Imam Zayn al-’Abidin (‘a) walked to his father's body, hugged it and wept loudly. Then he came to the gravesite and lifted a handful of its soil. A grave already dug appeared, and so did a pre-constructed shrine...
He placed his hands under the Imam's back and said, “In the Name of Allah, and according to the creed of the Messenger of Allah Allah has said the truth, and so has His Messenger (S). The will of Allah be done; there is no power nor might except in Allah, the Great.”
Then he took it and went down without being assisted by anyone from among the Banu Asad to whom he said, “I have with me someone who will assist me.”
Once he laid it down in the grave, he put his cheek on his father's sacred neck and said, “Congratulations to the land that contains your pure body, for the world after you is dark whereas the hereafter in your light shall shine.
As to the night, it is the harbinger of sleep, while grief remains forever, for Allah shall choose for your Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) your abode wherein you shall abide. From me to you is Salam, O son of the Messenger of Allah, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.”
On the grave he wrote: “This is the grave of al-Husayn son of ‘Ali son of Abu Talib, the one whom they killed even as he was a thirsty stranger.” Then he walked to the body of his uncle, al-’Abbas (‘a), and he saw him in a condition that had left the angels in the heavens' strata baffled and caused the huris to weep even as they were in the chambers of Paradise
. He fell upon it kissing his sacred neck and saying, “May the world after you be obliterated, O moon of Banu Hashim, and peace from me to you, O martyr, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.”
He dug a grave for him and took him down in it by himself just as he had done to the corpse of his martyred father (‘a). He said to Banu Asad, “There is someone with me to help me.”
Yes, he gave a piece of jewelry to Banu Asad as a token of appreciation for consoling him in burying the martyrs, and he assigned for them two places, ordering them to dig two pits in the first of which he buried those slain from Banu Hashim and in the second those slain from among their companions.7
As regarding al-Hurr al-Riyahi, his corpse was taken away by his tribe that buried it where it now stands. It is said that his mother was present then and there, and when she saw what was being done to the corpses, she carried her son's corpse somewhere else.8
The closest in proximity to the grave of al-Husayn (‘a) from among the martyrs is his son ‘Ali al-Akbar (‘a).
In this regard, Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) says to Hammad al-Basri, “The father of ‘Abdullah was killed as a stranger, away from home; he is mourned be whoever visits his gravesite, and whoever does not visit it grieves for him; whoever does not see him is very depressed on account of being deprived of doing so, therefore he grieves; whoever sees the grave of his son at his feet in a desolate land, far away from his kin, invokes Allah's mercy for him because of the fact that he was not supported when he called upon people to uphold righteousness, and because the renegades assisted one another against him till they killed him and did not have any respect for him, so much so that they exposed his corpse to the wild beasts and prohibited him from drinking of the water of the Euphrates of which the dogs drink.
They disregarded their obligations in his regard towards the Messenger of Allah (S) who had enjoined them to be kind to him and to his Ahl al-Bayt (‘a). He was abandoned in his grave, slain among his kinsfolk and Shi’as.
In loneliness, being near his grave removes the pain of loneliness and so is his being distant from his grandfather (S) and from the house which none could enter except those whose conviction of heart Allah tested, and by those who recognize our rights.
My father has told me that since he was killed, his place has never been empty of those who bless him from among the angels, the jinns, mankind, and even the wild beasts. Whoever visits it is envied and is rubbed for blessing, and looking at his grave is done in anticipation of earning goodness.
Allah boasts to the angels of those who visit it. As far as what such pilgrim receives from us, we invoke Allah's mercy for him every morning and every evening. It has come to my knowledge that some Kufians as well as others in Kufa's outskirts pay it a visit in the eve of the middle of Sha’ban. They recite the Holy Qur’an; they narrate his story; they mourn him, and women eulogize him while others compose their own eulogies.”
He placed his hands under the Imam's back and said, “In the Name of Allah, and according to the creed of the Messenger of Allah Allah has said the truth, and so has His Messenger (S). The will of Allah be done; there is no power nor might except in Allah, the Great.”
Then he took it and went down without being assisted by anyone from among the Banu Asad to whom he said, “I have with me someone who will assist me.”
Once he laid it down in the grave, he put his cheek on his father's sacred neck and said, “Congratulations to the land that contains your pure body, for the world after you is dark whereas the hereafter in your light shall shine.
As to the night, it is the harbinger of sleep, while grief remains forever, for Allah shall choose for your Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) your abode wherein you shall abide. From me to you is Salam, O son of the Messenger of Allah, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.”
