Water: Difference between revisions

In mystical and Sufi culture, water is used extensively as a symbol, metonymy, and allegory. For example, it has been interpreted as divine knowledge and wisdom, and as a metaphor for prophets and divine personages, the perfect human, and the realm of meaning and theological discourse (revelation and inspiration). [[Isma’ili|Ismaili]] Shiites believe water is the sign of "science of [[imamate|Imamah]] and al-Ḥujjah".

Water has played a prominent role in some major events in Islamic history. Water has often been a scarce resource in Muslim populated areas. This scarcity has occasionally been taken advantage of in wars and battles. Some of the well-known examples include the siege of Uthman, the [https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-the-quran/siffin-battle-of-EQSIM_00388 Battle of Siffin], and, most importantly, the Battle of [[Karbala]]. According to historical sources, in 35 A.H, a group of opponents to Uthman ibn Affan—the Third Caliph—surrounded him in his house, cutting off the water supply. In the Battle of Siffin, [[Mu'awiya|Muawiya]] blocked off the access of [[ʿAli ibn Abi Talib|Ali ibn Abi Talib]]'s army to water wells. In contrast to Muawiya, Ali did not take reciprocal measures once his army regained access to water.  

According to the [[Maqtal|Maqatel]] sources of [[Ashura]], [[Obayd-Allah Ibn Ziad|Obayd-Allah ibn Ziad]] ordered [[Omar Ibn Sa’d|Omar ibn Sa'd]], to block [[Hussain ibn Ali]] and his companions from accessing water in a letter. On the 7th of [[Muharram]] of the year 61 AH, Omar ibn Sa'd commissioned Amro ibn al-Hajjaj al-Zubaydi and 500 cavalry soldiers to guard the Alghameh river—a branch of the Euphrates—to prevent Imam Hussain's army from accessing the water. Sa'd's troops rejoiced in pointing this out during their saber rattling as a means of psychological pressure. For example, 'Abd Allah b. Abi l-Hussain al-Azdi said to Hussain: "Do you see this water that is as clear as the heart of the sky? You shall not taste a drop of it until you die of thirst." Hussain and his companions made a few efforts to break the siege with partial success in a few cases prior to the actual Day of Ashura. The most famous of these attempts was on the evening of Ashura by [[Abbas B. ʿAli B. Abu Taleb|Abbas ibn Ali]], which led to his [[martyrdom]].

Because of these events, water holds a prominent symbolical link to Ashura. Water and thirst are widely used in Ashura related literature, elegy, and [[Nowhe|noha]] (lamentation). In many lamentations, the thirst of Imam Hussain, his companions, and their wives and children is constantly repeated as a common theme of the tragedy. Thirst is particularly emphasized in the mourning for the martyrdom of Al-Hussain's youngest child [[Ali Asqar ibn Hussain|Ali al-Asqar]] and Abbas ibn Ali, the [[Saqqa]] (water carrier) of the Thirsty.

==In Shia Popular Culture==

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