المجالس العاشورية في المآتم الحسينية

It is narrated from Ibn Ammara, from his father, from al-Sadiq, from his forefathers (peace be upon them), who said: The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: God Almighty granted my brother Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) virtues whose number none can count but Him. So whoever mentions one of his virtues, acknowledging it, God will forgive him his sins, both past and future, even were he to come on the Day of Resurrection bearing the sins of mankind and jinn. And whoever writes down one of the virtues of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), the angels will not cease asking forgiveness for him so long as any trace of that writing remains. And whoever listens to one of his virtues, God will forgive him the sins he committed through that hearing. And whoever looks upon a writing of his virtues, God will forgive him the sins he committed through that looking. Then the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: Looking upon Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) is worship, and mentioning him is worship, and no servant's faith is accepted save through loyalty to him and disavowal of his enemies (2).

Al-Khwarizmi narrated, with his chain of transmission, from Ibn Abbas, who said: The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: Were the meadows pens, the sea ink, the jinn reckoners, and mankind scribes, they could not enumerate the virtues of Ali ibn Abi Talib (3).

In al-Amali of Sheikh al-Saduq, may God's mercy be upon him: It is narrated that a man came to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) and said: O Messenger of God, have you not seen so-and-so, who set out to sea with a small amount of merchandise and went to

China, then returned swiftly and reaped enormous profit, until even those who loved him envied him, and his relatives and neighbors prospered through him? The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: Indeed, the more wealth of this world increases in abundance and grandeur, the more its owner's tribulation grows. So do not envy the wealthy except for one who spends his wealth in the way of God. But shall I not tell you of one whose merchandise is less than your companion's, whose return is swifter than his, whose profit is greater than his, and the goods prepared for him are preserved in the treasuries of the Throne of the Most Merciful? They said: Yes, O Messenger of God. So the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: Look at this man approaching you. We looked, and there was a man of the Ansar, shabby in appearance. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: This man has ascended this day to the heights, by way of good deeds and acts of obedience, such that were they divided among all the people of the heavens and the earth, the share of the least of them would be the forgiveness of his sins and the assurance of Paradise. They said: By what, O Messenger of God? He said: Ask him, and he will tell you what he did this day.

So the companions of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) turned to him and said: Glad tidings to you for what the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) has announced! What did you do this day, that what was recorded was recorded for you? The man said: I am not aware that I did anything, except that I left my house intending to attend to a need that I had delayed, fearing it had slipped away from me. So I said to myself: I will make up for it by looking upon the face of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), for I have heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) say: Looking upon the face of Ali is worship. So the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: Yes, by God, worship—and what worship! O servant of God, you went seeking to earn a dinar to feed your family, and that escaped you, so you made up for it by looking upon the face of Ali, while you love him and believe in his virtue. That is better for you than if the whole world were red gold for you and you spent it in the way of God. And you shall surely intercede, for the number of every breath you took on your way to him, on behalf of a thousand souls whom God shall free from the Fire through your intercession (1).

From the Mother of the Believers, Umm Salama (may God be pleased with her), she said: I heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family)

say: No people gather to mention the virtue of Ali ibn Abi Talib but that the angels of heaven descend upon them and surround them. And when they disperse, the angels ascend to the heavens, and the other angels say to them: We smell from you a fragrance we do not smell from the angels; we have never seen a fragrance sweeter than it. They reply: We were among a people who were mentioning Muhammad and his household, so their fragrance clung to us and we became perfumed. The others say: Take us down to them. They reply: They have dispersed, each one departing to his home. The others say: Then take us down so that we may be perfumed in that place.

From Jabir ibn Abdullah, who said: The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: Adorn your gatherings with the mention of Ali ibn Abi Talib. And among the virtues recorded by Ibn al-Maghazili, from Aisha, who said: The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: The mention of Ali is worship (1).

It is narrated from the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) that he said: God, blessed and exalted, looked upon the earth and chose us, and chose for us followers who support us, rejoice in our joy, grieve in our sorrow, and give of their wealth and their lives for us. They are of us and belong to us (2).

