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'''Arba’een''' is a Shi’a religious observance which occurs forty days after the tragic events of [[Karbala]]. During this day, Shi’a community commemorates the [[martyrdom]] of [[Hussain ibn Ali|Hussain ibn | '''Arba’een''' is a Shi’a religious observance which occurs forty days after the tragic events of [[Karbala]]. During this day, Shi’a community commemorates the [[martyrdom]] of [[Hussain ibn Ali|Hussain ibn Ali]] and 72 of his followers who were killed by [[Yazid]]’s army in the Battle of Karbala in 61 A.H. (680 C.E.). | ||
==Significance== | ==Significance== | ||
A day of mourning, preferably at the shrine of Imam Hussain, Arbaʿeen forms part of a cycle of days commemorating the burial of the [[Imam]] and his companions and the various stages of the return journey of the women captives to Medina. Many pious tales, which have come to form an important part of the [[Ashura]] tradition, have sprung up around this journey.<ref>M. B. Maǰlesī, Beḥār al-anwār XLV, Tehran, 1384/1964, pp. 107, 112ff., and passim.</ref> A special pilgrimage of visitation, the ziarat-e arbaʿeen, is associated with the day, which is still widely observed. | A day of mourning, preferably at the shrine of Imam Hussain, Arbaʿeen forms part of a cycle of days commemorating the burial of the [[Imam]] and his companions and the various stages of the return journey of the women captives to Medina. Many pious tales, which have come to form an important part of the [[Ashura]] tradition, have sprung up around this journey.<ref>M. B. Maǰlesī, Beḥār al-anwār XLV, Tehran, 1384/1964, pp. 107, 112ff., and passim.</ref> A special pilgrimage of visitation, the ziarat-e arbaʿeen, is associated with the day, which is still widely observed. | ||
The sanctity of the number forty and especially of the forty-day period in the religious lore of the region is most probably one of the reasons behind this tradition. Fortieth-day observances honoring the dead are still common in the Middle East. | The sanctity of the number forty and especially of the forty-day period in the religious lore of the region is most probably one of the reasons behind this tradition. Fortieth-day observances honoring the dead are still common in the Middle East. | ||
===The Number Forty in Qur’an=== | |||
There is spiritual significance to some numbers and this is seen in the Qur’an and the traditions such that the number forty is repeated in many places of the Qur’an: | |||
(وَإِذْ وَاعَدْنَا مُوسَى أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً ثُمَّ اتَّخَذْتُمُ الْعِجْلَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَأَنْتُمْ ظَالِمُونَ) | |||
“And when We appointed a time of forty nights with Musa, then you took the calf (for a god) after him and you were unjust.” (Suratul Baqarah, 2: 51) | |||
﴿قَالَ فَإِنَّهَا مُحَرَّمَةٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً يَتِيهُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَلَا تَأْسَ عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْفَاسِقِينَ﴾ | |||
“He said: So it shall surely be forbidden to them for forty years, they shall wander about in the land, therefore do not grieve for the nation of transgressors.” (Suratul Maidah, 5:26) | |||
(وَوَاعَدْنَا مُوسَى ثَلَاثِينَ لَيْلَةً وَأَتْمَمْنَاهَا بِعَشْرٍ فَتَمَّ مِيقَاتُ رَبِّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً وَقَالَ مُوسَى لِأَخِيهِ هَارُونَ اخْلُفْنِي فِي قَوْمِي وَأَصْلِحْ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ) | |||
“And We appointed with Musa a time of thirty nights and completed them with ten (more), so the appointed time of his Lord was complete forty nights, and Musa said to his brother Haroun: Take my place among my people, and act well and do not follow the way of the mischief-makers.” (Suratul A’raaf, 7:142) | |||
(وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ إِحْسَانًا حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ كُرْهًا وَوَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًا وَحَمْلُهُ وَفِصَالُهُ ثَلَاثُونَ شَهْرًا حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ وَبَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً قَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَى وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَصْلِحْ لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِي إِنِّي تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ) | |||
“And We have enjoined on man doing of good to his parents; with trouble did his mother bear him and with trouble did she bring him forth; and the bearing of him and the weaning of him was thirty months; until when he attains his maturity and reaches forty years, he says: My Lord! grant me that I may give thanks for Thy favor which Thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may do good which pleases Thee and do good to me in respect of my offspring; surely I turn to Thee, and surely I am of those who submit.” (Suratul Ahqaf, 46:15) | |||
===The Number Forty in Hadith=== | |||
In addition, there are numerous traditions which mention the number “40” such as the following: | |||
