By Dr. Shabbir Ahmed
CHAPTER 5
CAUTION: All criticism of the author is directed to the historians, and not at all to the respected personalities of Islam - Hadhraat Ali, Fatima, Hassan and Hussein [R.A.] all of whom command our reverence and respect.
The First Assemblage of Hussain
At this juncture please make a note that the entire tale of Karbala has been narrated by the so-called Imam Tabari Bin Rustam, the Zoroastrian, 239 years after the supposed event. Time and again he begins with, “… Abu Mukhnaf said this and Abu Mukhnaf said that …"
Renowned scholars like Shah Abdul Aziz, Allama Tammana Imadi, Maulana Habibur Rahman Kandhalwi have conducted in depth research and declared that Abu Mukhnaf is a fictitious character. Other scholars have established that even if such a person existed in flesh and blood, he had died more than fifty years before Tabari was born! Moreover, Tabari does not once claim that he ever met Abu Mukhnaf. This being the state of affairs, it becomes obvious that the myth of Karbala is the product of Tabari’s own imagination. Some said Tabari was a Shia, others contend that he was a Sunni. In fact he had changed his name from Tabari bin Rustam to Tabari bin Yazeed for deceiving the masses. Tabari ascribes all atrocities to Yazeed, yet, he associates his own name to Yazeed, a shameless attempt to get some credibility.
The discerning reader should make note of this very important point.
The year of the martyrdom of Hadhrat Hussain is 61 A.H. and Tabari penned this fable down around the year 300, i.e. 239 years later. And all this on hearsay!
The narrative continues:
"Imam Hussain gathered his kith and kin. He cast an eye on the gathering and broke down in tears. He prayed in all tenderness, 'O Allah! We are the prophet’s kin. Please grant us victory over the tyrants.’
How numerous was the enemy? Aqai Darbandi says the (opposing) cavalry in Karbala numbered 600,000 and the infantry assembled for the battle numbered twenty million! [The total population of Arabia and Iraq at the time would not twenty million! No empire could possibly assemble a force of this size]
According to Ibn-e- Jozi, they numbered six thousand. Syed son of Taoos puts the number at twenty thousand. Abi Faras said they were fifty thousand and Abi Muhnaf Azwi reported eighty thousand!
The book we are referring to as authority, Sa’aadatuddarain fi Qatlil Hussain contains a lengthy directive in the context of Hussain's assembly. In summary, this directive prescribes the following set of commandments:
- One should weep profusely over the fate of the oppressed Imam because such weeping atones for grave sins.
- Without intent of a fast, go without food till the evening
on the Ashura (tenth of Muharram) day.
- On that day, hold gatherings for mourning and shed tears profusely. This is the noblest deed.
- Do nothing else on that day.
- Recite the 'Ziarat-e-Ashura' and do all the mourning that is prescribed in the special books on prayers for this occasion.
[We can virtually hear the poem by Allama Iqbal: Hear the music of delight in the mansions of Europe - And watch too the readiness for chest-beating in Iran]
- Immensely curse the murderers of Hussain and his kin. Repeat the chanting at least a thousand times, "O Allah! Let thy curse fall on the assassins of Hussain and his companions."
- Absolutely refrain from hilarity, lavish food and nice clothes.
- Undo the buttons of shirts and roll up the sleeves up.
- Throw dust or ashes on your head and rub your forehead with it.
Now, what was the size of the forces at the disposal of Imam Hussain?
According to Allama Mujtahid (Revivalist) Muhammad, here is a controversy again. Abi Faris says they were a thousand (Sharhe Shafia). Sheikh Mufeed says their total number was 72 (32 horsemen and 40 foot soldiers). Imam Baqir reports that they were 145.
Ironically, after shooting their arrows of conjecture, our historians, theologians and reporters of Hadith play a trick on God. In the end, they pass the buck to Allah, "Wallahu A'alam" (And God knows best). That is that! They simply won't admit, "I do not know". If they decide to pass the buck to the exalted prophet, they would write, “The prophet said this, or something like this, or some words to that effect."