In al-Kafi, from Abbad ibn Kathir, who said: I said to Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him): I passed by a storyteller telling tales, and he was saying: This is the gathering whose companion is never wretched. He said: Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) replied: Far from it, far from it! Their backsides have missed the pit. Indeed, God has angels who roam about, apart from the noble recording angels. When they pass by a people who are mentioning Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad (peace be upon them), they say: Stop, for you have found what you sought. So they sit and study with them. And when they rise, they visit their sick, attend their funerals, and look after those of them who are absent. That is the gathering whose companion is never wretched.

From Ali ibn Abi Hamza, who said: I heard Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) say: Our followers are merciful among themselves, those who, when they are alone, remember God. Indeed, when we are mentioned, God is mentioned, and when our enemy is mentioned,

Satan is mentioned.

From Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik, from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: Visit one another, for in your visiting is the revival of your hearts and the remembrance of our traditions. And our traditions make you compassionate toward one another. If you take hold of them, you will be guided and saved; and if you abandon them, you will go astray and perish. So take hold of them, and I am the guarantor of your salvation.

From al-Mustawrid al-Nakha'i, from one who narrated to him, from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: Among the angels who are in the heavens, there are those who look down upon the one, the two, and the three who are mentioning the virtue of the Family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). He said: They say: Do you not see these few, despite the multitude of their enemies, describing the virtue of the Family of Muhammad? He said: Then the other group of angels says: That is the bounty of God, which He grants to whom He wills; and God is the Possessor of great bounty.

From Maysar, from Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him), who said: He said to me: Do you withdraw in private and converse and say what you wish? I said: Yes, by God, we withdraw and converse and say what we wish. He said: Indeed, by God, I would love to be with you in some of those gatherings. By God, I love your fragrance and your spirits. You are upon the religion of God and the religion of His angels, so aid yourselves with piety and striving.

From Abu al-Maghra, who said: I heard Abu al-Hasan (peace be upon him) say: There is nothing more wounding to Iblis and his hosts than the visiting of brethren in God to one another. And he said: Two believers meet and mention God, then mention our virtue, we the Family of the House, and not a morsel of flesh remains upon the face of Iblis but that it is torn away, until his very soul cries out from the intensity of the pain it suffers. Then the angels of heaven and the keepers of Paradise sense it and curse him, until no angel brought near remains but that he has cursed him, and he falls back disgraced, weary, and driven away (1).

From Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Faddal, from his father, who said: al-Rida (peace be upon him) said: Whoever recalls

our affliction and weeps and makes others weep—his eye shall not weep on the day the eyes weep. And whoever sits in a gathering in which our cause is revived—his heart shall not die on the day the hearts die.

From Bakr ibn Muhammad, from Abu Abdullah Ja'far ibn Muhammad (peace be upon them both), who said: I heard him say to Khaythama: O Khaythama, convey my greetings to our friends, and counsel them to fear God, the Mighty and Majestic, and that their living attend the funerals of their dead, and that they meet one another in their homes, for in their meeting is the revival of our cause. He said: Then he (peace be upon him) raised his hand and said: May God have mercy on a man who revives our cause.

From al-Mufid, from Jamil ibn Darraj, from Mu'attib, the freedman of Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: I heard him say to Dawud ibn Sarhan: O Dawud, convey my greetings to my friends, and that I say: May God have mercy on a servant who gathers with another and they discuss our cause, for the third of them is an angel asking forgiveness for them both. And no two gather upon our remembrance but that God boasts of them to the angels. So when you gather, occupy yourselves with remembrance, for in your gathering and your discourse is our revival. And the best of people after us is the one who discusses our cause and calls others to our remembrance.

It is narrated from al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: Meet one another and discuss knowledge, for through discourse the tarnished hearts are polished, and through discourse is the revival of our cause. So may God have mercy on the one who revives our cause (1).

From al-Harawi, who said: I heard Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (peace be upon him) say: May God have mercy on a servant who revives our cause. So I said to him: And how does one revive your cause? He said: He learns our knowledge and teaches it to the people, for if the people knew the excellence of our words, they would follow us. He said: I said: O son of the Messenger of God, it has been narrated to us from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) that he said: Whoever learns knowledge in order to dispute with the foolish, or to boast before the scholars, or to draw the faces of people toward himself, is in the Fire.

