Mourning

Mourning is an important responsibility of every believer. It is essential for us to know the traditions narrated from our Aimmah (a.s.) to understand the importance given by them to his holy act.

We start our discussion with the help of this tradition of Hazrat Imam Ali Reza (a.s.) who said to his companion Ibn Shabeeb (a.r)

ثُمَّ قَالَ يَا ابْنَ‏ شَبِيبٍ‏ ….

يَا ابْنَ‏ شَبِيبٍ‏ إِنْ بَكَيْتَ عَلَى الْحُسَيْنِ ع حَتَّى تَصِيرَ دُمُوعُكَ عَلَى خَدَّيْكَ غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَكَ كُلَّ ذَنْبٍ أَذْنَبْتَهُ صَغِيراً كَانَ أَوْ كَبِيراً قَلِيلًا كَانَ أَوْ كَثِيراً

1)    "O son of Shabeeb! If you weep over the afflictions of Husain (a.s) such that tears flow from your eyes and fall upon your cheeks, Allah will forgive all your sins whether big or small and less or large in number."

يَا ابْنَ‏ شَبِيبٍ‏ إِنْ سَرَّكَ أَنْ تَلْقَى اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ لَا ذَنْبَ عَلَيْكَ فَزُرِ الْحُسَيْنَ ع

2)    "O son of Shabeeb! If you desire to meet Allah the Glorified in a state purified of all sins, then go for the pilgrimage to the grave of Imam Husain (a.s.)

يَا ابْنَ‏ شَبِيبٍ‏ إِنْ سَرَّكَ أَنْ تَسْكُنَ الْغُرَفَ الْمَبْنِيَّةَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ وَ آلِهِ ص فَالْعَنْ قَتَلَةَ الْحُسَيْنِ

3)    "O son of Shabeeb! If you desire that you may abide in the palaces of Paradise in the company of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s) and his Progeny, then invoke Allah's curse upon the murderers of Imam Husain (a.s)."

يَا ابْنَ‏ شَبِيبٍ‏ إِنْ سَرَّكَ أَنْ تَكُونَ لَكَ مِنَ الثَّوَابِ مِثْلَ مَا لِمَنِ اسْتُشْهِدَ مَعَ الْحُسَيْنِ ع فَقُلْ مَتَى مَا ذَكَرْتَهُ‏ يا لَيْتَنِي كُنْتُ مَعَهُمْ فَأَفُوزَ فَوْزاً عَظِيماً

4)    "O son of Shabeeb! If you desire to earn the reward of those who were martyred alongwith Imam Husain (a.s), then whenever you remember him, say: I wish I had been with them, then I too would have attained the Great Triumph."

يَا ابْنَ‏ شَبِيبٍ‏ إِنْ سَرَّكَ أَنْ تَكُونَ مَعَنَا فِي الدَّرَجَاتِ الْعُلَى مِنَ الْجِنَانِ فَاحْزَنْ لِحُزْنِنَا وَ افْرَحْ لِفَرَحِنَا وَ عَلَيْكَ بِوَلَايَتِنَا فَلَوْ أَنَّ رَجُلًا تَوَلَّى حَجَراً لَحَشَرَهُ اللَّهُ مَعَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَة

5)    "O son of Shabeeb! If you desire to reside in the exalted status of Para­dise alongwith us, then bemoan our sorrows and sufferings and rejoice in our happiness and remain attached to our love. For even if a person is attached to a stone in this world, Allah shall make him arise with it on the day of Qiyamah." (Nafasul Mehmoon, Section 2, Tradition no 1)

6)    Ali ibn Musa ar-Reza (a.s) says: "When the month of Moharram would approach, no one would see my father (Imam Moosa al Kazim) ever laughing until the tenth, and grief would prevail upon him. And the tenth would be the day of sorrow, grief and lamenting, and he would say: This is the day when Husain (a.s) was massacred."