- Ibn Ziyad said to the Imam, "I shall not lay my head on a soft pillow nor taste good food until I slay you.” The Imam replied, "The people of your city Koofa had written to me so I came. If you dislike my coming, I must go back.” Then he also asked *Umar bin Saad to let him leave since the earth is vast, but he did not get the leave.
[According to the Mujtahid writer, Imam Hussain was there for Jihad. Why, then, would he ask to leave? Persians bore a special grudge against Saad Bin Abi Waqas [R.A.] because he had conquered Persia half a century earlier. So the name of his son, *Umar was tagged here although he was commanding troops in Syria at that time]
- On Ashura day (10th Muharram) Yazeed the bastard, son of a bastard has forced me to choose between death and disgrace. [So many people had strongly advised him against this course! And, could this be the language used by Imam Hussain?]
- Three days before the martyrdom of Hussain, Umar bin Saad put a 500 strong guard at the river Euphrates to completely deny the Imam and his companions any access to water. The Imam delivered a speech saying, “Think, who my father, my mother and grandmother were; whose brother and whose grandson I am!" Voices were heard from the enemy camp, "We know all this, yet kill you we must in your state of thirst."
- The Imam demonstrated a miracle near his tent. He slightly dug the soil with a spade. All of a sudden a fountain of cool and sweet water gushed forth from the desert. All of them drank to their fill and filled up their water-skins [Lo! The water problem is watered down.]
- From those tyrants the Imam had sought respite for one night. This was the Ashura night. The Imam and his companions spent the night in prayers and repentance and pleadings to Allah for mercy. They wailed and chanted over their rosary beads. There were sounds from the tents like the humming of bees from a beehive. [Such earnest prayers of the most pious ones were not heard! What are our theologians trying to accomplish - Mock and insult them?]
- Now, many people left the Imam and sneaked away into the darkness of the night. To those who were left with him, he gestured to look up at the sky. That is when every one of the companions beheld his abode in paradise. [According to the Qur’an, the Paradise encompasses the heavens and earth. Imam Hussain would not contradict the Quran]
- Imam Zainul Abidin relates that when Imam Hussain spoke verses about his death, his aunt, Hazrat Zainab started beating her face and rent her clothes. She then fainted. Imam Hussain said, "My sister! I serve an oath on you. Please keep my oath. After I am gone, do not tear up your clothes, do not scratch your face, and do not wail." [But these theologians claim that no one including Zainab complied with the Imam's advice]
- On the other side there was an army of hundreds of thousands. Yet, the exalted Imam arrayed his small force for battle; a forward, the middle, a rear and the flag bearer. Aqai Darbandi writes that the opposing army comprised of six hundred thousand horsemen and two hundred million infantry.
[What was it but collective suicide? Would Imam Hussain adopt such a fatal course? Victory being out of question, if his objective was martyrdom, he would not expose his family, women and children and his companions to this peril. The exalted prophet had warned believers against getting disgraced by inviting a peril that one could not cope with]
- The Imam addressed Shamar bin Ziljoshan, “O Son of a goat tending woman!”
- The Imam prayed for the torment of Fire for Ibn-e-Abi-Javeria. At once he fell in blazing fire in a trench and got burnt to ashes. He prayed to Allah for Tamim Bin Hasseen to die of thirst that very day. Suddenly stricken with thirst, Tamim fell off his horse by the Euphrates bank and his horse trampled him to death.
[If the prayers of Imam Hussain were so effective, why could he not guard himself against the huge calamities? The highly exaggerated and superstitious accounts betray conjecture and fabrications by the historians. Hazrat Hussain wouldn't have even dreamed such non-sense. In fact, he was assassinated by Jaban Bin Hormuzan. The Imam was the governor of Iraq at that time as we will learn later]
- The parties arrayed themselves in battle formation. 20, 600,000 (Twenty million & six hundred thousand) on one side and seventy two men on the other! [72 against even 30,000 would have been an outright disaster. But let us read on]
- That day there was hue and cry in the tents. Allama Mujtahid Muhammad Hussain writes that it was a God-ordained calamity for them. The Imam kept briefing them about the oncoming events many times a day as revealed to him by Allah. [According to the Allama this was a pre-ordained, and not an unforeseen calamity. Why, then, the hue and cry as we note further?]