So he (peace be upon him) said: My grandfather (peace be upon him) spoke truly. Do you know who the foolish are? I said: No, O son of the Messenger of God. He said: They are the storytellers of our opponents. And do you know who the scholars are? I said: No, O son of the Messenger of God.

He said: They are the scholars of the Family of Muhammad (peace be upon them), whose obedience God has made obligatory and whose love He has made binding. Then he said: And do you know the meaning of his words: "or to draw the faces of people toward himself"? I said: No. He said: By God, he means by that the claiming of the Imamate without rightful claim to it. And whoever does that is in the Fire (1).

From Khaythama al-Ju'fi, who said: I came in to al-Sadiq Ja'far ibn Muhammad (peace be upon them both) intending to depart on a journey, and he said: Convey my greetings to our friends, and counsel them to fear God, and that the rich among them tend to the poor, the strong to the weak, the healthy to the sick, and that the living attend the funerals of their dead, and that they meet one another in their homes—for the meeting of one with another is a revival of our cause. May God have mercy on a servant who revives our cause. O Khaythama! We avail you nothing before God except through deeds. Our loyalty is not attained except through piety. And the people of greatest regret on the Day of Resurrection are those who describe justice and then act contrary to it (2).

From al-Azdi, from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: He said to Fudayl: Do you sit and converse? He said: Yes, may I be made your ransom. He said: Indeed, I love those gatherings, so revive our cause, O Fudayl! May God have mercy on the one who revives our cause. O Fudayl! Whoever mentions us, or we are mentioned in his presence, and there flows from his eye even the like of a fly's wing, God will forgive him his sins, even were they more than the foam of the sea (3).

And how excellent are the words of the one who said:

The learned al-Majlisi, may God's mercy be upon him, said: I saw in one of the writings of a trustworthy contemporary: It is narrated that when the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) informed his daughter Fatima (peace be upon her) of the slaying of her son al-Hussein (peace be upon him),

and the trials that would befall him, Fatima wept bitterly and said: O my father, when will that be? He said: In a time empty of me, and of you, and of Ali. So her weeping intensified, and she said: O my father, who will weep for him? Who will undertake to hold mourning for him? The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: O Fatima, the women of my nation will weep for the women of my household, and their men will weep for the men of my household, and they will renew the mourning generation after generation in every year. So when the Day of Resurrection comes, you will intercede for the women, and I will intercede for the men. And everyone among them who has wept over the affliction of al-Hussein, we will take by the hand and bring into Paradise. O Fatima, every eye will be weeping on the Day of Resurrection, except an eye that wept over the affliction of al-Hussein—for it will be laughing, rejoicing in the bliss of Paradise (1).

And how excellent are the words of Sayyid Ja'far al-Hilli, may God's mercy be upon him, when he says:

And among the noble traditions narrated concerning the Imams of the Family of the House (peace be upon them) urging their followers to weep over al-Hussein (peace be upon him) is what is narrated from Mu'awiya ibn Wahb, from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: All wailing and weeping is reprehensible, except wailing and weeping over al-Hussein (peace be upon him) (3). And in another narration

he (peace be upon him) said: Indeed, weeping and wailing are reprehensible for the servant in all that he wails over, except weeping over al-Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon them both)—for in that he is rewarded (1).

From Ibrahim ibn Abi Mahmud, who said: al-Rida (peace be upon him) said: Indeed, the day of al-Hussein wounded our eyelids, made our tears flow, abased our dear one in the land of grief and affliction, and bequeathed to us grief and affliction until the Day of Reckoning. So for the like of al-Hussein let the weepers weep, for weeping over him removes the gravest sins (2).

From al-Rayyan ibn Shabib, who said: I came in to al-Rida (peace be upon him) on the first day of Muharram, and he said to me: O son of Shabib, are you fasting? I said: No. He said: Indeed, this is the day on which Zachariah called upon his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, and said: "My Lord, grant me from Yourself a goodly offspring; surely You are the Hearer of supplication." So God answered him and commanded the angels, who called out to Zachariah while he stood praying in the prayer-niche, that God gives him glad tidings of John. So whoever fasts this day and then calls upon God, the Mighty and Majestic, God will answer him as He answered Zachariah (peace be upon him).

