المجالس العاشورية في المآتم الحسينية

He turned right and left, and behold, there was a vast pool, immense in length and width. He said: I said to myself: This must be al-Kawthar. In it was water colder than ice and sweeter than the sweetest. And beside the pool were two men and a woman, their lights shining over all creatures, yet they were clothed in black, weeping and grieving. I said: Who are these? It was said to me: This is Muhammad al-Mustafa, this is the Imam Ali al-Murtadha, and this is the pure Fatima al-Zahra. I said: Why do I see them clothed in black, weeping and grieving? It was said to me: Is this not the day of Ashura, the day of the killing of al-Husayn (peace be upon him)? They grieve because of that.

He said: So I drew near to the Mistress of Women, Fatima (peace be upon her), and said to her: O daughter of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family), I am thirsty. She looked at me with a glare and said to me: Are you the one who denies the merit of weeping over the affliction of my son al-Husayn, the lifeblood of my heart and the delight of my eye, the martyr slain unjustly and wrongfully? May God curse his killers, those who wronged him, and those who barred him from drinking water. The man said: I awoke from my sleep alarmed and terrified, and I sought God's forgiveness much, and I regretted what I had done. I went to my companions with whom I had been, and told them of my vision, and I repented to God, mighty and exalted (1).

How excellent are the words of Sheikh Abd al-Husayn al-A'sam, may God have mercy on him, when he says:

The Fourth Gathering, of the Ninth Day
Gabriel and the angels informing
the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) of the killing of al-Husayn (peace be upon him)
In the Book of Pilgrimage (al-Mazar) by al-Mashhadi, may God have mercy on him, it comes in one of the noble visitations: And I bear witness that you fulfilled God's covenant and His pledge, and all that He stipulated upon you in His Book. You called to His path, and you exhausted your strength in seeking His pleasure. You carried creation along the way of prophethood and the paths of the message, and you traveled in it by the conduct of the prophets and the ways of the successors. Yet no command of yours was obeyed, and no ear listened to you. So may the blessings of God be upon your souls and your bodies (1).

Concerning that, one of the poets says:

Abu Basir related from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: I heard him say: While al-Husayn (peace be upon him) was with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family), Gabriel came to him and said: O Muhammad, do you love him? He said: Yes. He said: Indeed your nation will kill him. So the Messenger of God grieved greatly at that. Gabriel said: Would it please you that I show you the soil upon which he will be killed? He said: Yes. So Gabriel folded up what lay between the gathering place of the Messenger of God and Karbala until the two portions met thus — and he joined his two forefingers — and he took up some of the soil with his wings and handed it to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family). Then the earth was spread out again faster than the blink of an eye, and the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: Blessed are you, O soil, and blessed is the one who is killed upon you.

From Anas ibn Malik: that one of the great angels asked his Lord, mighty and exalted, for permission to

visit the Prophet, and He gave him leave. While he was with him, al-Husayn entered upon him, and the Prophet kissed him and seated him in his lap. The angel said to him: Do you love him? He said: Yes, with the most intense love — he is my son. He said to him: Your nation will kill him. He said: My nation will kill my son? He said: Yes, and if you wish I will show you the soil upon which he will be killed. He said: Yes. So he showed him red soil of pleasant scent and said: When this soil becomes fresh blood, it is the sign of the killing of this son of yours. Salim ibn Abi al-Ja'd said: I was told that the angel was Michael (peace be upon him).

From Aisha: that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) seated al-Husayn on his thigh and began kissing him, and Gabriel said: Do you love this son of yours? He said: Yes. He said: Then your nation will kill him after you. The eyes of the Messenger of God filled with tears, and he said to him: If you wish I will show you the soil upon which he will be killed. He said: Yes. So Gabriel showed him soil from the earth upon which he would be killed, and said: It is called al-Taff.

From Anas: that the angel of rain asked permission to come to the Messenger of God, and the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to Umm Salama: Keep the door for us; let no one enter upon us. Then al-Husayn came to enter, but she stopped him, yet he leapt until he got in and began clambering onto the shoulders of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) and sitting upon them. The angel said to him: Do you love him? He said: Yes. He said: Then your nation will kill him, and if you wish I will show you the place where he will be killed. He stretched out his hand, and behold, there was red clay. Umm Salama took it and placed it at the edge of her veil. Thabit said: It reached us that it was the place where he was killed at Karbala.