عن رسول الله (صلى الله عليه و آله و سلام): إنّ الأرض لتبكي على المؤمن أربعين صباحاً. | |||
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his family, has said: “Indeed the Earth laments over the death of a true believer for the period of 40 days.” | |||
عن الإمام محمد الباقر (عليه السلام) أنّه قال: إنّ السّماء بكت على الحسين أربعين صباحاً. | |||
Imam [[Mohammad al-Baqir|Muhammad al-Baqir]], peace be upon him, has said: “Indeed the sky lamented over the death of al-Husayn for a period of 40 days.” | |||
عن الإمام الصّادق(عليه السلام) أنّه قال: إنّ السّماء بكت على الحسين أربعين صباحاً بالدّم، والأرض بكت عليه أربعين صباحاً بالسّواد، والشّمس بكت عليه أربعين صباحاً بالكسوف والحمرة، والملائكة بكت عليه أربعين صباحاً، وما اختضبت امرأة منّا ولا ادّهنت ولا اكتحلت ولا رجّلت حتّى أتانا رأس عبيد الله بن زياد وما زلنا في عبرة من بعده. | |||
Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: “The heavens cried for forty days with blood (weeping) over Imam Husayn; the earth cried for forty days by being covered with darkness; the sun cried for forty days by being in eclipse and turning red; the mountains were torn apart and dispersed; the seas gushed out and the angles cried for forty days over him. After Imam Husayn’s martyrdom, all of our women stopped colouring their hair, using kohl, applying oil, and styling their hair until the head of Ubaydullah ibn Ziyaad was sent to us; and even after that we (all) continued to weep over him.” | |||
==Historical Background== | ==Historical Background== | ||
According to hagiographical tradition, on the night of Ashura the inhabitants of Medina heard a voice announcing the death of Hussain. One of those who heard this was Jaber b. ʿAbdallah Ansari, well-known companion of the Prophet and a friend of the imams. He immediately set out for Karbala and arrived at the tomb of the martyred imam forty days later. Meanwhile, on their way to Medina, the captives begged their escort to pass by Karbala, and thus they reached the sacred spot at the same time as Jaber. The entire company performed the first [[ziara]], and held the first lamentation, [[ʿazadari]], at the sacred tomb.<ref>ʿAlī b. Mūsā b. Moḥammed b. Ṭāʾūs, al-Lohūf ʿalā qatlat al-ṭofūf, Naǰaf 1385/1965, p. 82.</ref> | According to hagiographical tradition, on the night of Ashura the inhabitants of Medina heard a voice announcing the death of Hussain. One of those who heard this was Jaber b. ʿAbdallah Ansari, well-known companion of the Prophet and a friend of the imams. He immediately set out for Karbala and arrived at the tomb of the martyred imam forty days later. Meanwhile, on their way to Medina, the captives begged their escort to pass by Karbala, and thus they reached the sacred spot at the same time as Jaber. The entire company performed the first [[ziara]], and held the first lamentation, [[ʿazadari]], at the sacred tomb.<ref>ʿAlī b. Mūsā b. Moḥammed b. Ṭāʾūs, al-Lohūf ʿalā qatlat al-ṭofūf, Naǰaf 1385/1965, p. 82.</ref> | ||
. | . | ||
== | ==Rituals== | ||
Recitations form the essence of pilgrimage; it is no accident that the word ziara denotes both the act of visitation and the words recited during it, especially in Arabic . A ziara text for the day of Arba'een is narrated from [[Imam al-Sadiq]] and Shaykh 'Abbas Qummi has mentioned it in his Mafatih al-jinan in the third chapter with the title of | Recitations form the essence of pilgrimage; it is no accident that the word ziara denotes both the act of visitation and the words recited during it, especially in Arabic . A ziara text for the day of Arba'een is narrated from [[Jaʿfar al-Sadiq|Imam al-Sadiq]] and Shaykh 'Abbas Qummi has mentioned it in his Mafatih al-jinan in the third chapter with the title of “ziarat Arba'een”. The Text of [[Ziarat-Arbaeen|Ziarat-e Arba’een]] is as follows: | ||
“Peace be on the favorite of Allah, Peace be on the beloved friend of Allah, His distinguished hero! Peace be on the choicest confidant of Allah, sincerely attached precisely like his father! Peace be on Hussain, who gave his life in the way of Allah, a martyr, underwent untold hardships Peace be on the hostage surrounded by the-tightening circle of sorrow and grief, killed by a horde of savages. | “Peace be on the favorite of Allah, Peace be on the beloved friend of Allah, His distinguished hero! Peace be on the choicest confidant of Allah, sincerely attached precisely like his father! Peace be on Hussain, who gave his life in the way of Allah, a martyr, underwent untold hardships Peace be on the hostage surrounded by the-tightening circle of sorrow and grief, killed by a horde of savages. | ||
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*[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arbain-fortieth-day-after-asura-q Encyclopaedia Iranica] | *[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arbain-fortieth-day-after-asura-q Encyclopaedia Iranica] | ||
*[http://alhassanain.org/Arbaeen%20of%20Imam%20Husayn/arbaeen_of_imam_husayn_html/arbaeen_of_imam_husayn.htm Shaykh Saleem Bhimji, “Arbaeen of Imam Husayn”] | |||
[[Category:Rituals]] | [[Category:Rituals]] | ||
[[Category:Imam Hussain’s commemoration]] | [[Category:Imam Hussain’s commemoration]] | ||