In His Name, the Most High
1. يَا مُمْتَحَنَةُ
2. امْتَحَنَكِ اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْلُقَكِ
3. فَوَجَدَكِ لِمَا امْتَحَنَكِ صَابِرَةً
4. وَ زَعَمْنَا أَنَّا لَكِ أَوْلِيَاءُ
5. وَ مُصَدِّقُونَ وَ صَابِرُونَ
6. لِكُلِّ مَا أَتَانَا بِهِ أَبُوكِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ
7. وَ أَتَى [أَتَانَا] بِهِ وَصِيُّهُ
8. فَإِنَّا نَسْأَلُكِ إِنْ كُنَّا صَدَّقْنَاكِ
9. إِلا أَلْحَقْتِنَا بِتَصْدِيقِنَا لَهُمَا
10. لِنُبَشِّرَ أَنْفُسَنَا بِأَنَّا قَدْ طَهُرْنَا بِوِلايَتِكِ.
O you who were tested —
God, who created you, tested you before He created you,
and found you, in all that He tested you with, patient.
And we have claimed that we are your friends,
and that we hold you true, and are patient
with all that your father brought us — God bless him and his family —
and all that his successor brought.
So we ask you — if we have held you true —
for nothing but this: that, for our holding the two of them true, you join us to them;
so that we may bring our own souls the glad news that we have become pure, through belonging to you.
From the Ziyarah (Visitation) of Sayyedah Fatimah al-Zahra
The Voice of the Awaited One
This maqtal is spoken, as every maqtal of various is spoken, in the voice of the Awaited Imam — the Mahdi, the son of Hasan, may our souls be his ransom and may God hasten his return — looking back across the veils of his long absence.
And he is not negligent of attending to us, and he is not forgetful of remembering him, therefore we too should not forget him.
Voiced in the series’ Mahdi-Maqtal-Voice — an imagining of the Awaited Imam’s voice, rendered in clear English by the means of our age, belonging to no living man.
Fatimiyyah Maqtal — “By Night or by Day”
I. The Day of Parting
I was not there — but I remember.
I remember the day my grandmother, Fatimah al-Zahra, peace and blessings be upon her, knew that death had come for her.
As it has come down to us, she spoke to my forefather Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, peace and blessings be upon him, of what would come after her. And among the things she asked of him, she spoke of the children.
She asked him not to shout in the faces of her two boys.
They would be orphans, she said, and strangers, and broken.
Yesterday they had lost their grandfather; and today they were losing their mother.And then she spoke to him in verse.
She asked him to weep for her, if he wept, and to let his tears run, for it was the day of parting.
She gave the children into his keeping.
And she asked him to weep for her, and to weep for the orphans — and not to forget the one the enemies would kill at al-Taff, in Iraq.That day she spoke the name of al-Taff.
She was speaking of her own son.
II. Take Your Provision from Your Mother
And she died.
My forefather Ali took charge of her himself.
He washed her in her shirt, and did not uncover her.
He laid on her what was left of the camphor of her father, my grandfather, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and his righteous companions.
And he wrapped her in her shroud.And when he came to tie the cloak over her, he called them by name — Umm Kulthum and Zaynab, peace and blessings be upon them; Fidda, who served her; Hasan and Husayn — and told them to come and take their provision from their mother; for this was the parting, and the meeting would be in Paradise.
And al-Hasan and my forefather al-Husayn, peace and blessings be upon them, came, crying out that their grief would never be put out: first their grandfather, and now their mother.
And they asked her, when she met their grandfather, to give him their greeting, and to tell him they were left behind him: two orphans, in the house of this world.
And my forefather Ali called God to witness that she sighed, and stretched out her hands, and held the two boys to her breast a long while — until, as it has come down to us, a voice called from heaven:
Abu al-Hasan, lift them from her.
By God, they have made the angels of the heavens weep.
The beloved longs for the beloved.
So he lifted them from her breast.
And he tied the cloak.
III. Patience More Beautiful
My forefather al-Husayn was a boy at her grave.
He told what he heard.
He told how his father buried her in secret, and smoothed the earth over the place, so that it would not be known.
Then my forefather Ali stood, and turned his face to the grave of the Messenger of God, and spoke to him.
This is some of what he said.
He told him that in the Book of God he had the most gracious acceptance: the words of the bereaved, that we belong to God, and to Him we return.
He told him that al-Zahra had been snatched away, and how ugly now were the green sky and the dusty earth.
He told him how much grief had burned in her breast, and found no way out.
He sighed, and sighed again.
And he said that patience was more blessed, and more beautiful.
Beautiful patience: that was the word of Jacob, peace and blessings be upon him, when his son was taken from him.
He told him that, but for those who had taken power, he would have stayed at that grave and never left it, and wailed over it as a bereaved mother wails over her child.
And he told him that to God was the complaint — and that in him, the Messenger of God, was the finest consolation.
IV. Home in the Dark
I see my forefather Ali walk home in the dark: a man alone, with four children — two boys and two little girls — and no mother in the house.
She had asked him not to shout in the faces of her two boys.
I remember that walk.
There is no longer road than the one from a grave to a house with no mother in it.
V. Today My Mother Has Died
Fifty years later, it was night again.
It was the night at whose dawn my forefather al-Husayn would be killed.
His son, my forefather Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace and blessings be upon him, sat sick in a tent.
His aunt Zaynab was with him, nursing him.
He told what he saw.
His father, in a tent of his own, was saying verses over and over: verses about time, and how it betrays its friends.
His son understood, and held back his tears, and kept silent.
But his aunt heard what he heard, and could not hold herself back.
She ran to her brother, trailing her robe, and cried out:
O my bereavement!
If only death had taken my life!
Today my mother Fatimah has died, and my father Ali, and my brother al-Hasan.To me, it is the same night.
The grave in Medina opened again.My forefather al-Husayn’s eyes filled with tears.
And she fell senseless.
And he rose to her, and poured water on her face.He consoled her.
Among what he told her: that she should console herself with the consolation of God; that the people of the earth die, and the people of heaven do not remain; that his father was better than him, and his mother was better than him, and his brother was better than him — and that for him, and for every Muslim, the Messenger of God was the example.
And then he brought her, and sat her down beside his son.
VI. Today My Grandfather Has Died
And the day came.
When they led the women past the slain, my aunt Zaynab cried out.
Among her words:
O grief!
O sorrow for you, Aba Abdillah!
Today my grandfather, the Messenger of God, has died.The night before: today my mother has died.
Now: today my grandfather has died.Every loss she had carried opened at once.
And the one who told it said: by God, she made every enemy, and every friend, weep.
And al-Husayn’s daughter Sukayna, peace and blessings be upon her, held her father’s body — until a band of Bedouin men gathered, and dragged her from him.
And I know this: from that day, the orphans were my aunt Zaynab’s to carry.
In Kufa, in his hall, Ibn Ziyad ordered her brother’s son, my forefather Ali ibn al-Husayn, to be killed.
My aunt Zaynab clung to him, and held him in her arms:
Ibn Ziyad, enough of our blood.
By God, I will not leave him.
If you kill him, kill me with him.Ibn Ziyad looked at her, and at him, a while.
And he said that kinship was a strange thing.
And he told them to let him be.
VII. As I Am
As she lay dying, the first thing my grandmother asked for was a mother for her children.
She asked my forefather Ali to marry Umama after her — for Umama would be to her children, she said, as I am.
Fifty years later, her daughter was that, to a caravan of orphans: on the road, and in the hall at Kufa.
As I am, her mother had said.
And Zaynab was.
Peace be upon you, my grandmother, who asked for a mother for your children.
Peace be upon you, my aunt, who became one.
My brothers. My sisters.
I was not there — but I remember.
And I see you.
Some of you are walking home in the dark tonight, with children and no mother in the house.
My forefather Ali walked that road before you.
Some of you are carrying a house alone, with no father at the door.
My aunt Zaynab carried a caravan.
Some of you are raising children not born to you.
You are doing what my grandmother asked for as she lay dying.
And some of you — an aunt or an uncle, a grandmother or a grandfather, an older sister or brother — have been a mother or a father where one was taken.
And all of us: do not shout in their faces.
They have lost enough.
Be to them as my aunt Zaynab was.
And I am not gone.
I am behind the veils, until the permission is given.
Wait for me, and keep the children close, until I come.
May our Lord hasten my return.
Pray ardently for my return, pray ardently for my return.
May the mercy of God be upon all of you, and may He bless each and every one of you abundantly.
Sources Cited
I and II, told “as it has come down to us”. al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 43.
