Fursan al-hayja' (book)
 | |
| Author | Dhabih Allah Mahallati |
|---|---|
| Original title | فُرْسانُ الْهَیْجاء |
| Language | Persian |
| Series | 2 Vols. |
| Subject | The biography of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) |
| Genre | History |
Fursān al-hayjāʾ (Arabic: فُرْسانُ الْهَیْجاء), on the biography of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a), is a book in two volumes in Persian written by Dhabih Allah Mahallati (d. 1986). This book includes the biographies of 230 of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) who were martyred in Karbala or later in Basra and Kufa. The author has presented the biographies of the martyrs in alphabetical order.
The author’s use of historical and narrative reports is mentioned as one of the book’s strengths. However, the fact that most of the names of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) in this book do not agree with historical sources is one of the flaws mentioned about this book.
Author
Dhabih Allah Mahallati Mushtaq 'Askari (b. 1310/1892 – d. 1406/1985) known as Dhabih Allah Mahallati was a Shi'a clergy and writer. In 1330/1912, he went to Iraq, studied in the seminaries of Najaf and Samarra and in 1376/1956, returned to Iran. He had many works including Rayahin al-shari'a, Ma'athir al-kubra fi tarikh Samarra and Fursan al-hayaja'.[1]
Content
The book Fursan al-hayja' (lit. "Riders of the Battlefield")[2] contains the names of 230 companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) in two volumes. The first volume contains the names of 140 of the companions of Husayn b. Ali (a). This volume includes from Abu Thumama al-Sa'idi to Ammar b. Hasan al-Ta'i in alphabetical order.[3] The second volume contains the biographies of ninety companions of Imam al-Husayn (a), starting with Ammar b. Abi Salama al-Hamdani and ending with Yazid b. Muhajir.[4]
The book has an ending part and appendices that contain information about Muhammad b. Hanafiyya, Mukhtar b. Abi 'Ubayd al-Thaqafi and Ra's al-Husayn (a).[5]
Strengths and weaknesses
Muhammad Ali Mujahidi, in his book Pajuhishi dar maqtal-ha-ye Farsi, has mentioned the author’s use of the reports of historians, maqtal writers and narrators as one of the strengths of this work.[6] Mujahidi also believes that most of the names of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) that appear in the book Fursan al-hayja' do not agree with authentic muqtal reports.[7] Also, according to Muhammad Isfandiyari, the author did not check the correctness of some reports; for example, he named some people as martyrs who were not martyred, or he mentioned the name of one person twice differently, thinking that he was referring to two people.[8]
Writing language and translation
According to Muhammad Isfandiyari, an Iranian historian (born in 1959-60), the book Fursan al-hayja' was written in Arabic, and later the author translated it into Persian.[9] But, the Arabic version is not available. In 1386 SH/2007-8, Muhammad Shu'a' Fakhir translated its Persian text back into Arabic under the name Fursan al-hayja' fi tarajim ashab Sayyid al-Shuhada.[10]
The writing of the first volume of Fursan al-hayja' was finished in 1348/1969-70[11] and was published by Buzar Jomehri publications during the author’s lifetime. However, other prints of this book were out later.[12]
Notes
- ↑ Sharīf Rāzī, Akhtarān-i furūzān-i Ray wa Tehran, p. 198.
- ↑ On the day of 'Ashura, after the martyrdom of his companions, Imam al-Husayn (a) used the phrase "Ya fursan al-hayja'" about them.
- ↑ Mujāhidī, Pazhūhishī dar maqtalhā-yi farsī, p. 191, 192.
- ↑ Mujāhidī, Pazhūhishī dar maqtalhā-yi farsī, p. 191, 192.
- ↑ Maḥallātī, Fursān al-hayjāʾ, vol. 1, p. 15.
- ↑ Mujāhidī, Pazhūhishī dar maqtalhā-yi farsī, p. 195.
- ↑ Mujāhidī, Pazhūhishī dar maqtalhā-yi farsī, p. 191, 192.
- ↑ Isfandīyārī, Kitābshināsī-yi tārīkhī-yi Imām Ḥusayn, p. 165.
- ↑ Isfandīyārī, Kitābshināsī-yi tārīkhī-yi Imām Ḥusayn, p. 165.
- ↑ Maḥallātī, Fursān al-hayjāʾ, vol. 1.
- ↑ Mujāhidī, Pazhūhishī dar maqtalhā-yi farsī, p. 191, 192.
- ↑ Fursan al-hayja' (book); on the biography of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) (Persian)
Notes
References
- Bayḍūn, Labīb. Mawsūʿat Karbalā. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, [n.d].
- Isfandīyārī, Muḥammad. Kitābshināsī-yi tārīkhī-yi Imām Ḥusayn. Tehran: Wizārat-i Irshād-i Islāmī, 1380 Sh.
- Maḥallātī, Ḍhabīḥ Allāh. Fursān al-hayjāʾ. Edited by Muḥammad Shuʿāʿ Fākhir. Qom: al-Maktaba al-Ḥaydarīyya, 1428 AH.
- Mujāhidī, Mūhammad ʿAlī. Pazhūhishī dar maqtalhā-yi farsī. Qom: Zamzam-i Hidāyat, 1386 Sh.
- Sharīf Rāzī, Muḥammad. Akhtarān-i furūzān-i Ray wa Tehran. Qom: Maktabat al-Zahrā, [n.d].
- کتاب فرسان الهیجاء: در احوالات اصحاب حضرت سیدالشهداء(ع). (Fursan al-hayja' (book); on the biography of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) (Persian)). Accessed: 2023/09/13.