An Overview of Arbaeen | ||
An Overview of Arbaeen Mina Vakilinejad
When the holy household of Imam Hussein (AS) entered land of Karbala on its way from Levant to Medina on the day of Arbaeen, the holy head of Imam Hussein (AS) was affixed to his holy body on the same day, and it is another important event of Ashura which happened in the Arbaeen day. Although Ashura is the most harrowing and the most tragic oppression applied against Shiites and lovers of the infallible household of the great Prophet throughout the history, and it is right that all its details of this big oppression shall be mentioned in the historical books, unfortunately, since Shiites of Imam Ali (AS) and his infallible sons were under the most pressure and harassment both at the time of the Ashura itself and after that, they underwent the toughest tortures and sanctions and actually were marginalized; hence, it has never become possible for Shiites to record the events of Ashura and what happened to the holy household of Imam Hussein (AS). This article tries to shed more lights on the issue of the Hashemite captives' convoy (AS) on their returning back from Levant to Medina and it also present some final conclusions based on the existing resources. It has been acknowledged by Shiites that Imam Sajjad (AS) along with household of Imam Hussein (AS), on their way back from Levant to Medina, went to Karbala and succeeded to visit the holy tomb of his father, Imam Hussein (AS), and his faithful companions on Arbaeen Day, and after three days of mourning, they backed to Medina. Also it is acknowledged by Shiites that Imam Sajjad (AS) himself affixed the holy head of Imam Hussein (AS) to his body on the same day. In spite of this, since long time ago there has been a big conflict between researchers and experts about date when caravan of captives arrived Karbala in Arbaeen. In this article, we aim at reviewing what happened after the captivity of the holy household of Imam Hussein (AS) which is related directly to whether the caravan of captives reached Karbala on the first Arbaeen and a brief exploring about this issue is presented. Checking the events associated with the Arbaeen and generally events which have direct relationship with reaching Karbala can be summarized through the following aspects:
1) Duration of imprisonment of holy household of Imam Hussein (AS) in Kufa and the time when they moved Levant Almost there is no doubt about this fact that Imam Hussein's household left the Karbala for Kufa as captives on the eleventh of Muharram, and also according to the famous resources, they entered Kufa on the twelfth day of Muharram, but there is not precise information about the date when they started to move to Levant, because the period of their stay and imprisonment in Kufa is not known. Of course, the facts show that captives were imprisoned in Kufa, but most of the historical books about Ashura had not mentioned any account about when the captives' caravan left Kufa and moved to Levant. However, those experts who have accepted the first Arbaeen and believe that the captives' caravan have achieved to visit the Karbala martyrs' tombs on the first Arbaeen should explain the events in a such way that reaching them to Karbala be justifiable, so that they should consider period of their imprisonment in Kufa to be very short. Hence, some people believe that the captives had been imprisoned in Kufa for a very short time and at an interval of two-day carrier pigeon has delivered Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad's letter to Yazid and returned back his response in which he has ordered Ibn Ziad to send back captives to Levant. As a result, captives were sent back to Levant on fifteenth day of Muharram and they arrived there on the first day of Safar. But there are also authenticated evidences indicate that realization of this was impossible in that time. First, the date of Muawiyah I death was on fifteenth of Rajab, and Imam Hussein (AS) departure date from Medina was concurrent with 28 Rajab. It is also clear that Waleed, the governor of Medina, on the same night when he received Yazid’s letter in which the death of Muawiyah I and the necessity of taking allegiance of Hussein Ibn Ali and Abdullah Ibn Zobair had been mentioned, summoned Imam and announced him the Muawiyah I death and the necessity of his allegiance to Yazid; however, Imam Hussein left Medina for Mecca in two days. Now if these three points can acknowledged, since everything has not been mentioned in the Ashura historical documents (Maqatel) about the day in which the Yazid's letter reach Medina, so we can conclude that Yazid's letter containing the news about Muawiyah I death must have reached Medina on 26 Rajab, rather 16th Rajab. This is the first reason that proves Yazid's letter has not been delivered with a carrier pigeon, but a courier has brought it to Medina. Now that it is unlikely that Ibn Ziad received an order from Yazid about the holy household (AS) by the courier pigeon, there will be only two possibilities in this case: a) The Hashemite captives were imprisoned in Kufa until Ibn Ziad’s messenger delivered his letter to Yazid and returned his response and went back to Kufa, in which case his going and backing will take two weeks. So, imprisonment of Imam’s household in Kufa must have lasted at least two weeks and after that they must have departed Kufa to the Levant. Thus, a date after 25th of Muharram should be considered as the date of departure of convoy of captives from Kufa. b) Ibn Ziad didn’t send a letter to Yazid before sending the convoy of captives and heads of Karbala martyrs to Levant, but he sent them along with Imam’s head and then sent other martyrs' heads and caravan of captives to Levant as well, immediately. Regarding this assumption, imprisonment of the holy household in Kufa was not so long, because Ibn Ziad had to send quickly martyrs' heads and holy household of Imam