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The Excellences of the Imam Husayn in
Sunni Hadith Tradition
M. Ayoub, University of Toronto, Al-Serat, Vol XII
(1986)
HUMAN history may be seen as a record of the eternal
struggle between right and wrong, virtue and vice, good
and evil, and righteousness and wickedness. This
struggle was decreed by God when Adam, an earthly
creature, was sent to earth to engage in this eternal
battle. It is through this struggle that human beings
can earn their eternal bliss in the Gardens of Paradise,
or their eternal punishment in the Fire.
In the history of nations this struggle often attains
universal significance as that moment of the struggle
can speak to all subsequent times and situations. Thus
the Qur'an urges us over and over again to ponder the
end of those who were before us, and how God dealt with
them. In every case, moreover, a prophet or messenger of
God was rejected by his people and killed or driven out.
In this sense, therefore, the struggle is in the end
between God and humankind, between truth and falsehood,
and between right guidance and manifest error.
Nowhere is this struggle placed in sharper relief than
in the life of the Prophet Muhammad, and the lives of
the people of his House. The life and witness of the
Imam Husayn in particular, has acquired special
significance in Muslim piety. This is because he has
provided a model for all martyrs in the way of God, for
all time.
The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the universal
significance of the Imam in Muslim tradition. It is
important to observe that all the traditions cited in
this essay are found in both Shi'i and Sunni hadith
literature. But while in the Sunni community such
traditions remain purely pietistic, Shi'i tradition has
made them the basis of a complex theological system.
However, to appreciate the place of Husayn, 'the prince
of martyrs', in Muslim history, a word must be said
about the place of the Prophet's family (the ahl al-bayt)
in Muslim piety. At the same time the people of the
House of the Prophet Muhammad are not unique in the
prophetic history of human societies. A word is,
therefore, necessary concerning the families of other
prophets, if we are to appreciate fully the devotion
which Muslims throughout their long history have
accorded the people of the House of Muhammad, the seal
of the prophets.
Prophetic history begins, according to the Qur'an, with
Adam, called safwat Allah (the elect of God). He
was followed by Noah, the first of the prophets of power
or resolve (ulu al-'azm). Noah was sent as a
messenger by God to his people who rebelled against
God's message, and were thus destroyed by the flood.
Then came Abraham, the father of prophets. With his son
Ishmael he built the Ka'ba, the first house for the
worship of God.[1]
Ishmael was also a prophet, and the ancestor of the
prophets Shu'ayb, Salih, Hud, and finally Muhammad, the
last messenger of God to humankind.
Isaac, Abraham's second son, was also a prophet and the
father of prophets. Among his descendants were the
family of 'Imran, the father of Moses, and Jesus, as
well as other earlier prophets who were sent by God to
the Children of Israel. The Qur'an declares that God
has elected Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham and the
family of 'Imran. It further states that they
were a single progeny, one from the other'.[2]
All the prophets and their families are therefore of one
physical and spiritual lineage They and their households
are the elect of God, purified and honoured over the
rest of humankind.
The people of the House of the Prophet Muhammad were
likewise chosen by God and purified from all evil and
sin. The Muslim community did not, however, infer the
status of the family of Muhammad from that of earlier
prophets and their families.
Rather they too were chosen by God and purified from all
evil and sin. Yet because Muhammad was the last prophet
sent to guide humanity to God and the good, his
descendants could not assume his prophetic role. Their
mission was to be the Imams, or guides, of the Muslim
community. Their task is to safeguard the message
vouchsafed to Muhammad by God for humankind.
Like many prophets, the Imams had to endure rejection by
their people and much suffering at their hands;
martyrdom in the cause of God was often their lot. Yet
the greater the suffering, the greater is the reward and
honour which God promises His prophets, friends (awliya'),
and righteous servants. Thus the Prophet was asked: 'Who
among men are those afflicted with the greatest
calamity?' He replied:
The prophets, then the pious, everyone according to the
degree of his piety. A man is afflicted according to his
faith (din); if his faith is durable, his
affliction is accordingly increased, and if his faith is
weak, his affliction is made lighter. Afflictions
continue to oppress the worshipful servant until they
leave him walking on the face of the earth without any
sin cleaving to him.