From Muhammad ibn Sinan, from Sa'id ibn Yasar or another, who said: I heard Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) say: When Gabriel descended upon the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) with news of the killing of al-Husayn, he took Ali by the hand and withdrew alone with him for a good part of the day, and weeping overcame them both. They did not part until Gabriel descended upon them — or he said: the Lord of the Worlds — and said to them: Your Lord conveys His greetings of peace to you both and says: I have resolved upon you both that you be patient. He said: So they were patient (1).

From Abu Basir, from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: Gabriel came to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) while al-Husayn was playing before the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family), and informed him that his nation would kill him. He said: So the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) was distressed. He said: Shall I show you the soil on which he will be killed? He said: So what lay between the gathering place of the Messenger of God and the place where he would be killed was folded together until the two portions met, and he took some of it, and the earth was spread out again faster than the blink of an eye. He came out saying: Blessed are you, O soil, and blessed is the one who is killed around you.

He said: Likewise did the companion of Solomon: he spoke the Greatest Name of God, and the smooth and rugged ground between the throne of Solomon and the throne was folded together until the two portions met, and he drew the throne near. Solomon said: It seemed to me that it came out from beneath my seat. He said: And the earth was spread out again faster than the blink of an eye.

From Zayd al-Shahham, from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: Gabriel (peace be upon him) announced the death of al-Husayn (peace be upon him) to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) in the house of Umm Salama. Then al-Husayn entered upon him while Gabriel was with him, and he said: This one — your nation will kill him. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: Show me the soil upon which his blood will be shed. So Gabriel took a handful of that soil, and behold, it was red soil. And in a narration: it remained with Umm Salama until she died, may God have mercy on her.

From Abu Khadija, from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: When Fatima gave birth to al-Husayn, Gabriel came to the Messenger of God and said to him: Your nation will kill al-Husayn after you. Then he said: Shall I show you some of its soil? He beat his wing and brought out some of the soil of Karbala and showed it to him, then said: This is the soil upon which he will be killed.

From Abd al-Rahman al-Ghanawi, from Sulayman, who said: Did there remain in the heavens any angel who did not descend to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) to console him over his son al-Husayn, and inform him of the reward God would grant him, and carry to him his soil — slain upon it, slaughtered and killed, cast down and forsaken? The Messenger of God said: O God,

forsake whoever forsakes him, kill whoever kills him, slaughter whoever slaughters him, and let him not enjoy what he seeks.

Abd al-Rahman said: By God, the cursed Yazid was struck down swiftly and did not enjoy his life after his killing. He was seized suddenly: he slept drunk and woke up dead and discolored, as if smeared with tar. He was taken in regret. And none who followed in his killing or took part in fighting him remained but was afflicted with madness, leprosy, or vitiligo, and that became an inheritance in their offspring — may God curse them (1).

From Ibn Abbas, who said: The angel who came to Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) to inform him of the killing of al-Husayn was Gabriel, the Trusted Spirit, with wings outspread, weeping and crying out, having carried some of his soil, and it gave off fragrance like musk. The Messenger of God said: Will a nation that kills my fledgling prosper? — or he said: the fledgling of my daughter? Gabriel said: God will strike them with discord, so their hearts will be divided (2).

The narrator said: And the people of hadith said: When a full year had passed over al-Husayn (peace be upon him), twelve angels descended upon the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) in various forms — one of them in the form of a son of Adam — consoling him and saying: There will befall your son al-Husayn, son of Fatima, what befell Abel from Cain. He will be given the like of Abel's reward, and his killer will bear the like of Cain's burden. And no angel remained but descended to the Prophet to console him, while the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: O God, forsake the one who forsakes him, kill the one who kills him, and let him not enjoy what he seeks.

From Aisha, who said: al-Husayn came in upon the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) while he was a small boy toddling, and he said: O Aisha, shall I not astonish you? Just now an angel came in to me who had never come in to me before, and he said: This son of yours will be killed, and if you wish I will show you the soil upon which he will be killed. And he took up red dust. Umm Salama took it and stored it in a vial. She brought it out on the day he was killed, and it was blood (3).

From Umm al-Fadl bint al-Harith: that she came in to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) and said: O Messenger of God, I saw a dreadful dream last night. He said: What was it? She said: It is hard. He said: What was it? She said: I saw as if a piece of your body had been cut off and placed in my lap. The Messenger of God said: You have seen something good — Fatima will give birth to a boy who will be in your lap. So Fatima (peace be upon her) gave birth to al-Husayn (peace be upon him). She said: And he was in my lap, just as the Messenger of God had said. One day I brought him in to the Prophet and placed him in the lap of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family). Then I happened to glance, and behold, the eyes of the Messenger of God were pouring tears. I said: May my father and mother be your ransom, O Messenger of God, what is wrong with you? He said: Gabriel came to me and informed me that my nation will kill this son of mine, and he brought me red soil from his soil (1).

