Questions on Ashura (7)

The event of Ashura has no peer in the history of mankind. Due to ample historical and valid sources, there are correct and documented information on the details, causes and goals of this event. But the question may arise as: Is everything that we hear and read on Ashura correct or there is the likelihood of distortion and twisting?

Distortion means altering an event or phenomenon so much so that it loses authenticity and the original thing gets a totally twisted shape. Distortion can be very dangerous if it occurs on the personalities or events which are taken as model by people. For instance, the distortions that have been done in the teachings of the divine messengers before the Prophet of Islam, are still the sources of many mistakes and flaws that have plagued the human societies.

Distortion can take place either in the form or meaning. Distortion in the form is adding to or omitting from a main phrase which will result in a completely different meaning from what the purpose of the writer was. As for the historical events, distortion in the form means that parts of the main event are not expressed; but the events that have never happened are added. Thus adding and omission is done in a way that the original event becomes trivialized and insignificant. Distortion in meaning refers to twisting the goals and outcome of an event or phenomenon so that it loses the real meaning and importance in the mind of the audience.

Both kinds of distortion have been seen on the event of Ashura. Some of the distortions have been created by the enemies of this matchless uprising. For example, since the very beginning, the Umayyad regime tried to suggest that the movement of Imam Hussein (AS) was a sort of sedition and aimed at forging division in the Ummah. Another distortion is that the battle of Ashura was the war of power between Imam Hussein and Yazid; while no historian has accepted this claim.

Another distortion which can be found about Ashura is the inclination of human beings to make myths and imaginary figures. In other words, people like to create imaginary features for their religious or national heroes to make them out of reach. For instance, the number of the troops of Umra Sa'ad are mentioned as many as 1,600,000 and it is claimed that Imam Hussein (AS) personally killed 24,000 of them. In addition, some physical features are attributed to the companions of Imam Hussein – especially Hazrat Abbas – which do not conform with logic and reasoning. For sure, the companions of Imam Hussein (AS) were the paragons of courage, valour and swordsmanship; but they were ordinary people whose firm faith, pure deed, insight and obedience of the Imam, turned them into such personalities that they didn't hesitate for a single moment in the toughest conditions.

At times, some of the preachers and eulogists, in order to impress the audience more, use invalid sources and add trappings to the original event. Some of these trappings humiliate and belittle Imam Hussein and Ashura. The story of marriage of Imam Hassan's son Hazrat Qassem on Ashura is one such distortion.

One of the books used as the source of many distortions on Ashura is "Rowzat-ul-Shohada" by Mullah Hussain Waez Kashefi. He was an author and orator from Herat who lived in the late 9^th century and early 10^th century AH. His book gradually found its way into the mourning ceremonies of Imam Hussein. "Asrar al-Shahadah", written by Mullah Aqa Darbandi, is another book which is full of distortions and forged stories on Ashura. It was written in the Qajar era. "Maqtal al-Hussein", attributed to Abu Mekhnaf, is another unreliable book. Indeed, the original book of Abu Mekhnaf was a reliable book but it has not survived.

In the 13^th century AH, Mirza Hussein Nouri, having a good command of history and old sources, wrote the book "Lo'lo' wa Marjan" on the distortions of Ashura. Later on, "Asrar al-Masa'eb" by Qazvini Najafi and "Nafas al-Mahmoom" by Sheikh Abbas Qomi were authored to scrutinize the deviated books on Ashura.

Among the contemporary ulema, Martyr Ayatollah Mortaza Motahhari wrote the book "Hemase-ye Hosseini" (Epic of Hussein) to counter the distortions prevailing on Ashura.

RM/MG