[3]
EXCELLENCES OF THE AHL AL BAYT
In both Sunni and Shi'i Muslim tradition, one important
event symbolizes the status of the ahl al-bayt
and the human as well as spiritual dimensions of their
relation to the Prophet. This is the tradition or
episode of al-kisa' (the mantle, or cloak) which
the Prophet spread over himself and Fatima his daughter,
'Ali, and their two sons Hasan and Husayn. This
tradition has come down to us in a number of versions,
each stressing one or another aspect of the excellences
of the family of the Prophet and his love for them.
Ahmad b. Hanbal relates on the authority of Umm Salama,
the Prophet's wife, that he said to Fatima one day:
'Bring me your husband and two sons.' When they had all
come together he spread over them a mantle, and laying
his hand over them, he said: 'O God, these are the
people of the House of Muhammad! Let therefore your
prayers and blessings descend upon Muhammad and the
people of the House of Muhammad; for you are worthy of
all praise and glory.' Umm Salama continued: 'I then
lifted the mantle to enter in with them, but he pulled
it away from my hand saying, "You too shall come to a
good end".
[4]
The point which this version of the kisa'
tradition emphasizes is that the ahl al-bayt are
only the five: Muhammad, 'Ali, Fatima, and their two
sons Hasan and Husayn. Umm Salama, one of the most
highly venerated of the Prophet's wives, was denied this
special status. We shall have more to say about this
point, as it is emphasized in almost every version of
this tradition.
In another highly interesting version of the kisa'
tradition, related on the authority of 'Abd Allah b.
Jafar b. Abi Talib, we read:
As the Apostle of God saw mercy descending, he demanded:
'Call them for me, call them for me!' Safiyya asked:
'Who should we call, O Messenger of God?' He answered:
'Call the people of my household: 'Ali, Fatima, Hasan,
and Husayn.' When they were brought, he spread a mantle
over them; then lifting his hands to heaven said: 'O
God, these are the people of my House; bless, O God,
Muhammad and the people of the House of Muhammad!' God
then sent down the verse: Surely God wishes to remove
all abomination from you, O People of the House, and
purify you with a thorough purification.
[5]
This version of the tradition provides the meaning of
the kisa' and the basis of its significance. The
mantle is a symbol of divine mercy and blessing covering
the Prophet and his holy family. It is, moreover, a
source or haven of consolation and serenity in the face
of the great sufferings and martyrdom which the
Prophet's family had to endure after him. In this
infinite source of divine mercy, the pious also share in
times of sufferings and afflictions. The kisa'
finally sets apart the 'holy five' from the rest of the
faithful, and distinguishes them from the rest of the
Prophet's family.
The event of the kisa' provides the occasion for
the revelation of the verse of purification just cited.
Before the sectarian conflicts which split the Muslim
community set in, classical tradition was almost
unanimous in interpreting this verse as referring to the
Prophet, his daughter Fatima al-Zahra' (the Radiant),
her husband and cousin,' Ali, and their two sons Hasan
and Husayn.
[6]
In still another version of the kisa' tradition,
the continuity of the Prophet's family with those of
earlier prophets is clearly indicated. Wathila b.
al-Asqa', on whose authority this tradition in most of
its variants is related, reports the following prayer
uttered by the Prophet:
O God, as you have bestowed your blessings, mercy,
forgiveness, and pleasure upon Abraham and the family of
Abraham, so they ['Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn] are of
me and I am of them! Bestow, therefore, your blessings,
mercy, forgiveness and pleasure upon me and them.'
[7]
This prayer echoes a prayer which Muslims repeat daily:
O God, bless Muhammad and the people of the House of
Muhammad, as you have blessed Abraham and the people of
the House of Abraham among all beings.
The House of Muhammad is, therefore, for all Muslims,
'the household of prophethood and the frequenting place
of angels'. The famous Qur'an commentator al-Suyuti
quotes a tradition attributed to Umm Salama in
interpretation of the verse of purification:
This verse was sent down in my house ... There were in
the house then, seven: Gabriel and Michael, and 'Ali,
Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn, and I stood at the door of
the house. I asked: 'O Messenger of God, am I not of the
People of the House?' He said: 'You shall indeed come to
a good end! You are, however, one of the wives of the
Prophet.'
[8]
The close friendship between the Prophet and the holy
family, a relationship which went far beyond the bond of
blood relation, may be seen in the incident of the
mubahala, or prayer ordeal, with which the Prophet
challenged the Christians of Najran.[9]
In the mubahala verse of the Qur'an, God orders
the Prophet and his opponents to 'Call together our sons
and your sons, our women and your women, and ourselves
and yourselves.' In the view of most Qur'an commentators
and traditionists, the Prophet's sons are Hasan and
Husayn, 'his women' refers to Fatima, and 'his self'
refers, apart from himself, to 'Ali. When the people of
Najran saw them, they recognized their high status with
God, and with great trepidation they declined the
mubahala and opted instead for peace.