It is related in the works of some of our companions, from Umm Salama, who said: The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) came in one day, and following him came al-Hasan and al-Husayn (peace be upon them), and they sat at his two sides. He took al-Hasan on his right knee and al-Husayn on his left knee, and began kissing this one at times and that one at others. Suddenly Gabriel descended and said: O Messenger of God, do you indeed love al-Hasan and al-Husayn? He said: How could I not love them, when they are my two sweet basils in this world and the delight of my eyes? Gabriel said: O Prophet of God, God has decreed for them a matter, so be patient with it. He said: And what is it, my brother? He said: It has been decreed for this Hasan that he will die poisoned, and for this Husayn that he will die slaughtered. And every prophet has one answered supplication. If you wish, let your supplication be for your two sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn — supplicate God to save them from poison and killing. And if you wish, let their affliction be a treasure stored up in your intercession for the sinners of your nation on the Day of Resurrection. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: O Gabriel, I am content with the decree of my Lord; I desire only what He desires. I would prefer that my supplication be a treasure for my intercession for the sinners of my nation, and that God decree for my sons whatever He wills (2).

The learned al-Majlisi, may God have mercy on him, said: It is related from some of the trustworthy, righteous ones that al-Hasan and al-Husayn (peace be upon them) came one feast day into the chamber of their grandfather, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family), and said: O grandfather, today is the day of the feast, and the children of the Arabs have adorned themselves with garments of various colors and worn new clothes, while we have no new clothes. We have come to you for that. So the Prophet pondered their state and wept, for there were no clothes in the house suited to them, nor did he see fit to refuse them and break their hearts. So he prayed to his Lord and said: My God, mend their hearts and the heart of their mother. Then Gabriel descended bearing two white robes from the robes of Paradise. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) rejoiced and said to them: O masters of the youth of the people of Paradise, take garments that the tailor of divine power has sewn to your measure. But when they saw the robes were white, they said: O grandfather, how is this, when all the children of the Arabs are wearing colored clothes?

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) bowed his head for a while, pondering their matter. Gabriel said: O Muhammad, be at ease and let your eyes be comforted. The Dyer of the dye of God, mighty and exalted, will settle this matter for them and gladden their hearts with whatever color they wish. So command, O Muhammad, that the basin and pitcher be brought. They were brought, and Gabriel said: O Messenger of God, I will pour the water over these robes while you rub them with your hand, and they will be dyed for them whatever color they wish.

So the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) placed al-Hasan's robe in the basin, and Gabriel began pouring the water. Then the Prophet turned to al-Hasan and said to him: O delight of my eye, what color do you want your robe to be? He said: I want it green. So the Prophet rubbed it with his hand in that water, and by the power of God it took on an exquisite green color like green emerald. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) brought it out and gave it to al-Hasan, who put it on.

Then he placed al-Husayn's robe in the basin, and Gabriel began pouring the water. The Prophet turned toward al-Husayn — who was five years of age — and said to him: O delight of my eye, what color do you want your robe to be? al-Husayn said: O grandfather, I want it red. So the Prophet rubbed it with his hand in that water, and it became red like red ruby, and al-Husayn put it on. The Prophet was gladdened by that, and

al-Hasan and al-Husayn went off to their mother, joyful and delighted.

But Gabriel (peace be upon him) wept when he beheld that state, and the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: O my brother Gabriel, on a day like this, in which my two sons rejoice, you weep and grieve? By God, I beg you to tell me. Gabriel said: Know, O Messenger of God, that the choice your two sons made of differing colors — it must be that al-Hasan will be given poison to drink, and the color of his body will turn green from the force of the poison; and it must be that al-Husayn will be killed and slaughtered, and his body will be dyed with his blood. So the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) wept, and his grief over that increased (1).

How excellent are the words of Sayyid Ridha al-Hindi, may God have mercy on him, when he says:

The Fifth Gathering, of the Ninth Day
On the noble qualities of Imam al-Husayn (peace be upon him)
and his dialogue with Umar ibn Sa'd
In the visitation of Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari (may God be pleased with him), on the day he visited al-Husayn (peace be upon him), it comes: I bear witness that you are the son of the Seal of the Prophets, the son of the master of the believers, the son of the ally of piety, the offshoot of guidance,

the fifth of the People of the Cloak, the son of the master of the chiefs, the son of Fatima the Mistress of Women. And why should you not be so, when you were nourished by the hand of the master of the messengers, raised in the lap of the God-fearing, suckled at the breast of faith, and weaned upon Islam? You were good in life and good in death, save that the hearts of the believers are not at ease over parting from you, nor do they doubt the good that is for you. So upon you be the peace of God and His good pleasure. And I bear witness that you passed on in the way your brother Yahya ibn Zakariyya passed on (1).