Then he said: O son of Shabib, Muharram is the month in which the people of the pre-Islamic age formerly forbade oppression and fighting out of reverence for its sanctity. Yet this nation recognized neither the sanctity of their month nor the sanctity of their Prophet. In this month they slew his offspring, took his women captive, and plundered his baggage—may God never forgive them for that. O son of Shabib, if you would weep over anything, then weep over al-Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon them both), for he was slaughtered as the ram is slaughtered, and there were slain with him from his household eighteen men who had no equal upon the earth. The seven heavens and the earths wept over his slaying, and there descended to the earth four thousand angels to support him, but they found him already slain. So they remain at his grave, disheveled and dust-covered, until the Riser shall rise, and then they will be among his supporters, and their rallying cry will be: O for the vengeance of

al-Hussein!

O son of Shabib, my father told me, from his father, from his grandfather, that when my grandfather al-Hussein was slain, the sky rained down blood and red dust. O son of Shabib, if you weep over al-Hussein until your tears flow down your cheeks, God will forgive you every sin you have committed, whether small or great, whether few or many.

O son of Shabib, if it would please you to meet God, the Mighty and Majestic, with no sin upon you, then make pilgrimage to al-Hussein (peace be upon him). O son of Shabib, if it would please you to dwell in the chambers built in Paradise with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), then curse the slayers of al-Hussein. O son of Shabib, if it would please you to have the like of the reward of those who were martyred with al-Hussein, then say, whenever you remember him: Would that I had been with them, that I might have attained a great triumph. O son of Shabib, if it would please you to be with us in the highest ranks of the Gardens, then grieve for our grief and rejoice for our joy, and hold fast to our loyalty—for were a man to give his loyalty to a stone, God would raise him with it on the Day of Resurrection (1).

And how excellent are the words of the sanctified, devout, ascetic proof, Sheikh Abdullah ibn Ma'tuq al-Taruti, may God's mercy be upon him, when he speaks of the solitude and estrangement of the Imam al-Hussein (peace be upon him):

The Third Gathering
That the affliction of al-Hussein (peace be upon him) is the greatest of afflictions
It came in some of the visitations of the Imams of the Family of the House (peace be upon them): For are the trials, O my masters, anything but those that clung to you? And the afflictions anything but those that engulfed you? And the calamities anything but those that singled you out? And the disasters anything but those that struck you? May the blessings of God be upon you and upon your souls and your bodies, and the mercy of God and His blessings. By my father and my mother, O Family of the Chosen One, we possess nothing but to circle round your shrines, and to offer condolences therein to your souls, over these tremendous afflictions that have alighted upon your courtyard, and the grievous calamities that have descended upon your dwelling—which have implanted sores in the hearts of your followers, and bequeathed wounds to their livers, and sown anguish in their breasts. So we call God to witness that we have shared with your friends and supporters of old in the shedding of the blood of the breakers of covenants, the oppressors, and the renegades, and the slayers of Abu Abdullah, the master of the youth of the people of Paradise, on the day of Karbala—through our intentions and our hearts, and through our sorrow over having missed those stands at which they were present to support you. And God is my Guardian, may He convey from me to you the greeting of peace (2).

It is narrated from Thabit ibn Abi Safiyya, who said: Ali ibn al-Hussein, the master of the worshippers—God's blessings be upon him—looked at Ubaydullah ibn Abbas ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and shed tears, then said: There was no day harder upon the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) than the day of Uhud, on which his uncle Hamza ibn Abd

al-Muttalib, the Lion of God and the Lion of His Messenger, was slain. And after it, the day of Mu'ta, on which his cousin Ja'far ibn Abi Talib was slain. Then he (peace be upon him) said: Yet there was no day like the day of al-Hussein—God's blessings be upon him. Thirty thousand men advanced upon him, claiming to be of this nation, each seeking nearness to God, the Mighty and Majestic, through his blood. And he kept reminding them of God, yet they would not heed, until they slew him in transgression, injustice, and enmity (1).