Tradition asserts that the Prophet sensed the hostility
which his community was to show to the People of his
House after him. He is said to have often declared, 'I
am at war against him who fights against you, and will
show peace toward him who shows peace to you.' This
invective is strongly put in a tradition related on the
authority of Abu Bakr, the Prophet's famous Companion
and the first caliph. He said:
I saw the Messenger of God pitch a tent in which he
placed 'Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn. He then
declared: 'O Muslims, I am at war against anyone who
wars against the people of this tent, and am at peace
with those who show peace toward them. I am a friend to
those who befriend them. He who shows love toward them
shall be one of a happy ancestry and good birth. Nor
would anyone hate them except that he be of miserable
ancestry and evil birth.
[10]
Love for the Prophet's family is enjoined by God in the
Qur'an, where He says: Say, 'I ask no other reward of
you save love of my next of kin' (42:23). Qur'an
commentators have generally agreed that 'the next of
kin' here intended are the ahl al-bayt.
[11]
The People of the House of the Prophet Muhammad have
been for the pious an example of generosity,
steadfastness in the face of hardship, and a source of
solace in time of trials and afflictions. After days of
fasting and prayers for the health of the two sick
children Hasan and Husayn, the family fed the few
morsels of dry bread and dates for which 'Ali had
laboured so hard to the needy. On the first evening, we
are told, a beggar came. On the second, it was an
orphan, and on the third, a captive. To each in turn,
they gave the loaf of barley bread and few dates which
Fatima had prepared for the family to break their fast.
Thus God sent down the verse: They give food to eat,
even though they cherish it, to the needy, the orphan
and the captive.
[12] Yet, in the
end, God sent down a celestial table to feed His
friends.
Early tradition shows a tension in the relationship of
the Prophet to the community and in the relationship of
the latter to the holy family. Much of the literature
reflecting this tension was most likely the product of a
later age, but projected back to the time of the Prophet
and his Companions.
Here love for the Prophet's family is not simply
recommended as a pious act, but is presented as a
challenge, and in a harsh reproaching tone. Furthermore,
it is on this love to the ahl al-bayt that
rewards and punishments on the Last Day are predicated.[13]
Thus we are told that the Prophet said:
He who desires the pleasure to live my life, die my
death and dwell in a garden of Eden which my Lord has
planted, let him be a friend to 'Ali after me. Let him
also be a friend to his friends. Let him finally be
guided by the Imams after me, for they are my progeny.
They were created of my clay, and have been vouchsafed
knowledge and understanding. Woe to those of my
community who deny their superiority, and those who
violate the demands of kindness to my next of kin. May
God not grant them my intercession.'
[14]
In another tradition, the Prophet promises his
intercession to those who honour his descendants,
provide them with whatever needs they may have, and
those who love them with their heart and profess this
love with their tongues.
[15]
It has already been stressed that the ahl al-bayt
share with the prophets of old and their descendants a
high status and divine favour, but not the office of
prophethood. They share, moreover, with the Prophet
Muhammad the prerogative of intercession. This is
expressed in hagiographical language, a language common
to both Sunni and Shi'i tradition. One such common
example may suffice to demonstrate the devotion in the
piety of both traditions to the Prophet and the people
of his household.
The Qur'an tells us that Adam received certain words of
God which earned him God's forgiveness and mercy:
Adam received words from his Lord, and He turned towards
him; for He is relenting, compassionate (2:37).
Suyuti reports that Ibn 'Abbas, the famous traditionist
and authority on the Qur'an, asked the Prophet about the
words which Adam received. The Prophet answered: 'He
prayed saying, "O God, for the sake of Muhammad, 'Ali,
Fatima, Hasan and Husayn, do turn toward me", and He
turned toward him.'
