Draft:Three-pronged arrow
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Three-pronged arrow is a type of arrow distinguished by having three heads. According to some maqtal books, on the Day of Ashura, such an arrow pierced the heart of Imam al-Husayn (a). While some later sources have reported that Ali al-Asghar (a) and al-Abbas b. Ali (a) were also struck by three-pronged arrows, certain sources, such as the Danishnama-yi Imam Husayn, consider these reports unreliable.
In the Event of Karbala
The three-pronged arrow was a munition employed in ancient warfare. In books related to the Event of Karbala, this type of arrow is mentioned repeatedly. According to the book Sugnama-yi Al-i Muhammad, which is classified as a later work, Harmala brought three three-pronged arrows to Karbala. He discharged one at the throat of Ali al-Asghar (a), the infant son of Imam al-Husayn (a), another at the eye of al-Abbas b. Ali (a), and the third at the heart of Imam al-Husayn (a).[1] The author cites Minhaj al-dumu' for this account, noting that Harmala made this confession while addressing al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi.[2] However, the authors of Danishnama-yi Imam Husayn regard this account as unreliable.[3] Similarly, the book Maqtal-i jami'-i Sayyid al-Shuhada attributes the report of Ali al-Asghar's martyrdom by a three-pronged arrow to later maqtal books, specifically Tadhkirat al-Shuhada and Kibrit ahmar.[4]
Striking Imam al-Husayn (a)
According to Danishnama-yi Imam Husayn, the report of a three-pronged arrow striking the heart of Imam al-Husayn (a) appears in Maqtal al-Husayn by al-Khwarizmi and Muthir al-ahzan by Ibn Nama.[5] A footnote in the same source argues that the arrow struck the chest of Imam al-Husayn (a) rather than his heart, reasoning that a direct hit to the heart would have precluded any subsequent actions. This interpretation is corroborated by the account in Manaqib by Ibn Shahrashub, which specifies the term "sadr" (chest).[6]
Three-Headed or Three-Pronged?
The TV series Mokhtarnameh depicted an arrow with three heads at its tip. In response to this portrayal, various websites published images of three-pronged arrows to elucidate the morphological differences between a three-headed arrow and a three-pronged arrow.[7] Although it has been alleged that Arabic linguists acknowledge the historical existence of both three-headed and three-pronged arrows, no reliable source has been cited to substantiate this claim.[8]
Notes
- ↑ Muḥammadī Ishtihārdī, Sūgnāma-yi Āl-i Muḥammad, 1380 Sh, 17th ed., p. 535.
- ↑ Muḥammadī Ishtihārdī, Sūgnāma-yi Āl-i Muḥammad, 1380 Sh, 17th ed., p. 535.
- ↑ Muḥammadī Ray-Shahrī, Dānishnāma-yi Imām Ḥusayn, 1388 Sh, vol. 7, pp. 35-37.
- ↑ Gurūhī az tārīkh-pazhūhān, Tārīkh-i qīyām wa maqtal-i jāmiʿ-i Sayyid al-Shuhadā, 1389 Sh, vol. 1, p. 854, footnote.
- ↑ Muḥammadī Ray-Shahrī, Dānishnāma-yi Imām Ḥusayn, 1388 Sh, vol. 7, pp. 220-223.
- ↑ Muḥammadī Ray-Shahrī, Dānishnāma-yi Imām Ḥusayn, 1388 Sh, vol. 7, p. 221, footnote.
- ↑ "Taṣawwur-i ishtibāhī ki hama az tīr-i sih shuʿba dārand", Young Journalists Club; "Tīr-i sih shuʿba yā sih paykān, kudām-yak ṣaḥīḥ ast?", Bahar-e Javani Blog.
- ↑ Fakhr-Rūḥānī, "Tīr-i sih-shuʿba", p. 151.
References
- Fakhr-Rūḥānī, Muḥammad Riḍā, "Tīr-i sih-shuʿba", Faṣlnāma-yi Maʿārif-i Ḥusaynī, no. 10, Summer 1397 Sh.
- Gurūhī az tārīkh-pazhūhān, Tārīkh-i qīyām wa maqtal-i jāmiʿ-i Sayyid al-Shuhadā, Qom, Muʾassisa-yi Āmūzishī Pizhūhishī-yi Imām Khumaynī, 1389 Sh.
- Muḥammadī Ishtihārdī, Muḥammad, Sūgnāma-yi Āl-i Muḥammad, Qom, Intishārāt-i Nāṣir, 17th ed., 1380 Sh.
- Muḥammadī Ray-Shahrī, Muḥammad, Dānishnāma-yi Imām Ḥusayn (a), trans. ʿAbd al-Hādī Masʿūdī, Qom, Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1430 AH/1388 Sh.
- "Tīr-i sih shuʿba yā sih paykān, kudām-yak ṣaḥīḥ ast?", Bahar-e Javani Blog, Accessed: August 23, 2020.
- "Taṣawwur-i ishtibāhī ki hama az tīr-i sih shuʿba dārand", Young Journalists Club, Posted: September 28, 2017, Accessed: August 23, 2020.