On the grave he wrote: “This is the grave of al-Husayn son of ‘Ali son of Abu Talib, the one whom they killed even as he was a thirsty stranger.” Then he walked to the body of his uncle, al-’Abbas (‘a), and he saw him in a condition that had left the angels in the heavens' strata baffled and caused the huris to weep even as they were in the chambers of Paradise
. He fell upon it kissing his sacred neck and saying, “May the world after you be obliterated, O moon of Banu Hashim, and peace from me to you, O martyr, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.”
He dug a grave for him and took him down in it by himself just as he had done to the corpse of his martyred father (‘a). He said to Banu Asad, “There is someone with me to help me.”
Yes, he gave a piece of jewelry to Banu Asad as a token of appreciation for consoling him in burying the martyrs, and he assigned for them two places, ordering them to dig two pits in the first of which he buried those slain from Banu Hashim and in the second those slain from among their companions.7
As regarding al-Hurr al-Riyahi, his corpse was taken away by his tribe that buried it where it now stands. It is said that his mother was present then and there, and when she saw what was being done to the corpses, she carried her son's corpse somewhere else.8
The closest in proximity to the grave of al-Husayn (‘a) from among the martyrs is his son ‘Ali al-Akbar (‘a).
In this regard, Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) says to Hammad al-Basri, “The father of ‘Abdullah was killed as a stranger, away from home; he is mourned be whoever visits his gravesite, and whoever does not visit it grieves for him; whoever does not see him is very depressed on account of being deprived of doing so, therefore he grieves; whoever sees the grave of his son at his feet in a desolate land, far away from his kin, invokes Allah's mercy for him because of the fact that he was not supported when he called upon people to uphold righteousness, and because the renegades assisted one another against him till they killed him and did not have any respect for him, so much so that they exposed his corpse to the wild beasts and prohibited him from drinking of the water of the Euphrates of which the dogs drink.
They disregarded their obligations in his regard towards the Messenger of Allah (S) who had enjoined them to be kind to him and to his Ahl al-Bayt (‘a). He was abandoned in his grave, slain among his kinsfolk and Shi’as.
In loneliness, being near his grave removes the pain of loneliness and so is his being distant from his grandfather (S) and from the house which none could enter except those whose conviction of heart Allah tested, and by those who recognize our rights.
My father has told me that since he was killed, his place has never been empty of those who bless him from among the angels, the jinns, mankind, and even the wild beasts. Whoever visits it is envied and is rubbed for blessing, and looking at his grave is done in anticipation of earning goodness.
Allah boasts to the angels of those who visit it. As far as what such pilgrim receives from us, we invoke Allah's mercy for him every morning and every evening. It has come to my knowledge that some Kufians as well as others in Kufa's outskirts pay it a visit in the eve of the middle of Sha’ban. They recite the Holy Qur’an; they narrate his story; they mourn him, and women eulogize him while others compose their own eulogies.”
Notes:
7. See Al-Kibrit al-Ahmar (of Shaikh Muhammad Baqir al-Birjandi al-Safi), Asrar al-Shahada (of Sayyid Kaďim al-Rashti al-Ha’iri), and Al-Iyqad.
8. Shaikh Muhammad Baqir al-Birjandi al-Safi, Al-Kibrit al-Ahmar. On p. 344 of his book Al-Anwar al-Nu’maniyya, Sayyid al-Jaza’iri cites testimonials to this statement. He, for example, details how [sultan] Isma’il al-Safawi [founder of the Safavid dynasty who lived from 904 - 930 A.H./1499 - 1524 A.D. and ruled Iran from 907 - 930 A.H./1502 - 1524 A.D... N. Tr.] dug up the place, whereupon he saw the deceased as though he had just been killed, and there was a bandage on his head.
Once he untied it, blood started pouring out, and the bleeding did not stop till he tied it back again.
He built a dome above the grave and assigned someone to tend to it. So, when al-Nawari, in his book Al-Lulu’ wal Marjan, denies that he had been buried, he did not support his denial with any evidence.
On p. 37, Vol. 1, of Tuhfat al-’Alim, Sayyid Ja’far Bahr al-’Ulum states that Hamad-Allah al-Mustawfi has indicated in his book Nuzhat al-Qulub saying that there is in Karbala’ the grave of al-Hurr [al-Riyahi] which is visited by people. He is the latter's grandfather up to 18 generations back. One of them used to say:
Point out to the Hurr and see,
How doing so suffices every man free.
How doing so suffices every man free.
The authority Sayyid Muhammad al-Qazwini responded to him with these verses:
Visit the Hurr, the martyr, and do not delay,
The first of the martyrs should you his visit pay;
Do not hear one who calls and does say
Point out to the Hurr then a salutation pay.
The first of the martyrs should you his visit pay;
Do not hear one who calls and does say
Point out to the Hurr then a salutation pay.
Adapted from: "Maqtal al-Husayn; Martyrdom Epic of Imam al-Husayn (a.s.)" by: "Abd al-Razzaq al-Muqarram"