Question:
Is it true that Imam Mahdi alayhis-salam weeps blood for Imam Husayn?
Answer:
Yes it is true. Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance, mourns
for Imam Husayn alayhis-salam every day - night and day - and he weeps
blood for his great grandfather, as seen from his declaration he makes in
his Zeyarah, known as Zeyarah of Nahiyah:
“. . . now that I could not be with you on the day of Ashura to defend you
and fight your enemies, I shall mourn you every morning and every
evening, and I shall weep blood for you instead of tears . . . ”
Question:
Is it true that the head of Imam Husayn alayhis-salam spoke, and recited
the Qur'an, while being carried from Karbala to Shaam and back?
Answer:
Yes this is true, and the report of this phenomenon is reported by
numerous chroniclers and recorded in many references. This topic is
referred to in more details in chapter three of this book.
Question:
Is it true that Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin alayhis-salam mourned and wept for
Imam Husayn alayhis-salam for more than twenty years?
Answer:
This issue is widely reported in and recorded in history books. More
details are presented in chapter three of this work.
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67
Who was the first to . . .
Question:
Who was the first individual who founded the Husayni Sha'a'er or the
mourning ceremony for Imam Husayn alayhis-salam? was she Zaynab
alayhas-salam, the loyal sister of Imam Husayn? or was he one of the
imams?
Answer:
The first one who founded the Husayni Sha‘a’er is Allah the Almighty.
This was in the form of the composition of Zeyarah of Ashura. According
to authenticate hadith, it (Zeyarah of Ashura) was composed by the
Almighty.
[The hadith of Zeyarah of Ashura being the composition of Allah
Almighty is reported in Bihar al-Anwar, volume 98, page 300, second
edition, 1983/1403, al-Wafa publishers, Beirut.]
After narrating Zeyarah of Ashura and the Du'a that comes after the
Zeyarah, Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq states,
“I have received this Zeyarah from my father, who received it in this form
from Ali ibn al-Husayn, who received it in this form from al-Husayn, who
received it from his brother al-Hasan, who received it from Amir-ul-
Mu’minin Ali ibn Abi Talib alayhum-as-salam, who received it in this
form from Rasulollah salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih, who received it from
Jibra'il alayhis-salam, who received it from Allah Almighty.”
This report also appears in misbaah al-motahajjid, pp 542-546, by Sheikh
al-Tousi.]
Needless to say, the Ahl-ul-Bayt alayhum-as-salam continued with the
Husayni Sha‘a’er, starting from Lady Zaynab alayhas-salam, and Imam
Zayn-al-Abidin alayhis-salam, and the rest of the Ma‘soom Imams
alayhum-as-salam.
Question:
Who was the first person that wept for Imam Husayn for the momentous
tragedy of Ashura? is it true that when Imam Husayn alayhis-salam was
born, archangel Jibra'il descended upon Rasulollah salla-llahu-alayhi-waaalih
to tell him of the events of Karbala?
Husayn – The sacrifice for mankind
68
Answer:
Yes this is true. On a number of occasions, Rasulollah wept for Imam
Husayn alayhis-salam while the latter was a baby, and quoted Jibra'il
alayhis-salam of the events of Ashura in a land called Karbala. However
the first person who wept for Imam Husayn alayhis-salam was the father
of mankind Adam alayhis-salam. Adam alayhis-salam is reported as
saying to archangel Jibra’il when he descended upon him on one occasion,
"Why is it that every time I pass through this particular area I feel
extremely sad and depressed and weep?" Jibra’il alayhis-salam said to
Adam, "The name of this particular area is Karbala", and he went on to
narrate to him the events of Ashura in detail.
Question:
Who was the first individual who founded the practice of walking on
fire?
Answer:
Lady Zaynab and Imam Zayn-al-Abidin alayhum-as-salam are the
founders of walking on fire in the Husayni Sha'a'er.
When the army of Yazid slaughtered every companion and then Imam
Husayn alayhis-salam, they attacked the living quarters of the Imam and
his companions. The victorious army of Yazid torched the tents and the
women and children fled the blazing tents. Lady Zaynab alayhas-salam
was asked why she did not escape, as they were about to torch her tent, she
replied "how can I when I have a patient inside the tent". When her tent
was eventually set on fire, Lady Zaynab dragged her nephew, Imam Zaynal-
Abidin alayhum-as-salam, walking on the fire of the burning tents as
they crossed them to a less dangerous area.
Question:
Who was the first Ma'soom Imam from the Ahl-ul-Bayt to hold a
mourning and lamentation program, like the traditional Majlis Husayni
that are held annually in Muharram today? Or is it that the Majlis Aza that
we have today is the invention of the Shi’a over the last few centuries?
Answer:
Imam Zayn al-Abidin alayhis-salam was the first member of the Ahl-ul-
Bayt alayhum-as-salam to publicly hold a mourning and lamentation
program for Imam Husayn - like the Majlis Aza that are held today.
Fatawa on Ashura Ceremonies
69
After they were released from captivity in Shaam, the women and children
of Imam Husayn and his followers, lead by Imam Zayn-al-Abidin alayhissalam
headed towards Karbala so that they could revisit the graves of their
loved ones and bury the heads of the Martyrs with their bodies. They
arrived at the site of the graves and the battle of Karbala on the twentieth
of Safar – forty days after the martyrdom of Imam Husayn and his
followers, hence Arba‘een occasion which means forty.
After Karbala they headed back to their hometown - Medina. At the
outskirts of Medina, Imam Zayn-al-Abidin alayhis-salam ordered the
caravan to halt and to set up their tents there. They ended up staying there
for three days. The Imam turned to Bishr Ibn Hadhlam asked him if he
could compose poetry and lamentation for Imam Husayn saying, "Your
father was a very good poet, have you inherited some of that talent" The
reply of Bishr was affirmative.
Bishr Ibn Hadhlam entered Medina and went to the tomb of Rasulollah
salla-llahu-alayhi-wa-aalih and announced the martyrdom of Imam
Husayn alayhis-salam, describing, in his lamentation poetry, the savagery
and brutality with which Imam Husayn and his sons, brothers, and
companions were killed. This touched the heart of the people to the extent
that the whole of Medina was lamenting Imam Husayn alayhis-salam, and
almost everyone gathered at the tomb of Rasulollah salla-llahu-alayhi-waaalih
to mourn his grandson en masse.
Then the people headed to the outside of the city to receive the remainder
of the Ahl-ul-Bayt alayhum-as-salam . . . . . .
