The mourning for the Martyrs of Karbala

By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
Moharram, the month that refreshes for the believers memories of history's most heartrending tragedy, which continues to inspire all conscientious people despite the passing of a millennium and over three-and-a-half centuries.
The Prophet's habit of kissing the Imam Husain's throat when he was a child, and often weeping on the thought that he would be mercilessly cut by the enemies of humanity is widely recorded in books of hadith and history by all denominations of Islam. Perhaps that was among the reasons the Prophet used to say: "Husainun minni wa ana min al-Husain",that is, Husain is from me and I am from Husain. It is indicative of the fact that the great sacrifice his grandson would offer on the field of Karbala would redeem Islam and revive its genuine teachings in society after the corruption and distortion that had occurred on a gigantic scale after him. That is the reason the Prophet related several hadith to his companions of the rewards that God Almighty grants to those who mourn for Imam Husain (AS) and commemorate his martyrdom. The gist of the message is that we only mourn and weep for the virtuous and the paragons of faith who so steadfastly suffered such tragedies in order to guide mankind on the straight and unwavering path of truth, by refusing to yield to oppression and injustice. Moreover, these tears are not out of frustration, but are sources of inspiration to strive towards perfection by treading the glorious path blazed out by the martyrs, regarding whom God says in the holy Qur'an: "Do not consider them dead; they are alive and receive sustenance from their Lord."
In view of these undeniable facts, the mourning for the martyrs of Karbala has acted as catalysts in every age and era, inspiring revolutionary movements against oppressive regime and campaigns for reformation in society. Thus, in addition to the grief expressed and the tears shed by the Prophet and the parents of his grandson, Imam Ali and Hazrat Fatema (peace upon them), on hearing of the tragedy to befall their son, we find a famous incident during the caliphate of Imam Ali (AS), as recorded by the well-known founder of one of the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, who has mentioned in his book "al-Musnad"
He says: Mohammad bin Ubayd has related to us from Sharhab bin Madrak from Abdullah bin Nujayy from his father who narrates that he was marching with (Imam) Ali (AS) towards Siffin (for the battle with the rebel Mu'waiyah) and when we reached Ninevah, (Imam) Ali (AS) cried in a loud voice: “O Aba Abdullah! Be patient. O Aba Abdullah! Be patient beside the River Euphrates.â€‌
I asked him: For what? He (Imam Ali) said: “Once when I went to the Prophet I saw tears in his eyes and asked him: O Messenger of Allah who has made you upset? Why are your eyes moist with tears? He said: A while ago [the Archangel] Gabriel left. He has informed me that indeed Husain (AS) will be killed beside the River Euphrates. Then he [the Prophet] said: Do you like to smell part of his soil [where Imam Husain (AS) will be killed].
I said: Yes. He stretched his hand and taking a fistful of soil gave it to me. As a result, tears started rolling down uncontrollably from my eyes.â€‌
The first one to compose an elegy and publicly mourn the martyred Imam was his beloved sister, Hazrat Zainab (peace upon her), who on seeing the headless and blood-stained body of her brother on the battlefield, turned towards Medina, in the direction of the shrine of her grandfather the Prophet, and lamented: "The angels of the sky shower blessings on you, but here is Husain lying in the wilderness robbed of his turban and cloak and with his limbs dismembered while your (grand)daughters are made captive. To God is the complain."
(And she also said): O’ Mohammad (SAWA) this is Husain hose head severed from the back of his neck lies exposed to the easterly wind pouring sand upon him, killed by the sons of adulteresses. Ah, what grief you have suffered O Aba Abdullah Husain).â€‌
It is said that even the enemy forces cried at her lamentation although the greed of mortal world coupled with their weak faith, had made them murder the grandson of their own Prophet. Next we see, the faithful sister, although a captive, shaking the courts of the oppressors in Kufa and Damascus to the very foundations with her eloquent sermons that had electrifying impact on the audience.
Yazid was frightened and ordered the release of the noble household of the Prophet, upon which Hazrat Zainab (peace upon her) held history's first formal mourning ceremony in Damascus. She called for a house to be set apart for the commemoration and when the ladies of Damascus came to offer their condolences to her, bedecked in all their finery, she turned them away, saying this was not the way to mourn the tragic martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS). They returned after changing into black attire and divesting themselves of all their ornaments. This was the first-ever commemoration ceremony in history for the heartrending tragedy of Karbala. Hazrat Zainab (peace upon her) thus laid the foundations of the Majales-e Aza or mourning gatherings for Imam Husain (AS), a practice the faithful have continued to observe throughout the world ever since in order to infuse life into society by reviving memories of the tragic course of events and the heroic dimensions of the Epic of Ashura and its aftermath. Back home in Medina, Hazrat Zainab (peace upon her) continued her lamentations and discourses on the dimensions of the tragedy of the Karbala in order to awaken the conscience of the people.
In Medina news had reached the people in advance of the tragedy that befell the Prophet's Household in Karbala. The Prophet's widow, Omm al-Momenin Omm-e Salama, who remembered what the Prophet had foretold about his grandson half-a-century earlier, wailed and lamented, as the cities echoed with cries of "Ya Husain". Omm al-Baneen, the mother of Imam Husain's martyred brother, Hazrat Abbas (AS), gathered women in her house and held the first ever Majlis in Medina for the martyrs of Karbala. She loved Imam Husain (AS) more than her own children, and on hearing the news of the martyrdom, said: "All arteries of my heart are torn. May all of my children and whatever that exist under this azure heaven be sacrificed for the sake of Imam Husain (AS). Omm al-Baneen was a great poet and she is considered as the first Noheh-Khan or Elegy Reciter for the martyred Imam. She used to visit regularly the Jannat al-Baqie cemetery and recite her Noha in a very sad and pathetic voice that made everybody present there to weep bitterly. She thus transformed the Jannat al-Baqie cemetery as the Centre of Azadari for Imam Husain (AS). Her verses of elegy are recorded in history as among the masterpieces of Arabic literature, and had great impact on the people. Obviously, at these developments the perpetrator of the tragedy, the Omayyad regime, became panicked and indulged in propaganda to try to suppress such mourning ceremonies and mislead masses.