- O Creatures of Allah! I have taken refuge with Allah against harm from you! [Refuge not granted!]
OUT OF THE DEN CAME THE LION, ROARING!
- The Imam called for the steed of the Rasoolullah called Murtajiz. He rode the steed and started urging his companions to do battle. Hur walked over to Hussain's side. [The events are taking place fifty years after the exalted Rasool passed on. The steed Murtajiz should have been about seventy years old then. Do the horses live that long?]
- Hur said, “O People of Koofa! After his passing away this is how you have treated the descendents of the Rasoolullah!”
- Upon hearing this, Umar Bin Saad shot the first arrow at Hussain’s army and with this followed a shower of thousands of arrows.
[Dear reader! Only a few excerpts have been picked out cautiously for the sake of brevity. But I have not restricted the account to merely ten or twenty points from various voluminous books in order to convey to you what has been written in them about the illustrious
Imam. The books from which the excerpts have been taken are so numerous that several pages are needed just to record the list of their long titles. Below are given only a few titles as examples:
Tareekh-e-Tabri, Asool-e-Kafi, Sunan Ibn Maja, Shaheed-e-Insaniat, Aashar Bahaar, Sirreshahadatain, Amalissadooq, Tafseer Baizawi, Nihjul Balagha, Ainee Sharh-I-Bokhari, Irshad Shaikh Mufeed, Alakhbaril Awalee, Maqtal-I-Makram, Maqtal Ibn Sahili, Kamil Ibn Kaseer, Nafsul Mahmmom, Qamqam, Alhussain Maqtal Muqarram, Nasikhuttawareekh, Waqai-Ayyam-e-Muharram, Zakheeratud Darain, Murawwajuzzihab, Maqtal Khurarizimi, Manaqib Shahr Ibn Ashobe, Maqatilul Talibeen, Shahadat-e-Hussain, Zibh-e-Azeem, Alamamat Wassiasat, Kanzul Amaal, Isteab, Sawaiqul Mahraqa, Addama Assabiha, and many others.
All these references can be looked up in Mustatab Saadat-ud-Darain fi Qatlil Hussain by Allama Sarkar Ash-Sheikh Muhammad Hussain, printer Maktabat-as-Sibtain.
- During the downpour of arrows from the enemy troops, the illustrious Imam launched a sudden attack on them. The battle continued for one hour. Fifty of his companions embraced martyrdom. [Against a shower of thousands of arrows, not one of the 72 arrayed combatants could have survived for a minute. But we are told that the scant 72 fought 20,600,000 men for one hour!]
- A martyr has seven benefits from Allah. One of them is that his head rolls into the laps of two houris. [One lap should suffice one head]
- The esteemed Habeeb bin Mazahir dispatched to hell 65 of the Koofis and, Zuhair Albijli 120. Aabis bin Abi Shoaib knocked down more than 200, Yahya bin Kathir 50, Janada bin Haris 16. Qarib, the Turkish slave of the Lord of Martyrs, killed 70. The 95 year old Anas bin Al-Haris dispatched to hell 18. Hajjaj bin Masrooq killed 25, Anees bin Moaqqal 20 and Ibrahim bin Al-Hasseen 84. Malik bin Dawud and Dharghama bin Malik slew 60 each. [The count narrative goes on and on]
- Eight slaves of the Lord of Martyrs were slain. [The exalted prophet had abolished slavery. How could Imam Hussain take slaves? The title ‘Lord of Martyrs’ has been used by many historians for Hazrat Hamza, the prophet's (a.s.) uncle.
