When thus they saw him in that condition.
Their wailing and their cries did intensify
So the minds and the souls were baffled by their cry.
The wise ladies mourned their protector
And so did virtues and merits.
My heart goes for her when she seeks
The Messenger's help,
The mountains were almost to disappear.
My heart goes for her since she lost
The one she could depend on,
And how can anyone equal the one she lost?
Who can in honour equal the one who was
Like in manners Yasin, like in form Taha?
O Allah help his father when
The light of al-Akbar went out.
He at the Taff saw the Friend of Allah from Mina,
The one whom he sacrificed was now
Sought by the swords.
He was mourned by what can be seen and what cannot
From the zenith of the ‘Arsh
To the deepest of the earth
He was mourned by the master of all creation.
For his calamity was indeed the greatest of all.
He was mourned by the eyes of guidance and uprightness
And by the one appointed as the wasi.30
His father's condition could best be described thus:
Son! From my heart did I make you, so why
From me you now severed your tie?
Son! Your ties eclipse the hue of death
And the eclipse precedes perfection.
Son! Never shall I ever sleep
While your body on the burning sands lies.
Son! You insisted on reaching the heights,
Leaving for me only the dark nights.
Son! Men's eyes mourn you till the Day
Of Gathering and of Accounting.
Son! The attributes of perfection do you mourn,
And the tenderness of youth and the angels.
You rushed to meet your father the Prophet at the Pool
Having arranged the hearts of men's eyes.31
Notes:
30. Excerpted from an extemporal poem composed and delivered by Ayatullah Shaikh Muhammad Husayn al-Isfahani, may Allah sanctify him.
31. Excerpted from a poem by the authority Sayyid Mahdi al-Bahrani, may Allah have mercy on his soul.
Adapted from: "Maqtal al-Husayn; Martyrdom Epic of Imam al-Husayn (a.s.)" by: "Abd al-Razzaq al-Muqarram"