to Levant to prevent unrest and rebellion of the Kufa people. Maybe the news of bringing Imam's head to with captives Levant can be used to prove this point, because according to the Arab traditions, that after winning a war, heads of the their adversaries' commander was being sent along with a letter to their ruler showing their victory and then troops returned back along with trophies and captives in the following days. 2) The route of the convoy of captives from Kufa to Levant As a matter of fact, there is no valid news regarding the route from which the convoy of captives moved from Kufa to Levant. But according to the geographical map of the area and the routes between Kufa and Levant, it can be said that there have been three paths between Levant and Kufa: ▪ First path: Many of the invalid books have made the Sultani path famous. This has caused some new Ashura writers and researchers to admit the Sultani way too. It goes through cities such as Tikrit, Mosul, Tal Afar, Nasibin and the Einn-ol-vard as the path of the of captives to Levant. So, the first path that unofficial news considered as the selected route for captives is the Sultani way. Perhaps the cause of this reputation is that at that time this path was used most of the time for travel between Kufa and Levant. But it should be noted that this route was very long, and there were also shorter ways. ▪ Second path: Another path that some of the researchers have mentioned and the transfer of captives from that direction was possible is the direct path from Kufa to Levant. This route passes through dry and hot desert region so called Badi- alSham and there are no cities in it. Not only there is no witness and evidence based on passing captives through this path but also there are contrary evidences. There is a valid evidence which ruled out Badi- alsham path and that is the remarks of Zaynab (PBUH) to Yazid: Is this justice that your women and bondwomen being in the shelter and the girls of God prophet be captives, their respect being lost, their face being revealed and the enemies of Allah take them from one city to another. It is obvious that if the convoy of captives passed through hot and dry Badi-alSham desert, Zainab must had complained about difficulties of impassable road such as thirst and hunger of Imam Hussein (AS) children in way that naturally should confront with them. ▪ Third path: The third way, which seems more likely than any other ways to be the path of convoy of captives from Kufa to Levant, is apparently conventional and customary route from Kufa to Levant; That is, the path which passes across west coast of Euphrates River and the cities such as Anbar, Heith, Gherghisia, al-Raqqah and Seffein. Features of this route are: firstly, it is conventional and usual path between Kufa and Levant and secondly, it is neither so long as Sultani route is, nor is a dry and scorching desert as Badi-alSham so that it would be used only in emergency and critical times by proficient and equipped local natives who are familiar with that area. So apparently choosing the West of the Euphrates route which is a middle path is more likely than the other two ways.
3) Time taken to reach Levant It seems that it is not acceptable that the convoy of captives reached Levant on the first day of Safar. Some the references refer to the direct path from Kufa to Levant and believe that travel through that route took seven days for native people. According to what passed and based on the following reasons it can be concluded that the convoy of captives have not been able to reach Karbala on the first day of Safar: 1. Using a carrier pigeon does not have any evidence and the letter of Ibn Ziad has been sent by courier. So his returning back with the command of Yazid apparently shouldn't be taken time less than two weeks. Therefore, the convoy of captives has been cuffed as prisoners for at least two weeks in Kufa in jail of Ibn Ziad and after two weeks transferring them to the Levant has been commanded by Ibn Ziad; 2. Due to the difficulties of the Badi-alSham desert path, captives didn’t have been transferred from that route, and of course no evidence confirms it even in the invalid books; 3. evidence suggests that their transferring from Kufa to Levant has lasted more than a week, because while the direct route of Kufa to Levant was traversed within a week by local natives or the courier, thus traveling the Sultani path which is nearly double of Badi-alSham or the middle path which is also much longer than Badi-alSham must have lasted more than that. It is significant because of the four argumentations: First, the caravan of captives consisted of a group of women and children, so such a caravan has never tolerated such a speed to move, as the couriers with experienced horses moves; Second, the nature of collective movement is tolerance and wending in agreement with who are poor to step way, because with high speed dispersion and disconnection will be inevitable in motion; Third, traversing the longer route demanding more time; That means Badi- alSham route was traversed in a week, but the Sultani or the Middle route which are longer certainly require more time; Fourth, existence of multiple or towns as were in the Sultani route or cities in the middle road, unconsciously increases stoppings and reduces the speed of movement. 4) Duration of holy household's stay in Levant
