Tarajid

The book “Tarajid” or “Karbala Sociologia al-Khattab al-Shi'i” is about the incident of Karbala from a non-religious perspective, in which the mourning ceremonies for Imam Hussein have been studied from the perspective of various sciences such as sociology, anthropology, and psychology by Ebrahim Heydari.

About the book

The author of the book is one of the professors in the field of sociology, who has done research on the mourning ceremonies of Imam Hussein with this (sociological) attitude, and has focused more on Iraqi society for his field study.

The contents of the book are organized into seven chapters:

1. "A brief look at history"
2. "Tragedy of Karbala, Congress of Tears and Sorrow"
3. "Factors affecting the transformation of the mourning ceremonies for Imam Hussein in Iraq"
4. "The religious, social and political importance of the holy cities of Iraq"
5. "Sociology of Folkloric Discourse in the mourning ceremonies for Imam Hussein"
6. "Folkloric Characteristics of the mourning ceremonies for Imam Hussein"
7. “The mourning ceremonies for Imam Hussein: profit-seeking and distortionist efforts."

The content of the book

In the first chapter, topics such as imamate, caliphate and evolution of the mourning ceremonies for Imam Hussein have been discussed.

The second chapter deals with the discussion of mourning ceremonies and the categories of chest-beating, self-flagellation, tatbir, and Ashura ceremonies in Islamic countries.

The third chapter is dedicated to the influence of religious, social, and political factors in the development of mourning ceremonies.

The fourth chapter is about the pilgrimage cities of Iraq, the shrines of the imams and religious leaders, and the mourning ceremonies held in some cities.

The fifth chapter talks about the connection between mourning ceremonies and the salvation of people in the world, as well as the similarities between Imam Hussein and Jesus Christ from the Shiites’ point of view.

The sixth chapter is about mourning ceremonies, their folkloric characteristics, the tendency towards death, sorrow in poems, and the role of elegies in the 1920 Iraqi revolution.

The seventh chapter is dedicated to heresies and distortions in mourning ceremonies, and their abuse and reformist efforts for them.

Translation and other works

This book was first published in Beirut in 1999 by Dar al-Saghy publishing house. Its Persian translation, under the title Karbala Tragedy: A Sociological Study of Shia Discourse by Ali Maamouri and Mohammad Javad Maamouri, was published by Dar al-Kitab al-Islami, Qom in 1381 SH. An abstract of it was also published under the title "Tragedy of Karbala, Sociology of Shiite Discourse" by Behrouz Rafiei in the seminary and University in the winter of 1381 SH.

Sources

• Ketabshenasi-e- Tarikhi-e- Emam Hussein  (Historical bibliography of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him)), Mohammad Esfandiari, pp. 225-226.