The Martyrdom of Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him)
Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred on the 10th of Muharram, 61 AH, and his martyrdom is true. According to the statement of Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) and Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), he was killed by the people of Kufa. At that time two major groups of enemies of the Companions were present in Kufa, the Khawarij and the Rawafid, who had also fought Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and martyred him.
To declare Yazid the killer of Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) is baseless and without reality. In fact, it was the killers of Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) who plotted that the blood of Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) should be sought on the hands of Yazid. The great benefit they gained from this was that they were cleared of enmity towards the Ahl al-Bayt. On this very basis they sowed discord in the Muslim Ummah and gave the impression that the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) had a hand in the killing of Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him), especially those noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) who had pledged allegiance at the hand of Yazid. By declaring Yazid the killer of Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him), they won the sympathy and consideration of the Muslims. Its foundation was a lie.
Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) never, ever rebelled. Does one rebel with children, or with an army and troops? Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) had his family with him; his (may Allah be pleased with him) martyrdom was a martyrdom of oppression. It is the effect of the narrations fabricated by the Rawafid that some of our Sunni brothers also begin to view the martyrdom of Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) against the background of a rebellion, although no sahih (authentic) or hasan (good) chain of narration indicates that he had any battle with anyone at Karbala, that any fighting took place, that arrows were shot, that water was cut off, that women were dishonoured, that children were raised on the tips of spears, or that he had prepared any armies. No mention of such things is found in the reliable history of Islam; indeed, no such thing existed even in the era of the Companions. All of this is a lie which the Rawafid conspired to insert into Islamic history.
All that happened is that Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred while unaware. The Noble Prophet ﷺ had given news of his blessed martyrdom during his lifetime. Every Muslim is grieved at his (may Allah be pleased with him) martyrdom. Over his martyrdom we should adopt the same manner that the Companions, the family of the Messenger and the other Muslims adopted at that time.
We say: whoever killed the beloved of the Messenger ﷺ, or assisted in his martyrdom, or was pleased with his martyrdom, upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels and the whole of creation. May Allah not accept from him his voluntary and obligatory acts of worship.
It is not right to form a sect separate from the people of Islam on the basis of the martyrdom of Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) and to deny several of the essentials of the religion. Whatever is done on the occasion of the martyrdom of Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) is a failed attempt to defame Islam and a criminal conspiracy.
Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates:
رأيت النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم، فيما يرى النائم بنصف النهار وهو قائم أشعث أغبر، بيده قارورة فيها دم، فقلت: بأبي أنت وأمي يا رسول الله، ما هذا؟ قال: هذا دم الحسين وأصحابه، لم أزل ألتقطه منذ اليوم فأحصينا ذلك اليوم فوجدوه قتل فى ذلك اليوم.
“I was sleeping during the day when I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in a dream. He had dishevelled hair and was covered in dust. In his hand was a bottle, and in the bottle was blood. I said: O Messenger of Allah! May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, what is this? He said: This is the blood of Husayn and his companions. After that I began counting the days, and Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred on the very day that he had told me about in the dream.”
Imam al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him)
declared it “sahih” on the condition of Imam Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him). Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) agreed with him, and Hafiz al-Busiri (may Allah have mercy on him) declared its chain “sahih”.
Hafiz al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
رجال أحمد رجال الصحيح.
“The narrators of this hadith of Musnad Ahmad are narrators of Sahih al-Bukhari.”
Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Noble Prophet ﷺ woke from sleep, and:
في يده تربة حمراء يقلبها فقلت: ما هذه التربة يا رسول الله؟ قال: أخبرني جبريل عليه السلام أن هذا يقتل بأرض العراق للحسين فقلت: يا جبريل، أرني تربة الأرض التى يقتل بها، فهذه تربتها.
“The Prophet ﷺ had red soil in his hand and was turning it over. I said: O Messenger of Allah! What is this soil? He said: Jibril (peace be upon him) informed me and went away that Husayn will be killed in the land of Iraq. So I said to Jibril: Show me the soil of that land. This is that very soil.”
Musa bin Ya’qub al-Zam’i is hasan al-hadith (his narrations are good) according to the majority of the Imams of hadith. Moreover, ‘Abbad bin Ishaq corroborated him in Mashyakhah Ibn Tahman (3).
Imam al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) declared this hadith “sahih” (authentic) according to the condition of Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) and Imam Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him), and Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) agreed with him.
Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
أتي عبيد الله بن زياد برأس الحسين عليه السلام، فجعل فى طست، فجعل ينكت، وقال فى حسنه شيئا، فقال أنس: كان أشبههم برسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وكان مخضوبا بالوسمة.
“The blessed head of Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) was brought to Ubaydullah bin Ziyad in a vessel. Ubaydullah began to poke at the ground with a stick and said something in praise of Husayn’s beauty. Then Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) resembled the Messenger of Allah ﷺ the most among them, and he had dyed his hair with the indigo plant.”
‘Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Nu’m (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates:
سأله عن المحرم؟ قال: شعبة أحسبه يقتل الذباب، فقال: أهل العراق يسألون عن الذباب، وقد قتلوا ابن ابنة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وقال النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم: هما ريحانتاي من الدنيا.
“A man asked ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) about the muhrim (one in the state of ihram): what if he kills a fly? He said: How strange are the people of Iraq! They ask about killing a fly, while they have killed the grandson of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, even though the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say: These two are my sweet-scented flowers in this world.”
Shahr bin Hawshab (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates:
سمعت أم سلمة، زوج النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم حين جاء نعي الحسين بن علي، لعنت أهل العراق فقالت : قتلوه قتلهم الله، غروه وذلوه، لعنهم الله.
“When the news of the martyrdom of Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) came, the Mother of the Believers Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) cursed the people of Iraq and said: May Allah kill them, those who killed Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him). They deceived Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) and entrapped him. May Allah’s curse be upon them (the Iraqis).”
Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) says:
سمعت الجن تنوح على الحسين بن على رضي الله عنه.
“I heard a jinn weeping over Husayn bin ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).”
Imam Ibrahim al-Nakha’i (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
لو كنت فيمن قتل الحسين بن علي، ثم غفر لي، ثم أدخلت الجنة، استحييت أن أمر على النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم، فينظر فى وجهي.
“If (hypothetically, and it is impossible) I were among the killers of Husayn, and this crime of mine were then forgiven and I were even to enter Paradise, I would still feel ashamed to face the Prophet ﷺ.”
The mukhadram tabi’i (who lived in both the pre-Islamic era and the Prophet’s time), Abu Raja’ al-‘Utaridi (may Allah have mercy on him), says:
لا تسبوا عليا ولا أهل هذا البيت، فإن جارا لنا من بلهجيم قال: ألم تروا إلى هذا الفاسق الحسين بن على قتله الله، فرماه الله بكوكبين فى عينيه، فطمس الله بصره.
“Do not revile ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) or his Ahl al-Bayt. A neighbour of ours, who belonged to بلهجيم, declared Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) a transgressor and said: May Allah kill him. Then two stars from Allah fell and struck his eyes, and Allah blinded his eyes.”
Shaykh al-Islam ‘Allamah Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
Mourning over calamities or fixing a time for it is not part of the religion at all. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not do this, nor did any of the earliest forerunners, nor the Tabi’in, nor did any of the honourable people of the Ahl al-Bayt do any such thing. When ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred, his family was present; likewise, when Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred, his family was present then too. Many years passed, yet none of them did any such thing. They were followers of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. They did not invent an innovation like mourning, nor did they wail; rather they were patient and acted upon the command of Allah and His Messenger. In hardship they would feel pain and grief, but they did not do this.
He further says:
أما من قتل الحسين أو أعان على قتله أو رضي بذلك فعليه لعنة الله والملائكة والناس أجمعين؛ لا يقبل الله منه صرفا ولا عدلا.
“Whoever killed Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him), or helped in his killing, or was pleased with it, upon him is the curse of Allah, His angels and all people. Allah will accept from him neither any obligatory nor any voluntary act.”