- Prince Ali Akbar desired to have grapes. Imam Hussain raised his hand to the pillar of the mosque and [out of thin air] grabbed a bunch of grapes for the prince. [The historians maintain that Hazrat Hussain had taken up arms to destroy monarchy. Yet, they call his offspring princes and princesses]
- Prince Ali Akbar was married since he had an Umm-e-Walad. [A concubine who bears a child]
- Prince Ali Akbar killed 200 soldiers. However, his horse took him
to the enemy troops. The barbarians shredded him into pieces with their swords. [That treacherous horse must have an effigy made and flogged in the Taazia processions]
INSULTS TO INTELLIGENCE ABOUND
Readers! Along with these events, the historians have related a relentless exchange of verses and dialogues as if it were a vocal contest of which they were eyewitnesses. This is in spite of the fact that Tabari compiled the first history of Muslims nearly two hundred and fifty years after Imam Hussain's martyrdom. In order to keep this book reasonably small, we are disregarding much of the running commentary.
- Many writers say that there is a criterion for the authenticity of the events of Karbala: If an event is found in the books of history, so did it happen, period. [This criterion hardly deserves a comment]
- At many places it has been written that the Imam broke down in tears at the killing of a certain person or at such and such happening.
[The exalted prophet had said that the true patience is displayed at the time of a misfortune. Suggesting that the valiant Imam Hussein broke down time and again is an insult to him]
- At the martyrdom of Prince Ali Akbar sounds of wailing came from the tents. Imam Hussain says, "My daughter Sakeena! Don't you fear Allah?" [Crying, wailing, and chest beating displease Him]
- The five or six remnants of Abu Talib's progeny launched a ferocious attack on the army of thousands.
- Prince Qasim, son of Imam Hasan, came out of the tent on his way to the battlefield. The Uncle and the Nephew embraced each other and wept so much that both fell unconscious.
- Allah dispensed an extraordinary punishment upon the one who had killed Muhammad son of Ali. He drank so much water that his belly burst open to his demise. (Wow!)
- Abdullah son of Hasan was eleven years old. He addressed one of the enemies, "O son of an evil woman!"
- Abbas son of Ali was called the 'moon' of the (tribe of) Banu Hashim. He was so tall that when he rode a horse his feet would touch the ground". [OK]
The same Abbas launched such fierce attacks on the enemy that the right wing of the enemy turned upon the left wing and the left wing turned upon the right wing"
[Hold your breath]
Last of all came Imam Hussain's turn. The evening was drawing close. He was all alone, fifty-seven years old, hungry and thirsty for several days, in intense heat, and with a heart broken by lives lost!
[Excellent portrayal of the setting by Mir Anees]
The gloom of tyranny has engulfed Zahra's Moon,
What loneliness has gripped Shabbir this day!
[Zahra is the title of Hazrat Fatima, the mother of Hazrat Hussain whose title is Shabbir]
The author of Saada-tud-Darain writes, "If Hussain had really wanted to defeat the enemy and be triumphant to power, it was simple and easy. He would have placed Abbas on one side of his, Ali Akbar on the other, while Muhammad bin Hanfia (son of Hanfia and Ali) and Muslim bin Aqeel somewhere in the middle. Then he would have attacked the rival army [of twenty million six hundred thousand or thirty thousand as the case may be] It would have changed the face of the battlefield at Karbala.”
[Imagine how five men could change the fate of such a one-sided battle]
- In the meanwhile God sent down a bird that fluttered its wings over Imam Hussain‘s head. The bird said, "God says that if you wish He shall grant you victory over the adversary." This was Allah's help.
- Then four thousand angels came on to the Karbala battlefield with shouts of support. However, the lord of the martyrs did not allow them to take part in Jihad.
- Then countless Jinns came to offer their services, but the Imam did not accept their offer.
- The Imam brought the infant prince Ali Asghar out of the tent. He
requested the enemy water for the infant. But some barbarian
shot an arrow as a response to the request for a sip of water. The little prince breathed his last in the Imam’s arms. The blood that gushed forth, the Imam caught in his palm and threw up to the sky. No drop of this sacred blood came back down”. [Where did it go?]
- In the tents, Imam Hussain bade good bye to Sakeena, Fatima, Zainab and Um Kalsoom. Sakeena said, "Baba! Have you prepared yourself for death?" Imam answered, "What can a friendless person do but accept death!”
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