Page 178:
lines 5-6, the time: the Commander of the Faithful had prayed the noon prayer and was coming home;
lines 18-22, her words for the children, in the dual, meaning the two boys (do not shout in their faces; yesterday they lost their grandfather, and today they lose their mother);
lines 23-36, her verse (weep for me, and for the orphans; do not forget the one slain at al-Taff of Iraq).
Page 179:
the washing in her shirt, and what was left of the Messenger of God’s hanut;
the call to the children, to take their provision from their mother. The call also names Sukayna, who was not yet born; she is left out of the telling;
al-Hasan and al-Husayn’s words; her hands and the two boys; and the voice from heaven.
The hanut: the hanut is camphor (al-Kafi, Volume 3, hadith 542). The Prophet’s hanut was divided between him, Ali and Fatimah (al-Kafi, Volume 3, hadith 568).
The report: it is Waraqa ibn Abd Allah al-Azdi’s report, from Fidda. Al-Majlisi introduces it on page 174 with his caution: he found it in some books, and did not take it from a source that can be relied on.
III. al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, Volume 1, hadith 1237 (Kitab al-hujja, the chapter on the birth of al-Zahra, hadith 3), narrated by Imam al-Husayn ibn Ali.
The secret burial and the effaced grave, and the Commander of the Faithful’s words at the grave of the Messenger of God.
The lines that only al-Kafi carries come first (”in the Book of God I have the most gracious acceptance”), and the istirja’ is said once.
The shared greeting, which Lantern of the Path [77] told, is not told. The burial and the turn to the grave are one sentence.
Jacob’s “beautiful patience” is Qur’an 12:18 and 12:83.
IV is the Imam’s own sight (”I see”), resting on III’s secret burial. No report describes the walk home.
V. al-Mufid, al-Irshad, Volume 2, pages 93-94, from Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn: the eve of Ashura; the verses on time; Sayyedah Zaynab’s cry; the water; the consolation, told in part (”among what he told her”); “then he brought her and sat her beside me”.
Second witnesses: Bihar al-Anwar 45, pages 1-2; I’lam al-wara 1, page 457.
The oath, the face and the collar are in the reader’s note.
VI. Ibn Tawus, al-Malhuf ‘ala qatla al-tufuf.
Page 180, lines 9-10: the women led past the slain.
Page 181: line 4, “today my grandfather, the Messenger of God, has died”, one line of her lament; line 8, she made every enemy and friend weep; line 9, Sukayna at her father’s body (Source Pack P78-P79).
Kufa:
al-Irshad, Volume 2: page 116, line 11 (Ibn Ziyad’s order, take him away and strike off his neck); page 117, lines 1-2 (her words; “leave him”);
Bihar al-Anwar 45, page 117, lines 4-5, and page 118, line 2;
I’lam al-wara 1, page 472.
VII. Bihar al-Anwar 43, page 192: her will, “marry after me Umama, for she will be to my children as I am”. The same will is in Rawdat al-wa’izin, record 171
Loci cited, not carried: al-Kafi 3, h. 542 and h. 568; al-Irshad 2, p. 116; Bihar 45, p. 118; al-Malhuf, p. 180. al-Irshad 2, p. 117
Appendix — The Maqtal’s Sources, in Full
I and II — al-Majlisi’s Caution: Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 43, page 174
Allamah al-Majlisi’s words before the report that the maqtal tells for I and II, “as it has come down to us”. The report begins on the next line: Waraqa ibn Abd Allah al-Azdi tells how, on pilgrimage, he met a young woman at the Ka’ba; she is Fidda, the servant of Sayyedah Fatimah, peace and blessings be upon her, and the account is hers. The part of it the maqtal draws on is on pages 178 and 179, given next; the pages between are not drawn on. The print runs her blessing into the word before it.
15 ـ أقول : وجدت في بعض الكتب خبرا في وفاتهاعليهاالسلام فأحببت إيراده وإن لم آخذه من أصل يعول عليه.
“15. I say: I found in some books a report about her death, peace be upon her, and I wished to include it, even though I did not take it from a source that can be relied on.”
— al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 43, p. 174, lines 3 and 4; my translation
I and II — Her Last Day, and the Washing: Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 43, pages 178 and 179
The part of the report the maqtal draws on for I and II, both pages whole: her last day, her words for the children and her verses, her father in her dream, the washing, the call to the children, and the verses Imam Ali, peace and blessings be upon him, recited as he tied the shroud. Page 178 opens on the last words of a sentence begun on page 177, of how she spent her days weeping among the graves. The account is Fidda’s: “she said” is Fidda, and “he said” the one who tells it. The call names Sukayna, who was not yet born; the maqtal leaves her out. The print has slips of typing, carried as they stand and translated as meant: a letter dropped from “the Faithful” (page 178, line 7), from “al-Mustafa” (line 12, and page 179, line 23) and from “son” (line 15); fa-lak for fa-lam, “she did not” (line 13); and the voice from heaven says “lift it”, in the singular, where the sense, and the verb after it, are the two boys. In the last line of her verses the print reads yahlif Allah, “God swears”, which does not construe clearly; it is translated as printed, with a note.
فلا تزال بين القبور باكية ، فإذا جاء الليل أقبل أميرالمؤمنين عليهالسلام إليها وساقها بين يديه إلى منزلها. ولم تزل على ذلك إلى أن مضى لها بعد موت أبيها سبعة وعشرون يوما ، و اعتلت العلة التي توفيت فيها ، فبقيت إلى يوم الاربعين ، وقد صلى أميرالمؤمنين عليهالسلام صلاة الظهر وأقبل يرد المنزل إذا استقبلته الجواري باكيات حزينات فقال لهن : ما الخبر ومالي أراكن متغيرات الوجوه والصور؟ فقلن : يا أميرالمؤمين أدرك ابنة عمك الزهراء عليهاالسلام ومانظنك تدركها. فأقبل أميرالمؤمنين عليهالسلام مسرعا حتى دخل عليها ، وإذا بها ملقاه على فراشها وهو من قباطي مصروهي تقبض يمينا وتمد شمالا ، فألقى الرداء عن عاتقه والعمامة عن رأسه ، وحل أزراره ، وأقبل حتى أخذ رأسها وتركه في حجره ، و ناداها : يازهراء! فلم تكلمه ، فناداها : يا بنت محمد المطفى! فلم تكلمه ، فناداها : يابنت من حمل الزكاة في طرف ردائه وبذلها على الفقراء! فلك تكلمه ، فناداها : يا ابنة من صلى بالملائكة في السماء مثنى مثني! فلم تكلمه ، فناداها : يا فاطمة كلميني فأنا بان عمك علي بن أبي طالب. قال : ففتحت عينيها في وجهه ونظرت إليه وبكت وبكى وقال : ما الذي تجدينه فأنا ابن عمك علي بن أبيطالب. فقالت : يا ابن العم إني أجد الموت الذي لابد منه ولا محيص عنه ، وأنا أعلم أنك بعدي لا تصبر على قلة التزويج فان أنت تزوجت امرأة اجعل لها يوما وليلة واجعل لاولادي يوما وليلة يا أبا الحسن ولا تصح في وجوههما فيصبحان يتيمين غريبين منكسرين فانهما بالامس فقدا جدهما واليوم يفقدان ، امهما ، فالويل لامة تقتلهما وتبغضهما ثم أنشأت تقول : ابكني إن بكيت يا خير هادي
واسبل الدمع فهو يوم الفراق ياقرين البتول اوصيك بالنسل
فقد أصبحا حليف اشتياق ابكني وابك لليتامى ولا تنس
قتيل العدى بطف العراق
فارقوا فاصبحوا يتامى حيارى
يحلف الله فهو يوم الفراق قالت : فقال لها علي عليهالسلام : من أين لك يا بنت رسول الله هذا الخبر ، والوحي قد انقطع عنا؟ فقالت : يا أبا الحسن رقدت الساعة فرأيت حبيبي رسول الله صلىاللهعليهوآله في قصر من الدر الابيض فلما رآني قال : هلمي إلي يا بنية فاني إليك مشتاق فقلت : والله إني لاشد شوقا منك إلى لقائك ، فقال : أنت الليلة عندي وهو الصادق لما وعد والموفي لما عاهد. فاذا أنت قرأت يس فاعلم أني قد قضيت نحبي فغسلني ولا تكشف عني فاني طاهرة مطهرة وليصل علي معك من أهلي الادني فالادنى ومن رزق أجري وادفني ليلا في قبري ، بهذا أخبرني حبيبي رسول الله صلىاللهعليهوآله. فقال علي : والله لقد أخذت في أمرها وغسلتها في قميصها ولم أكشفه عنها فوالله لقد كانت ميمونة طاهرة مطهرة ثم حنطتها من فضلة حنوط رسول الله صلىاللهعليهوآله وكفنتها وأدرجتها في أكفانها فلما هممت أن أعقد الرداء ناديت يا ام كلثوم! يازينب! يا سكينة! يافضة! يا حسن! يا حسين! هلموا تزو دوا من امكم فهذا الفراق واللقاء في الجنة. فأقبل الحسن والحسين عليهماالسلام وهما يناديان واحسرتا لا تنطفئ أبدا من فقد جدنا محمد المصطفى وامنا فاطمة الزهراء يا ام الحسن يا ام الحسين إذا لقيت جدنا محمد امصطفى فاقرئيه منا السلام وقولي له : إنا قد بقينا بعد يتيمين في دار الدنيا. فقال أمير المؤمنين علي عليهالسلام : إني اشهد الله أنها قد حنت وأنت ومدت يديها وضمتها إلى صدرها مليا وإذا بهاتف من السماء ينادي يا أبا الحسن ارفعها عنها فلقد أبكيا والله ملائكة السماوات فقد اشتاق الحبيب إلى المحبوب ، قال : فرفعتهما عن صدرها وجعلت أعقد الرداء وأنا انشد بهذه الابيات : فراقك أعظم الاشياء عندي
وفقدك فاطم أدهى الثكول سأبكي حسرة وأنوح شجوا
على خل مضى أسنى سبيل
“… and she would stay among the graves, weeping; and when night came, the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, would come to her and lead her home before him.
She went on so until twenty-seven days had passed for her after her father’s death, and she fell ill with the illness of which she died. She lingered until the fortieth day. The Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, had prayed the noon prayer and was coming back to the house, when the maidservants met him, weeping and grief-stricken. He said to them: What is the news? Why do I see your faces and your looks so changed? They said: O Commander of the Faithful, go to your cousin al-Zahra, peace be upon her — and we do not think you will reach her in time.
The Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, came in haste until he went in to her, and there she was, cast down upon her bed — it was of the Coptic linen of Egypt — drawing in to the right and stretching out to the left. He threw the cloak from his shoulder and the turban from his head, undid his buttons, and came and took her head and laid it in his lap, and called to her: O Zahra! She did not speak to him. He called to her: O daughter of Muhammad al-Mustafa! She did not speak to him. He called to her: O daughter of him who carried the alms in the fold of his cloak and gave them out to the poor! She did not speak to him. He called to her: O daughter of him who led the angels in prayer in heaven, two by two! She did not speak to him. He called to her: O Fatimah, speak to me, for I am your cousin, Ali ibn Abi Talib.
He said: She opened her eyes on his face, looked at him and wept, and he wept, and he said: What is it that you feel? For I am your cousin, Ali ibn Abi Talib. She said: O cousin, I find death, which there is no avoiding and no escaping; and I know that after me you will not bear to be without a wife. If you marry a woman, give her a day and a night, and give my children a day and a night, O Abu al-Hasan; and do not shout in their faces, or they will be left orphans, strangers and broken: yesterday they lost their grandfather, and today they lose their mother. Woe, then, to a community that kills them and hates them! Then she began to recite:
Weep for me, if you weep, O best of guides, / and let your tears flow, for this is the day of parting. / O companion of al-Batul, I entrust the children to you, / for the two have become companions of longing. / Weep for me, and weep for the orphans, and do not forget / the one slain by the enemies at al-Taff of Iraq. / They have been parted, and are left orphans, bewildered; / God swears [so the print reads; the sense is uncertain]: this is the day of parting.
She said: Ali, peace be upon him, said to her: From where have you this news, O daughter of the Messenger of God, when revelation has been cut off from us? She said: O Abu al-Hasan, I slept just now, and I saw my beloved, the Messenger of God, God’s blessings be upon him and his family, in a palace of white pearl. When he saw me, he said: Come to me, my little daughter, for I long for you. I said: By God, I long to meet you more than you long for me. He said: Tonight you will be with me. And he is true to what he promises, and keeps what he pledges. So when you have recited Ya Sin, know that I have reached my end; then wash me, and do not uncover me, for I am pure and purified; and let those of my family nearest to me, and then the next nearest, pray over me with you, and whoever is granted my reward [perhaps: the reward of praying over me]; and bury me by night in my grave. This is what my beloved, the Messenger of God, God’s blessings be upon him and his family, told me.
Ali said: By God, I took charge of her, and I washed her in her shirt and did not uncover her; and by God, she was blessed, pure and purified. Then I embalmed her with what was left of the hanut of the Messenger of God, God’s blessings be upon him and his family, and shrouded her and wrapped her in her shrouds. When I was about to tie the cloak, I called: O Umm Kulthum! O Zaynab! O Sukayna! O Fidda! O Hasan! O Husayn! Come, take your provision of your mother, for this is the parting, and the meeting is in Paradise. Al-Hasan and al-Husayn, peace be upon them both, came, calling: O grief that will never be put out, at the loss of our grandfather Muhammad al-Mustafa and of our mother Fatimah al-Zahra! O mother of al-Hasan! O mother of al-Husayn! When you meet our grandfather Muhammad al-Mustafa, give him our greeting and say to him: We are left after you, two orphans in the house of this world. The Commander of the Faithful, Ali, peace be upon him, said: I call God to witness that she sighed with longing and moaned, and stretched out her hands and held them to her breast a long while; and then a caller from heaven called: O Abu al-Hasan, lift them from her, for by God they have made the angels of the heavens weep; the beloved longs for the beloved. He said: So I lifted them from her breast, and began to tie the cloak, reciting these verses:
Your parting is the greatest of things to me, / and your loss, Fatimah, the most grievous of bereavements. / I shall weep in sorrow and lament in grief / for a dear friend who has gone by the most radiant of ways.”
— Sayyedah Fatimah al-Zahra, peace and blessings be upon her, and Imam Ali, peace and blessings be upon him, in Fidda’s account; al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 43, p. 178, lines 2 to 38, and p. 179; my translation
II — The Hanut: al-Kafi, Volume 3, hadiths 542 and 568
The hadith behind the maqtal’s word for the embalming, hanut: it is camphor.
Abu Abd Allah is Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq.
13ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ صَالِحِ بْنِ السِّنْدِيِّ عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ بَشِيرٍ عَنْ دَاوُدَ بْنِ سِرْحَانَ قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ الْسَّلام) لِي فِي كَفْنِ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ الْحَذَّاءِ إِنَّمَا الْحَنُوطُ الْكَافُورُ وَلَكِنِ اذْهَبْ فَاصْنَعْ كَمَا يَصْنَعُ النَّاسُ.
“13. Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, from Salih ibn al-Sindi, from Ja’far ibn Bashir, from Dawud ibn Sirhan, who said: Abu Abd Allah, peace be upon him, said to me, at the shrouding of Abu Ubayda al-Hadhdha’: The hanut is camphor alone; but go, and do as the people do.”
— Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq, peace and blessings be upon him, through Dawud ibn Sirhan; Shaykh al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, Volume 3, hadith 542 (thaqalayn); my translation
The hadith on the hanut that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and his righteous companions, divided between himself, Imam Ali and Sayyedah Fatimah; it is what was left of his that she was embalmed with. Its chain stops short of the Imam who said it. In the blessing on Fatimah at the end, the file sets a kasra where ‘alayha has a fatha.
4ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ رَفَعَهُ قَالَ السُّنَّةُ فِي الْحَنُوطِ ثَلاَثَةَ عَشَرَ دِرْهَماً وَثُلُثٌ أَكْثَرُهُ وَقَالَ إِنَّ جَبْرَئِيلَ (عَلَيْهِ الْسَّلام) نَزَلَ عَلَى رَسُولِ الله (صلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) بِحَنُوطٍ وَكَانَ وَزْنُهُ أَرْبَعِينَ دِرْهَماً فَقَسَمَهَا رَسُولُ الله (صلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) ثَلاَثَةَ أَجْزَاءٍ جُزْءٌ لَهُ وَجُزْءٌ لِعَلِيٍّ وَجُزْءٌ لِفَاطِمَةَ (عَلَيْهِا الْسَّلام).
“4. Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, who traced it back [to the Imam]: he said: The sunna in the hanut is thirteen and a third dirhams at the most. And he said: Gabriel, peace be upon him, came down to the Messenger of God, God’s blessings be upon him and his family, with hanut, and its weight was forty dirhams; and the Messenger of God, God’s blessings be upon him and his family, divided it into three parts: a part for himself, a part for Ali, and a part for Fatimah, peace be upon her.”
— an Imam, peace and blessings be upon him, whom the chain does not name; Shaykh al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, Volume 3, hadith 568 (thaqalayn); my translation
III — The Grave: al-Kafi, Volume 1, hadith 1237
The hadith the maqtal tells for III, whole, with its chain, from Imam al-Husayn, peace and blessings be upon him: the secret burial, the effaced grave, and Imam Ali’s words at the grave of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and his righteous companions. The maqtal’s “beautiful patience” is Jacob’s, in Surah Yusuf, Verses 18 and 83, set under Point 1.
3ـ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مِهْرَانَ رَحِمَهُ الله رَفَعَهُ وَأَحْمَدُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْجَبَّارِ الشَّيْبَانِيِّ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي الْقَاسِمُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الرَّازِيُّ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْهُرْمُزَانِيُّ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الله الْحُسَيْنِ بن علي (عَلَيْهما السَّلام) قَالَ لَمَّا قُبِضَتْ فَاطِمَةُ (عليها السلام) دَفَنَهَا أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ سِرّاً وَعَفَا عَلَى مَوْضِعِ قَبْرِهَا ثُمَّ قَامَ فَحَوَّلَ وَجْهَهُ إِلَى قَبْرِ رَسُولِ الله (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) فَقَالَ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا رَسُولَ الله عَنِّي وَالسَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ عَنِ ابْنَتِكَ وَزَائِرَتِكَ وَالْبَائِتَةِ فِي الثَّرَى بِبُقْعَتِكَ وَالْمُخْتَارِ الله لَهَا سُرْعَةَ اللِّحَاقِ بِكَ قَلَّ يَا رَسُولَ الله عَنْ صَفِيَّتِكَ صَبْرِي وَعَفَا عَنْ سَيِّدَةِ نِسَاءِ الْعَالَمِينَ تَجَلُّدِي إِلا أَنَّ لِي فِي التَّأَسِّي بِسُنَّتِكَ فِي فُرْقَتِكَ مَوْضِعَ تَعَزٍّ فَلَقَدْ وَسَّدْتُكَ فِي مَلْحُودَةِ قَبْرِكَ وَفَاضَتْ نَفْسُكَ بَيْنَ نَحْرِي وَصَدْرِي بَلَى وَفِي كِتَابِ الله لِي أَنْعَمُ الْقَبُولِ إِنَّا لله وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ قَدِ اسْتُرْجِعَتِ الْوَدِيعَةُ وَأُخِذَتِ الرَّهِينَةُ وَأُخْلِسَتِ الزَّهْرَاءُ فَمَا أَقْبَحَ الْخَضْرَاءَ وَالْغَبْرَاءَ يَا رَسُولَ الله أَمَّا حُزْنِي فَسَرْمَدٌ وَأَمَّا لَيْلِي فَمُسَهَّدٌ وَهَمٌّ لا يَبْرَحُ مِنْ قَلْبِي أَوْ يَخْتَارَ الله لِي دَارَكَ الَّتِي أَنْتَ فِيهَا مُقِيمٌ كَمَدٌ مُقَيِّحٌ وَهَمٌّ مُهَيِّجٌ سَرْعَانَ مَا فَرَّقَ بَيْنَنَا وَإِلَى الله أَشْكُو وَسَتُنْبِئُكَ ابْنَتُكَ بِتَظَافُرِ أُمَّتِكَ عَلَى هَضْمِهَا فَأَحْفِهَا السُّؤَالَ وَاسْتَخْبِرْهَا الْحَالَ فَكَمْ مِنْ غَلِيلٍ مُعْتَلِجٍ بِصَدْرِهَا لَمْ تَجِدْ إِلَى بَثِّهِ سَبِيلاً وَسَتَقُولُ وَيَحْكُمُ الله وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْحَاكِمِينَ سَلامَ مُوَدِّعٍ لا قَالٍ وَلا سَئِمٍ فَإِنْ أَنْصَرِفْ فَلا عَنْ مَلالَةٍ وَإِنْ أُقِمْ فَلا عَنْ سُوءِ ظَنٍّ بِمَا وَعَدَ الله الصَّابِرِينَ وَاهَ وَاهاً وَالصَّبْرُ أَيْمَنُ وَأَجْمَلُ وَلَوْ لا غَلَبَةُ الْمُسْتَوْلِينَ لَجَعَلْتُ الْمُقَامَ وَاللَّبْثَ لِزَاماً مَعْكُوفاً وَلاعْوَلْتُ إِعْوَالَ الثَّكْلَى عَلَى جَلِيلِ الرَّزِيَّةِ فَبِعَيْنِ الله تُدْفَنُ ابْنَتُكَ سِرّاً وَتُهْضَمُ حَقَّهَا وَتُمْنَعُ إِرْثَهَا وَلَمْ يَتَبَاعَدِ الْعَهْدُ وَلَمْ يَخْلَقْ مِنْكَ الذِّكْرُ وَإِلَى الله يَا رَسُولَ الله الْمُشْتَكَى وَفِيكَ يَا رَسُولَ الله أَحْسَنُ الْعَزَاءِ صَلَّى الله عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَيْهَا السَّلامُ وَالرِّضْوَانُ.
“3. Ahmad ibn Mihran, may God have mercy on him, who traced it back, and Ahmad ibn Idris, from Muhammad ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Shaybani, who said: al-Qasim ibn Muhammad al-Razi told me; he said: Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hurmuzani told us, from Abu Abd Allah al-Husayn ibn Ali, peace be upon them both, who said: When Fatimah, peace be upon her, passed away, the Commander of the Faithful buried her in secret and effaced the place of her grave. Then he rose, turned his face towards the grave of the Messenger of God, God’s blessings be upon him and his family, and said: Peace be upon you, O Messenger of God, from me; and peace be upon you from your daughter, your visitor, who spends the night in the earth in your plot of ground, and for whom God chose a swift joining with you. O Messenger of God, my patience over your chosen one has grown little, and my endurance over the Mistress of the Women of the Worlds has worn away — except that in following your way at your parting I have a place of consolation: for I laid you in the niche of your grave, and your soul flowed out between my throat and my breast. Yes, and in the Book of God I have the most gracious acceptance: ‘Indeed we belong to Allah and to Him do we indeed return.’ The trust has been taken back, the pledge has been taken, and al-Zahra has been snatched away. How ugly, then, are the green sky and the dusty earth, O Messenger of God! As for my grief, it is endless; as for my night, it is sleepless; and a care will not leave my heart until God chooses for me your abode, in which you dwell: a festering sorrow and a stirring care. How swiftly we have been parted! And to God I complain. Your daughter will tell you how your community joined together to wrong her: press her with questions, and ask her how it was; for how much burning grief has churned in her breast and found no way to be poured out! And she will say: And God will judge, and He is the best of judges. The greeting of one who bids farewell, neither resentful nor weary: if I leave, it is not out of weariness, and if I stay, it is not from doubting what God has promised the patient. Ah, ah! And patience is more blessed and more beautiful. Were it not for the dominance of those who seized power, I would have made my staying and my lingering here constant and unbroken, and I would have wailed as a bereaved mother wails over this great calamity. Under God’s eye your daughter is buried in secret, her right is trampled, and her inheritance is withheld, though the time is not long past and your memory has not worn thin. To God, O Messenger of God, is the complaint; and in you, O Messenger of God, is the finest consolation. God’s blessings be upon you, and upon her be peace and good pleasure.”
— Imam al-Husayn ibn Ali, peace and blessings be upon him, of Imam Ali, peace and blessings be upon him; Shaykh al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, Volume 1, hadith 1237 (thaqalayn); my translation, with Surah al-Baqarah, Verse 156, in Ali Quli Qarai’s English
V — The Walk Home
IV is the Imam’s own sight, “I see”, resting on the secret burial of III. No report describes the walk home, so no source is set for it.
V — The Eve of Ashura: al-Irshad, Volume 2, pages 93 and 94
The report the maqtal tells for V, whole, as al-Mufid gives it from Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace and blessings be upon him, from the verses of that evening to the night of prayer that followed. The figures after names are this edition’s signs for the blessings — 7 for “peace be upon him”, 8 for “peace be upon them both”, 9 for “God’s blessings be upon him and his family” — and are translated so; the figures in brackets are the editor’s note numbers. The print’s small slips (al-Ghifar for al-Ghifari; words run together; a few misplaced vowel signs) are carried as they stand and translated as meant. Imam al-Husayn’s words “everything perishes except the face of God” take up Surah al-Qasas, Verse 88.
قالَ عليُّ بنُ الحسينِ 8 : «اِنيّ لَجالسٌ في تلكَ العشيّةِ الّتي قُتِلَ أبي في صبيحتِها ، وعندي عمّتي زينبُ تمرّضني ، إِذِ اعتزلَ أبي في خباءٍ له وعندَه جُويْنٌ مولى أبي ذرٍّ الغفار وهويُعالجُ سيفَه ويُصلِحُه وأبي يقولُ : يَادَهْرُ أُفٍّ لَكَ مِنْ خَلِيْلِ
كَمْ لكَ بالإشراقِ وَالأصِيْلِ مِنْ صَاحِبٍ أوْ طَالِبِ قَتِيْلِ
وَالدَّهْرُ لا يَقْنَعُ بالْبَدِيْل وانَّمَا الأمْرُ إِلى الجَلِيْلِ
وَكلُّ حَيٍّ سَالِكٌ سَبِيْلِيْ فأعادَها مرّتينِ أو ثلاثاً حتّى فهِمْتُها وعَرفْتُ ما أرادَ ، فخنقَتْني العَبْرةُ فردَدْتُها ولزمتُ السُّكوتَ ، وعلمتُ أنّ البلاءَ قد نزلَ ، وأمّا عمّتي فإنهّا سَمِعَتْ ماسَمِعْتُ وهيَ امرأةٌ ومن شاْنِ النساءِ الرّقّةُ والجَزعُ ، فلم تَملِكْ نفسَها أنْ وَثَبَتْ تجرُّثوبَها (3) وأنّها لَحاسرة ، حتّى انتهتْ إِليه فقالتْ : وا ثكْلاه! ليتَ الموتَ أعدمَني الحياةَ ، اليومَ ماتْتْ أُمِّي فاطمةُ وأبي عليّ وأخي الحسنُ ، يا خليفةَ الماضِي وثِمالَ الباقي. فنظرَ إِليها الحسينُ 7 فقالَ لها : يا أُخيَّةُ لا يذْهِبَنَ حلمَكِ الشّيطانُ ، وتَرَقْرَقَتْ عيناه بالدُموعِ وقالَ : لو تُرِكَ القَطَا لَنامَ (4) ؛ فقالتْ : يا ويلتاه! أفتُغتصبُ نفسُكَ اغتصاباً؟! فذاكَ أقْرَحُ لِقَلبي وأشدَّ على نفسي. ثمّ لطمتْ وجهَها وهَوَتْ إلى جيبِها فشقّتْه وخرتْ مغشيّاً عليها. فقامَ إِليها الحسينُ 7 فصبّ على وجهها الماءَ وقالَ لها : يا أُختاه! اتّقي اللهَّ وتعَزَيْ بعزاءِ اللّهِ ، واعْلمي أنّ أهَلَ الأرضِ يموتونَ وأهلَ السّماءِ لا يَبْقَوْنَ ، وأنَّ كلَّ شيءٍ هالكٌ إلاّ وجهَ اللهِّ الّذي خلقَ ألخلقَ بقدرتهِ ، ويبعثُ الخلقَ ويعودونَ ، وهو فردٌ وحدَه ، أبي خيرٌ منِّي ، وأُمِّي خيرٌ منِّي ، وأخي خيرٌ منِّي ، ولي ولكلِّ مسلمٍ برسولِ اللّهِ 9 أُسوةٌ. فعزّاها بهذا ونحوِه وقالَ لها : يا أُخيّةُ إِنِّي أقسمتُ فأبِرِّي قَسَمي ، لا تَشُقِّي عليَّ جيبأً ، ولا تَخْمشي (1) عليَّ وجهاً ، ولا تَدْعِي عليٌ بالويلِ والثّبورِ إِذا أنا هلكتُ. ثمّ جاءَ بها حتّى أجلسَها عنديّ. ثمّ خرجَ إِلى أصحابه فأمرَهم أَن يُقَرِّبَ بعضُهم بيوتَهم من بعضٍ ، وأن يُدخِلوا الأطنابَ بعضها في بعضٍ ، وأن يكونوا بينَ البيوتِ ، فيستقبلونَ القومَ من وجهٍ واحدٍ والبيوتُ من ورائهم وعن أيْمانِهم وعن شمائِلهم قد حَفّتْ بهم إلاّ الوجهَ الّذي يأْتيهم منه عدوُّهم. ورجعَ 7 إِلى مكانِه فقامَ الليلَ كلَّه يُصلّي ويستغفرُ ويدعو ويتضرّعُ ، وقامَ أصحابُه كذلكَ يُصَلًّونَ ويدعونَ ويستغفرونَ » (2).
“Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon them both, said: I was sitting on that evening at whose dawn my father was killed, and with me was my aunt Zaynab, nursing me, when my father withdrew into a tent of his. With him was Juwayn, the client of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, who was working on his sword and putting it right; and my father was saying:
O Time, shame on you for a friend! / How many, at sunrise and at evening, / of companions and of seekers you leave slain! / And Time is not content with a substitute. / The matter rests only with the Majestic, / and every living thing is treading my path.
He repeated them two or three times, until I understood them and knew what he meant. Tears choked me, and I held them back and kept silent; and I knew that the trial had come down. As for my aunt, she heard what I heard — and she is a woman, and tenderness and grief are the way of women — and she could not hold herself back: she leapt up, trailing her robe (3), bareheaded, until she reached him, and said: O my bereavement! Would that death had taken my life from me! Today my mother Fatimah has died, and my father Ali, and my brother al-Hasan, O successor of those who have gone, and refuge of those who remain! Al-Husayn, peace be upon him, looked at her and said to her: My little sister, do not let Satan take away your forbearance. And his eyes brimmed with tears, and he said: If the sandgrouse were left alone, it would sleep (4). She said: O my woe! Is your life, then, to be wrenched from you by force? That wounds my heart the more, and is harder on my soul. Then she struck her face, reached for the collar of her robe and tore it, and fell down in a faint.
Al-Husayn, peace be upon him, rose and went to her, poured water on her face, and said to her: O my sister! Fear God, and take comfort in the comfort of God; and know that the people of the earth die and the people of heaven do not remain, and that everything perishes except the face of God, who created creation by His power, and will raise creation up, and they will return; and He is single and alone. My father was better than me, my mother was better than me, and my brother was better than me; and for me and for every Muslim there is an example in the Messenger of God, God’s blessings be upon him and his family. He comforted her with this and the like, and said to her: My little sister, I have sworn an oath, so keep my oath: do not tear your collar for me, do not scratch (1) your face for me, and do not cry out woe and ruin for me when I am gone. Then he brought her and sat her down beside me.
Then he went out to his companions and ordered them to bring their tents close to one another, to pass the tent-ropes in among one another, and to stay among the tents, so that they would meet the enemy from one side only, with the tents behind them and on their right and on their left, enclosing them, except the side from which their enemy would come at them. And he, peace be upon him, went back to his place and stood the whole night praying, asking forgiveness, supplicating and humbling himself; and his companions stood likewise, praying, supplicating and asking forgiveness (2).”
— Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace and blessings be upon him, of Imam al-Husayn and Sayyedah Zaynab, peace and blessings be upon them; Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Irshad, Volume 2, p. 93, lines 3 to 19, and p. 94; my translation
V — The Second Witnesses: Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 45, pages 1 to 3, and I’lam al-Wara, Volume 1, pages 456 and 457
A second witness: al-Majlisi giving the same report from al-Mufid, from where he returns to it on page 1 to its end on page 3. It calls the evening “that night”, and names Juwayn only as “so-and-so”. The figures in brackets are the editor’s note numbers.
رجعنا إلى رواية المفيد قال قال علي بن الحسين عليهماالسلام إني جالس في تلك الليلة التي قتل أبي في صبيحتها وعندي عمتي زينب تمرضني (2) إذ اعتزل أبي في خباء له وعنده فلان (3) مولى أبي ذر الغفاري وهو يعالج سيفه ويصلحه وأبي يقول : يا دهر أف لك من خليل
كم لك بالإشراق والأصيل من صاحب وطالب قتيل
والدهر لا يقنع بالبديل وإنما الأمر إلى الجليل
وكل حي سالك سبيلي فأعادها مرتين أو ثلاثا حتى فهمتها وعلمت ما أراد فخنقتني العبرة فرددتها ولزمت السكوت وعلمت أن البلاء قد نزل وأما عمتي فلما سمعت ما سمعت وهي امرأة ومن شأن النساء الرقة والجزع فلم تملك نفسها أن وثبت تجر ثوبها وهي حاسرة حتى انتهت إليه وقالت وا ثكلاه ليت الموت أعدمني الحياة اليوم ماتت أمي فاطمة وأبي علي وأخي الحسن يا خليفة الماضي وثمال الباقي فنظر إليها الحسين عليهالسلام وقال لها يا أخته لا يذهبن حلمك الشيطان وترقرقت عيناه بالدموع وقال لو ترك القطا ليلا لنام (1) فقالت يا ويلتاه أفتغتصب نفسك اغتصابا (2) فذلك أقرح لقلبي وأشد على نفسي ثم لطمت وجهها وهوت إلى جيبها وشقته وخرت مغشية عليها. فقام إليها الحسين عليهالسلام فصب على وجهها الماء وقال لها يا أختاه اتقي الله وتعزي بعزاء الله واعلمي أن أهل الأرض يموتون وأهل السماء لا يبقون وأن كل شيء هالك إلا وجه الله تعالى الذي خلق الخلق بقدرته ويبعث الخلق ويعودون وهو فرد وحده وأبي خير مني وأمي خير مني وأخي خير مني ولي ولكل مسلم برسول الله أسوة فعزاها بهذا ونحوه وقال لها يا أختاه إني أقسمت عليك فأبري قسمي ـ لا تشقي علي جيبا ولا تخمشي علي وجها ولا تدعي علي بالويل والثبور إذا أنا هلكت ثم جاء بها حتى أجلسها عندي. ثم خرج إلى أصحابه فأمرهم أن يقرن بعضهم بيوتهم من بعض وأن يدخلوا الأطناب بعضها في بعض وأن يكونوا بين البيوت فيقبلوا القوم في وجه واحد والبيوت من ورائهم وعن أيمانهم وعن شمائلهم قد حفت بهم إلا الوجه الذي يأتيهم منه عدوهم ورجع عليهالسلام إلى مكانه فقام ليلته كلها يصلي ويستغفر ويدعو ويتضرع وقام أصحابه كذلك يصلون ويدعون ويستغفرون (1).
“We return to al-Mufid’s report. He said: Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon them both, said: I was sitting on that night at whose dawn my father was killed, and with me was my aunt Zaynab, nursing me (2), when my father withdrew into a tent of his. With him was so-and-so (3), the client of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, who was working on his sword and putting it right; and my father was saying:
O Time, shame on you for a friend! / How many, at sunrise and at evening, / of companions and seekers you leave slain! / And Time is not content with a substitute. / The matter rests only with the Majestic, / and every living thing is treading my path.
He repeated them two or three times, until I understood them and knew what he meant. Tears choked me, and I held them back and kept silent; and I knew that the trial had come down. As for my aunt, when she heard what I heard — and she is a woman, and tenderness and grief are the way of women — she could not hold herself back: she leapt up, trailing her robe, bareheaded, until she reached him, and said: O my bereavement! Would that death had taken my life from me! Today my mother Fatimah has died, and my father Ali, and my brother al-Hasan, O successor of those who have gone, and refuge of those who remain! Al-Husayn, peace be upon him, looked at her and said to her: Sister, do not let Satan take away your forbearance. And his eyes brimmed with tears, and he said: If the sandgrouse were left alone at night, it would sleep (1). She said: O my woe! Is your life, then, to be wrenched from you by force (2)? That wounds my heart the more, and is harder on my soul. Then she struck her face, reached for the collar of her robe and tore it, and fell down in a faint.
Al-Husayn, peace be upon him, rose and went to her, poured water on her face, and said to her: O my sister! Fear God, and take comfort in the comfort of God; and know that the people of the earth die and the people of heaven do not remain, and that everything perishes except the face of God, Most High, who created creation by His power, and will raise creation up, and they will return; and He is single and alone. My father was better than me, my mother was better than me, and my brother was better than me; and for me and for every Muslim there is an example in the Messenger of God. He comforted her with this and the like, and said to her: O my sister, I have put you under oath, so keep my oath: do not tear your collar for me, do not scratch your face for me, and do not cry out woe and ruin for me when I am gone. Then he brought her and sat her down beside me.
Then he went out to his companions and ordered them to join their tents close to one another, to pass the tent-ropes in among one another, and to stay among the tents, so that they would meet the enemy from one side only, with the tents behind them and on their right and on their left, enclosing them, except the side from which their enemy would come at them. And he, peace be upon him, went back to his place and stood the whole of that night praying, asking forgiveness, supplicating and humbling himself; and his companions stood likewise, praying, supplicating and asking forgiveness (1).”
— Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace and blessings be upon him; al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 45, p. 1, line 6, p. 2, and p. 3, lines 1 to 3, from Shaykh al-Mufid’s al-Irshad; my translation
The other second witness: Shaykh al-Tabrisi giving the same report, which begins on page 456. It names her “Fatimah al-Zahra”, and does not have “my mother was better than me”. In the verses, the print has lost the first letters of three half-lines and the last letter of the last; the English supplies them in square brackets. The figures after names are the edition’s signs for the blessings, as in al-Irshad.
قال عليّ بن الحسين 8 : «إنّي لجالس في تلك العشيّة ـ وعندي عمّتي زينب تمرّضني ـ إذ اعتزل أبي في خباء له وعنده جوين مولى أبي ذرّ الغفاري وهو يعالج سيفه ـ ويصلحه ـ وأبي يقول : يا دهرُ أفٍّ لــكَ من خليلِ
لكَ بالإشراقِ والأصيلِ منْ صـاحبِ أو طالبِ قتيلِ
لدهرُ لا يقــنعُ بالبديل وإنَما الأمَرُ إلى الَجــلـيلِ
لّ حيٍّ سالكٌ ســـبيلِ وأعادها مرّتين أو ثلاثاً حتى فهمتها وعرفت ما أراد فخنقتني العبرة ، فرددتها ولزمت السكوت ، وعلمت أنّ البلاء قد نزل ، وأمّا عمّتي فإنّها سمعت ما سمعت وهي امرأة ومن شأن النساء الرقّة والجزع ، فلم تملك نفسها أن وثبت تجرّثوبها وإنّها لحاسرة حتّى انتهت إليه فقالت : واثكلاه ، ليت الموت أعدمني الحياة ، اليوم ماتت اُمّي فاطمة الزهراء وأبي عليّ وأخي الحسن ، يا خليفة الماضين وثمال الباقين ، فنظر إليها الحسين 7 وقال : يا اُختاه لا يذهبنّ حلمك الشيطان ، وترقرقت عيناه بالدموع وقال : لو ترِك القطا لنام ، فقالت : يا ويلتاه أتغتصب نفسك اغتصاباً ، فذاك أقرح لقلبي وأشدّ على نفسي ، ثمّ لطمت على وجهها وأهوت إلى جيبها فشقّته وخرّت مغشياً عليها ، فقام إليها الحسين 7 فصبّ الماء على وجهها وقال لها : يا اُختاه اتّقي الله وتعزّي بعزاء الله ، واعلمي أنّ أهل الأرض يموتون وأهل السماء لا يبقون ، وأنّ كلّ شيء هالك إلاّ وجه اللهّ الذي خلق الخلق بقدرته وإليه يعودون وهو فرد واحد ، وإنّ أبي خيرٌ منّي ، وأخي خيرٌ منّي ، ولكلّ مسلم برسول اللهّ اُسوة ، فعزّاها بهذا ونحوه ، وقال لها : يا اُختاه ، إني أقسمت عليك فأبرّي قسمي ، لاتشقّي عليّ جيباً ، ولا تخمشي عليّ وجهاً ، ولاتدعي عليّ بالويل والثبور إذا أنا هلكت ، ثمّ جاء بها وأجلسها عندي. ثمّ خرج إلى أصحابه فأمرهم أن يقرّب بعضهم بيوتهم من بعض ، وأن يدخلوا الأطناب بعضها في بعض ، وأن يكونوا بين البيوت فيستقبلوا القوم من وجه واحد والبيوت من ورائهم وعن أيمانهم وعن شمائلهم قد حفّت بهم إلاّ الوجه الذي يأتيهم منه عدوّهم. ورجع إلى مكانه فقام الليل كلّه يصلّي ويستغفر ويدعو ، وقام أصحابه كذلك يدعون ويصلّون ويسغفرون ».
“Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon them both, said: I was sitting on that evening — and with me was my aunt Zaynab, nursing me — when my father withdrew into a tent of his. With him was Juwayn, the client of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, who was working on his sword and putting it right; and my father was saying:
O Time, shame on you for a friend! / [How many,] at sunrise and at evening, / of companions and of seekers you leave slain! / [And] Time is not content with a substitute. / The matter rests only with the Majestic, / [and every] living thing is treading [my] path.