From Abdullah ibn al-Fadl, who said: I said to Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him): O son of the Messenger of God, how is it that the day of Ashura became a day of affliction, grief, wailing, and weeping, rather than the day on which the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) passed away? Or the day on which Fatima (peace be upon her) died? Or the day on which the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was slain? Or the day on which al-Hassan (peace be upon him) was slain by poison? He said: Indeed, the day of the slaying of al-Hussein (peace be upon him) is a greater affliction than all the other days. That is because the People of the Cloak, who were the most honored of creation before God, were five. When the Prophet departed from them, there remained the Commander of the Faithful, Fatima, al-Hassan, and al-Hussein (peace be upon them), and in them was consolation and solace for the people. Then when Fatima (peace be upon her) passed away, there was in the Commander of the Faithful, al-Hassan, and al-Hussein (peace be upon them) consolation and solace for the people. Then when the Commander of the Faithful passed away, there was for the people in al-Hassan and al-Hussein (peace be upon them both) consolation and solace. Then when al-Hassan (peace be upon him) passed away, there was for the people in al-Hussein consolation and solace. So when al-Hussein—God's blessings be upon him—was slain, there remained none of the People of the Cloak in whom the people might find consolation and solace after him. Thus his departure was like the departure of them all, just as his remaining had been like the remaining of them all. And for that reason his day became the greatest of days in affliction.

Abdullah ibn al-Fadl al-Hashimi said: So I said to him: O son of the Messenger of God, then why was there not in Ali ibn al-Hussein (peace be upon them both) consolation and solace for the people, like there had been for them in his forefathers (peace be upon them)? He said: Indeed there was. Ali ibn al-Hussein was the master of the worshippers, an Imam and a proof over creation after his forefathers who had passed. But he did not meet the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family), nor hear from him, and his knowledge was an inheritance from his father,

from his grandfather, from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). Whereas the Commander of the Faithful, Fatima, al-Hassan, and al-Hussein (peace be upon them) had been witnessed by the people in the company of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) through circumstances that followed one upon another. So whenever they looked upon any one of them, they would recall his standing with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family), and the words of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) to him and concerning him. So when they passed away, the people lost the witnessing of those most honored before God, the Mighty and Majestic. Yet in none of them was the loss of them all, except in the loss of al-Hussein (peace be upon him), for he passed away last of them. And for that reason his day became the greatest of days in affliction.

Abdullah ibn al-Fadl al-Hashimi said: So I said to him: O son of the Messenger of God, then how did the common folk come to name the day of Ashura a day of blessing? He (peace be upon him) wept, then said: When al-Hussein (peace be upon him) was slain, the people of Syria sought nearness to Yazid, so they fabricated traditions for him and received rewards of wealth for them. Among what they fabricated for him was the matter of this day—that it is a day of blessing—so that the people might turn from wailing, weeping, affliction, and grief, to joy, gladness, seeking blessing, and making provision on it. May God judge between us and them (1).

And how excellent are the words of Sayyid Muhammad Hussein al-Qazwini, may God's mercy be upon him, when he says:

From Umar ibn Bishr al-Hamdani, who said: I said to Abu Ishaq: When were the people abased? He said:

When al-Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon them both) was slain, and Ziyad was claimed as kin, and Hujr ibn Adi was slain (1).

From Abu Basir, from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: There is no martyr but that he wishes that al-Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon them both) were alive, so that they might enter Paradise with him (2).

Al-Baladhuri narrated, saying: When al-Hussein (peace be upon him) was slain, Abdullah ibn Umar wrote to Yazid ibn Mu'awiya: To proceed—the calamity has grown grave, the affliction has grown weighty, and a tremendous event has befallen Islam, and there is no day like the day of al-Hussein. So Yazid wrote back to him: To proceed, O fool—we came to houses well-furnished, beds spread out, and cushions arrayed, and we fought to defend them. If the right is ours, then we fought for our right; and if the right belonged to another, then your father was the first to establish this, seizing and monopolizing the right against its rightful people (3).

And he (peace be upon him) is the slain one of tears; he is the cause of tears for every believing man and woman. It is narrated from Ibn Kharija, from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: al-Hussein ibn Ali said: I am the slain one of tears; I was killed in anguish, and it is rightly due upon God that no anguished one should ever come to me but that God turns it away from him, or returns him to his family rejoicing (4).