[16] In another
highly dramatic version of this tradition, Adam is
taught the words as the only means by which God would
accept his repentance and forgive him. 'Ali, we are
told, enquired of the Prophet concerning the verse under
discussion. The Prophet told him that when Adam and his
wife were expelled from Paradise, Adam wept bitterly
over his sin for a hundred years. Finally, Gabriel came
to him and spoke thus on God's behalf:
O Adam, did I not create you with my own hand? Did I not
breathe into you of my spirit? Did I not command my
angels to bow down before you? Did I not provide you
with Eve my servant?' 'Yes', Adam answered. Gabriel
asked: 'What then is the cause of this weeping?' Adam
replied, 'Why should I not weep when I have been
expelled from the proximity of the All-Merciful?' The
angel then said: 'You must pray fervently with these
words, and God will accept your repentance and forgive
your sin. Say: "O God, I beseech you for the sake of
Muhammad and the people of the household of Muhammad;
nor is there any god but you. I have done evil, and have
wronged my soul. Turn towards me for you are relenting,
compassionate."
[17]
HASAN AND HUSAYN
Islamic tradition has preserved numerous anecdotes
depicting the tender care and love which the Prophet
showed Hasan and Husayn. They were both born in Medina,
and thus knew the Prophet only as children. It is
therefore with the intimacy and love of a grandfather
that the early life of the two Imams is coloured. Once
more, these family anecdotes also reflect clearly the
theological and political tension within the community,
a tension which largely centered around Hasan and
Husayn. One such anecdote is the following.
One day, we are told, Hasan and Husayn were lost, and
their mother Fatima came to the Prophet greatly alarmed.
The angel Gabriel, however, came down and told the
Prophet that the two youths were asleep in an animal
fold some distance away. God, the angel reassured the
anxious family, had charged an angel to keep watch over
them. The Prophet went to the spot and found the angel
had spread his two wings: one under them and the other
over them as cover. The Prophet stooped over the two
children and began to kiss them until they awoke. He
then carried them on his shoulders back to the city.
A large crowd of Muslims followed the Prophet and his
two grandsons to the mosque. The Prophet then addressed
the assembled people and said: 'O Muslims, shall I
inform you of those who have the best grandfather and
grandmother of humankind?' 'Yes, O Apostle of God', they
all replied. 'They are Hasan and Husayn', he said.
'Their grandfather is the Apostle of God, the seal of
the Messengers, and their grandmother is Khadija,
daughter of Khuwaylid, mistress of the women of
Paradise.' The Prophet then declared Hasan and Husayn to
have the best maternal uncle and aunt: Jafar and Umm
Hani', son and daughter of Abu Talib. Their maternal
uncle and aunt were likewise the best of all uncles and
aunts: they were al-Qasim, son of the Messenger of God,
and Zaynab, daughter of the Apostle of God. The Prophet
concluded: 'O God, you know that Hasan and Husayn shall
be in Paradise, their uncles and aunt shall be in
Paradise, and those who love them shall be in Paradise,
while those who hate them shall be in the Fire."
[18]
Abu Hurayra, the famous hadith transmitter,
related that often when they prayed behind the Messenger
of God Hasan and Husayn would jump on his back while he
was prostrate in prayer. When he lifted his head, he
would move them gently and place them beside him.
One evening, after prayers, Abu Hurayra offered to take
the two youths home, but the Prophet wished them to
stay. Soon, however, a flash of lightning illuminated
the sky, and they thus walked in its light until they
entered their home.
[19]
The friends (awliya') of God, like the prophets,
are favoured with miracles. These are not miracles
proper (mu'jizat), but rather karamat
(divine favours). The lightning incident was one such
divine favour by means of which the Prophet wished to
inform the community of the special status with which
God had favoured the two Imams.
There is a unity between the Prophet and the ahl
al-bayt, a unity not simply of blood, but also of
the spirit. It is a unity symbolized by the kisa'
event. It is, therefore, a unity of love, as the
following statement of the Prophet clearly indicates. He
said, as related on the authority of Salman the Persian:
'Whoever loves Hasan and Husayn, I love him, and
whomsoever I love, God also loves, and whomsoever God
loves, He shall cause him to enter into the gardens of
bliss.' Likewise he who hates Hasan and Husayn shall be
consigned to the Fire, because both God and his
Messenger will hate him, 'and a terrible punishment
awaits him'.
[20]
Muslim hagiographical piety extended this unity and
intimacy between the Prophet and his two grandchildren
to include the angels of heaven. Thus Hudhayfa, a well
known companion and traditionist, reported that the
Prophet said: 'An angel is here who never came down to
earth before this night. He sought permission from his
Lord to come down and greet me, and to bring me the glad
tidings that Fatima is the mistress of the women of
Paradise, and that Hasan and Husayn are the masters of
the youths of Paradise.'
[21]
There is no doubt that the special status of the Imam
Husayn in Muslim piety and devotion has in large measure
been due to the Imam's great sacrifice of family,
wealth, and life itself in the way of God. Husayn's
martyrdom - his courage, steadfastness, dignity, and
true devotion in times of great crisis - have inspired
Muslims of all walks of life. Husayn has inspired the
best poetry in all Islamic languages; even non-Muslim
poets celebrated his great virtue and valour. Above all,
however, the Imam Husayn's martyrdom became a source of
strength and endurance for Muslims in times of
suffering, persecution and oppression. He has stood with
every wronged man or woman before oppressive rulers,
reproaching wrongdoers and encouraging the oppressed to
persist in their struggle for freedom and dignity. The
following encounter between Zayd b. Arqam, a venerable
companion of the Prophet, and 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad is a
living testimony to the struggle between illegitimate
authority and the power of right. When the head of the
Imam Husayn was brought before him, Ibn Ziyad began to
poke its teeth and lips with a stick.
Zayd protested: 'Take away your stick! For, by God, I
saw the Apostle of God often kiss these lips.' Saying
this, Zayd began to weep. Ibn Ziyad reprimanded him,
saying: 'May God cause your eyes to weep! Had it not
been that you are an old and senile man, I would have
cut off your head.' Zayd then walked away, exclaiming:
'O men, you are slaves after this day. For you have
slain the son of Fatima and set as amir over you
the son of Marjana [i.e., Ibn Ziyad]. By God, he shall
kill the best of you and enslave the most wicked among
you. Perish those who accept humiliation and shame.'
Zayd then said, 'O Ibn Ziyad, I shall tell you something
that will enrage you even more. I saw the Apostle of God
seating Hasan on his left leg and Husayn on his right,
and say, "O God, I commend them and the most righteous
of the people of faith to your trust." How have you
dealt with the trust of the Prophet, O Ibn Ziyad?'
[22]
Divine wisdom in creation can be best discerned,
according to the Qur'an, in the order of nature, and in
the human individual and his society. Muslim hagiography
has recorded the dramatic effect the death of Husayn had
on nature. Thus the famous traditionist al-Bayhaqi
reported that when al-Husayn b. 'Ali was killed, the sun
was so deeply eclipsed that stars were seen at midday.
People feared that it was the Day of Resurrection.[23]
Nadra al-Azdiya, a woman who was contemporary with the
Imam Husayn, is said to have reported: 'When al-Husayn
b. 'Ali was killed, the sky rained down blood, so that
next morning we found our wells and water jugs filled
with it.'
[24]
The memory of the martyred Imam has been kept alive and
nourished by the tears of the faithful who vicariously
share in the tragedy of the Imam Husayn and his loved
ones and friends. Here again, tradition has extended the
grief displayed by the pious for the tragedy of Karbala'
to the cosmic order. Thus al-Suyuti reports in his
commentary on the verse describing God's compassion
towards the ancient martyr John son of Zachariah that
'The heavens did not weep for the death of anyone except
John son of Zachariah and al-Husayn b. 'Ali. Its redness
[at sunset] is the sign of its weeping.'[25]
CONCLUSION
It has already been argued that there is an existential
and all-inclusive unity between the Prophet and his
daughter Fatima, her husband, 'Ali, and their two sons.
This unity makes it impossible to discuss one without
discussing all the others. We have, therefore, been
concerned throughout this study with the Imam Husayn in
the context of this essential unity. It must be added,
however, that the Imam Husayn was especially close to
the heart of his grandfather, the Prophet Muhammad. It
is of Husayn alone that he declared: 'Husayn is of me
and I am of Husayn. May God love those who love Husayn.'[26]
When sura 108 (al-Kawthar) was revealed,
the Prophet announced this great favour to his close
companion Anas b. Malik, on whose authority this
tradition is reported. Anas asked: 'What is
al-Kawthar?' He answered: 'It is a river in
Paradise, but neither those who violate my covenant (dhimma),
nor those who shall kill the people of my House will be
allowed to drink of it.'
[27]
Finally, Shi'i tradition has always insisted on the
great merit the faithful earn in making pilgrimage (ziyara)
to the tomb of the Imam Husayn and the tombs of the men
who were martyred with him.
Yet Sunni tradition has likewise seen great merit in
this pious act.[28]
The ziyara to the tomb of the martyred Imam has acquired
this great significance in all Muslim tradition because
the Imam and his fellow martyrs are seen as models of
jihad in the way of God.
It is related that the father of the Imams, 'Ali ibn Abi
Talib, passed by Karbala' after the battle of Siffin. He
took a handful of its soil and exclaimed: 'Ah, ah, on
this spot some men will be slain, and will enter
Paradise without reckoning!'
[29]
The spiritual unity of the ahl al-bayt,
symbolized by the kisa', is in turn a symbol of
the unity of all Muslims. It is for the sake of this
unity in faith and commitment (islam) to God and
the truth that the Imam Husayn sacrificed his life. He
refused a partisan Islam when he refused to legitimize
Umayyad rule.
Because he refused humiliation, wrongdoing and deviation
from the ideals of Islamic leadership as exemplified by
the Prophet and his own father 'Ali, the Commander of
the Faithful, the Imam Husayn drew once and for all the
distinction between a true khalifa
(representative) of the Apostle of God and the kings of
this world. But above all, the Imam Husayn and his
fellow martyrs accepted God's bargain with the people of
faith to exchange their lives and wealth for the eternal
bliss of Paradise.[30]
This divine challenge is no less relevant to the Muslim
community today than it was fourteen hundred years ago.
It invites us still to 'a garden whose breadth is
greater than the heavens and earth, prepared for those
who fear God'.
[1] See 2:127, 3:96.
[2] See 3:33.
[3]
Musnad Ibn Hanbal,
quoted in M. Ayoub, Redemptive Suffering in Islam
(The Hague, 1978), p. 25, and see also pp. 25-6
[4] Ahmad b. Hanbal,
Musnad
(Cairo, 1313), IV, 323.
[5] Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad b. Abd Allah al-Nisaburi,
Mustadrak al-sahihayn
(Haydarabad [Deccan], 1324), III, 147. See also 33:33.
[6] See, for example, the commentary on this verse in
al-Zamakhshari and al-Tabari.
[7]
Ala al-Din Ali al-Muttaqi b. Husam al-Din al-Hindi,
Kanz al-'ummal
(Haydarabad [Deccan], 1312), p. 217.
[8] See the commentary on 33: 33 in al-Suyuti,
Al-Durr al-manthur.
[9] See 3:61. see also Muhammad b. 'Isa al-Tirmidhi,
Sahih al-Tirmidhi
(Cairo, 1920), II, 300, and Ibn Hanbal, I, 185.
[10] Abu Ja'far Ahmad al-Muhibb al-Tabari,
Al-Riyad al-nadira
(Cairo, n.d.), II, 199 For other versions of this
tradition, see Murtada al-Husayni al-Fayruzabadi,
Fada'il al-khamsa fi sihah al- sitta (Najaf, 1384),
p. 252.
[11] See the commentaries on this verse in al-Zamakhshari,
al-Tabari, and al-Suyuti.
[12] 76:8.
[13] For a detailed discussion of this tradition, see M
Ayoub, pp 43-5.
[14] Abu Nu'aym, Ahmad b. Abd Allah al-Isbahani,
Hilyat al-awliya'
(Cairo, 1351). I, 86.
[15] Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, VIII, 151, and IV 217. See
also Shihab al-Din Ahmad b. Hajar al-Haytami al-Asqalani,
Al-Sawa'iq
al-Muhriqa (Cairo, 1312), p. 150.
[16] See the commentary on 2:37 in al-Suyuti.
[17] Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, I, 234.
[18] Al-Fayruzabadi, III, 187.
[19] Ibn Hanbal, II, 513; al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, VII, 109.
[20] Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, p. 221
[21] Al-Tirmidhi, II, 307
[22] Ibn Hajar, p. 118.
[23] Abu Bakr Ahmad b Husayn b. al-Bayhaqi,
Al-Sunan al-Kubra
(Haydarabad, 1344), III, 337.
[24] Ibn Hajar, p. 291.
[25] See the commentary on 19:13 in al-Suyuti.
[26] Al-Tirmidhi, II, 306.
[27] See the commentary on sura 108 in al-Suyuti.
[28] Muhibb al-Din Ahmad b. Abd Allah al-Tabari,
Dhakha'ir al- 'uqba
(n.p., 1356), p. 151. Note also the popularity of the
Mosque of the Head of the Imam Husayn in Cairo as a
place of pilgrimage.
[29] Shihab al-Din Ahmad b. Hajar al-Haytami
al-Asqalani,
Tahdhib al-tahdhib
(Haydarabad [Deccan], 1325), II, 348.
[30]
See 9:111.
Published by the Muhammadi Trust of Great Britain and
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