The Persistence of al-Mutawakkil in Erasing the Grave of That Noble One (a.s.)
اصرار ورزيدن متوكل بر محو قبر آن حضرت
باري متوكل بيست سال اصرار داشت بر محو قبر آن حضرت، و از برايش ممكن نشد، پس چون مباشر آن عمل اين حالت را ديد، گفت: ايمان آوردم به خدا، و رسول (صلي الله عليه و آله) و الله ميگريزم و در صحراها سرگردان ميگردم، و من حال بيست سال است كه آيات الهي را مشاهده ميكنم، و كرامت اهل بيت رسول (صلي الله عليه و آله) را به چشم ميبينم، و متنبه نميشوم، پس گاوها را گشود، و روانه شد به سوي زيد مجنون، و گفت: اي شيخ از كجا ميآئي؟ گفت: از مصر، گفت: چرا اين جا آمدهاي؟ آيا از كشتن نميترسي؟ زيد گريست و گفت: شنيدم اين قبر را شخم ميكنند، پس از شدت حزن و الم بياختيار آمدم، آن شخص بر قدمهاي زيد افتاد و بوسيد و گفت: پدر و مادرم فداي تو باد كه تو چون به اين جا آمدي نور ايمان بر قلب من تابيد، و ايمان به خدا و رسول آوردم، من بيست سال است كه مشغول شخم كردن اين جا هستم و هر چه ميخواهم آب بر اين قبر ببندم ممكن نميشود، و من خواب بودم حال به بركت قدم تو بيدار شدم، پس زيد گريست و اشعاري انشاد نمود كه مضمونش اين است كه: اگر بنياميه حضرت حسين (عليهالسلام) را به ظلم شهيد كردند پس بنيعباس نيز قبر آن جناب را محو ميكنند، پس دست ايشان به آن جناب نرسيده و تحسر دارند كه چرا او را نكشتهاند، پس ميخواهند كه صدمه به جسد شريفش بزنند، پس آن شخص گريست و گفت: اي زيد مرا از خواب غفلت بيدار كردي، و الان ميروم به نزد متوكل و او را به صورت حال اعلام مينمايم، ميخواهد مرا بكشد، يا رها كند، زيد گفت: من هم با تو ميآيم و ياري تو ميكنم، پس روانه شدند.
The Persistence of al-Mutawakkil in Erasing the Grave of That Noble One (a.s.)
In any case, al-Mutawakkil persisted for twenty years in attempting to erase the grave of that noble one (a.s.), yet he was unable to do so.
When the person in charge of carrying out this task witnessed these events, he said:
“I have believed in Allah and His Messenger Mohammed (s.a.w.a.). By Allah, I shall flee and wander through the deserts. For twenty years I have been witnessing the signs of Allah and seeing with my own eyes the miracles and honor of the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.), yet I did not take heed.”
Then he untied the oxen and proceeded toward Zayd al-Majnūn and said:
“O Shaykh, where have you come from?”
He replied, “From Egypt.”
He asked, “Why have you come here? Are you not afraid of being killed?”
Zayd wept and said:
“I heard that this grave was being ploughed over, and because of the intensity of grief and pain, I came involuntarily.”
The man fell at Zayd’s feet and kissed them and said:
“May my father and mother be sacrificed for you! When you arrived here, the light of faith shone upon my heart, and I believed in Allah and His Messenger Mohammed (s.a.w.a.).
For twenty years I have been engaged in ploughing this place. Whenever I try to direct water over this grave, it is impossible.
I was asleep, but now, through the blessing of your footsteps, I have awakened.”
Then Zayd wept and recited poetry whose meaning was:
“If Banī Umayyah unjustly martyred Imam Husain (a.s.), then Banī al-ʿAbbās are trying to erase his grave.
Their hands could not reach him, and they remain regretful that they did not kill him themselves.
Therefore, they seek to inflict harm upon his noble body.”
The man wept and said:
“O Zayd, you have awakened me from the sleep of heedlessness.
Now I shall go to al-Mutawakkil and inform him of the reality of the situation.
Whether he kills me or lets me go is up to him.”
Zayd said:
“I will come with you and support you.”
Then they set out together.
چون به نزد متوكل رسيدند، آن شخص پيش رفت و خبر داد او را به آنچه در اين مدت مشاهده نموده بود از كرامت قبر مطهر، متوكل در [ صفحه 330] غضب شد و حكم به قتلش نمود، و امر كرد كه ريسماني به پاي او بستند و او را در بازار كشيدند، پس بر دار زدند تا عبرت ديگران گردد، و كسي جرأت نكند كه ذكر خير از اهل بيت نمايد، زيد چون اين چنين ديد بسيار افسرده و محزون شد و گريست، و صبر كرد تا جسد او را از دار بزير آوردند و در مزبل انداختند. زيد رفت و جنازهي او را برداشت و به نزد دجله برد، و او را غسل داد، و كفن نمود، و نماز كرد، و دفن نمود، و سه روز در نزد قبرش تلاوت قرآن نمود، روزي نشسته بود، ديد كه صداي صيحه و نوحه بلند شد، و زنان بسيار گريهكنان و مويهكنان با گريبان پاره، و مردان نعرهزنان و مضطرب احوال، جنازهاي را برداشته ميآورند، و علمهاي بسيار در پيش روي آن برداشته، مردم فوج فوج در اطراف آن هستند كه راه سد كردهاند از كثرت ازدحام. زيد گويد: گمان كردم كه متوكل مرده است، از شخصي سؤال نمودم كه اين جنازه از كيست؟ گفت: يكي از كنيزان سياه متوكل است كه اسمش ريحانه است، متوكل محبت بسياري به او داشت، پس قبر تازهاي به جهت او حفر نمودند، و گل و ريحان و مشك و عنبر در آن ريختند و قبهي بزرگي بر روي آن بنا نمودند، زيد از مشاهدهي اين حالت لطمه بر صورت زد و جامههاي خود را دريد، و خاك بر سر ريخت، و فرياد نمود: واويلاه، وا اسفاه، آيا حسين (عليهالسلام) را در بيابان تنها و بيكس با لب تشنه شهيد ميكنند، و عيال و اطفالش را اسير ميكنند، و كسي بر او گريه نميكند، و او را بيغسل و كفن بعد از سه روز دفن ميكنند، پس قبرش را شخم ميكنند، و حال اينكه فرزند پيغمبر خدا (صلي الله عليه و آله)، و علي مرتضي (عليهالسلام) و فاطمهي زهرا (سلام الله عليها) است و از براي اين كنيز سياه اين شأن و مرتبه قرار دادهند؟ پس آن قدر گريه و ناله كرد تا غش كرد و بر زمين افتاد، مردم به دورش جمع شدند و بحالتش رقت كردند، چون از غش به حال آمد، اشعاري انشاد كرد كه مضمونش اين است: آيا قبر حسين بن علي (عليهالسلام) را شخم ميكنند، و قبور اولاد زنا را تعمير مينمايند؟ اميد است كه دنيا را انقلابي دست دهد و حق به صاحبش برگردد. خدا لعنت كند اهل فساد را و كساني كه دنيا را بر آخرت ترجيح دادهاند، و به او مطمئن شدهاند پس نوشت اين اشعار را در ورقهاي و داد به بعضي از اصحاب متوكل. چون [ صفحه 331] متوكل آنرا خواند غضب كرد، و امر به احضارش نمود، و در مجلس كلماتي از موعظه و سرزنش به او گفت كه غيظ او زياد شده و امر به قتلش نمود، چون آن را در پيش رويش بداشتند، پرسيد چه گوئي در حق ابوتراب؟ گفت: به خدا قسم كه تو خود او راميشناسي، و فضل و شرف و حسب و نسب او بر تو مخفي نيست، و كسي انكار فضل او را نميكند مگر كافر، و دشمن نميدارد او را مگر منافق، و شروع نمود به ذكر مناقب آن جناب، متوكل امر به حبس او كرد، چون شب شد و متوكل به خواب رفت، هاتفي او را ندا كرد، و سرپائي به او زد، كه برخيز، زيد را رها كن و الا هلاك ميشوي الان، پس برخاست و زيد را از حبس بيرون آورد، و به او خلعت داد، و گفت: هر حاجت كه داري بخواه، گفت: حاجتم اين است كه تعميركني قبر حسين (عليهالسلام) را، و منع را از زوار رفع نمائي، پس او را مرخص كرد، و بيرون آمد و در بلاد ميگرديد و ندا ميكرد كه هر كس ميخواهد زيارت كند حسين (عليهالسلام) را بكند كه در امن و امان است. [984] . [ صفحه 334]
When they reached al-Mutawakkil, that man stepped forward and informed him of what he had witnessed during all those years from the miracles of the holy grave.
Al-Mutawakkil became enraged
[ صفحه 330]
and ordered his execution. He commanded that a rope be tied to his foot and that he be dragged through the marketplace. Then he ordered that he be hanged so that he might become a lesson for others and that no one would dare mention any virtue of the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.).
When Zayd saw this, he became deeply saddened and grieved and wept. He remained patient until they took the body down from the gallows and threw it onto a rubbish heap.
Zayd went, lifted the body, carried it to the Tigris, washed it, shrouded it, performed the funeral prayer over it, and buried it. For three days he remained by the grave reciting the Qur'an.
One day, while he was sitting there, he heard loud cries of lamentation and mourning. Many women were weeping and wailing, tearing their collars, while men were crying out and in a state of distress. They were carrying a funeral bier. Numerous banners were being carried before it, and crowds of people surrounded it from every side, blocking the roads because of the great congestion.
Zayd says:
“I thought that al-Mutawakkil had died.”
So I asked a man:
“Whose funeral is this?”
He replied:
“It is one of al-Mutawakkil’s black slave-girls whose name was Rayḥānah. Al-Mutawakkil loved her greatly.”
They had dug a fresh grave for her and filled it with flowers, fragrant herbs, musk, and ambergris, and had built a large dome over it.
When Zayd witnessed this scene, he struck his face, tore his garments, threw dust upon his head, and cried out:
“Alas! Alas!
Imam Husain (a.s.) is martyred alone and forsaken in the desert with parched lips. His women and children are taken captive. No one weeps over him. He is buried after three days without washing and shrouding. Then his grave is ploughed over.
Yet he is the son of the Messenger of Allah Mohammed (s.a.w.a.), of Ali al-Murtada (a.s.), and of Fatimah al-Zahra (a.s.).
And for this black slave-girl such honor and distinction are being established!”
Then he wept and lamented so intensely that he fainted and fell to the ground.
People gathered around him and were moved by his condition.
When he regained consciousness, he recited poetry whose meaning was:
“Do they plough over the grave of Imam Husain (a.s.) ibn Ali (a.s.), while they build and adorn the graves of the children of adultery?
Perhaps a revolution will come to this world and the right will return to its rightful owner.
May Allah curse the people of corruption and those who have preferred this world over the Hereafter and placed their trust in it.”
He then wrote these verses on a sheet of paper and gave it to some of al-Mutawakkil’s companions.
When
[ صفحه 331]
al-Mutawakkil read it, he became furious and ordered that Zayd be brought before him.
In the assembly, Zayd spoke words of admonition and reproach to him, which only increased his anger, and he ordered that Zayd be executed.
When Zayd was brought before him, al-Mutawakkil asked:
“What do you say regarding Abu Turab (Ali ibn Abi Talib) (a.s.)?”
Zayd replied:
“By Allah, you yourself know him. His excellence, nobility, honor, lineage, and ancestry are not hidden from you.
No one denies his virtues except a disbeliever, and no one hates him except a hypocrite.”
Then he began mentioning the merits and virtues of that noble one (a.s.).
Al-Mutawakkil ordered that he be imprisoned.
When night came and al-Mutawakkil fell asleep, a caller cried out to him in his sleep and struck him with a kick, saying:
“Get up! Release Zayd, otherwise you will perish this very moment.”
He immediately rose, released Zayd from prison, bestowed a robe of honor upon him, and said:
“Ask for whatever need you have.”
Zayd replied:
“My need is that you rebuild the grave of Imam Husain (a.s.) and remove the restrictions upon his visitors.”
So al-Mutawakkil granted his request and released him.
Zayd then went out and traveled through the lands proclaiming:
“Whoever wishes to visit Imam Husain (a.s.), let him do so, for he is safe and secure.”
[984]
در خصوصيات آن حضرت نسبت به كلام الله مجيد و مقاصد پنجگانهي آن
بر حربگاه چون ره آن كاروان فتاد شور و نشور واهمه را در گمان فتادهم بانگ نوحه غلغله در شش جهت فكند هم گريه بر ملائك هفت آسمان فتادهر چند بر تن شهدا چشم كار كرد بر زخمهاي كاري تير و سنان فتادهر جا كه بود آهوئي از دشت پا كشيد هر جا كه بود طاري از آشيان فتادناگاه چشم دختر زهرا در آن ميان بر پيكر شريف امام زمان فتادشد وحشتي كه شور قيامت ز ياد رفت چون چشم اهل بيت بر آن كشتگان فتادبياختيار نعرهي هذا حسين از او سر زد چنانكه آتش از او در جهان فتادپس با زبان پر گله آن بضعت بتول رو بر مدينه كرد كه يا ايها الرسول [ صفحه 335]
Upon the battlefield, when that caravan arrived there,
A tumult and resurrection of fear arose even within imagination.
The cry of lamentation spread its uproar in all six directions,
And weeping descended even upon the angels of the seven heavens.
Though the eye could still perceive the bodies of the martyrs,
It fell only upon the grievous wounds of arrows and spears.
Every gazelle withdrew from the desert wherever it was,
And every bird fell from its nest wherever it was.
Suddenly, amid that scene, the gaze of the daughter of al-Zahra (a.s.)
Fell upon the noble body of the Imam of the Age (a.s.).
Such terror arose that even the upheaval of the Day of Resurrection was forgotten,
When the eyes of the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) fell upon those slain ones.
Uncontrollably, the cry of
«هٰذَا حُسَيْنٌ»
“This is Imam Husain (a.s.)!”
Burst forth from her,
Just as fire bursts forth and spreads through the world.
Then, with a tongue full of complaint, that piece of Fatimah al-Zahra (a.s.)
Turned toward Madinah and cried:
«يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ»
“O Messenger of Allah Mohammed (s.a.w.a.)!”
[ صفحه 335]