From Abu Yahya al-Hadhdha', from one of his companions, from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: The Commander of the Faithful looked at al-Hussein (peace be upon them both) and said: O cause of tears for every believer! He said: Is it I, O father? He said: Yes, O my son (5). And from Abu Basir, from al-Sadiq, from his forefathers (peace be upon them), who said: Abu Abdullah al-Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon them both) said: I am the slain one of tears; no believer mentions me but that he sheds tears (6).

From al-Hasan ibn Abi Fakhita, who said: I said to Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him): I remember al-Hussein

ibn Ali (peace be upon them both); so what should I say when I remember him? He said: Say: May God's blessings be upon you, O Abu Abdullah—repeating it three times (1).

From Dawud al-Riqqi, who said: I was with Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) when he called for water. When he drank it, I saw that he shed tears, and his eyes brimmed with weeping. Then he said to me: O Dawud! May God curse the slayer of al-Hussein (peace be upon him). There is no servant who drinks water and remembers al-Hussein and curses his slayer but that God records for him a hundred thousand good deeds, removes from him a hundred thousand evil deeds, raises him a hundred thousand ranks, and it is as though he had freed a hundred thousand souls. And God will raise him on the Day of Resurrection with a heart at peace (2).

May God magnify your rewards, O believers, and grant you good consolation in the affliction of our Imam al-Hussein (peace be upon him)—the affliction at which hearts are rent and souls are torn apart. Ibn al-Dimashqi said—concerning the atrocity of the slaying of al-Hussein (peace be upon him) and his affliction: In sum and in detail, no matter more atrocious than it ever occurred in Islam. It is that from which ears recoil, and at whose mention the hearts are rent with grief, sorrow, and lamentation, and the tears pour forth like the streaming clouds. And this, while the covenant with the Prophet was still recent, the meadow of faith still verdant, the branch of his tree still fresh and new, its shade abundant and far-stretched—but God does what He wills. And I do not think that one who deemed that lawful, and who took such paths with the household of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), ever smelled the fragrance of Islam, nor believed in Muhammad—upon him and his family be blessings and peace—nor did faith mingle with the joy of his heart, nor did he believe in his Lord for the blink of an eye. The Resurrection shall gather them, and unto their Lord is their return.

And a reciter once recited, in the presence of the learned scholar Abu al-Wafa Ali ibn Aqil, may God have mercy on him, the words of the Almighty: "And Iblis verily confirmed his opinion concerning them, for they followed him—all save a group of the believers" (3).

So he wept and said: Glory be to God! The utmost that he hoped for was what he said: "And surely I will command them, and they will slit the ears of the cattle" (1). By God, they exceeded the very limit that he hoped for!!

Yes, by God—they set upon Ali ibn Abi Talib between his two ranks and slew him. Then they slew his son al-Hussein, the son of Fatima al-Zahra, and his household, the pure and immaculate, after having denied them water! And this, while the covenant with their Prophet was still recent, and they were the generation that had seen the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family), and had seen him (peace be upon him and his family) kiss his mouth and sip from his teeth—yet they struck at his mouth and his teeth with the staff!! By God, they remembered the grudges of the day of Badr and what had befallen them in it!

And where does this stand beside the ambition of Satan, the utmost of his aim being the slitting of the ears of the cattle? And this, despite the nearness of the covenant, and their hearing of the words of the Lord of Lords: "Say: I ask of you no reward for it, save love for kinsfolk" (2). By God, they concealed their beliefs in his era out of fear of the sword; and when the matter came to them, they cast off the veil of tyranny and injustice. "He will requite them for their describing; surely He is Wise, All-Knowing" (3) (4).

And al-Qalqashandi said in Subh al-A'sha: They—that is, the Shia—count among the greatest atrocities the deed of Shimr ibn Dhi al-Jawshan, who is the one that severed the head of al-Hussein (peace be upon him), and that whoever aided him in that committed the gravest of forbidden acts with the most grievous of consequences. And it is fitting that they should deem it grave, for what crime is greater than the slaying of the grandson of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) (5).

Di'bil ibn Ali al-Khuza'i said—urging the bereaved one to find consolation in the afflictions of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and his household (peace be upon them) and what befell them: