(Continued from the previous Al-Muntazar Muharram Issue)
“Peace be upon his brother who was poisoned.”
In the above sentence, salutations have been sent to Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (a.s.), the brother of Imam Husain (a.s.) and the leader of the youth of Paradise, who was poisoned by his accursed wife Jo’dah binte Ash’ath on the orders of Muawiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan (may Allah curse him). The word ‘masmoom’ is derived from ‘samm’ which means poison and as per Arabic Lexicon it is a Nomina! Predicate meaning ‘the one who was poisoned’.
Junadah Ibn Abi Umayyah narrates: I went into the presence of Imam Hasan ibn Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) when he was severely ill, due to which he passed away later. In front of him was a washtub in which drops of blood were being vomited into and pieces of his liver were falling into it because of the poison which Muawiyah (may Allah curse him) had given him.
[Kifayaah al-Asar by Ibn Khazzaaz al-Qummi (r.a.)]
Those who wish to read about the martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (a.s.) in detail can refer to Behaar al-Anwaar (Arabic), vol. 44, p. 134, chapter 22.
“Peace be upon Ali, the elder (Ali Akbar)”
In the above sentence, Imam-e-Zamana (a.t.f.s.) is sending his salutations upon the prince who resembled the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.). When Janabe Ali Akbar (a.s.) was proceeding for his martyrdom, the Leader of Martyrs (a.s.) pointed his finger towards the heavens and said:
“O Lord! You be a witness upon this nation. Indeed a servant who resembles Your Messenger (s.a.w.a.) the most in appearance, character and speechhas set out towards them. Whenever we desired to see Your Prophet, we used to look at his face.”
When the prince set out for the battle he recited the following poem:
I am Ali Ibn Husain Ibn Ali The son of the one who is the son of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) By Allah! The son of an illegitimate person cannot judge for us I shall attack you with my spear till it does not give way I shall strike you with my sword in the defence of my father The strike of a Hashimite, Alawite youth Janabe Ali Akbar (a.s.) attacked in such a manner that there was a pile of enemy dead bodies due to which there was pandemonium in the enemy camp and despite the severe thirst, he killed 120 enemies.
Then Janabe Ali Akbar (a.s.) turned towards Imam Husain (a.s.) completely bruised and said:
“Dear father! Thirst is killing me while the load of iron (ammunitions) has bereft me of my strength. Is there water available so that I may regain strength and pounce upon the enemies?”
Chronicles of Karbala have recorded that Imam (a.s.) was deeply aggrieved by this desire expressed by his son and he started crying. Then Imam (a.s.) said:
“O my son! Bring forth your tongue. Imam (a.s.) placed his tongue in the mouth of Ali Akbar (but Imam’s mouth was more parched than Ali Akbar). Imam (a.s.) gave him his ring and said that place this in your mouth and return to fight with your enemies. For surely, I wish that evening should not set in for you and your grandfather quenches your thirst with such water that you will never feel thirsty ever after.”
Ali Akbar (a.s.) then attacked and killed 200 of his enemies. An enemy by the name of Munqiz Ibn Hurrah al-Abdi hurled a lance at Ali Akbar. The prince fell from his horse. The enemies surrounded Ali Akbar (a.s.) while he had his armed wrapped around the neck of his horse.
It is reported in the books of Maqtal:
The horse took Ali Akbar (a.s.) in the enemy camp and the opponents cut him into pieces with their swords.
Imam Husain (a.s.) recited the following elegy on the martyrdom of Ali Akbar (a.s.):
“O my son! Woe upon this world after you. You have departed from this world while your father still stands alone amidst the enemies. O Allah! Never forgive this nation who has snatched away a son like Ali Akbar from a father like Husain.”
“Peace be upon the suckling infant (Ali Asghar).”
In the above sentence Imam-e-Zamana (a.t.f.s.) sends his salutations upon Imam Husain’s (a.s.) suckling infant Ali Asghar (a.s.). When Imam Husain (a.s.) raised a cry for help, there was chaos back in the tents. When Imam (a.s.) inquired about the reason for it he was told that upon hearing your call of help, Ali Asghar forced himself out and fell of his cradle. Husain (a.s.) took his child in his arms and left.
In the end Hurmula (may Allah curse him) martyred the infant with a three-pronged arrow. When the mother saw her child bathed in blood, she cried, ‘My son, are infants like you too slaughtered?’
“Peace be upon the plundered bodies.”
The word ‘abdaan’ is the plural of ‘badan’ (body) and ‘saleebah’ (plundered) is the Nominal Predicate meaning that body from whose clothes have been ransacked. Since ‘abdaan’ is the broken plural hence a ‘taa’ of feminine is written at the end of ‘saleeb’ because a broken plural is always considered to be metaphorically feminine.
“Peace be upon the estranged family.”
‘Itrat’ means family and ‘ghareebah’ means those who have been exiled. Ibn Manzoor writes in his famous Lexicon Lisaan al-Arab,
Itrat’ literally means branches of a tree and the ‘itrat’ of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) refers to the children of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) and Ali (a.s.).
[Lisaan al-Arab, vol. 4, p. 538 under the root a’-t-r]
If a person simply ponders over these two words, then it is enough to aggrieve him. The children of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) and the family of Ali (a.s.) were paraded. The journey began on 28th Rajab when Imam Husain (a.s.) bid farewell to Medina and he along with his entire kinfolks left for Mecca and from Mecca to Karbala. On the day of Ashura, the womenfolk were taken as captives they had to travel from Karbala to Kufa then Damascus and then Karbala until they reached Medina. Woe be upon that nation! They recite the Kalimah of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) on one hand and ill-treat his family on the other. Till date, the people who have a soft corner for those oppressors or try to defend and justify their unpardonable sins are certainly partners to them in this hideous crime.
“Peace be upon the crushed corpses (left) on the highway.”
In the lexicon, ‘mujaddal means ‘one whose body has been left behind lying on the ground after being killed’ and ‘mujaddaleen’ is its plural. ‘Falawaat is the plural of ‘falwah’ which means highway.
“Peace be upon those who were driven away from their homeland.”
‘Naazeheen’ is used when water is being drawn from a well. Expressing his strange agony in this sentence of the ziyarat, Imam-e-Zamana (a.t.f.s.) says that Ahle Bait (a.s.) were driven out of their homeland just as water is drawn from a well. If we ponder over this example then quite a few interpretations come to the fore. A well devoid of water no longer remains a well. It is just a pit. Similarly, after the departure of the son of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.), Medina was no longer the same. The Holy Quran says, “… a deserted well…”
[Surah Hajj (22): Verse 45]
It refers to that well which cannot be used at present. There is a tradition from Imam Moosa ibn Ja’far (a.s.) under the exegesis of this verse: “A deserted well means a silent Imam”
[Al-Kaafi, vol. 1, p. 427, H. 75]
The departure of Ahle Bait (a.s.) from Medina left the city deserted.
“Peace be upon the corpses which were buried without shrouds. Peace be upon the heads which were severed from the bodies.”
Ah the martyrs of Karbala! Ah the progeny of Muhammad! The Prophet who once taught the world the rituals of shrouding and burial, his progeny was being buried without shrouds. The very same nation of that Prophet (s.a.w.a.) severed the heads from the bodies of his progeny. What a way to repay the Prophet (s.a.w.a.)!
May Allah curse the killers of Husain (a.s.), his children and his companions.
(To be continued Insha Allah in the next issue)