jinn devils. Grant them the best of what they aspire from You in their estrangement from their homelands, and for what they preferred us with over their sons, families, and relatives."

O Allah, our enemies have belittled them for setting out, but this did not deter them from journeying to us, opposing those who oppose us. So, have mercy on those faces that have been changed by the sun, have mercy on those cheeks that turn on the grave of Abu Abdullah Al-Hussein (peace be upon him), have mercy on those eyes that weep out of compassion for us, and have mercy on those hearts that are anguished and burned for us, and have mercy on that cry that was for us. O Allah, I entrust You with those bodies and those...

The souls will meet them at the pool on the day of thirst until he said (peace be upon him): O Muawiya, those who supplicate for their visitors in the heavens are more than those who supplicate for them on earth.

To the esteemed Sheikh Muhammad Ali Al-Yaqoubi, may he rest in peace, who said:

The first person to visit the grave of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) was Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him). He met Imam Zain al-Abidin (peace be upon him), along with his aunts and sisters, at the same time. They began to weep, wail, and lament, holding a mourning ceremony. The women of the surrounding area joined them. Zainab came out among the crowd; she tore her garment and cried in a sorrowful voice that moved hearts: "O my brother, O Hussein." This reminds us of the eloquent words of Sheikh Ali Al-Jishi (may Allah have mercy on him) when he said:

The Third Assembly: What Allah Provided as Compensation to Imam Hussein (peace be upon him)

It is mentioned in the visitation of Al-Nahiya for Imam Al-Hujjah (peace be upon him): Peace be upon Hussein, who willingly sacrificed his soul. Peace be upon him who obeyed Allah in private and in public. Peace be upon him whose soil contains healing. Peace be upon him beneath whose dome prayers are answered. Peace be upon him from whose progeny the Imams descend.

It is narrated in the work "Al-Amali" by Sheikh Al-Saduq, may he rest in peace, from Muhammad bin Muslim who said: I heard Abu Ja'far and Ja'far bin Muhammad (peace be upon them) say: Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, compensated Hussein (peace be upon him) for his martyrdom by making the Imamate from his descendants, placing healing in his soil, answering prayers at his grave, and the days of his visitors, both going and returning, are not counted against them.

Muhammad bin Muslim said: I asked Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) about the blessings conferred upon Hussein (peace be upon him) and what is his position. He replied: Allah Almighty has united him with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and he is with him in his rank and status. Then Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) recited: "And those who believed and whose descendants followed them in faith—We will join them with their descendants..."

Their descendants with them.
(Quranic Verse)
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It is narrated about Abu Bakr who said: I took some red clay from the place near the head of Hussein bin Ali (peace be upon him), and I entered upon Al-Ridha (peace be upon him) and showed it to him. He took it in his palm, smelled it, and then wept until his tears flowed. Then he said: This is the soil of my grandfather.

It is narrated from Jabir Al-Ju'fi, who said: I heard Aba Ja'far (peace be upon him) say: "The soil from the grave of Hussein (peace be upon him) is a cure for every ailment and a protection from every fear and horror for those who partake of it."

The author of "Al-Mazar Al-Kabeer" narrated with his chain of transmission from Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Al-Thaqafi on the authority of his father, from Al-Sadiq Ja'far ibn Muhammad (peace be upon them), who said: Fatima, the daughter of the Messenger of God (may peace and blessings be upon him and his family), used to have a rosary made from woolen thread with knots numbering the extolments. She would turn it in her hand, reciting glorifications and praises until Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib was martyred. After that, she used his soil to make rosaries, and people adopted this practice. When Al-Husayn, peace be upon him, was martyred, the use of rosaries was associated with his soil due to its excellence and merit.

It is also stated in "Al-Mazar Al-Kabir" and narrated that when the celestial maidens see one of the angels descending to earth for a certain matter, they seek guidance and light from the soil of the grave of Hussein (peace be upon him).

Muawiyah bin Ammar narrated: Imam Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) had a yellow silk pouch containing the soil of Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him). When it was time for prayer, he would pour it onto his prayer mat and prostrate on it. Then he (peace be upon him) said: Prostrating on the soil of Hussain (peace be upon him) pierces through the seven veils.

