Ḥadīth al-Qārūra (Arabic: حدیث القارورة) is a hadith from the Prophet Muhammad (s) addressed to Umm al-Mu'minin Umm Salama concerning the day Imam al-Husayn (a) was going to be martyred. "Qarura" means a container or a glass. Many Sunni historians and scholars of hadiths have cited this hadith as well.
| Subject | Martyrdom of Imam al-Husayn (a) |
|---|---|
| Issued by | Prophet Muhammad (s) |
| Main narrator | Umm Salama • Ibn 'Abbas |
| Shi'a sources | Tarikh al-Ya'qubi • Bihar al-anwar |
| Sunni sources | Al-Isti'ab • Usd al-ghaba • Al-Isaba • Imta' al-asma' |
Content
The Prophet (s) gave some soil of Karbala to Umm Salama and she kept it in a glass container. The Prophet (s) told her: "whenever this soil turns into blood, my son, Husayn (a), is martyred." One day, Umm Salama saw the Prophet (s) in a dream with a sad face and dusty clothes, telling her: "I am coming from Karbala. I have already buried the martyrs". She suddenly woke up and looked at the glass, seeing the soil turning into blood. Thus, she learned that Husayn (a) was martyred.[1] She started to cry and when the neighbors went to her, she told them the story.
The neighbors started to cry such that the whole city of Medina was full of cries and moans.[2] The story is known as Hadith al-Qarura.
Sunni Sources
The hadith is also cited in Sunni sources. According to some Sunni sources, 'Abd Allah b. 'Abbas said: "one day, the Prophet (s) was taking a nap at noon. He woke up and was very upset with a container of blood in his hand. When I asked him about the story, he said: 'this is Husayn's blood'".[3]
Some sources have quoted Umm Salama as saying that one day, Imam al-Husayn (a) went to the Prophet (s) while she was at the entrance. She suddenly saw the Prophet (s) holding and kissing something in his hand, while Husayn (a) was sleeping on his knee. She asked the Prophet (s) about what he was kissing and crying over? He replied: "Jabra'il brought a soil to me in which my son will be martyred by my Umma".[4] He then gave the soil to Umm Salama and told her: "O Umm Salama! If you saw this soil turn into blood, be aware that my son is martyred". Umm Salama put the soil into a "Qarura" (a glass container) and looked at it every day. She said: "on a sad day, it turned into blood".[5] In this hadith, the Prophet (s) has mentioned the land of "Karbala" as well.[6]
Notes
- ↑ See: Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 45, p. 89, 227, 232; vol. 44, p. 225, 231, 236, 239.
- ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 246.
- ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 1, p. 396; Ibn Athīr, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 1, p. 500; Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, al-Iṣāba, vol. 2, p. 71.
- ↑ Maqrizī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ, vol. 12, p. 238.
- ↑ Maqrizī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ, vol. 12, p. 238.
- ↑ Maqrizī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ, vol. 14, p. 146.
References
- Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Yūsuf b. ʿAbd Allāh. Al-Istīʿāb fī maʿrifat al-aṣḥāb. Edited by ʿAlī Muḥammad al-Bajāwī. Beirut: Dār al-Jail, 1412 AH.
- Ibn Athīr al-Jazarī, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. Usd al-ghāba fī maʿrifat al-ṣaḥāba. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1409 AH.
- Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Al-Iṣāba fī tamyīz al-ṣaḥāba. Edited by ʿĀdil Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Mawjūd & ʿAlī Muḥammad Muʿawwaḍ. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1415 AH.
- Maqrizī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-. Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ bi-ma li-l-nabīyy min al-aḥwāl wa l-amwāl wa l-ḥafdat wa l-matāʿ. Edited by Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Namīsī. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1420 AH.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Second edition. Beirut: Dār al-Wafāʾ, 1403 AH.
- Yaʿqūbī, Aḥmad b. Isḥāq al-. Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī. Beirut: Dār al-Ṣādir, [n.d].