Tahghigh Darbare Rooz-e- Arbaʽeen-e- Hazrat Sayyid al-Shuhada

Tahghigh Darbare Rooz-e- Arbaʽeen-e- Hazrat Sayyid al-Shuhada

Author	Qazi Tabatabai
Original title	تحقیق درباره اولین اربعین حضرت سید الشهداء (ع)
Language	Farsi

Some believe that forty days after the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (in Shia beliefs it is called Arbaʽeen which is a Shia religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the martyrdom of Al-Husayn ibn Ali) the captives of Karbala went to Karbala on their way back from Levant ; A theory that has been questioned and denied by many other scholars. In the book Tahghigh Darbare Rooz-e- Arbaʽeen-e- Hazrat Sayyid al-Shuhada, the author, Qazi Tabatabai, tries to prove the truth of that event and refute the statements of its opponents.

About the book

This book was first published in 1352 SH in Tabriz under the title “Tahghigh Darbare Rooz-e- Arbaʽeen-e- Hazrat Sayyid al-Shuhada Alayhe Alaf Tahiyad Va Sana" and during the following years, various publishing houses republished it. The Arabic translation of the book was also published in 1396 SH.

In some passages of the book, the author does not refrain from raising other issues that are somehow related to Ashura and the event of Karbala, and examines the distortions that are involved in the Ashura heritage and Ashura thinking through the preachers.

In this regard, Qazi Tabatabai also writes in a part of the book, entitled: “Nasihat Be Rozekhan Ha Va Nohekhan Ha”, "Yes, it is necessary and obligatory for the reciters and preachers to narrate and arrange the issues in such a way that they do not deviate from the act of preaching”

Do not fabricate stories because they will commit a lie which is one of the great sins by which they think a recommended deed has been done. Is this permissible according to the holy sharia of Islam? Is it permissible to perform a recommended action by doing the forbidden (haram)? In addition, they should not be abused by the enemies of the religion, the Kharijites and the enemies of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt. If, out of love and affection, they mix the history of Karbala and the issues related to Imam Hussain with baseless and false words, its  harm and persecution to Sayyid al-Shuhada will be greater than the swords that were pulled out of its sheath and struck on his body on Ashura."

The summary of Qazi Tabatabai's opinion about the time of the captives’ arrival in Karbala is as follows: "On the 15^th of Muharram, the captives of the family of the Prophet have been moved from Kufa to the Levant. At 1^st of Safar they entered Levant and stayed there for about eight days. Within fifteen days until the end of Muharram, they have moved forward with a very slow pace and after eight or seven days, they left the Levant and spent about twelve days on the road between Iraq and the Levant, and the captives of the Prophet's family went to Iraq to visit the graves of the martyrs of Karbala”

Most of Qazi Tabatabai's arguments are based on historical documents as well as credible sources, and the method adopted by the author in using the sources is also worth considering. In this regard, Qazi Tabatabai explains:

"The author in this book quotes based on authentic Shia and Sunni books and researching their historical writings, and efforts have been made to refrain from quoting invalid books." Qazi Tabatabai then briefly evaluates the historical sources and the Ashura Maqtals and writes in this regard: "The author's intention in this book was to refrain from quoting of unreliable books such as Bahr Al-Masaebeha va Mazamir Al-Oliyaha, Mghtal-e-  Abu Makhnaf, Tohfat Al-Majales, Makhzan-e- Elika, Masaeb Al-Masoomin, Riyaz Al-Ghods and the books of the late Hajj Mullah Ismail Sabzevari Vaez which are  full of undocumented contents and histories.  Also, a book called Maghtal-e-Esfarayen, which is full of falsifications and baseless stories."

About the author

Sayyid Mohammad Ali Qazi Tabatabai was born in Tabriz in 1331 AH / 1292 SH. He is the son of Sayyid Baqir. He completed his seminary education in Samarra. After returning to his hometown, at the beginning of the decade 1320 SH/1359 AH, he went to Qom to continue and complete his education and after about a decade he went to Najaf and attended the courses of great authorities and scholars there. After obtaining the degree of ijtihad, he returned to Tabriz again in 1332 SH/1372 AH and from that time until his assassination by the Forqan group (1358 SH), in addition to researching and writing several books, he took an active part in political struggles against the Pahlavi regime. As a result, he was arrested, imprisoned and deported several times.

Other works by Qazi Tabatabai are available such as: Hashiye Bar Ketab-e- Rasael Sheikh Ansari, Hashiye Bar Kefayat Al-Osool Akhoond Khorasani, Taghrirat-e- Osool Ayatollah Hojjat Kuh Kamri, Talighat Bar Ketab-e- Eslam Serat-e- Mostaghim and Elm Al- Emam.

Book Abstract

The book “Tahghigh Darbare Aval Arbaʽeen “has two introductions by the author. In the first introduction, which was written during the first edition of the book, Tabatabai states that the book focuses on the rejection of doubts about the first Arbaʽeen. From Qazi Tabatabai's point of view, the issue of the presence of the Prophet's family and the caravan of captives in Karbala in the first Arbaʽeen after Ashura is of great importance for Shias and the Shia religion and he writes in this regard: "One of the days of mourning in which the Shias have made great efforts to mourn and make efforts to visit the shrine of Imam Hussain on that day is the twentieth day of Safar month, which is the Arbaʽeen and the Shia tradition from the time of the Imams is based on the fact that in Iraq, they turn to Karbala from all sides and pay more attention to visiting the holy shrine. Among the Shias, that day is considered to be the day of the arrival of the Ahl al-Bayt to Karbala after the liberation from captivity in the Levant, and it is called the “Marrad Al-Ras” Ziyara and a special Ziyara has been made for that day by the pure Imams. "There is a consensus among Imami scholars that forty days after Sayyid al-Shuhada’s martyrdom, Imam Sajjad brought his blessed head and  left it with  his pure body in Karbala."

From Qazi Tabatabai's point of view, the main problem that is the central theme in the book "Tahghigh Dar Aval Arbaʽeen" is as follows: "From the Imami scholars until the seventh century after the emigration of the Prophet, no doubts or problems have been seen in this matter. The first person who doubted the presence of the Ahl al-Bayt in the first Arba’een after the martyrdom of Imam Hussain was Ali ibn Tawus, who expressed his doubts in the book Iqbal, and after him, Muhaddith Nouri, the author of the book “Mustadrak” who insisted on the absence of this presence and denied the coming of the Ahl al-Bayt in the first Arba’een of the year 61 AH and tried to count it as impossible. After him, his students, because of the support they received from their teacher, tried to make the teacher's claim come true, and therefore considered the subject of the first Arba’een to be a lie.

The second edition of the book was published four years later, with changes and additions to its text. Explaining the reason for such a change, Qazi Tabatabai wrote in his second preface: The envy of the envious and the uprising of the supporters of Muhaddith Nouri and resistance against them and the rejection of their absurd suspicions and doubts seemed difficult. It is strange to support their protest which was the result of simple ideas without thought and care. Some of these doubts were given written answers in detail and entered the answer of the rest in the second edition of the book.

The  table of content of Tahghigh Darbare Aval Arbaʽeen” has no main and sub-titles, chapters and sections, and it consists only of the topics discussed in the book. The general framework of the text is to mention the doubts and reasons of the opponents and then short and long answers to those doubts. For example, the author quotes the first reason for the problems of Mohaddes Nouri as follows:

"The first reason of Allama Muhaddith Nouri (RA) is that Sayyid Ibn Tawus and Sheikh Ibn Nema, who are both Imami Shia jurists and scholars and leaders of the Twelver Shi'ism, have said in the book of Mathir al-Ahzan and the book of Luhf that after being released from captivity, the Prophet's family left the Levant with Imam Sajjad, and on the way they told the person appointed by Yazid to take their caravan from Iraq. He returned the caravan to Iraq and entered Karbala, where he met Jabir ibn Abdullah Ansari, and then left for Medina. And considering that Sayyid wrote the book Lohoff in his early youth, his writing lacks sufficient research. After that, Muhaddith Nouri, as a witness to his claim, has mentioned the book of Seyyed Lohoff twice.

To better understand the basis of Qazi Tabatabai's argument about the possibility of the presence of the caravan of captives in Karbala in the twentieth month of Safar (the first Arba’een), it is appropriate to review an example of his most common reason in the book "Aval Arba’een". The reason for this is to provide examples of the speed at which a caravan, individuals and groups move from one point to a very distant point, in a short period of time.

The value and importance of the book

Despite the great efforts of Qazi Tabatabai, some scholars believe that his  arguments about the first Arba’een were not very strong. On the other hand, his reasons did not appear in earlier books before the seventh century AH, and even great scholars such as Sheikh Mufid and Sheikh Tusi did not mention those reasons. These are also considered as reasons for the weakness of his arguments.

Sources

• Esfandiari, Mohammad, Ketabshenasi-e- Tarikhi-e- Emam Hussain (Historical Bibliography of Imam Hussain (P.B.U.H), Second Edition. Isfahan: Arma Publishing, 1400 SH
• Jafarian, Rasool, Ta’amoli Dar Nehzat-e- Ashura (Reflection on the Ashura Movement). Qom: Ansarian, 1381 SH
• Tabatabai, Sayed Mohammad Kazem and Mousavi, Sayed Hamid, Etebarsanji-e- Kotob-e- Maghatel-e- Emam Hussain (validation of the Maqtal books of Imam Hussain (P.B.U.H)). Ayatollah Bustan (Research Journal of Hossaini Education), No1, Spring 1395 SH
• Qazi Tabatabai, Mohammad Ali“Tahghigh Darbare Aval Arbaʽeen-e- Hazrat Sayyid al-Shuhada, Tehran: Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Printing and Publishing Organization, third edition 1390 SH