Ṣafar 20th: the day of Arbaʿīn
Safar 20th, known as the day of Arbaʿīn, marks the fortieth day after the tragic martyrdom of Imam Husayn (‘a).[1] Since Imam Husayn (‘a) was martyred in the afternoon of Muharram 10th, we will count Muharram 11th as the first day after his martyrdom, making Safar 20th the day of Arbaʿīn[2].[3]
It is customary of the Shiʻa tradition to mourn for Imam Husayn (‘a) until the fortieth day after his martyrdom; moreover, since the final days of the month of Safar marks the martyrdom anniversary of a number of the Infallibles, the followers of the School of the Ahl-al-Bayt (‘a) consider the two months of Muharram and Safar as two months of mourning.[4]
Additionally, the traditions indicate that the unnatural phenomena in the nature which had appeared following the Imam’s martyrdom did not disappear until forty days after the Imam’s martyrdom.[5]
Jābir ibn Abdullah al-Anṣārī: the first pilgrim of Imam Husayn’s tomb
According to Shaykh Mufīd, the twentieth of Safar is the day Jābir ibn Abdullah al-Anṣārī arrived in Karbala to visit Imam Husayn’s (‘a)’s tomb. He was the first pilgrim to visit Imam Husayn (‘a)’s burial place[6]. [7]
A large number of Shiʻa scholars, including al-Shaykh al-Mufīd, al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, and Kafʿamī unanimously believe that it was on the day of Arbaʿīn that Jābir ibn Abdullah Anṣārī arrived in Karbala to visit Imam Husayn (‘a)’s tomb.[8]
With regard to this issue, al-ʻAllama al-Majlisī has transmitted a narration related by Sayyid ibn Ṭāwūss, which is as follows:
“A friend of Jābir ibn Abdullah Anṣārī called ʿAṭā [or ʿAtiyyah] says: “I traveled with Jābir ibn Abdullah al-Anṣārī and on Safar 20th we arrived in Karbala; upon our arrival, he performed Ghusl in the Euphrates, wore clean clothes which he had with him and then he asked me: “do you have any perfume with you?” I gave him some perfume which he wore on his head and face and body, and then he took off his shoes and walked on till he came up to Imam Husayn’s tomb. He then went to the head of the tomb, when Imam’s head was, said: “Allah is the greatest” three times, then he fainted and fell to the ground.
When he finally regained his consciousness, he began saying: “Peace be upon you O’ House of Allah …[9]”[10]””[11].
The story goes that when Jābir ibn Abdullah al-Anṣārī came to the burial place of Imam Husayn (‘a) on the day of Arbaʿīn, he lamented a lot and cried bitterly; then he recited a very sad yet profound Ziarat before the tombs of the Imam and his companions. Part of this Ziarat which concerns the companions of the Imam reads:
“I bear witness that you upheld Ṣalāt, paid Zakāt, enj o i ned what is good and forbade what is evil, fought heresy, and worshipped Allah to your last breath”.
The Ziarat then ends as follows:
“و الّذى بعث محمّدا بالحقّ لقد شاركناكم فيما دخلتم فيه”
“By Allah who raised Muhammad as His messenger we also share with you the bounties and the reward which Allah has bestowed on you”[12].
These last sentences of the Ziarat were rather confusing to Jābir’s friend ʿAṭiyyah, and so he protested: “O’ Jābir! How could you say that we share with them the bounties and the reward which Allah has bestowed upon them?! We did not go down any hill with them, nor climbed any mounts, nor fought with them at all! But Husayn’s companions have been decapitated, their children orphaned, and their wives widowed!”
Jābir then reminded ʿAṭiyyah of a related tradition by the Prophet (s) and said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say:
“من احبّ قوما حشر معهم و من احبّ عمل قوم اشرك في عملهم”
“He who likes some people will be resurrected with them, and he who likes some people will share their deeds with them”[13]”.