He repeated them two or three times, until I understood them and knew what he meant. Tears choked me, and I held them back and kept silent; and I knew that the trial had come down. As for my aunt, she heard what I heard — and she is a woman, and tenderness and grief are the way of women — and she could not hold herself back: she leapt up, trailing her robe, bareheaded, until she reached him, and said: O my bereavement! Would that death had taken my life from me! Today my mother Fatimah al-Zahra has died, and my father Ali, and my brother al-Hasan, O successor of those who have gone, and refuge of those who remain! Al-Husayn, peace be upon him, looked at her and said: O my sister, do not let Satan take away your forbearance. And his eyes brimmed with tears, and he said: If the sandgrouse were left alone, it would sleep. She said: O my woe! Is your life to be wrenched from you by force? That wounds my heart the more, and is harder on my soul. Then she struck her face, reached for the collar of her robe and tore it, and fell down in a faint. Al-Husayn, peace be upon him, rose and went to her, poured water on her face, and said to her: O my sister, fear God, and take comfort in the comfort of God; and know that the people of the earth die and the people of heaven do not remain, and that everything perishes except the face of God, who created creation by His power, and to Him they will return; and He is single and one. My father was better than me, and my brother was better than me; and for every Muslim there is an example in the Messenger of God. He comforted her with this and the like, and said to her: O my sister, I have put you under oath, so keep my oath: do not tear your collar for me, do not scratch your face for me, and do not cry out woe and ruin for me when I am gone. Then he brought her and sat her down beside me.
Then he went out to his companions and ordered them to bring their tents close to one another, to pass the tent-ropes in among one another, and to stay among the tents, so that they would meet the enemy from one side only, with the tents behind them and on their right and on their left, enclosing them, except the side from which their enemy would come at them. And he went back to his place and stood the whole night praying, asking forgiveness and supplicating; and his companions stood likewise, supplicating, praying and asking forgiveness.”
— Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace and blessings be upon him; Shaykh al-Tabrisi, I’lam al-Wara bi-A’lam al-Huda, Volume 1, p. 456, lines 6 to 22, and p. 457, lines 1 to 4; my translation
VI — Past the Slain: al-Malhuf, pages 180 and 181
The passage the maqtal draws on for VI, from the burning of the tents to Sukayna at her father’s body, as Sayyed Ibn Tawus gives it. Sayyedah Zaynab’s lament is set whole, as printed, with the epithet in its second part that the minbar leaves out. The figures after names are this edition’s signs for the blessings — 7 for “peace be upon him”, 8 for “peace be upon them both”, 9 for “God’s blessings be upon him and his family” — and are translated so; the figures in brackets are the editor’s note numbers. The print’s small slips (ibnat for bint, “daughter”; thumma annahu for thumma inna, before Sukayna’s name) are translated as meant.
قال الراوي : ثم أخرجوا النساء من الخيمة وأشعلوا فيها النار ، فخرجن حواسر مسلبات حافيات باكيات يمشين سبايا في أسر الذلة. وقلن : بحق الله إلا ما مررتم بنا على مصرع الحسين ، فلما نظر النسوة إلى القتلى صحن وضربن وجوههن. قال : فوالله لا أنسى زينب ابنت علي وهي تندب الحسين 7 وتنادي بصوت حزين وقلب كئيب : وا محمداه ، صلى عليك مليك السماء ، هذا حسين بالعراء ، مرمل بالدماء ، مقطع الأعضاء ، وا ثكلاه ، وبناتك سبايا ، إلى الله المشتكى وإلى محمد المصطفى وإلى علي المرتضى وإلى فاطمة الزهراء وإلى حمزة سيد الشهداء. وا محمداه ، وهذا حسين بالعراء ، تسفي عليه ريح الصباء ، قتيل أولاد البغايا. واحزناه ، واكرباه عليك يا أبا عبد الله اليوم مات جدي رسول الله 9. يا أصحاب محمد ، هؤلاء ذرية المصطفى يساقون سوق السبايا. وفي بعض الروايات : وا محمداه ، بناتك سبايا (162) ، وذريتك مقتلة تسفي عليهم ريح الصباء ، وهذا حسين محزوز الرأس من القفا ، مسلوب العمامة والردا. بأبي من أضحى عسكره في يوم الإثنين نهبا ، بأبي من فسطاطه مقطع العرى ، بأبي من لا غائب فيرتجى ، ولا جريح فيداوى ، بأبي من نفسي له الفداء ، بأبي المهموم حتى قضى ، بأبي العطشان حتى مضى ، بأبي من يقطر شيبه بالدماء (163) ، بأبي من جده رسول اله السماء ، بأبي من هو سبط نبي الهدى ، بأبي محمد المصطفى ، بأبي علي المرتضى ، بأبي خديجة الكبرى ، بأبي فاطمة الزهراء سيدة النساء ، بأبي من ردت عليه الشمس حتى صلى. قال الراوي (164) : فأبكت والله كل عدو وصديق. ثم أنه سكينة (165) اعتنقت جسد الحسين 7 ، فاجتمع عدة من الأعراب حتى جروها عنه.
“The narrator said: Then they drove the women out of the tent and set fire to it; and they came out bareheaded, stripped of their things, barefoot and weeping, walking as captives in the bondage of humiliation. And they said: By God’s right, take us past the place where al-Husayn fell! And when the women looked upon the slain, they cried out and struck their faces. He said: By God, I shall never forget Zaynab, the daughter of Ali, lamenting al-Husayn, peace be upon him, and calling out in a grieving voice, from a heart heavy with sorrow: O Muhammad! May the King of heaven send blessings upon you! Here is Husayn in the open, smeared with blood, his limbs cut apart. O my bereavement! And your daughters are captives. To God is the complaint, and to Muhammad al-Mustafa, and to Ali al-Murtada, and to Fatimah al-Zahra, and to Hamzah, the master of the martyrs.
O Muhammad! Here is Husayn in the open, the east wind blowing the dust over him, slain by the sons of harlots.
O grief! O sorrow for you, O Aba Abd Allah! Today my grandfather, the Messenger of God, God’s blessings be upon him and his family, has died.
O companions of Muhammad! These are the offspring of al-Mustafa, being driven as captives are driven.
And in some reports: O Muhammad! Your daughters are captives (162), and your offspring slain, the east wind blowing the dust over them; and here is Husayn, his head cut off from the nape, stripped of his turban and his cloak.
May my father be ransom for him whose camp, on the Monday, was plundered! May my father be ransom for him whose tent has its ropes cut! May my father be ransom for him who is not away, that his return be hoped for, nor wounded, that he be healed! May my father be ransom for him for whom my soul is the ransom! May my father be ransom for the one weighed down with grief until he died! May my father be ransom for the thirsty one until he passed! May my father be ransom for him whose grey beard drips with blood (163)! May my father be ransom for him whose grandfather is the messenger of the God of heaven! May my father be ransom for him who is the grandson of the Prophet of guidance! May my father be ransom for Muhammad al-Mustafa! May my father be ransom for Ali al-Murtada! May my father be ransom for Khadijah al-Kubra! May my father be ransom for Fatimah al-Zahra, the mistress of women! May my father be ransom for him for whom the sun was turned back until he had prayed!
The narrator (164) said: And by God, she made every enemy and every friend weep.
Then Sukayna (165) embraced the body of al-Husayn, peace be upon him, and a band of Bedouins gathered until they dragged her from him.”
— Sayyedah Zaynab, peace and blessings be upon her, in the narrator’s telling; Sayyed Ibn Tawus, al-Malhuf ‘ala Qatla al-Tufuf, p. 180, lines 8 to 10, and p. 181; my translation
VI — Kufa: al-Irshad, Volume 2, pages 116 and 117, with its witnesses
Kufa, as al-Mufid tells it: Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn brought before Ibn Ziyad, the order to kill him, and Sayyedah Zaynab’s arms around him. The lines before it on the page are her own exchange with Ibn Ziyad, which the maqtal does not tell. The figures after names are this edition’s signs for the blessings — 7 for “peace be upon him”, 8 for “peace be upon them both”, 9 for “God’s blessings be upon him and his family” — and are translated so; the figures in brackets are the editor’s note numbers.
وعُرِضَ عليه عليُّ بنُ الحسينِ 8 فقالَ له : مَنْ أنْتَ؟ فقالَ : «أنا عليُّ بنُ الحسينِ». فقالَ : أليسَ قد قَتَلَ الله عليَّ بنَ الحسينِ؟. فقالَ له عليّ 7 : «قد كان لي أخٌ يسمّى عليّاً قتلَه النّاسُ». فقالَ له ابنُ زيادٍ :بلِ اللهُ قتلَه. فقالَ عليُّ بنُ الحسين 7 : « ( اللهُ يَتَوَفّىَ الأنفُسَ حيْنَ مَوْتِهَا ) » (3). فغضبَ ابنُ زيادٍ وقالَ : وبكَ جُرأةُ لجوابي وفيكَ بقيّةْ للرّدَ علي؟! اذهبوا به فاضربوا عُنقَه. فَتعلّقتْ به زينبُ عمتُه وقالتْ : يا ابنَ زيادٍ ، حَسْبُكَ من دمائنا؟ واعْتَنَقَتْه وقالتْ : واللهِ لا أُفارِقُه فإنْ قتلتَه فاقتلْني معَه ؛ فنظرَ ابنُ زيادٍ إليها واليه ساعة ثمّ قالَ : عجباً للرّحمِ! واللهِّ إِنِّي لأظنُّها ودّتْ أنِّي قتلتُها معَه ، دَعُوه فإِنِّي أراه لمِا به.