7)    Abu Haroon Makfoof, who says that once I went to the presence of Imam Ja'far as Sadiq (a.s). Imam told me to recite some couplets to which I started reciting. Then Imam (a.s) said, "Not like this, recite as you do so for him (Imam Husain) among yourselves and (standing) on the head of his grave." Then I recited, ….Then Imam (a.s) started weeping and hence I became silent. Imam Sadiq told me to continue and recite some more, thus I recited ….Abu Haroon continues that Imam Sadiq wept bitterly and the women of his household too wept. When they became silent, Imam said, "O Abu Haroon! If a person recites couplets about Imam Husain (a.s) and makes ten people weep by it then Paradise is reserved for him at that very mo­ment." Then Imam started reducing the number of persons till he reached one and said, "If a person recites couplets about Imam Husain (a.s) and makes a single person weep by it, then Paradise is reserved for him at that very moment."

8)  Musme' Kardeen who says that one day Imam Ja'far as Sadiq (a.s) told me, "O Musme'! Being a resident of Iraq do you go for the pilgrimage to the grave of Imam Husain (a.s)"? I replied, "No, for the people of Basra know me well and they are the adherents of the Caliph and there are numerous enemies from the nasibies (those who bear enmity towards the Prophet's Ahlulbait) of the clans and others around us. I fear lest they malign me in presence of the sons of Sulayman (bin Abdul Malik, the Abbaside Caliph), who would then torture and harass me." Then Imam said, "Then do you remember the troubles which were inflicted on Imam Husain" and I replied in the affirmative. Imam again asked, "Are you then disturbed by it"? I replied, "Verily yes, by Allah! And this grief effects me such that the people of my family see this (it's effects) upon my face, and I even leave my meals while this sorrow becomes apparent on my cheeks." Imam Sadiq said, "May Allah have mercy upon your tears! Verily you are of those people who are afflicted by our grief, those who rejoice at our prosperity and lament over our sorrows, and who are attached to us in our time of dread and peace. In fact when you die, you will find our Blessed Forefathers close to you and they will counsel the Angel of death regarding you, and glad tidings shall be given to you which will illuminate your eyes. Then he shall be more  compassionate and merciful towards you than a mother is to her son."

9)    Imam Ja'far as Sadiq (a.s) once told Fuzayl that, "Do you discuss our traditions when you sit in each others company"? Fuzayl replied, "Yes we certainly do so, may I be your ransom"! Imam said, "Whoever remembers our traditions, or in whose presence we are discussed and tear equal to the  size of a wing of a fly flow from his eyes, Allah will forgive all his sins although they be equal in number to the foam (of the water) of the river."

10)   Imam Ali ar Reza (a.s) said, "Whoever avoids attending to his worldly affairs on the tenth of Moharram, Allah will fulfill all the wishes and desires of this world as well as the hereafter. Whoever considers this day to be a day of mourning, sorrow and weeping for himself, Allah the Glorified will make the day of Qiyamah to be a day of rejoicing for him and his eyes will be cooled in Paradise on account of us. And whoever considers the tenth of Moharram to be a day of prosperity and buys something for his house (considering it a good omen), then Allah will not give him affluence in that thing. And on the day of Qiyamah he will be made to arise alongwith Yazeed, Ubaydullah bin Ziyad and Umar ibne Sa'ad (may Allah's curse be on all of them) and will be thrown into the lowest abyss of hell."

11)  The Narrator Dawood Raqqi, says that once I was in the presence of  Imam Ja'far as Sadiq (a.s) when he asked for water to drink. When he drank it, grief overtook him and his eyes became full of tears. Then he said, "O Dawood! May Allah's curse be upon the murderers of Imam Husain (a.s). There is no servant (of Allah) who drinks water and remembers Husain and curses his enemies, except that Allah writes one lac virtues in his record, and forgives one lac sins of his, and elevates his position one lac times. It is as if he has freed one lac slaves, and on the day of Qiyamah he shall arise satiated."

Each of the above tradition from the Section 2 of the book Nafasul Mahommom introduces some acts done by Aimmah (a.s.) for Imam Husain (a.s.). These traditions are teaching us to seeking nearness to Imam Husain (a.s.) by performing them. May Allah give us the taufeeq to be greivious, sorrowful, tearful throught the month of Moharrum and Safar.