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THE
ARBA’EEN: 40TH OF IMAM AL-HUSEIN (A.S)
It is
customary among Muslims to pay tribute to their deceased person forty
days after his death. This is because the Holy prophet (saww) has said,
“The earth mourns the death of a believer
for forty mornings”. (Bihar
al-Anwaar)
Imam
Ja’ffar al-sadiq (a.s) has said, “The sky
wept over al-Husein (a.s) for forty mornings with blood, while the earth
wept over him for forty mornings with blackness. The sun wept over him
for forty mornings with an eclipse and with redness, whereas the angels
wept over him for forty mornings. No woman among us ever dyed with
henna, nor used any oil, nor any kohl nor cohabited with her
husband till the head of Ubaydullah ibn Ziyaad was brought to us, and we
are still grieving even after all that”. (Mustadrak al-Wasael)
The
Arba’een of Imam al-Husein (a.s) falls on the 20th Safar
every year. Shia’hs all over the world will be mourning Imam al-Husein (a.s), his
companions and his household members who were brutally massacred in
Karbala in the year 61 A.H. by the army of Yazeed bin Mu’awiyah bin Abi
Sufyan (May the curse of the Almighty be upon them). Shia’hs will also
be remembering the atrocities which were committed against the household
of Prophet Muhammad (saww) by the umayyad rulers.
Amongst
the highly recommended actions for this day is to be in Karbala, the
grave of Imam al-Husein (a.s) for his ziyarah and that of the other
Martyrs of Karbala. According to Imam Ja’ffar al-Sadiq (a.s), one should
also recite Ziyarat-e-Arba’een (Salutations to Imam on the
40th day of his martyrdom). This Ziyarah can be found in
Almanac, page no.238 and also in Mafatih al-Jinaan.
MOURNING:
Mourning
al-Hussein (a.s) is the tradition of all our Aimmah (a.s) and was
started by Imam Ali Ibn al-Husein (a.s) after his return to Madina from
the prison of Damascus. It is related that after his return to Madina,
Imam Ali ibn al-Husein (a.s) stayed aloof from the public in order to
avoid being involved in their disputes and also to dedicate his time to
worshipping Allah (SWT) and mourning his beloved father. He (a.s) used
to weep day and night. One of his slaves said to him, “I fear for you
lest you should perish”. He (a.s) said to him,
“I only convey my complaints and my grief to
Allah, and I know from Allah what you all do not know. Ya’qoob (Jacob)
was a prophet whom Allah caused one of his sons to be separated. He had
twelve sons and he knew that his son Yusuf (Joseph) was still alive, yet
he wept over him till he lost his eye sight. If you look at my father,
my brothers, my uncles, and my friends, how they were slain all around
me, tell me how can my grief ever end? Whenever I remember how
Fatima’s children were slaughtered, I cannot help crying. And whenever I
look at my aunts and sisters, I remember how they were fleeing from one
tent to another..”
(Karbala
& Beyond)
Mulla
Mujaheedali Sheriff
mulla@almahdi.org.uk |