The caravan of the Ahl-al-Bayt (‘a) returns from Damascus to Karbala
According to Sayyid ibn Ṭāwūss, the caravan of the Ahl-al-Bayt (‘a) arrived in Karbala on the same day as Jābir and his companions. They then met each other and mourned in Karbala together for a few days.[14]
The remaining members of the Ahl-al-Bayt who had witnessed the tragic fall of their fathers, brothers, uncles, and cousins forty days before had now come back to mourn them. They had returned to a place where they had left with a world of grief and terrible memories.[15]
They had returned to Karbala to visit the tombs of their loved ones before returning to their homes in Medina.[16]
Arbaʿīn: the day the heads of the martyrs were j o i ned with their bodies
On Safar 20th, Imam Husayn’s sacred head was brought back to Karbala and was united with his body in his tomb.[17] Al-ʿAllameh al-Majlisī has made the following remarks in this regard in his book Zād al-Maʿād:
“There is a consensus among Shiʻa scholars that the reason behind the great emphasis placed by the Infallible Imams on visiting Imam Husayn (‘a)’s on this day is that it is the day when Imam al-Sajjad (‘a) together with the rest of the Ahl-al-Bayt united the heads of the martyrs with their bodies upon their arrival to Karbala from Damascus”.[18]
Similarly, al-Shaykh al-Sadūq (deceased 381 Ah.) writes the following in this regard:
“Imam al-Sajjad (‘a) left [Damascus] together with the rest of the Ahl-al-Bayt (‘a) and brought the sacred heads of the martyrs back to Karbala [and united them with their bodies]”[19].[20]
Fattāl al-Neyshābūrī (deceased 508 Ah.) has also made the following remarks concerning this issue:
“خَرَجَ عَليُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ عليه السلام بِالنِّسْوَةِ، وَرَدَّ رَأْسَ الْحُسَيْنِ إلى كَرْبَلاءَ”
“Imam ‘Ali ibn Al Husayn (‘a) together with the women brought Imam Husayn’s head back to Karbala.[21]”[22]
In his book called “Al-Manāqib”, Ibn Shahrāshūb (deceased 588 Ah.) has also mentioned that Imam Husayn’s head was brought back to Karbala and j o i ned with his body.[23]
The great Sunni scholar, Sibṭ ibn al-Jawzī (deceased 654 Ah.) has also made the following remarks in regard to this issue:
“أَلْأَشْهَرُ أَنَّهُ رُدَّ إلى كَرْبِلاءَ فَدُفِنَ مَعَ الْجَسَد”
“What is more widely accepted is that the sacred head was brought back to Karbala and was buried in the tomb beside the body[24].[25]”
Al-ʿAllameh al-Majlsi has made the following remarks with respect to this issue: “There is a consensus among the Shiʻa scholars that the sacred head of the Imam was buried beside his sacred body and that this was done by Imam ʿAli ibn al-Husayn (‘a)[26].[27]”[28]
The great Sunni scholar, Shiblinjī similarly writes the following in this regard: “The Shiʻas believe that forty days after Imam Husayn (‘a)’s martyrdom, his sacred head was united with his body in Karbala.[29]”
A word about the time that the caravan of the Ahl-al-Bayt (‘a) returned to Karbala based on the historical proofs.
The historical accounts indicate that the martyrs’ heads were returned to Karbala by Imam al-Sajjad (‘a) and were untied with their bodies. Moreover, there is no historical proof indicating Imam al-Sajjad (‘a) having first gone to Medina with the heads and then having come back to Karbala, or having sent the women to Medina and come to Karbala alone.
Therefore, it is safe to conclude that Imam al-Sajjad (‘a) came back to Karbala with all the women of the Ahl-al-Bayt (‘a) and the survivors of the event of ‘Ashura in order to unite the martyrs’ heads with their bodies and visit their tombs before returning to Medina.
Although some historical accounts do not indicate clearly that the day of their arrival in Karbala had been Safar 20th or that their arrival coincided with that of Jābir ibn Abdullah Anṣārī, there are some others which have referred to these facts explicitly.
One of such accounts comes from Abu-rayḥān al-Bīrūnī (deceased 440 Ah.) who has written the following in this regard: “The Ahl-al-Bayt (‘a) left Damascus with the martyrs’ heads and upon their arrival in Karbala on Safar 20th they buried the sacred heads beside the martyrs’ bodies in their tombs.[30]”[31]
Moreover, those historical accounts reporting the return of the martyrs’ heads to Karbala have not mentioned any other date for it. Therefore, considering the accounts of other scholars who believe the Ahl-al-Bayt (‘a) returned to Karbala on Safar 20th, it can be concluded that the uniting of the martyrs’ heads with their bodies also happened on the same day.[32]
Researched, complied, and edited by: the news editorial of the website of the office of Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi. www.makarem.ir
1396/08/17
[1] “The New Mafātīḥ”, p. 609.
[2] For more information refer to: “A Research about Arbaʿīn”, pp. 201-202.
[3] “‘Ashura: the roots, the motives, the events, and the implications”, p. 626.
[4] “Religious Rulings regarding Novel Issues”, vol. 3, p. 624.
[5] Ibid.
[6] “Masārr Al Shiʿa”, p. 46.
[7] “‘Ashura: the roots, the motives, the events, and the implications”, p. 625.
[8] “The New Mafātīḥ”, p. 609.
[9] Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 98, p. 329, Hadith No. 1.
[10] “The New Mafātīḥ”, p. 409.
[11] Ibid, p. 404.
[12] “The Message of Imam Amir al-Mu’minīn (‘a), vol. 1, p. 502.
[13] Ibid, p. 503.
[14] “‘Ashura: the roots, the motives, the events, and the implications”, p. 638.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid, p. 634.
[18] Zād al-Maʿād, p. 402.
[19] Al-Shaykh al-Sadūq. Al-Amālī., part 31, p. 168, Hadith No. 4 (خَرَجَ عَليُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ عليه السلام بِالنِّسْوَةِ وَرَدَّ رَأْسَ الْحُسَيْنِ إِلى كَرْبَلاءَ)
[20] “‘Ashura: the roots, the motives, the events, and the implications”, p. 631.
[21] Rawdhah al-Wāʿiẓīn, p. 192.
[22] “‘Ashura: the roots, the motives, the events, and the implications”, p. 631.
[23] Ibn Shahrāshūb. Al-Manāqib., vol. 4, p. 85.
[24] Tadhkirah al-Khawāss, p. 150.
[25] “‘Ashura: the roots, the motives, the events, and the implications”, p. 631.
[26] Ibid.
[27] Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 45, p. 145.
[28] “‘Ashura: the roots, the motives, the events, and the implications”, p. 632.
[29] Nūr al-Abṣār, vol. 2, p. 44.
[30] Al-Āthār al-Bāqīyah, p. 331 [based on the accounts of “Maqtal al-Husayn” by Muqarram, p. 363].
[31] “‘Ashura: the roots, the motives, the events, and the implications”, p. 629.
[32] Ibid, p. 632.