And some poets say:

Another, may mercy be upon him, said:

And Al-Hadrab ibn Al-Arandas, may mercy be upon him, says:

The Fourth Council: The Plowing of Al-Mutawakkil Around the Grave of Hussein (peace be upon him) and the Injustices and Aggressions on the Grave

It is narrated from Imam Al-Ridha, from his forefathers (peace be upon them), that Ali ibn Al-Hussein (peace be upon both) said: "It is as if I see the palaces that have been built around the grave of Hussein (peace be upon him), and as if I see the markets that have been opened around his grave. The days and nights will not pass until people travel to him from distant horizons, and this will occur upon the end of the reign of the Umayyad dynasty."

To the late honorable Sheikh Faraj Al-Amran, may mercy be upon him, as he says:

It was narrated by Ibn Qulawayh, may mercy be upon him, from Qudamah bin Zaidah, from his father, from Ali bin Al-Hussein (peace be upon him), in a narration about the visitation of Hussein (peace be upon him), where he said: Rejoice, then rejoice, then rejoice, for I will tell you some news that I hold as a treasured secret. When the tragedy befell us at Karbala, and my father (peace be upon him) was killed, along with his sons, brothers, and other relatives, and the womenfolk were mounted on camels, being taken to Kufa. I began to look at them, seeing them slain, unburied, and this weighed heavily on my heart. What I saw caused me great anguish and I felt as though my soul was leaving my body.

My aunt Zainab, daughter of Ali the Great (peace be upon her), noticed this and said: "Why do I see you willing to sacrifice your soul, O remaining descendent of my grandfather, father, and brothers?" I replied: "How can I not grieve when I see my master, brothers, uncles, cousins, and family members covered in their blood, abandoned in the open, stripped of their garments, not buried, not even approached, mirroring the state of people from the distant lands of the Turks and Khazars."

She said, "Do not be distressed by what you see, for by God, this was promised by the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) to your grandfather, father, and uncle. Indeed, God took a covenant from some people of this nation who are not recognized by the tyrants of this land, yet they are known among the dwellers of the heavens. They will gather these separated limbs and bury them, and these bloodied bodies, and they will erect a banner for the grave of your father, the master of martyrs, that will not vanish nor its mark be erased through the passage of days and nights. The leaders of disbelief and the followers of falsehood will strive to obliterate and erase it, but its impact will only grow more prominent, and its significance will increase."

Elevation
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One of the undeniable historical facts is the attack by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil, an enemy of the lineage of the Prophet (peace be upon them), against the grave of the Master of Martyrs, Imam Hussein (peace be upon him). Initially, he sought to prevent people from visiting the sacred grave by punishing anyone who attempted to visit, even by death. Despite this, people were determined to visit, kiss the pure soil of the grave, and show their devotion, even if it cost them their lives. When Al-Mutawakkil saw that people were not deterred by his prohibition and showed no concern for his orders, he resorted to destroying the noble grave. He did not stop there; he plowed over and desecrated it, removed the wooden structure that surrounded it, burned it, and let water run over the area, causing the bricks to collapse, turning the site into a trench. He did all this to obliterate its traces for visitors and admirers, hoping to erase its memory. However, how could he achieve that, and even if he succeeded in destroying and demolishing the sacred grave, how could he possibly remove the love for it from the hearts of its followers and admirers?

Al-Masudi said: The family of Abu Talib was in a great ordeal and feared for their lives before the caliphate of Al-Muntasir. They were forbidden to visit the graves of Al-Hussein (peace be upon him) and Al-Gharee in the lands of Kufa. Others among their Shiites were also prevented from visiting these sites. This decree came from Al-Mutawakkil in the year two hundred and thirty-six [A.H.]. During this year, Al-Dayzj was ordered to go to the grave of Al-Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him) to demolish it, erase its surroundings, and remove its traces. Anyone found near it was to be punished, and rewards were offered for information about those who dared approach the grave. People were deterred from visiting out of fear of punishment. Al-Dayzj himself took a spade and destroyed the upper part of the grave of Al-Hussein (peace be upon him). When workers reached the pit and the burial site, they found no remains or any traces within. Nevertheless, these events did not cease.

According to what we mentioned, the victorious was appointed as successor.

Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani narrated about the days of Al-Mutawakkil and those who emerged during his time among the descendants of Abu Talib (peace be upon him) who were killed or imprisoned. He said: Al-Mutawakkil was extremely oppressive toward the descendants of Abu Talib, harsh toward their group, preoccupied with their affairs, and deeply resentful and hateful toward them. He was suspicious of them and accused them unjustly. It so happened that Ubayd Allah ibn Yahya ibn Khaqan, one of his ministers, held a negative view of them, which encouraged Al-Mutawakkil to deal with them harshly, reaching a level that none of the Abbasid caliphs before him had achieved. Among these actions was that he demolished the grave of Al-Husayn (peace be upon him) and obliterated its traces. He placed guards on all roads leading to it; they would find anyone who visited it and either kill them or severely punish them.

He said: He sent a man from his companions named Al-Deziju, who was a Jew and then converted to Islam, to the grave of Al-Hussein (peace be upon him). He ordered him to dig the grave, erase it, and destroy everything around it. So he went to do so, destroyed the surroundings, demolished the construction, and dug around it up to two hundred acres. When they reached the grave, no one dared to advance towards it. He summoned a group of Jews to dig it up, surrounded it with water, and posted guards with weapons around it, between every two armed posts a mile, preventing any visitor from approaching without being apprehended and directed towards him.

He said: Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Ishanani told me, "I had distanced myself from visiting in those days out of fear, but then I resolved to take the risk upon myself. A man from the perfumers assisted me in this endeavor. We set out as visitors, hiding during the day and traveling by night until we reached the outskirts of Ghadhiriyya. We departed from there at midnight and traveled between armed men who were asleep until we came to the grave. It was hidden from us, so we started to sniff and try to determine its direction until we found it. The wooden structure that was around it had been uprooted and burned; water had been poured over it, causing the ground made up of bricks to sink, creating a trench-like appearance. We visited it, and as we leaned over it, we smelled a fragrance unlike anything we had ever experienced.

Once, something of fragrance similar to your cat wafted by, and so I asked the perfumer who was with me, "What is this scent?" He replied, "By God, I have never smelled anything like it among the perfumes." We left him and placed markers around the grave in several locations. When Al-Mutawakkil was killed, we gathered with a group of the Talibiyyin and the Shiites until we reached the grave. We uncovered those markers and returned it to what it was.

Umar bin Al-Faraj Al-Rakhji was appointed over Al-Madinah and Makkah. He prohibited the descendants of Abu Talib from asking people for anything and prevented people from being generous to them. If he learned that anyone had been charitable to them, even if it was minimal, he would punish them severely and impose heavy fines. It got to the point where a single garment would be shared among a group of Alawite women, each praying in it one after the other, patching it up, and sitting around their spinning wheels in poverty and deprivation, until Al-Mutawakkil was killed. Then, Al-Muntasir took pity on them, treated them well, and sent them financial support. He deliberately opposed his father's ways in all matters, contradicting his approach as a means to criticize him and validate his own actions.

Al-Tabari, in his account of the events of the year 236 AH (850-851 AD), stated: In this year, Al-Mutawakkil ordered the demolition of the tomb of Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon him), along with the destruction of the houses and buildings around it. He commanded that the site of the grave be plowed, sown, and irrigated, and that people be prohibited from visiting it. It was reported that an officer under the Chief of Police announced in the vicinity: whoever is found near the grave after three days will be sent to prison. Consequently, people fled and refrained from going to the site. The area was plowed and crops were planted around it.

Ibn Kathir said: Then the year 236 AH began, during which Al-Mutawakkil ordered the demolition of the tomb of Hussain, the son of Ali, the son of Abu Talib (peace be upon them), and the surrounding houses and buildings. It was announced to the people: "Whoever we find here after three days will be taken to prison," so no one remained there. The site was turned into a farm that was plowed and cultivated.

It is mentioned by Hisham ibn Al-Kalbi that when the water...