Although there are resources which suggest that the prisoners have been in accompany with Imam Hussein's head, but numerous quotations indicate that Ibn Ziyad has already sent Imam's head to Levant. Perhaps someone can say that sending the Holy Imam (PBUH) head to Levant and diminishing one head from total heads of martyrs has not been taken into account and this factor has led some historians to consider the Imam holy head as well along with other heads by the captives. But evidences which imply to send the imam head before sending the rest of the heads and the convoy of captives are as follows: 1. All the books that have pointed out the first day of Safar and Imam Hussein's (AS) entrance to Levant, make no mention of entering prisoners to Levant at that date. 2. According to most history books, including Fotoh Ibn Asam and al-Khwarizmi Maqtal, Zohar Ibn Qais has taken away the head of Imam (AS) to Levant before captives in order to deliver news of Ibn Ziyad victory to Yazid. 3. Another quotation implies of sending of Imam Hussein holy head by Mahzar Ibn Tha'laba, which confirmed sending his head before sending captives. 4. Finally, evidence which implies on absence of the Holy head of Imam Hussein along with the captives is the story of Yazid chamber. It has been quoted that entered the family of Imam Hussein while the holy head was against Yazid. His daughters Fatima and Sakina tried to see her father head and Yazid hide it from them. But they cried when saw their father head. The important thing that should be taken from this quote is that Imam Hussein's (AS) girls' effort to see her father beheaded and crying after viewing it suggests that the head of Imam was apart from captives' caravan. Therefore, it is difficult to acknowledge that the heads of the martyrs and the head of Imam Hussein (AS) were sent along with women and children to Levant, but Imam Hussein's children have not seen their father's head all along the path. Moreover, as stated before- at the time it was a common practice that after winning the war, the head of the opponents leader was sent with the messengers to the ruler of the winner people to give tidings to the ruler of the people who has won the war as soon as possible so that he can make appropriate decision and not being the last person who hears this important news. the results is that apparently it cannot be accepted that the arrival of prisoners to Levant was on the first day of Safar, since they were being imprisoned for two weeks in Kufa, and traversing nearly two weeks the way from Kufa to Levant the probability of reaching them to Levant on the first day of Safar will be zero.
5) Return route from Levant to the Medina and examining the possibility of arrival of the convoy of captives in Karbala in first Arbaeen Another thing that is directly related to the getting household to Karbala on Arbaeen is their residence duration in Levant. As previous cases was somewhat suspicious and uncertain this issue is also not apparent with certainty, even dispersion of views and news in this regard is more than the previous cases. Among the words related to duration of Infallible Imams Martyrs' stay in Levant some points can be mentioned as follows: 1. Convoy of captives stayed at Levant for 8 days; 2. Magistracy Nu'man tells that they stopped in a no roof place for a month and a half, moreover he has mentioned that they have stayed and mourned in Yazid’s home for seven days: After that they were been in a house which would protect them neither from the heat nor the cold for a month and a half until their faces were blacked from the heat of the sun and peeled, and then were released. 3. Ibn Tavoos in Iqbal-Ol-A'mal has mentioned that their staying duration was one month. Tabassi Najafi also believed that holy household residence and imprisonment in Levant wasn’t less than a month. 4. Another word says their residence duration was six months and Syed Ibn Tavoos believes it has no teller; 5. Other opinions bode on 18-days, 38-days, 39-days or 45- days and even a year- staying household at Levant that are considered very rare. It is more ambiguity to the Shiite because they on the one hand agree with words that suggest long-term household detention in a place without a roof in which they were not protected from the cold and the heat as much as assert that statements household of Imam faces had been peeled, and on the other hand agree with convoy of captive's stay in Levant in order to prove arrival them to Karbala on the first Arbaeen. These two issues are not compatible with each other and this has made it more difficult for the Shiite. Of course, referring to the news of the household convoy staying in Levant almost ensure us that their tarriance was not eight or ten days, because Firstly: Staying in a place which does not protect them from heat and cold so that their faces peeled and were blacked couldn’t have been short time. But just regarding that several valid news have pointed to burn their skins when they were in prison without a roof. In fact, one of their aims in addition to pointing to the warm weather and that the prison having no roof, was a reminder of long-term imprisonment they have been in such a place. Residence in Yazid house and establishing seven days of mourning in it also should be added to that long imprisonment term, as well as time required for equipping the convoy to transfer Imam household from Levant to a place far away from Kufa, i.e. Medina, since they had authority to stay at Levant or return to Medina and they chose returning to Medina. Each mentioned items demands time, so these additional times should be added to the total calculated time. Hence the belief in captives staying eight or ten days in Levant will not correspond with reality and its selection is not very scholarly. Reviewing Yazid's behavior over the head of Imam (AS) and his family signs that Yazid's behavior must have changed within a significant period of time, Because Yazid as the caliph, or in other words as the absolute ruler of the vast territory of Islam, couldn’t change his violent behavior with invective toward survivor's Martyrs easily in a few days and appeases Imam Sajjad. Obviously, in order to Yazid realized his mistake the time should have been passed and he assessed the current situation. Also after realizing his mistake he should have had sufficient time which was needed for this behavior changing.
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