“And Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon them both, was brought before him, and he said to him: Who are you? He said: I am Ali ibn al-Husayn. He said: Did God not kill Ali ibn al-Husayn? Ali, peace be upon him, said to him: I had a brother called Ali, whom the people killed. Ibn Ziyad said to him: No, God killed him. Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon him, said: ‘Allah takes the souls at the time of their death’ (3). Ibn Ziyad was angered, and said: You have the boldness to answer me, and something left in you to talk back to me? Take him away and strike off his neck! His aunt Zaynab clung to him and said: O Ibn Ziyad, have you not had enough of our blood? And she put her arms around him and said: By God, I will not leave him; if you kill him, kill me with him. Ibn Ziyad looked at her and at him for a while, and then said: How strange is kinship! By God, I think she would wish that I killed her with him. Leave him, for I see him [as finished] by what ails him.”
— Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn and Sayyedah Zaynab, peace and blessings be upon them; Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Irshad, Volume 2, p. 116, lines 5 to 11, and p. 117, lines 1 and 2; my translation, with the first words of Surah al-Zumar, Verse 42, in Ali Quli Qarai’s English
Kufa, as al-Majlisi gathers it: first the account of al-Sayyid, that is Ibn Tawus, and of Ibn Nima, in which Sayyedah Zaynab says “you have left none of us”; then al-Mufid’s and Ibn Nima’s; then al-Sayyid’s again, with Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn’s answer to Ibn Ziyad. Here the verse is quoted further, to “in their sleep”. The figures in brackets are the editor’s note numbers.
وقال السيد وابن نما ثم التفت ابن زياد إلى علي بن الحسين فقال من هذا فقيل علي بن الحسين فقال أليس قد قتل الله علي بن الحسين فقال علي قد كان لي أخ يسمى علي بن الحسين قتله الناس فقال بل الله قتله فقال علي ـ ( اللهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنْفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِها وَالَّتِي لَمْ تَمُتْ فِي مَنامِها ) (3) فقال ابن زياد ولك جرأة على جوابي اذهبوا به فاضربوا عنقه فسمعت عمته زينب فقالت يا ابن زياد إنك لم تبق منا أحدا فإن عزمت على قتله فاقتلني معه (4). وقال المفيد وابن نما فتعلقت به زينب عمته وقالت يا ابن زياد حسبك من دمائنا واعتنقته وقالت والله لا أفارقه فإن قتلته فاقتلني معه فنظر ابن زياد إليها وإليه ساعة ثم قال عجبا للرحم والله إني لأظنها ودت أني قتلتها معه دعوه فإني أراه لما به. وقال السيد فقال علي لعمته اسكتي يا عمة حتى أكلمه ثم أقبل عليه السلام فقال : أبالقتل تهددني يا ابن زياد أما علمت أن القتل لنا عادة وكرامتنا الشهادة.
“Al-Sayyid and Ibn Nima said: Then Ibn Ziyad turned to Ali ibn al-Husayn and said: Who is this? It was said: Ali ibn al-Husayn. He said: Did God not kill Ali ibn al-Husayn? Ali said: I had a brother called Ali ibn al-Husayn, whom the people killed. He said: No, God killed him. Ali said: ‘Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those who have not died, in their sleep’ (3). Ibn Ziyad said: And you have the boldness to answer me? Take him away and strike off his neck! His aunt Zaynab heard, and said: O Ibn Ziyad, you have left none of us; if you are resolved to kill him, kill me with him (4).
Al-Mufid and Ibn Nima said: His aunt Zaynab clung to him and said: O Ibn Ziyad, you have had enough of our blood! And she put her arms around him and said: By God, I will not leave him; if you kill him, kill me with him. Ibn Ziyad looked at her and at him for a while, and then said: How strange is kinship! By God, I think she would wish that I killed her with him. Leave him, for I see him [as finished] by what ails him.
Al-Sayyid said: Ali said to his aunt: Be silent, aunt, so that I may speak to him. Then he, peace be upon him, came forward and said: Do you threaten me with killing, O Ibn Ziyad? Do you not know that killing is our custom, and martyrdom our honour?”
— Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn and Sayyedah Zaynab, peace and blessings be upon them; al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 45, p. 117, lines 4 and 5, and p. 118, lines 1 to 3; my translation, with Surah al-Zumar, Verse 42, as far as it is quoted, in Ali Quli Qarai’s English
Kufa, as Shaykh al-Tabrisi gives it, to the end of the scene on the next page. The print has qak for qal, “he said” (page 472, line 8), and a few misplaced vowel signs, carried as they stand and translated as meant. The figures after names are the edition’s signs for the blessings, and the figure in brackets the editor’s note number.
وعرض عليه عليّ بن الحسين 8 فقال له : من أنت؟ قاك : «أنا عليّ بن الحسين ». قال : أليس قد قتل الله عليّ بن الحسين؟ فقال : «كان لي أخِّ يسمّى عليّاً ، فقتله الناس ». قال ابن زياد : بل الله قتله. فقال عليّ بن الحسين 8 : « (اللهً يَتَوفّى الأنفُسَ حينَ مَوِتها)(1). فغضب ابن زياد وقال : بك جرأة لجوابي ، وفيك بقيّة للردّ عليّ ، إذهبوا به فاضربوا عنقه. فتعلَقت به زينب عمّته وقالت : يا ابن زياد ، حسبك من دمائنا ، واعتنقته وقالت : والله لا أفارقه ، فإن قتلته فاقتلني معه. فنظر ابن زياد إليها ساعة وقال : عجباً للرحم ، والله اني لأظنّها ودت أنّي قتلتها معه ، دعوه فإنّي أراه لما به مشغول ، ثمّ قام من مجلسه.
“And Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon them both, was brought before him, and he said to him: Who are you? He said: I am Ali ibn al-Husayn. He said: Did God not kill Ali ibn al-Husayn? He said: I had a brother called Ali, and the people killed him. Ibn Ziyad said: No, God killed him. Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon them both, said: ‘Allah takes the souls at the time of their death’ (1). Ibn Ziyad was angered, and said: You have the boldness to answer me, and something left in you to talk back to me! Take him away and strike off his neck! His aunt Zaynab clung to him and said: O Ibn Ziyad, you have had enough of our blood! And she put her arms around him and said: By God, I will not leave him; if you kill him, kill me with him. Ibn Ziyad looked at her for a while, and said: How strange is kinship! By God, I think she would wish that I killed her with him. Leave him, for I see him taken up with what ails him. Then he rose from his seat.”
— Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn and Sayyedah Zaynab, peace and blessings be upon them; Shaykh al-Tabrisi, I’lam al-Wara bi-A’lam al-Huda, Volume 1, p. 472, lines 7 to 15, and p. 473, lines 1 and 2; my translation, with the first words of Surah al-Zumar, Verse 42, in Ali Quli Qarai’s English
VII — Her Will: Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 43, page 192
The maqtal closes on her will, “she will be to my children as I am”.
The passage. The bracketed words are the editor’s, with his note marks; on the minbar she is named only as Umama.
ثم بكيا جميعا ساعة وأخذ علي رأسها وضمها إلى صدره ثم قال : أوصيني بما شئت فانك تجدني فيها أمضي كما أمرتني به وأختار أمرك على أمري. ثم قالت : جزاك الله عني خير الجزاء يا ابن عم رسول الله اوصيك أولا أن تتزوج بعدي بابنة [ اختي ] (1) أمامة فانها تكون لولدي مثلي فان الرجال لابدلهم من النساء. قال : فمن أجل ذلك قال أميرالمؤمنين عليهالسلام : أربع ليس لي إلى فراقه سبيل ، بنت [ أبي العاس ] (2) أمامة أوصتني بها فاطمة بنت محمد صلىاللهعليهوآله.
“Then they both wept together for a while, and Ali took her head and held it to his chest; then he said: Charge me with whatever you wish, for you will find me carrying it out as you have commanded me, and I will put your command before my own. Then she said: May God reward you on my behalf with the best of rewards, O son of the uncle of the Messenger of God. I charge you, first, that you marry after me the daughter of [my sister] (1), Umama, for she will be to my children as I am; for men cannot do without women. He said: It is for this that the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, said: Four there is no way for me to part from: the daughter of [Abu al-As] (2), Umama — Fatimah the daughter of Muhammad, God bless him and his family, entrusted her to me.”
— Sayyedah Fatimah al-Zahra, peace and blessings be upon her, and Imam Ali, peace and blessings be upon him; al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 43, p. 192, lines 3-9; my translation