Sheikh al-Saduq, may God have mercy on him, related from Imam al-Sadiq Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his father (peace be upon them), who said: al-Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon them) had two rings. The inscription of one was: "There is no god but God, a provision for the meeting with God." And the inscription of the other was: "Indeed God will accomplish His purpose." And the inscription of the ring of Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon them) was: "Disgraced and wretched is the killer of al-Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon them)" (2).

From Muhammad ibn Muslim, who said: I asked al-Sadiq Ja'far ibn Muhammad (peace be upon them) about the ring of al-Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon them) — to whom did it pass? And I mentioned to him that I had heard it was taken from his finger among what was taken. He (peace be upon him) said: It is not as they said. al-Husayn (peace be upon him) bequeathed it to his son Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him), placed his ring on his finger, and entrusted his affair to him — just as the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) did with the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), and the Commander of the Faithful did with al-Hasan, and al-Hasan did with al-Husayn (peace be upon them). Then that ring passed to my father (peace be upon him) after his father, and from him it passed to me, and it is with me. Indeed I wear it every Friday and pray in it.

Muhammad ibn Muslim said: So I went in to him on a Friday while he was praying. When he finished the prayer, he stretched out his hand to me, and I saw on his finger a ring whose inscription was: "There is no god but God, a provision for the meeting with God." He said: This is the ring of my grandfather Abu Abdullah al-Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon them) (3).

It is related from Hammad ibn Salama, who said: From my father, who said: We were at a woman's funeral, and Abu Hurayra was with us, when the funeral of a man was brought. He placed it between himself and the woman and prayed over them both. When we came back, al-Husayn (peace be upon him) grew tired and sat down on the road, and Abu Hurayra began wiping the dust from his feet with the edge of his garment. al-Husayn said: O Abu Hurayra, do you do this?! Abu Hurayra said: Let me be — by God, if the people knew of you what I know, they would carry you upon their shoulders (1).

As for his courage (peace be upon him), al-Irbili, may God have mercy on him, said in Kashf al-Ghumma: The courage of al-Husayn (peace be upon him) is proverbial, and his steadfastness in the thick of battle confounded those of later times and earlier. His firmness, when summoned to combat, was the firmness of a mountain; his boldness, when the field narrowed, was the boldness of death itself. His stand against those wicked ones equaled the stand of his grandfather (peace be upon him and his family) at Badr, and so they balanced. His patience over the multitude of his enemies and the fewness of his helpers was the patience of his father (peace be upon him) at Siffin and the Camel — and the source of enmity was one: by the deed of the first was the deed of the last. How many a knight, proud of his might, did he (peace be upon him) cast down so that he fell; how many a champion whose blood he shed and so was wasted; how many a time his sword ruled and so it ruled over crowns and heads. He met no brave man but that his mother was bereaved of him. May God gather them and recompense each for what he sent ahead of deeds.

And when you know that the watchword of al-Husayn (peace be upon him) and his companions was "Ascend, O Truth," and the watchword of his enemies was "Ascend, O Hubal," you know that these are in bliss that never ceases, and those in misery that never ends (2).

Sayyid Haydar al-Hilli, may God have mercy on him, said:

And he said in another ode:

Ibn Shahrashub, may God have mercy on him, said in al-Manaqib: It was said to him (peace be upon him) on the day of al-Taff: Submit to the judgment of your cousins. He said: No, by God, I will not give you my hand like a humbled man, nor flee like slaves. Then he called out: O servants of God, I have taken refuge with my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning. And he (peace be upon him) said: Death in honor is better than a life in humiliation. And he (peace be upon him) composed on the day he was killed:

By God, neither this nor that is my way.
And Ibn Nubata said:

And another said:

And in al-Hilya: Muhammad ibn al-Hasan related that when the people descended upon al-Husayn (peace be upon him) and he became certain they would kill him, he said to his companions: There has befallen us of the matter what you see, and indeed the world has changed and grown strange, its good has turned away, and it has continued until nothing remains of it but a residue like the dregs of a vessel, and a base life like noxious pasture. Do you not see that the truth is not acted upon and falsehood is not refrained from? Let the believer desire the meeting with God, for I see death as nothing but happiness, and life with the wrongdoers as nothing but weariness. And he composed, taking as his model, when he set out for al-Taff:

al-Tirmidhi related: Ibn Ziyad would put a rod into the nose of al-Husayn (peace be upon him) and say: I have never seen one as beautiful as this head. Anas said: He was the most resembling of them to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) (2). And it is related that al-Husayn (peace be upon him) would sit in a dark place, and he was found by the whiteness of his forehead and his throat (3).

