Oct 24, 2016 16:13 UTC

Today, we continue our yesterday’s discussion on how the Prophet’s city Medina, the hometown of the Martyr of Karbala, was engulfed in grief and mourning on the martyrdom of the Prophet’s grandson and the tragedy that befell the noble ladies and children of the Prophet’s Blessed Household, the Ahl al-Bayt, especially after the Caravan of Captives, returned home after release from Damascus.

Ten days after Ashura, when news reached the Prophet’s city Medina of the martyrdom of Imam Husain (PuH) in Karbala, the Omayyad governor, conscious of the mood of the people, avoided announcing the news himself, and instead asked a certain Abdul-Malik to make it public. Abdul-Malik announced the news after the morning prayers. There was such intense weeping and wailing from the homes of the Bani Hashem that it seemed the very walls of the Prophet’s Mosque were trembling. Omm-e Luqman, the cousin of the martyred Imam and the daughter of Aqeel ibn Abi Taleb came out screaming:

"What will you say when the Prophet asks you (on Judgement Day): What have you, the last ummah, done with my offspring and my family after I left them? Some of them are prisoners and some of them lie killed, stained with blood. What sort of gratitude is this for the Prophet’s message that enlightened with monotheism and delivered you from polytheism? (He will definitely say) Is this that you disobey me by oppressing my children?"

A weeping Omm-e Luqman was referring to ayah 23 of Surah Shura, where God tells mankind that the token of their gratitude to the Prophet for enlightening them with Islam, is love and affection for the Prophet’s nearest and dearest of kin – the Infallible Ahl al-Bayt. Her lamentation also refers to the famous Hadith Thaqalayn, where the Prophet emphasized that he was leaving behind two Valuable Things, the Book of God, that is, the holy Qur’an, and his progeny the Ahl al-Bayt, and that only adherence to these two inseparable things prevents Muslims from going astray.

These lamentations in Medina for the Martyrs of Karbala, including the elegies that we quoted yesterday from Omm al-Banin, the mother of Martyr Abbas, established the custom of holding formal mourning ceremonies in the Prophet’s City in the month of Muharram for Imam Husain (PuH). After release from Damascus, when the Caravan of Captives arrived in Medina, there was loud wailing, as people assembled to hear from the Martyred Imam’s sister, Hazrat Zainab (peace upon her), the sufferings of the Ahl al-Bayt. Imam Zain al-Abedin (PuH), the surviving son and designated successor of Imam Husain (PuH), delivered a moving sermon on the outskirts of Medina, in which he informed the people of bloodcurdling events of the epic of Ashura. He praised Allah and thanked Him for the extreme sufferings which he had to bear and then summarized the event of Karbala in a few sentences. In his short and precise speech he said:

"Allah is to be praised in all circumstances. He made us bear great hardships. A great breach has taken place in Islam. My father Abu Abdillah (Imam Husain) and his dear ones and companions have been killed. His women and children were made captives. My father's head was fixed on a spear and shown round the different Islamic cities".

It is evident from the speech of the Imam that he did not want to speak only with the object of expressing his sadness and creating a touching atmosphere. He really wanted to put the enemies of Ahl al-Bayt to shame and to summarize their oppressions in clear words. The discourses and speeches which the Ahl al-Bayt delivered during their journeys are recorded in the pages of history. Upon return to Medina, the Martyred Imam’s younger sister, Omm-e Kolthoum, recited a moving elegy which melted even the hardest of hearts and brought tears to the audience listening to the tragedies that befell the Prophet's family. Part of her lengthy elegy reads:

“O my Grandfather's City, do not accept us

With regret and sorrow returned us

With all our family members we left you

With no man, no child, we return unto you

Under God's protection it appears were we

Of oppressor's cruelty and perjury still fear we

Our companion was our leader Husain

For our brother did mourn we

We are Taha's and Yasin's daughters

We did cry out for our fathers

The great infallibles are we

The bearers of events are we

The truthful advisers are we

Oh our Grandfather, the prophecy was fulfilled

By slaying us they have been cursed

O Medina! A caravan of sorrow to thee I bring

An abundant gift of tears to thee I bring

Oh Medina! Don’t open your gate for me,

Nothing, but a gift of sorrow bring we

O Medina! If a garden of flowers to Karbala I took

If my black hair be whitened by grief but glad am I

Since a clear proof for our being oppressed carry I

In the best way, my duty did I perform

O Medina, the Joseph of Ali's family had left you.”

MD/AS/SS