The historian of Islam, Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him), writes:
كل مسلم ينبغي له أن يحزنه هذا الذى وقع من قتله رضي الله عنه، فإنه من سادات المسلمين وعلماء الصحابة، وابن بنت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم التى هي أفضل بناته، وقد كان عابدا وشجاعا وسخيا، ولكن لا يحسن ما يفعله الشيعة من إظهار الجزع والحزن الذى لعل أكثره تصنع ورياء، وقد كان أبوه أفضل منه، وهم لا يتخذون مقتله مأتما كيوم مقتل الحسين، فإن أباه قتل يوم الجمعة وهو خارج إلى صلاة الفجر …. سنة أربعين، وكذلك عثمان كان أفضل من علي، عند أهل السنة والجماعة، وقد قتل وهو محصور فى داره فى أيام التشريق من شهر ذي الحجة سنة ست وثلاثين، وقد ذبح من الوريد إلى الوريد، ولم يتخذ الناس يوم مقتله مأتما، وكذلك عمر بن الخطاب، وهو أفضل من عثمان وعلي، قتل وهو قائم يصلي فى المحراب صلاة الفجر، وهو يقرأ القرآن، ولم يتخذ الناس يوم قتله مأتما، وكذلك الصديق كان أفضل منه، ولم يتخذ الناس يوم وفاته مأتما، ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، سيد ولد آدم فى الدنيا والآخرة، وقد قبضه الله إليه كما مات الأنبياء قبله، ولم يتخذ أحد يوم موته مأتما يفعلون فيه ما يفعله هؤلاء الجهلة من الرافضة يوم مصرع الحسين، ولا ذكر أحد أنه ظهر يوم موتهم وقبلهم شيء مما ادعاه هؤلاء يوم مقتل الحسين من الأمور المتقدمة، مثل كسوف الشمس والحمرة التى تطلع فى السماء وغير ذلك.
“A Muslim should be grieved by the tragedy that befell him, because he was among the leaders of the Muslims and the scholars of the Companions, the son of the daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who was the best of his daughters, and he was a brave and generous man. But this way of the Shia is not at all correct, because most of it consists of affectation and showing off. The father of Sayyidina Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) was better than him, yet these people do not hold mourning over his martyrdom. Likewise, according to Ahl al-Sunnah, Sayyidina Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) was better than Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him); he was besieged and martyred in the year 36 AH, while the days of Dhu al-Hijjah were passing, he was slaughtered and his jugular vein was cut, yet no mourning is held over his martyrdom. Sayyidina Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred while he was reciting the Qur’an in the Fajr prayer; he is better even than Sayyidina Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), yet no mourning was held for him. Sayyidina Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) was the best of all, yet no mourning was held on the day of his death. And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the master of the children of Sayyidina Adam (peace be upon him) in this world and the Hereafter; when he passed away, no one mourned in the way these ignorant people do over the martyrdom of Sayyidina Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him). No such report has even been mentioned that the sun was eclipsed or redness burst forth from the sky at the martyrdom of Sayyidina Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him); these are things made up by the ignorant.”
Aslam Minqari (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
دخلت على الحجاج، فدخل سنان بن أنس قاتل الحسين، فإذا شيخ آدم فيه حناء، طويل الأنف فى وجهه برص، فأوقف بحيال الحجاج، فنظر إليه الحجاج، فقال: أنت قتلت الحسين؟ قال: نعم، قال: وكيف صنعت به؟ قال: دعمته بالرمح، وهبرته بالسيف هبرا، فقال له الحجاج: أما إنكما لن تجتمعا فى دار.
“I was present with Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, when Sinan ibn Anas, the killer of Sayyidina Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him), also came in. We saw that he was an old man of wheat-brown complexion who had applied henna, with a long nose, and black and red spots had broken out on his face. He was made to stand before Hajjaj; Hajjaj looked at him and asked: Did you kill Husayn? He said: Yes! Hajjaj asked: How did you kill him? He said: I struck him with a spear and then with the sword. Hajjaj said: The two of you will not be gathered together in one place.”
The chain is weak (da’if); Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash narrated this report after his memory had become poor.
Umara ibn Umayr (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
لما جيء برأس عبيد الله بن زياد وأصحابه نضدت فى المسجد فى الرحبة فانتهيت إليهم وهم يقولون: قد جاءت قد جاءت، فإذا حية قد جاءت تخلل الرؤوس حتى دخلت فى منخري عبيد الله بن زياد فمكثت هنيهة، ثم خرجت فذهبت حتى تغيبت، ثم قالوا: قد جاءت، قد جاءت، ففعلت ذلك مرتين أو ثلاثا.
“When the head of Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad and the heads of his companions were brought, they were placed in the mosque at Rahba. I reached there, and the people were saying: It has come, it has come! Suddenly a snake came, it entered through the nostrils of Ubaydullah, stayed a short while, then came out and disappeared. The people again began to say: It has come, it has come! The snake repeated the same action, and this happened two or three times.”
The chain is “da’if” (weak) because of the an’ana (use of “from”) of al-A’mash.
The historian of Islam, Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him), writes:
الحسين رضى الله عنه شهيد قتل بسيف أهل الشر.
“Sayyidina Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred by the sword of the evildoers.”