The learned al-Majlisi, may God have mercy on him, said: It is related in some of the reliable books, from al-Tabari, from Tawus al-Yamani, that al-Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon them), when he sat in a dark place, the people were guided to him by the whiteness of his forehead and his throat — for the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) used often to kiss his forehead and his throat. And Gabriel (peace be upon him) descended one day and found al-Zahra (peace be upon her) asleep, with al-Husayn crying in his cradle. So he began cooing to him and soothing him until she awoke and heard the voice of someone cooing to him. She turned but saw no one. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) informed her that it had been Gabriel (peace be upon him) (4).

How excellent are the words of Sheikh Muhammad Ali al-Ya'qubi, may God have mercy on him, when he says:

So may the curse of God be upon his killer; may God disgrace him and torment him with the severest torment; and may God curse whoever wronged him, constrained him, and barred him from the freely available water.

Ibn Sirin related from one of his companions, who said: Ali (peace be upon him) said to Umar ibn Sa'd: How will you be when you stand in a station in which you are given the choice between Paradise and the Fire, and you choose the Fire?

And it is related from Sufyan, from Salim, who said: Umar ibn Sa'd said to al-Husayn (peace be upon him): A group of fools claim that I will kill you. al-Husayn said: They are not fools, but rather forbearing men. Then he said: By God, it gladdens my eye that you will not eat the wheat of Iraq after me except a little.

From Abdullah ibn Sharik, who said: I encountered the men of marked cloaks and the men of hooded mantles among the people of the colonnades; whenever Umar ibn Sa'd passed by them, they would say: This is the killer of al-Husayn (peace be upon him) — and that was before he killed him (2).

Ibn A'tham al-Kufi said in al-Futuh: al-Husayn (peace be upon him) sent to Umar ibn Sa'd: I wish to speak with you, so meet me tonight between my camp and your camp. He said: So Umar ibn Sa'd came out

with twenty horsemen, and al-Husayn (peace be upon him) came with the like of that. When they met, al-Husayn (peace be upon him) ordered his companions to withdraw from him, and there remained with him his brother al-Abbas and his son Ali al-Akbar (peace be upon them). And Umar ibn Sa'd ordered his companions to withdraw, and there remained with him his son and a servant of his called Lahiq. al-Husayn (peace be upon him) said to him: Woe to you, O son of Sa'd! Do you not fear God, to whom is your return, that you would fight me? I am the son of the one you know — O man — from the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family). So leave these people and be with me, for I will bring you near to God, mighty and exalted. Umar ibn Sa'd said to him: O Abu Abdullah, I fear that my house will be demolished. al-Husayn (peace be upon him) said to him: I will build it for you. He said: I fear that my estate will be seized. al-Husayn (peace be upon him) said: I will give you in its place something better than it from my property in the Hijaz. He said: But Umar did not respond to any of that.

So al-Husayn (peace be upon him) turned away from him, saying: What is wrong with you? May God slaughter you upon your bed swiftly and soon, and may He not forgive you on the day of your gathering and resurrection. By God, I hope that you will not eat of the wheat of Iraq except a little (1).

And he also said in al-Futuh: al-Husayn (peace be upon him) sent Burayr to Umar ibn Sa'd, and Burayr said: O Umar ibn Sa'd, will you leave the household of prophethood to die of thirst, having barred them from the Euphrates so that they cannot drink of it, and yet you claim to know God and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family)?

He said: So Umar ibn Sa'd bowed his head to the ground for a while, then raised his head and said: By God, I know with certainty that everyone who fights them and usurps their rights will assuredly be in the Fire. But woe to you, O Burayr, do you counsel me to give up the governorship of Rayy, so that it goes to another? I do not find my soul able to comply with that, ever. Then he began to recite:

He said: So Burayr ibn Khudayr returned to al-Husayn (peace be upon him) and said: O son of the daughter of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family), Umar ibn Sa'd has consented to kill you for the kingdom of Rayy (1).

Yaqut said in Mu'jam al-Buldan: Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad had granted Umar ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas the governorship of Rayy on condition that he march out with the army that set off to fight al-Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon him). So he kept wavering between marching out for the governorship of Rayy and staying behind, until the love of the world and of leadership overcame him and he marched out — and there happened to al-Husayn (peace be upon him) what happened (2).

How excellent are the words of Sayyid Muhammad Husayn al-Qazwini, may God have mercy on him, when he says: